A Thank-You Note to Our Profession
Published on November 21, 2019, at 8:30 p.m.
by Gabrielle Sirois.
As public relations professionals, we work pretty much 24/7. There are always things for us to do, and it is easy for us to get caught up in work, bogged down and discouraged by how busy we are. In honor of Thanksgiving, we should all take a step back for a moment and reflect on everything we appreciate about the public relations industry and what we have to be thankful for in our careers.
A dynamic, ever-changing environment
Something that draws a lot of people to our industry is the fact that no two days are ever the same. When you enter this career, you know that you aren’t just going to be stuck in a cubical every day doing the same things on your computer. In PR you get the chance to constantly be exposed to new experiences and get to work on a variety of different projects. Whether you work for an agency or in-house, you can be thankful that your job is never stagnant.
The opportunity to combine strategy and creativity
Lots of careers put workers into bubbles and resign them to only being allowed to utilize one specific skill set. In public relations you can use all of your skill sets and combine them to produce impressive results.
You aren’t stuck only analyzing data and numbers, and you aren’t pressured to constantly come up with amazing creative ideas. You get to journey through an entire process from informative research, to strategic analysis and planning, then to creative implementation and finally reflective evaluation. In PR we are not pigeonholed into one specific role or strength; we get to experience them all.
The digital advancements within the industry
Public relations today is vastly different than how it was 50 years ago, largely due to digital advancements. Publics are more accessible to reach than ever through social media, email and company websites. Think about how much harder it was for PR professionals to reach and interact with their publics before these platforms existed.
In addition, technology saves PR professionals so much time and helps us to work more efficiently. There is a seemingly infinite amount of information available right at our fingertips, which makes secondary research easier. Digital tools such as Grammarly and the online AP Stylebook help us keep our writing sharp. Smartphones make it possible to immediately get in contact with team members and clients when crisis strikes. These are just a few of the many examples of technological advancements that we should all be thankful for.
The ability to interact and collaborate with like-minded professionals
Good PR is rooted in collaboration and the combination of a variety of viewpoints and ideas. It is exciting for us as professionals to be able to work with other individuals who share our same passion for strategic communications. As noted earlier, in PR, you aren’t going to be stuck alone in your cubical all day — you get the chance to interact with others and freely share ideas and feedback.
An industry that is willing to progress and promote change
Though all industries have a long way to go before becoming fully diverse and inclusive, we can be proud of the fact that the public relations industry is open to progress and actively working to promote this change. PR professionals aren’t afraid to start the conversation about diversity and inclusion in the workforce, something that cannot be said for all industries. We are seeing more and more campaigns that promote diversity and inclusion every year, and hopefully, this trend will continue to expand in the future until it becomes the standard. While there is still work to be done, we can be thankful that the PR industry is already taking the first step.
These are only a few examples of what makes our industry incredible. So next time you are up at midnight putting out a fire for your client, take a step back and remember what drew you to public relations in the first place and all of the things you can be thankful for in your career.
