You have finished your studies and are ready to step into PR and communications. A first professional role can be exciting and a little daunting. These five tips will help you find your feet.
1. Build confidence in what you can contribute
Believing in yourself is not always easy, but confidence helps when you are advising clients or sharing an idea. You do not need to know everything on your first day.
Prepare well, be clear about what you know and keep learning from the experience. Everyone makes mistakes. The important part is to recognise them, ask for guidance and use what you learn next time.
Bring your own perspective to the team. Your experience may be different from your colleagues’, and that can be useful.
2. Get comfortable with professional phone calls
Messages and email are useful, but a conversation is sometimes the quickest way to clarify a question or build a personal connection.
For a consultant working across the Benelux, being able to speak confidently with clients, journalists and colleagues in the relevant languages is valuable. Introduce yourself clearly, know why you are calling and respect the other person’s time.
If you feel nervous, prepare a short outline of the points you want to cover. Practice makes the process more familiar, and you will gradually become more comfortable adapting to the conversation.
3. Learn the media landscape
You will not arrive knowing every publication, journalist or specialist subject. B2B media in particular may include titles you have never encountered before.
Take time to understand which publications serve which audiences, who writes about the topics relevant to your clients and what kinds of stories they cover. A media directory can help you begin, but reading the actual coverage is essential.
The same care applies to bloggers and influencers. Look beyond a name or a large following and understand the content, audience and style.
Meeting people can also strengthen a professional relationship. Our media relations work depends on that combination of research, relevance and personal contact.
4. Share your ideas
As a newcomer, you may notice possibilities that a more experienced team has not considered. Give those ideas room to develop.
Not every suggestion will be practical, and that is part of the process. One technique is to place a keyword at the centre of a page and write associations around it like petals on a flower. Explore the connections and see which could lead to a useful concept.
For more approaches, read our four ideas for staying creative in PR.
5. Ask questions
The most useful advice for a starter may also be the simplest: ask when you do not understand something.
It is better to clarify a task than to remain uncertain and hope for the best. Your colleagues were new once too. Take notes, use the answers and ask a follow-up question when you need one.
Interested in the people and work behind a PR agency? Meet our team or contact Progress Communications to discuss possible opportunities.
Tessa de Prins
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