What I Have Learned About the World of PR

⌛ By Isabella Mershon ⌛

In January of 2020, I was hired as an Integrated Communications Intern at Hourglass Media. This was my first experience working in the public relations field. I have had classes that discussed PR, but I quickly learned that you can only learn so much from textbooks and lectures.

Working from home is a blessing and a curse

Working for Hourglass Media was my first time working from home. There are pros and cons to working from home. For me, I struggle to separate my work life from my home life. I sometimes find myself doing housework in between work tasks or working super late at night. Also, it can be difficult to get motivated and in “work mode.” For me, my commute to work helps prepare me for the day, and being in a different environment for work helps me work. But for a full-time college student who works another job, working from home is the only way that I can continue my employment with Hourglass. I am able to work around my schedule which is a huge plus.

Boundaries are important

I am still learning how to put boundaries in place, but I know how important they are especially in PR. First off, I get phone calls and emails all through the day. I try to be as available as possible for clients, but I am working on keeping my work interactions during normal business hours, not including the occasional exception. Also, I have seen the importance of contracts and pricing. It is so important to know your value and to stick to it. People may try to negotiate, ask for extra work that was not included in the contract, and more, so it is important to be able to stand up for yourself in these situations. The first time I saw this, it was with a client that the company had been working with for a little while. Overtime, I saw Hourglass putting in more and more work, but the contract stayed the same -- meaning the pricing was the same. Eventually, Hourglass adjusted the contract to get compensated for the extra work being put in. What surprised me in this situation was how easy it was to overlook the extra work being put in. Clients might ask for something additional one week, and then the next, and then before you know it you are working a lot more than you are getting compensated for.

There’s so much behind-the-scenes work

Before starting at Hourglass, I had no idea how much work went into even smaller tasks. There is so much planning involved, and everything is done for a reason - Communication plans are strategic with a goal in mind. This includes meeting with clients and others -- there are so many meetings! I do enjoy this aspect though, because it is a chance for both parties to set time aside to focus on one another and the goal in mind. Through meetings, you pick up on people’s personalities, their work styles, etc. But meetings are not always effective, and sometimes you learn that a biweekly meeting could be condensed to a monthly meeting and so on. Since I started my internship in during the height of COVID, I have only attended virtual meetings. I feel due to COVID, people wanted to meet more to get human interaction. Also, once COVID regulations were lifted, I felt people were very eager to meet in person for the same reason. Sometimes, meetings can get off topic, and become more casual conversation. As a company, you want to make sure you are using your time wisely with each client, but you also want to get to know each client. You have to learn a balance.

Emails, more emails, and follow-up emails

I have never logged onto my email as much as I do now. I can check my email multiple times a day, and I will still have emails each time I log on. I also never realized how hard it was to reach people. I will call and/or email, send follow-ups, and sometimes you may never receive an answer. As someone with anxiety that doesn’t want to come off “annoying,” sending follow-up emails was intimidating at first. Through my employment, I have gotten so much more confident in myself to send emails, follow-up emails, etc.

Organization

Especially while working from home, organization is so important. It is easy to forget to email someone back or forget a meeting. I have learned to write everything down. Even if you think it is not important, I will try to write it down or I will forget. My desk is filled with sticky notes filled with random information from various clients. I am still learning how to manage my time and organize everything to be most productive, but I have definitely come a long way since January.

PR is very broad - each client is different

I had no idea how broad public relations is. Hourglass Media offers so many services to clients - it truly is tailored to a client’s needs. There are some instances where most of the work is social media and other times where it is event planning. I really enjoy this aspect because it makes each day different. Also, it has allowed me to try a variety of “fields” of PR and find which ones I truly love. The parts of PR that I have really enjoyed so far are the communications side, organizing information into spreadsheets, reviewing analytics, planning, and more. Some aspects that I am excited to learn more about are crisis communication methods, social media management, graphic design, and new client outreach.

PR is creative and vulnerable

To be a PR professional, I have learned the importance of creativity. I have always thought I was creative until I started this role at Hourglass. Something I have learned about myself is that with creativity also comes confidence. Sometimes, I will have ideas, but I am scared to share them in fear that they are not good enough. I never knew how vulnerable it was to share your work with others. Everyday, I gain more confidence with myself and my work, but I still struggle with this daily. Something that has helped me immensely is working with Kaylin. First, I get to see how she works and review the material she writes and the graphics she designs. I try to soak up everything she does. She has always encouraged me to share my ideas. Also, with everything I submit to her, Kaylin focuses on positive feedback. Even if she sees things that need to be changed, she will focus on what I did well and how I can improve instead of what I did “wrong”.

You don’t get every client

An important part of PR is retaining customers. Some clients want short-term services while others want long-term services. Because of this, it is important to continue to look for prospective clients. With every client you submit a proposal to, there is always the possibility of rejection. Seeing this process with Hourglass was hard at first, but I have learned that not every potential client is a good fit for a company and vice versa.

PR is writing heavy

Since stepping foot into the PR world, I have written more in my life than ever before. Everyday, I am writing in some capacity -- emails, blog posts, social media posts, etc. When I first started, I got very overwhelmed. My degree is in communications, so my course work did not cover professional writing. Because of this, I did not feel confident in my writing skills. The more I wrote and the more feedback I received, the more confidence I gained. I also have never written in AP style before, so trying to keep track of all of the rules has been confusing at times. My employment at Hourglass has really pushed me out of my comfort zone. Since this is my first job in the PR field and my background is in communications, I sometimes felt inadequate for the role. I am thankful I have continued to push myself out of my comfort zone, because I have learned so much and grown professionally.

Isabella Mershon is a senior at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. She hopes that her drive along with her passion for leadership and advocacy will help promote success in her career and make a difference in the lives of those around her. Connect with her on LinkedIn!