Studying public relations at university should be more than developing technical skills in areas such as writing, research and communication management. It should also be a time for questioning the world around you, opening your mind to new ways of thinking, developing a strategic outlook, and building professional attitudes and values.
So for me it was pleasing to see Craig Pearce’s blog last week, “What it takes to work in public relations”, describing the skills needed by PR practitioners. While the technical skills were necessarily covered, it was the inclusion of attributes such as an interest in current events, an enquiring mind, integrity and trustworthiness that predominantly grabbed my attention.
Students of public relations must look beyond the textbooks and required reading set by their lecturers. They need to embrace news and current affairs, not just as passive recipients of information, but more like investigative journalists who looks behind what is being said, by whom and for what reasons.
While university can introduce this broader view of the world, and hopefully develop a thirst for lifelong learning, the primary responsibility lies with the individual student. Becoming involved in activities outside the standard assignments, and engaging in professional networks and discussions (online and offline) builds on the theoretical and applied knowledge gained in the university classes.
Having said that, Craig also raised an interesting point in the comments section of his posting. He argues that employers look to the younger practitioners for assistance with social media tools, but they need to understand it in a “professional communication application context (as opposed to just doing it socially)”. To me, this is not just about the technical skill, but also about the strategic use of the tool and how it can be used to advance the relationships between an organisation and its publics. Craig urges the next generation to grab the opportunity. While universities are starting to address this new dimension of public relations, this is another area where the self-motivated student has a chance to stand out from the crowd.
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