PR Talent: What makes you a PR Pro?

At Cherish we always have our eyes peeled for the latest industry trends and PR practice tactics, but we also love to hear from talent within the PR and marketing industry. Between us all here we’ve had about 70 years’ experience in PR so we thought we’d share our thoughts with you. These days competition is tough and being a people person with a confident telephone manner and a natural flair for writing is no longer enough to cut it as PR talent. And so, we’ve drawn up a list of the top 5 qualities you need to succeed in the world of PR.

1. A hunger for news: A seasoned PR must live, eat and breathe the news and always stay abreast of the latest stories. From culture to politics, to fashion and beyond, it’s the job of a PR to know what’s hot and what’s not. Twitter is a PR’s best friend, and so are news apps like Apple News, Google News and Flipboard.

2. An inquisitive mind: In many PR agencies it’s not unusual to be working across a broad spectrum of business sectors that might span motoring, music and maternity, which means you need to be a quick learner with an enquiring mind and a talent for communicating genuine passion for the product or service you’re promoting.

3. Empathy: An important but sometimes overlooked role of the PR is to be able to see from multiple viewpoints. You’ll need to get into the heads of the consumer, the client, and the journalist, on a daily basis to achieve results that are going to please all parties. Tricky, we know.

4. The ability to remain calm under pressure: As anyone working in PR knows, however meticulous you are, perfectly construed plans can go awry. There aren’t certain outcomes in PR. It’s therefore vital that a good PR is able to remain calm and level headed, even when tired or frazzled.

5. The gift of the gab: While being able to talk the talk isn’t the only part of the job, it’s certainly an important one. Given that PR is all about communication, it’s imperative that PR pros are both confident and fluent when it comes to conveying messages on the phone and in writing. And the ability to grab attention by writing creatively and concisely is more important than ever in our digital media world.

We’re always on the lookout for the latest PR talent to work across our biggest and most exciting digital and lifestyle clients, so please email the team at Cherish with your CV and a covering letter: info@cherishpr.com if you think you could be a great addition to the team!