When I joined the Public Relations profession in the year 2011, I had very little idea as to what the profession was. I remember having an impression about ‘Advertising’ being a fun and creative career choice but somehow I had little to no idea about PR. The only impression I had was perhaps, that I did not think it was interesting enough. However I somehow landed in Public Relations and soon realised it was an interesting and intelligent space.
There were a lot of reasons why I stayed with my first company more than the other eight young professionals who started out their careers with me. I found communications to be very dynamic which made me love what I was doing. I doubt there is any other field which is as vibrant as this one. The reasons I feel that Public Relations is a lively and motivated career choice are as follows:
One of the best things about being a communications consultant is that no day is the same. The Public Relations professionals work on variety of clients and get the opportunity to be immersed in a new industry every day. This brings a lot of newness in the work life of a Public Relations pro. Also, since Public Relations people wear many hats, no hour of the day is similar to the other.
Public Relations is a profession that helps one get his or her creative juices flowing. Increasingly, brands want to engage more and more with their customers so there is a constant need for creativity. A lot of time in consultancies is spent on brainstorming for creative ideas to be presented to their clients which automatically makes life more exciting.
Public Relations professionals get the best of both- storytelling and marketing. For example an infographic created for the brand is a perfect marketing material. But if a communications consultant is involved in the idea she/he gets an opportunity to apply their storytelling skills while creating that infographic. They can also use their skills to further use that marketing asset for media pitching if relevant.
No other profession, I repeat no other profession has the privilege to share a table with the CEOs early on in their careers. Public Relations folks are not only a part of important conversations but also their ideas valued. Because an idea can come from anywhere in the hierarchy. Being involved in conversations with senior leaders in the industry not only gives one a big high but also a sense of confidence and responsibility towards their work.
As mentioned previously Public Relations consultants are the lucky ones to have a flavour of more than one industry in a single day. Hence no day is boring! While on the job, people also tend to help each other on their clients which does not allow monotony to creep in. The assortment of various kinds of businesses they handle makes them more knowledgeable and excited about the work they do.
A Public Relations professional’s month is power packed. They make Public Relations plans, find ways to execute them, build relationships with the media, handle clients, handle their bosses and juniors and a lot more. There is a lot going on at one point in their professional lives. Many a times they are also able to show the impact of their efforts in short duration which gives timely kicks to them for the work they have done.
All these elements make the job of a Public Relations consultant very exciting and new. I don’t think any other job including ‘advertising’ and ‘events’ is as power packed as ours. I find myself very fortunate to be able to sit at the core of this profession. Do let me know just in case you feel that your job is more awesome!
– Radhika Nandwani
Radhika is the Corporate Communications Advisor at Dell’s Performance Analytics Group. She started her career in 2011, with one of the leading Public Relations firms of India – MSLGROUP, specialising in technology brands. The campaigns executed by her while at MSL, have won several Public Relations industry awards including SABRE and Public Relations Week Asia. In her last role, she was the founding team member and the marketing communications manager at SCoRe. Radhika is an English graduate and holds a Master’s degree in Mass Communication. She loves reading and is passionate about gender equality, food and Bollywood. She can be reached at @RadhikaNandwani on Twitter and here on LinkedIn.
