This chapter focuses on the various factors that one should take into consideration before embarking onto the profession of public relations. I find this rather insightful as I was able to understand the various steps that are essential for me to take before I prepare myself for a successful career. There are various points that are being highlighted in the chapter.
1) Gain some experience
I agree with this point as I feel that having adequate working experience gives one an insight on the operations of a public relations practitioner. Having work experience also meant that the applicant would have an advantage over the others who may not be familiar with the job scopes of the public relations industry. In fact, I feel that gaining experience does not solely apply to the area of public relations as I believe many companies out there would prefer hiring staff who are more experienced and knowledgeable in the line they are working in.
2) Attend more international events and schools' exchange programmes
I feel that such opportunities are hard to come by and should I be given a chance to gain overseas exposure, I will be more than willing to accept that offer. This is because having an overseas exposure gives one the ability to socialize with various cultural groups and such invaluable experience would give one the advantage of gaining a deeper understanding of different cultures. Public relations practitioners would also be able to handle public relations at an international level since they managed to learn from their own overseas experience. In addition, exchange programmes are often than not offered to students only. This means that an applicant who has graduated and have not gone for an exchange program may lose out as he or she is competing with several other applicants who may have gone for more than one exchange programmes.
3) Always apply public relations theory in your work
I feel that this statement is not necessarily true. Theories are often designed with a set of assumptions involved. It is difficult to apply theories in reality when the assumptions does not necessarily apply to all situations. This means that some discrepancies may result in the process of management such that inaccuracies would occur. I feel that it is essential for public relations practitioners to constantly analyze the situation and assess the possibility of fitting the various theoretical concepts into the situation before they proceed with the plan.
4) Read and Research online
This is an important aspect especially in the case of public relations practitioners. It is important that one conducts his or her own proper research to ensure that there would be no discrepancies of information released to the public. Such discrepancies may result in the doubts raised by the clients' customers and shareholders and would also lead to countless queries from the media as well. Aside from that, I feel that having a proper research and knowledge on the issue of concern would enable public relations practitioners to handle the event or crisis in a proper manner and this would help to minimize damages to the reputation of their clients.
Through this chapter, I realized that it is important that we keep ourselves updated because as public relations practitioners, we need to handle and manage our clients reputation regardless of the line that they are working in. We need to be prepared to work for any organisations and that means we would need to be as well informed as our clients are. After all, what is the point of hiring us if our clients know better than we do?
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