Skip to main content

Why professionalism is important when starting out in PR!


Professionalism is imperative in any work environment. However, it is particularly important when you are starting out in an entry-level role. In today’s blog post I will be focusing on the importance of professionalism for entry-level PR practitioners. 

 

In the working world being professional amongst other things is like a currency. The first impression is your lasting impression. Communication is all about reputation and credibility, so giving the best impression will reverberate throughout your career. Making a good impression, having a good attitude, being knowledgeable and respectful are all part of being professional. If you can nail all of that, then you will have a successful PR career.

 

At the start of your career establishing your network is so important and having a good professional attitude plays into that. It is imperative to make the most out of any experience and avoid any self-sabotaging. A good example of this would be to show that you respect people’s time. Just like professionalism, time is also a currency. Meeting deadlines, responding to emails and being punctual speaks volumes and shows that you value your colleagues and the opportunity being given to you. People will pick up on this and will want to work with you and recommend you for other projects, which is what you want. You want people to trust you, we are all fungible at the end of the day, so it is essential to maintain professionalism. People will not want to work with you if you do not respect their time.

 

Being diplomatic is key when navigating the PR and Communications industry. Knowing how to address your colleagues and convey your ideas in an appropriate manner can benefit you immensely, especially at an entry-level position. Understand that everyone is different and that is okay. Do not try to make others look bad or speak poorly of others, always handle things in a decisive manner and bring an issue to your supervisor or Human Resources team. You want to be able to build connections with important, people, journalists, and organisations – so don’t shut doors for yourself because manners are free!

 

Furthermore, your actions and attitude need to match what you are saying. Being knowledgeable about where you work and your client ties back in to showing respect. It isn’t professional if you haven’t researched the client, taken notes during briefings, or turned up to work with the right attitude. It is your job to provide the best service, and if you are consciously not putting in the effort or time then you are underperforming. 

 

It is crucial that you are always on your best behaviour where your work is concerned. Be mindful of what you say on social media platforms. Is what you’re saying going to put your job in jeopardy? Think of the early stages of your career as a fragile flower. It needs to be looked after carefully. Ultimately, people are forgiving but lack of professionalism can hurt your network whilst trying to establish yourself, hence its importance. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My thoughts on DaBaby's Rolling Loud incident

    Pop culture is extremely prominent within our society, and it is so easy to consume, especially with everything being so accessible. The online world makes it very difficult for you to erase your online history, cancel culture is ruthless. A career that took ten years to build can be over in ten seconds from a comment, video, or picture.   American rapper  Jonathan Lyndale Kirk, professionally known as DaBaby  experienced major backlash from making offensive uneducated comments on HIV Aids, whilst performing on stage at a festival last year.    You’re probably wondering what DaBaby said and how serious was it? To put in short, DaBaby said to his audience to “put [their] cell phone light up", apart from those who were HIV-positive or were gay men who had sex in car parks. He also went on to say that ‘HIV’ will ‘make you die in two or three weeks.’ Rightfully so people were angry. DaBaby, unprovoked decided to spread misinformation surrounding the di...
Post a Comment
Read more

Why the industry is lacking and slacking when it comes to diversity?

      The lack of diversity in the Public Relations and communications industry is shocking. According to the PRCA institution, their latest survey carried out in 2016 revealed over 91 per cent of industry professionals are white. That may not seem shocking as 91 percent of the population are white. However, this is problematic when it comes to representation of ethnic minorities. On the surface it may seem as though there is enough representation, but the population of ethnic groups are more concentrated in urban cities such as London, Manchester, and Birmingham, where the Public Relation and Communications industry are mostly based.   In London alone, 43.4 per cent of the population is white, which shows that these institutions are not representatives of the areas they’re situated in. This is a complex issue which cannot be solved overnight, but industry and government can start to implement changes. And, in five to ten years’ time hiring pool will hopefully be mor...
Post a Comment
Read more