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6 tips for standing out when applying for a job in PR

by | May 14, 2021 | Public Relations

The job market is a competitive place, and when you’re applying for any kind of PR position, you need to make yourself stand out from the crowd. Here are six tips to help you get noticed when you apply for a job in PR:

1. Get qualified

A great way to make your application stand out from other candidates is to get additional qualifications to improve your resume. You could consider taking a course or even going back to school. An MBA could be just the boost your resume needs to pique employers’ interest.

More info here about earning your MBA in business management.

2. Show your skills

Once you’re well qualified for a job in PR, you’ll want to highlight your skills to your prospective employers. Hiring managers aren’t interested in a list of attributes that anybody can claim to have—organization, communication, attention to detail, etc.; they want clear evidence of you using those skills.

Use your resume to demonstrate specific examples of the hard and soft skills you need to get a job in PR done well.

3. Stay informed

A major component of any job in PR is an awareness of the brand you’re applying to work for, as well as thorough knowledge of competing brands and their reputations.

Do your research before you apply:

  • Follow the company you want to work for on all their social media channels.
  • Set up a Google alert for the brand name so you’re aware of any news.
  • Look into the company’s main competitors to see what they do well.

This will help you stay in the know when it comes to the company’s public image, allowing you to show off your awareness of the brand in your application form, cover letter, or interview.

4. Stick to a niche

Working in PR can encompass many different areas, so if you want to impress a future employer, underline that you have experience working in the same niche.

If you’re applying to a food and drinks manufacturer, for example, emphasize any experience that is relevant to that sector. To draw attention to this experience, you may want to put the most relevant experience at the top of your resume instead of listing experience in chronological order.

5. Sell yourself

All job applications are really an exercise in sales, but this is particularly true of PR job applications, as the job is all about brand image. If you can’t convince an employer to hire you, how will you convince customers to use the company’s services?

Create a personal brand for yourself and pitch that brand to the hiring manager. Use a consistent font, tone of voice, and style of writing to convey your personality in your application.

6. Avoid jargon

When you’re writing a job application or talking about yourself in an interview, it’s easy to fall into the trap of using buzzwords and jargon to convey an awareness of business terminology. However, for PR jobs, you should write and speak concisely and plainly—just as you would if writing or speaking about the brand in your work.

Follow this advice for each job you apply for, and you can be sure that your application will stand out from the rest.

Steve Conway
Steve Conway is a content marketing professional and inbound marketing expert. Previously, Steve worked as a marketing manager for a tech software start-up. He is passionate about discovering new software that will that will advance his already well-honed digital marketing techniques.

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