By Noreen Heron and Kate Hughes
We’re starting a blog and we hope that you will check in regularly for our random musings on life, our careers, our friendships, and what’s trending.
Our first post is paying homage to why we love being publicists. It’s a unique career. Publicists have made it into the Top 10 list at least three years running now for Most Stressful positions (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/13/stressful-jobs-2014-most-least_n_4588679.html).
However, if you’re motivated, have a strong ability to check your ego at the door, possess strong attention to detail, and are able to multitask faster and more resiliently than a plate spinner, it just might be for you! Here’s why we think it’s cool to be a publicist.
- We procure individuals’ stories in a lasting way on the internet. People may lose material objects, but articles now live online, in scrapbooks and on Mom’s Facebook page. We make that happen.
- We are the rainmakers. We move the economy by getting people to take out their credit cards and spend by creating excitement about our clients and getting the general public to make purchasing decisions. That creates jobs and that moves commerce.
- We’re the ever patient go-between and somehow there is comfort in that. We deal with the churlish reporter and the narcissistic celebrity and neither of them ever knows the other’s “unique” personality; it’s our little secret. We are the intermediary that manages the personalities of press and client – something that we can take satisfaction for even if the rest of the world never knows.
- What other job could you have where you get to know what’s going to happen, before it happens? Usually before the press even knows? If you’re an eternally curious person, PR is the career for you. Publicists usually have the scoop on breaking news.
- Our job title has cache. Clients love to say, “Meet my publicist.” There’s value just in the sentence for some.
- And how about those benefits? You may handle the PR for a large law firm, but it comes in handy to know the trade when volunteering your PR expertise for a local homeless shelter, your kids’ school or your church. You look, and feel, like a superstar!
- Like Superman who only used his super powers when he really had to, publicists can do the same when they encounter exceptionally bad customer service. “Don’t make me wield my social media knife, neighborhood dry cleaner. I’m a publicist!”
- You will never be able to turn your brain off, in a good way. Publicists look at the world in a creative way. We’re identifying trends that have a link to our clients, looking at new communication channels to disseminate information and identifying different ways to present information that will excite the public. A topsy-turvy Willie Wonka way to perceive life keeps publicists young.
- Publicists are good conversationalists. Working in PR, you always have the best “insider” stories of how things sometimes did not quite transpire the way that you imagined, but often better, or, sigh, worse. You’ll be a hit at your cousin’s wedding table recounting your best moments!
- Side effects may include attending gala press openings, meeting childhood heroes, business trips to swanky destinations, and a lot of freebie promotional items. Some good.
- You’ll never forget that first time when you get to see what you wrote, exactly, end up in print, or that photo you took end up in THE NEW YORK TIMES. Publicists need to be strong writers and sometimes you “hit the proverbial jackpot” when a media outlet posts your press release, verbatim!
- There is no better feeling than introducing something wonderful to the world. Your clients become your “babies”. You nurture them along and then introduce them to the public and watch them grow. Publicists are like parents in that way.
- You can multitask and problem-solve like nobody’s business. You can figure out what to do in a pinch and always know who to call (and sometimes you’re on more than one phone with multiple people at once). You’re skilled at talking, typing and texting at the same time.
- You aren’t afraid to take risks. In PR and marketing, big ideas often mean more press. You have to have an element of fearlessness and a lot of inspiration and confidence to “make it work.”
- No day is ever the same. Repetition is boring. At a PR firm, every day is full of surprises!
