public relations

Public Relations Ranks High as Stressful Job

Turns out those of us who work in PR aren’t exaggerating when we say we’re stressed. According to Careers Cast, public relations officer is the second most stressful job.

Marilyn Saltzman, who retired as communications manager for Jefferson County Public Schools, Colorado’s largest school district, knows the stress of the job. She was one of the spokespersons during the Columbine tragedy.

PR ranks as the second most stressful job. (Photo by gotmyphilosophy)

She says PR is stressful because you have to expect the unexpected. “Your schedule can change in a moment’s notice, requiring flexibility and the ability to live with ambiguity. You may have 20 things on your to-do list, and everything goes out the window because of a media request, some type of crisis or an urgent assignment.”

Jon Newman of The Hodges Partnership says “the ultimate lack of control” makes PR stressful.

Karen Galanaugh, owner of Galanaugh & Company, says reputation management is a big stressor in PR. “It’s up to you to manage the public opinion meter, mitigate pain to the company and prevent loss of sales, membership, investors or voters,” she says. “You’ve got to get the facts, work fast, develop messages, clear it with the company attorneys, and use your PR training to communicate to all stakeholders.”

To minimize the stress, Marilyn says being prepared and proactive are key. “Know what the potential issues are and take action before they become crisis,” she says. “Make sure you have good internal sources of information, who respect you, ask for your advice, listen and give you what you need to do your job.”

Jon advises, “Each person also needs to find their ‘outlets’ or passions outside of the industry just like other folks do in other fields.” Baseball is one of Jon’s passions.

Karen says, “If you love your job it can seem less stressful.” Of course, if all else fails, she says of handling her stress, “I eat and don’t pick up after myself. It might work for others.”

The most stressful job is commercial pilot.

How to Land the Job of the Future

If you hope to land a job in the communications field then you will have to master social media and the analytics that come with it, according to career experts.

The information was shared by Diana Middleton who wrote about “Landing a Job of the Future…” in the Dec. 29 issue of The Wall Street Journal.  

If you’re in the Web field then you will have to keep up with the latest in Web marketing, user-experience design and other Web-related skills.

As we continue to hear, social media has opened the door to the growth of new kinds of jobs. I recently hired a Community Manager. Her role is to engage in conversation and monitor the analytics of the social media platforms we use. I could have named the position, social media manager, but I deliberately wanted to convey that we are creating a world-wide community of supporters so I used a title specific to the job function.

My organization is not alone in creating social media teams. Coca-Cola Co., for example has done so. Ford Motor Company has, too, and its blogger, Scott Monty, is revered for his authenticity.

Middleton writes that “employment for public relations positions should increase 24 percent by 2018.  Job titles, like interactive creative director – will reflect the duality of the required skills sets.”

Other key skills will be search engine optimization to maximize Web traffic and marketing analytics to decipher the company’s target demographics. I admit, I knew nothing about SEO when I took this job, but I have read books, listened to Webinars and have asked hundreds of questions of my consultants so I’m up to speed.

When it comes to landing that next job be sure you have the skills in the emerging trends. Take an on-line course, read the books and attend the NFPW conference Aug. 26-28 in Chicago.