Are you looking to transition your career into Public Relations or Communications, and not sure where to start?
In this article, we go over the tips and tricks for writing a resume to help you highlight your transferable skills. By the time you’re done reading, you will be on your way to land your dream role in Public Relations or Communications.
PR Skills to Make Your Resume Stand Out
Communication Skills:
Strong communication skills are key to many industries like marketing, sales and even journalism. The same goes for working in PR and Communications. While working in PR, you will encounter clients that come from diverse fields. This means you’ll need to bridge the gap between your knowledge and theirs. To create a successful PR strategy, it’s crucial to find a common language with them. For example, when working with a new client outside your field, it’s important to ask them the right questions about their brand and to listen to them carefully. This helps everyone stay on the same page, so the services you provide fit their brand image.
Research Skills:
PR and Communications professionals typically do a lot of research, like looking at data for their strategies and campaigns. Even if you haven’t worked directly in the field, highlighting your research skills or experience can still be beneficial. For instance, if you’ve worked in sales, you likely researched prospects thoroughly. The same skills apply in PR, but the focus shifts to understanding clients and media outlets. Show how your research skills can transfer easily to relate to the job you’re applying for.
Social Media Management:
In today’s digital world, social media matters in the PR and communications industry. It lets brands connect with their audience directly and instantly. If you’ve handled accounts, built content calendars, or run campaigns, make sure to mention it. Sharing data that highlights how you grew accounts, along with the types of content you used, can be really useful. One example of how I did this on my resume is “executing a Facebook and Instagram social media strategy that resulted in a 300% increase in monthly engagement.” This shows which platforms you can use and that you know how to get real results through social media.
Crisis Management:
Being able to navigate through a crisis successfully, requires a high level of PR and communication skills. Highlight any experience you have with crisis communication, problem-solving, reputation management, or handling sensitive issues. It’s all about showing how you can protect a brand’s image and communicate effectively, even when things get tough.
How to Format Your Public Relations Resume?
When formatting your resume, make sure to follow an outline. Start with listing your contact information, such as phone number and email address. You can also include your LinkedIn, portfolio, and physical address.
After this, include one section for your skills and one for your experiences. The experience section is typically in reverse chronological order, from what was your first experience to your most recent. The key is to align your skills section to your list of experiences.
Relate skills to work experience by providing data on your accomplishments. For example, if you created social media content, in your resume list out the type of content and how much engagement it brought in. Even if you worked in a customer service role, you can mention how many clients you helped and through which communication channels. This way, you are linking several parts of your resume to create one cohesive document.
Get inspired by great examples of PR resumes
If you are still unsure, looking at other people’s LinkedIn profiles can be helpful, especially ones in your industry. You can also use digital resume builders like KickResume or Resume.com which can get you started. Looking at specific examples for the position you are applying for can also guide you.
- Here is an example of a public relations intern resume.
- Here is an example of a public relations specialist’s resume.
- Here is an example of a communication resume for an entry-level position.
- Here is an example of a communication specialist resume.
These tools and examples can help you build a resume that highlights your skills and stands out to potential employers.
Conclusion
When building a resume, especially for an entry-level PR or Communications position there are many transferable skills you can build upon. Focus on your strengths in research, communication, and social media. Whether it’s a project you took the lead on or a challenge you helped solve, highlight specific experiences that show how you’ve made a difference. This can bring your skills to life and give potential employers a clear picture of what you can bring to their team.
Also, don’t forget to tailor your resume for each job you apply to! Showcasing the right skills and experiences that match the job description will make you stand out even more. And remember, even if you’re just starting out, there are plenty of great resources and examples out there to help guide you.