Every job in public relations is interesting and demands certain knowledge and skills in such fields as promotion, publicity, advertising, lobbing, fund-raising and media relations. In general, public relations activities cover the following tasks:
· Program planning. It means defining the goals, analyzing the opportunities and problems, recommending and planning the activities and measuring the results.
· Writing and editing. One of the basic tasks that should be mastered by a PR professional is writing as it is the most used method in trying to reach large groups of people. It includes press releases, articles and features, newsletters, booklets, speeches, film scripts, etc.
· Media relations. Every public relations professional has to develop and maintain a good working contact with the media. In order to be able to cope with this task, he needs to be familiar, not only with the national papers, magazines, radio and television work, but with the special interests of journalists as well.
· Corporate identity. Corporate advertising, presenting the company's name and reputation are those tools, which help to develop and maintain the organization's identity.
· Speaking. This includes meetings, presentations, in other words, everything that ensures an effective communication with individuals and groups.
· Special events. In order to gain the attention of specific groups, the PR practitioners use such events as exhibitions, celebrations, competition and award programs, open days, etc.
· Research and evaluation. As a rule, analysis and fact gathering are the first activities, which a public relations practitioner undertakes.
· Production. Production includes such important means of communication as brochures, reports, film and multi-media programs; the coordination of location or studio photography.
The implementation of these tasks demands a lot of skills, knowledge and personal characteristics, like creativity and will-power. Naturally, the salaries of public relations professionals correspond to their job.
You can view the salary levels in the table below.
|
In-house (Private) |
Salary bracket |
|
PR Officer |
under £23,000 |
|
PR Manager |
£23,000-£31,999 |
|
Head of Communications |
£40,000-£55,999 (although a significant proportion recorded salaries of £100K or more) |
|
|
|
|
In-house (Public) |
|
|
PR Officer |
£16,000-£22,999 |
|
PR Manager |
£26,000-£35,999 |
|
Head of Communications |
£36,000-£45,999 |
|
|
|
|
Consultancy |
|
|
Account Executive |
£18,000-£20,999 |
|
Account Manager |
£26,000-£31,999 (although a significant proportion reported salaries of under £26,000) |
|
Account Director |
£40,000-£59,999 |
|
Board Director |
£60,000+ |
|
Chairman/MD |
£60,000+ |
|
|
|
|
Freelance |
Anything from £16,000 to £60,000 |