Introduction of Public Relations
Public Relations is a career venue for those who have good communication skills and who wish to follow a career that provide an opportunity to interact with several interesting people. This is a profession where you want to understand the listener’s psyche and form it in your favour.
The 1st World Assembly of Public Relations Associations, held at Mexico City in August 1978, explained the practice of public relations as “the art and social science of analyzing trends, forecast their consequences, counselling organisational leaders and implementing designed programs of action, which will serve both in the organization and the public interest.” The talent to handle and manage people is of prime vital and with an inclination to charm people’s view you can help create a specific image of an individual or organisation amongst the public with creative use of various media.
Various roles, various names
Public Relations, as a subject is a division of Mass Communications. Other similar subjects contain technical communication, corporate communications and so on. Considering that these all are interwoven subjects, a PR professional can succeed in any stream if he has passion and ready to learn more with time.
Market Watch
The enhance for PR professionals can be beganed as phenomenal. Considering the fact that there are several TV channels, News channels and IT firms and BPOs/KPOs, the require for PR professionals in the market is on an all-time large.
In other fields such as Shipping and logistics, Hotel management, PR professionals are large in demand. They are given jobs of sales managers, lobby managers and receptionists with welcome arm.
The enhance of advertising agencies that promote different events has also been a phenomenal over the past little decades. And there is always chance for working with PSUs and government organizations like PROs. You can also employ for rich clients who want to handle a good public profile. Thus, the market for PR professionals is pretty at this point in time.
International Focus
Numerous countries have hired Indians in different leading marketing positions based on their PR talents. Especially, in the US, the scope for communication professionals are very exciting.
Numerous Indians have chosen to open their own websites and advertising firms and make money.
Positives/Negatives
+ives:
• candidates with good communication talents are needed everywhere. Thus, the job scopes are quite wonderful for PR professionals.
• The pay package is decent enough and as wonderful as professionals in all other stream.
-ives:
• Some PR professionals constantly jump employment and firms to make good money. This sometimes may lead to an unsteady career if not correctly prioritized.
Step-by-Step
A public relations course is planned to equip you with talents like public speaking and understanding the listener’s psychology to simplify useful exchange of information. Nevertheless, it borders on knowing human beings and their communication needs to a great extent. The syllabi are generally shared with Mass communication candidates and are designed to improve communication talents amidst technicalities. The challenge is to facilitate technical information.
The content of a typical Public Relations course would overall contain the following:
- Introduction to Public Communication
- History of Print Media in India
- Electronic Media and Photography
- Advertising Research
- International communication and Human Rights
- Role of Information Technology in Public Relations
- Study of human needs and psychology
Based on the college and university you join, the course content may vary. Most of the subjects may be a subset of the above mentioned.
Start Early
If you are planning to enter a course in public relations, you should be prepared with list of colleges and the option of course content these colleges provide. It would be advisable to choose colleges that offer different courses in Mass Communication as these are the institutes that facilitate co-ordination with top media professionals as well. After finishing school, you may appear for a bachelor’s degree in mass communication and then solicit for a master’s degree in public relations. Else, after the graduation in any subject, you could follow post graduation in public relations.
Some institutes provide diploma courses in public relations, which you may consider appearing for, as well.
Some of the best institutes for learning PR include Xavier Institute of Mass Communication at Mumbai; Symbiosis School at Pune; and Indian Institute of Mass Communication at New Delhi.
Is it the Right Career?
Examine whether a career in public relations is the correct one for you, understand how excellent you are at communicating with others and whether you have an interested in media related tasks and events. If you are a keen reader and follow everyday news closely, then PR or even a mass communication degree would be the correct choice for you.
On the other side, if your passion is in technical subjects like computer science or pure sciences or accounting and finance, you must try and pursue those. However, a course in PR would assist you anyway in public speaking. Salary for PR professionals is better than Marketing and Sales professionals or IT professionals.
Pay Packet
The pay package for a fresher in PR can change from Rs 15,000 and above depending on the talent set and education. If you are joining a corporate firm as Personal Secretary to CEO, you may obtain anywhere in between Rs 2 lacs to 3 lacs per annual for your first job. If you are entering an advertising and marketing firm as a communications professional, you may get about 2.5 lacs and above as a beginner.
On the other side, if you solicit to a TV channel or a News channel as a newsreader or anchor, you can expect huge salaries of Rs 30,000 and above. However, for media employments, you need to be ready to work in different shifts and travel places as well.
If you appear for a marketing position with an IT firm as a corporate communication or technical communication professional, you can hope a starting salary of Rs 15,000 and more. You may try entering into sales or business development positions as well! All you want is excellent communication and selling talents. The opportunities are simply unbound.
Funding/Scholarship
If you hope to finance your PR course, you may try getting educational loans offered by different banks. They allow you to return the money back after you finish your education or by working while you learn as well! State Bank of India provide a maximum loan of up to Rs. 7.5 lacs.
Job Prospect
Job prospects for public relations professionals are very assuring in different industries if the applicants have good communication skills and convincing capacities. Advertising agencies and marketing firm are constantly on the regard for PR professionals. Several PR professionals take a courses in visual communication or photography along with their PR course and obtain placed with film making agencies in Mumbai.
The job prospects in India are wonderful. Firms such as Balaji Telefilms, Mukta Arts and other agencies generally display the openings for creative advertisement professionals and creative heads on the popular job sites.
Demand and Supply
The demand for students with good communication talents is high in all industries. For instance, nowadays, even while hiring for technical works such as software programming, HR managers of firms look for people with excellent communication talents. If you have wonderful public speaking skills, it is only an added feature for you.
In India, moreover, the supply of excellent English-speaking professionals is always a little lesser than the demand. However, the standards have enhanced majorly over past little years and even candidate from government schools can speak good English today. Thus, the competition is large.
Tips for Getting Hired
Follow the below listed steps to get hired as a victorious PR professional:
- Apply to at least 7-10 firms for the job.
- plan up interviews and tests on correct dates.
- Be ready to talk a lot as these firms would expect to meet students with excellent communication skills.
- Be flexible on the pay package if you are a fresher.
- Express willingness to study and upgrade your people talents further by showing genuine interest in joining the firm you are applying to.
- Research about the firm and its business well before you apply for the interview.
Top Companies
The below listed are some top advertising firms in India:
| Mudra Communication Pvt. Ltd. | J Walter Thompson India |
| Ogilvy and Mather | FCB-Ulka Advertising Ltd. |
| Rediffusion- DY&R |
Besides appearing for a job with these firms, you might as well solicit to top IT firms such as Infosys, Wipro, HCL, and others as they may search for corporate communications professionals with PR expertise.
You can also apply with popular TV channels and fresh channels in the country.
