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Public Relations Specialists Occupation Detailed Description

Public Relations Specialists career

General Job Description and Education/Training Levels for Public Relations Specialists

The main tasks and work activities of Public Relations Specialists are to provide educational information to the public, collaborate with others in marketing activities, coordinate logistics for productions or events, develop promotional strategies or plans. In general, for the Public Relations Specialists, speaking, active Listening, coordination, social Perceptiveness and other 15 skills are required.
Public Relations Specialists Job Description
EducationMost of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Related ExperienceA considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Job TrainingEmployees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
ExampleMany of these occupations involve coordinating, supervising, managing, or training others. Examples include real estate brokers, sales managers, database administrators, graphic designers, chemists, art directors, and cost estimators.
The following chart shows the education/training levels for Public Relations Specialists jobs.
Less than a High School Diploma
0.00%
High School Diploma (or the equivalent)
0.00%
Post-Secondary Certificate
0.00%
Some College Courses
0.00%
Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)
0.00%
Bachelor's Degree and Above
100.00%

Tasks and Work Activities of Public Relations Specialists

  • Respond to requests for information from the media or designate an appropriate spokesperson or information source.
  • Establish or maintain cooperative relationships with representatives of community, consumer, employee, or public interest groups.
  • Confer with production or support personnel to produce or coordinate production of advertisements or promotions.
  • Arrange public appearances, lectures, contests, or exhibits for clients to increase product or service awareness or to promote goodwill.
  • Study the objectives, promotional policies, or needs of organizations to develop public relations strategies that will influence public opinion or promote ideas, products, or services.
  • Confer with other managers to identify trends or key group interests or concerns or to provide advice on business decisions.
  • Consult with advertising agencies or staff to arrange promotional campaigns in all types of media for products, organizations, or individuals.
  • Coach client representatives in effective communication with the public or with employees.
  • Prepare or deliver speeches to further public relations objectives.
  • Purchase advertising space or time as required to promote client's product or agenda.
  • Plan or conduct market or public opinion research to test products or determine potential for product success, communicating results to client or management.
  • Coordinate public responses to environmental management incidents or conflicts.
  • Develop marketing campaigns for environmental technologies or services.
  • Develop plans or materials to communicate organizational activities that are beneficial to the environment, public safety, or other important social issues.
  • Write press releases or other media communications to promote clients.
  • Plan or direct development or communication of programs to maintain favorable public or stockholder perceptions of an organization's accomplishments, agenda, or environmental responsibility.
  • Update and maintain content posted on the Web.
  • Prepare or edit organizational publications, such as employee newsletters or stockholders' reports, for internal or external audiences.
  • Getting InformationObserving, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Communicating with Persons Outside OrganizationCommunicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or SubordinatesProviding information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • Interacting With ComputersUsing computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
  • Thinking CreativelyDeveloping, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
  • Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal RelationshipsDeveloping constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
  • Developing Objectives and StrategiesEstablishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.
  • Updating and Using Relevant KnowledgeKeeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
  • Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing WorkDeveloping specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
  • Making Decisions and Solving ProblemsAnalyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
  • Provide educational information to the public.
  • Collaborate with others in marketing activities.
  • Coordinate logistics for productions or events.
  • Develop promotional strategies or plans.
  • Coach others.
  • Inform viewers, listeners, or audiences.
  • Promote products, activities, or organizations.
  • Conduct market research.
  • Write informational material.
  • Write advertising or promotional material.
  • Edit written materials.

Skills and Abilities for Public Relations Specialists

  • SpeakingTalking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Active ListeningGiving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • CoordinationAdjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
  • Social PerceptivenessBeing aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  • Time ManagementManaging one's own time and the time of others.
  • WritingCommunicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
  • Critical ThinkingUsing logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • Reading ComprehensionUnderstanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • PersuasionPersuading others to change their minds or behavior.
  • Judgment and Decision MakingConsidering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  • Complex Problem SolvingIdentifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
  • NegotiationBringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
  • Active LearningUnderstanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
  • Service OrientationActively looking for ways to help people.
  • MonitoringMonitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Systems EvaluationIdentifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
  • Systems AnalysisDetermining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
  • InstructingTeaching others how to do something.
  • Oral ComprehensionThe ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Oral ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Speech ClarityThe ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Written ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Speech RecognitionThe ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Written ComprehensionThe ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Deductive ReasoningThe ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Problem SensitivityThe ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
  • Near VisionThe ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Inductive ReasoningThe ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • OriginalityThe ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
  • Fluency of IdeasThe ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  • Selective AttentionThe ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Information OrderingThe ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Category FlexibilityThe ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Laser printerse.g. Computer laser printers
  • Desktop computerse.g. Desktop computers
  • Notebook computerse.g. Laptop computers
  • Special purpose telephonese.g. Multi-line telephone systems
  • Personal computerse.g. Personal computers
  • Photocopierse.g. Photocopying equipment
  • Communications and MediaKnowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
  • English LanguageKnowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Sales and MarketingKnowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
  • Customer and Personal ServiceKnowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • Administration and ManagementKnowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
  • Computers and ElectronicsKnowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  • ClericalKnowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.