Public relations gives you exposure to various areas of the media and marketing industries. It teaches you how to communicate with the public, in a particular brand’s voice. Be it an influential leader, a product, service or a company brand, the aim of a public relations manager is to influence the public’s feelings towards a topic. This can be delivered through social media, billboards, marketing campaigns and even events. It’ll teach you so much about communication, which is key to any working environment.

Here are a few reasons why studying a course in PR will give you a headstart in the modern job market:

• It will teach you how to be creative with communication: While it may not require the creativity that a novelist, artist or musician needs, it does require creativity in brainstorming around your message and how to market it effectively. You will learn about the different communication platforms, where you will be encouraged to analyse them and understand the diversity that comes with maintaining a public image for a specific brand or product.

• Your position holds the fort: Public relations is about helping businesses to boost their credibility. This industry plays such an important role in society, therefore you will always feel like you’re making a difference and adding value. Your position will also give you an opportunity to explore plenty of different industries, and it’ll leave you with an influential networking circle.

• You’ll learn about the importance of social media: While you might think social media is great for posting selfies, it’s actually one of the most effective modern-day marketing tools. In public relations, you will learn the importance of social media and how it impacts brand communications. From blog posts to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, you will learn how to engage with people over these platforms. You will also learn how to create content that is relevant to different audiences.

• You’ll learn about the different ways to connect with humans: Similar to the HR industry, public relations is centred around people. It’s a people’s industry, where you are constantly communicating and speaking to people. Public relations courses will give you a deeper understanding of human interaction, showing you how to rely on emotional triggers to get your messages across in a way that affects people’s feelings. As mentioned, communication is key in any industry, and public relations will certainly teach you how to use it as a marketing tool.

• You’ll get to work with different people: The beauty of public relations is that you will work in an office where you’re exposed to all kinds of departments. For example, you will need to liaise with designers or videographers to create a visual representation of your content. This means that you will be able to explore various positions, and, if you feel that you are interested in exploring something else, at least you have direct access to it.

• Your public-speaking confidence will be through the roof: Since communication is key, it’ll become a valuable skill that will carry you in your career. Even if you decide to switch career paths, being able to openly communicate on the phone, through presentations or publically will help you to be confident in your abilities. In no time, you’ll be whipping up client pitches, presentations and brainstorming sessions with your incredible public speaking skills.

• It’s a great opportunity for introverts to come out of their shell: If you’re an introverted individual who is looking to step outside of their comfort zone and try something that is different, public relations is extremely beneficial. You’ll learn to become comfortable in meeting new people, discussing business ideas, and more. It’s not just about the glitz and the glam element of media, there are also analytical tasks that you might do really well in. For example, you’ll constantly be working with big-data, client budgets and meeting strict content deadlines for campaigns.

• The best part is that it’s a universal career path: Because public relations is a universal industry that is an important component to any media or marketing brand, you’ll be able to travel the world and plant yourself where you feel more comfortable. The fundamentals will always stay the same, therefore this career can open you up to almost any field you can think of. Another perk is that if you don’t decide to pursue a career in public relations after you’ve studied, it’ll certainly have set the foundation for any other position in a similar field.

Final words

Nearly every organisation or business in the world needs to communicate their brand to the public and generate social hype about their offerings. Without public relations, marketing industries would have to do double the work to be able to get their message across on various platforms. There will always be a demand for these roles, and the bigger the opportunity is that you get, the more you will get paid. The rewards are endless and, of course, you’ll get to taste the high life as you pursue your journey.