Should Media Members Switch to PR?

Dan Lee with PR Talent 

Dan Lee, from PR Talent, is back to talk about how and why members of the media are transitioning to careers in communications. Dan is a recruiter that works with agencies and companies looking for PR and communications talent. As a former journalist himself, he has great insight into transitioning from being a member of the media to communications.

Dan talks about how most broadcast journalist’s resumes he sees are a grocery list of their segments. This may be effective if they want to land their next tv gig, but it doesn’t do much for hiring managers looking for a PR pro. 

He has found that journalists often struggle in PR, at least initially, because at their media organization they have an assignment editor telling them what to report on (remember Dan was a reporter, he’s been there). As communications professionals know, no one hands us assignments. What PR people do and how we do it is pretty hard to explain. All the elements that go into building a PR plan and determining what the goals. How do we do it? How do we measure it? Those are all new skills that media people will have to learn.

Dan then talks about how many organizations are creating internal newsrooms. Companies like Amazon and Starbuck are hiring former broadcast journalists to help tell their stories. To tell the companies culture stories with internal newsroom made up of former reporters and film crew folks to show the brand for positioning and recruiting. These jobs are hard to find as they typically still have traditional communications titles such as internal communications, corporate communication or content creator, but there are opportunities.

To end this episode Dan provides media folks three suggestions for breaking into PR: 

1. Fix your resume. Sorry, there is no silver bullet. But you can email Dan directly, at [email protected], and he’ll share his insight with you. Dan has a 2-minute resume formatting video
2. Use a resume coach or a job coach. Dan is not a coach, but he knows some.
3. Have coffee with someone that has already done it (made the transition).

Want to hear more from Dan? You can listen to his first appearance on PR Talk where he talks about what makes a great communications hire or his thoughts on the difference between in-house and agency jobs. 

This episode of PR Talk is brought to you by PRSA Oregon

Throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington, PRSA provides members with networking, mentorship, skill building and professional development opportunities – whether you are a new professional fresh out of college or a skilled expert with 20 years in the industry. Check out PRSAoregon.org for more information on how membership can help you grow and connect.

The PR Agency Grind versus the In-House Comms Department Cake-Walk?

Not so fast, says Dan Lee with PR Talent.

This week’s PR Talk episode features my best friend Dan Lee with PR Talent. We’ve only met once so I don’t know if he knows that we are best friends yet. Basically, I was wondering if he could just sit in my office with me all day, every day and just be my PR cheerleader and hold my hand as I trudge down the road of painful PR.

This week we’re airing the 2nd half of the conversation that I had with Dan a while back. He works on placing PR unicorns in either agency or in-house settings. Since his company only focuses on recruiting for PR roles, his knowledge about the field is extremely dense, plus Dan worked at agencies and as sports-broadcaster in a past life.

Also, to remind you, if you are in PR or looking to get into PR, you do not pay Dan to work with you. The company where you are placed pays PR Talent, which you might view as a positive if you are evaluating companies because you probably want to work for the type of company that has the resources to invest in finding perfect you. It shows how much they value what you will bring to the table and how your role fill will affect the organization.

After delving into some of the pitfalls and stresses of working at an agency, we, of course, talked about the many upsides like the variety in work and the comradery. Dan mentioned that many new PR pros with three-four years of experience end up wanting to go in-house, with in-house communications departments aggressively trying to hire agency talent.

What makes the in-house gig so attractive? Dan thinks the work-life balance may be appealing but he warns us that nothing is perfect and you’ll have to get really savvy maneuvering your way through the murky waters of in-house politics, bringing stress at all hours. And while you historically make a little bit more money in-house, the competition is fierce for the small amount of in-house jobs available.

We then moved on to talk about the random but fun topics of:

• The newly popular phenomenon of ghosting in the job-seeking market.
• How stress in PR is based upon a game we play against ourselves in the way of constantly needing to improve.
• The importance of celebrating small successes. Dan’s example of firing an agency client may sound counter-intuitive but it was meaningful for his team at the time.

Tune-in in two weeks if you’re a media member looking to make the leap into PR. Dan has some tips and surprising news for you on this front. And if you liked what Dan had to stay, check out his past PR Talk episode here.

This episode of PR Talk is brought to you by PRSA Oregon

Throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington, PRSA provides members with networking, mentorship, skill building and professional development opportunities – whether you are a new professional fresh out of college or a skilled expert with 20 years in the industry. Check out PRSAoregon.org for more information on how membership can help you grow and connect.

Dan Lee Breaks Down the Local PR Job Market

This PR Talk episode features Dan Lee, managing director at PR Talent — a staffing firm focusing solely on filling PR and communications roles — with recruiters on the ground in key markets nationwide, including L.A., San Francisco, New York, the Pacific Northwest, Washington D.C. and Minneapolis-St. Paul. Before starting PR Talent’s northwest operation, Dan spent 16 years in Weber Shandwick’s Seattle office.

Dan came to Portland for a PRSA Oregon panel on “What Recruiters Want.” Which, of course, I recorded for a future episode as we’re doing a deep dive on communications jobs.

As you might imagine, Dan knows a thing or two about PR and the local hiring scene. So if you’re looking to make a career move or you’re with a company searching for skilled employees listen up, because Dan can help.

The Market is Great for Candidates, But Challenging for Employers

Communications jobs are notoriously hard to fill, and during our conversation, Dan took some time to explain why. To start with, technology and resume screeners have taken the human element out a process that requires a lot of human judgement. “For us as recruiters at PR Talent, one of our hallmarks really is trying to humanize this process as best as possible between the candidate and the client,” Dan said.

To make matters worse, many traditional recruiters don’t understand the skills candidates must possess to be successful in our industry. “Our career is very challenging,” Dan said. “It’s a foreign language, really, to most recruiters that haven’t done the work before.”

Add to that a very tight job market here in the Pacific Northwest, and that leaves many agencies in desperate need of good employees. Dan hears the same question again and again from his new clients: can you help us cut to the chase and bring some strong candidates to the forefront? “That’s where we jump in and end up partnering with the hiring manager and usually the internal recruiting team to make that happen,” Dan said.

While it’s a challenging time for hirers, candidates are enjoying a very exciting market for Northwest PR jobs. “Candidates are really driving the market,” Dan said. Salaries are increasing and Dan has about 10 mid to senior-level positions open, and a couple open junior roles as well.

Are PR professionals unicorns? Do you have to have “it” to succeed?

Dan’s Tips for a Career Switch

So what should job seekers do to maximize their chances of getting an offer? While your cover letter and resume will always be important, candidates looking for a change in their PR job or to switch careers into the industry need to be intentional if they want to truly find success.

Dan said the first step is to recognize that the process is going to take time. So, it’s best to be proactive and do all the little things to prepare for your next change now, rather than waiting until you’re forced to look for a new job.

He said to start by asking yourself some questions:

• Where have I been and where am I going?
• What do I want to do and what is it going to take to do that?

As the saying goes, begin with the end in mind and work backward. So spend an hour or two per week updating your resume, cover letters and LinkedIn profile.

“You don’t want to be in a desperate situation looking for a job,” Dan said. “Because what will happen most of the time, is you’ll take the first thing that comes your way and then you’re going to be back out there looking again probably within the next six to eight months. So, try to be proactive, be intentional. Take the time and you can do it in steps. It doesn’t have to be done on a Sunday night.”

Employers Should be Intentional Too

In this market, employers can’t sit back and passively wait for applications to come in. So what steps should they take to find their next super-star employee? Besides giving Dan a call, employers should make sure they have their hiring process mapped out before posting a position on LinkedIn or another job board.

Hirers should ask themselves questions like:

• Who is going to filter through all the resumes?
• Who is making the first call?
• Who will be on the hiring committee?
• What do we want to know so we can compare apples to apples?

Employers that don’t take these extra steps end up looking unorganized and incompetent in front of candidates. And in a tight job market like ours, that can mean the better candidates choose to go to another company, simply because too many days went by between phone calls with your company.

“That is a big, big problem,” Dan said. “You have to be set up for success, and you want to make sure the candidate experience is positive all the way through, not only for who you eventually hire, but for all those that have interacted with your brand and organization, because it is a reflection and people talk. If they’ve had a bad experience, that word travels and if the role stays out there a long time, it’s going to be really hard to fill.”

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Click the link to hear the rest of my conversation with Dan Lee — including his advice on managing a PR career and whether or not you have it as a PR person.

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This episode of PR Talk is brought to you by PRSA Oregon

Throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington, PRSA provides members with networking, mentorship, skill building and professional development opportunities – whether you are a new professional fresh out of college or a skilled expert with 20 years in the industry. Check out PRSAoregon.org for more information on how membership can help you grow and connect.

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