Getting Real With PR

Remember sitting in your 9^th grade geometry class listening to your teacher ramble on about the Pythagorean Theorem as you sat wondering "When am I ever going to use this in real life?” Often times, it can be difficult to learn something if you do not understand its real world application. It is one of the reasons why future PR professionals should get a dose of real world experience. Here are three tips to get you started. 

1. Volunteer
Of course an internship would be the biggest gateway into the professional PR world, but maybe you are not ready to take on that responsibility on top of a full course load. Volunteering is a great alternative. Many PR companies look for volunteers to help assist at events. Whether that means helping to manage the press, direct attendees, or be an extra set of hands, there are many volunteer opportunities out there. Pay attention to what’s going on in your town. Suppose you heard the city’s children’s hospital is having a fundraising event, contact the hospital’s PR team and ask if you can volunteer.

2. Start a Blog
You know what they say, practice makes perfect! In the PR world, the more you write, the better you become. Blogging is a growing trend that many companies have adopted. Starting your own blog will give you practical writing experience that will strengthen your PR skills for a future internship or career. Blog about local events happening in your town or about a story you saw on the news.

3. Subscribe to Daily Reads
Even though this is not a hands on experience, reading the news forces you to lift your head out of text books and look beyond your campus bubble into the real world. Whether that means pulling up CNN.com on your smart phone or picking up a good old-fashioned paper, it is crucial to read the news on a daily basis. Follow PR Daily on Twitter or subscribe to their publication to get the scoop on the latest happenings in the industry. You will quickly learn that the PR practitioners and the media are constantly adapting to different trends. You will also be able to better recognize reliable media outlets.

Do you have any tips to put your classroom knowledge to practical use? Let us know! 

This guest blog post was written by PRowl Staff Member Lauren Bentley.