How to upskill in PR

Stop, collaborate and … communicate?

The communications industry is one of the most versatile industries, and no longer is it enough to be skilled in only one area like public relations anymore. Many businesses seek personnel to be experienced in a number of fields such as media relations, analytics reporting and advertising or crisis communications, marketing and events.

Without an integrated skillset, it places you behind those that have the experience or expertise in niche areas that will get them noticed and potentially win jobs with new clients. In order to help you broaden your knowledge, we’ve compiled three tips to guide you into up skilling yourself as a fully comprehensive communication professional.

1. Go back to school

There is an abundance of current online and accessible training programs you can undertake to increase your skillset. From AdSkills in learning professional level strategies to undertaking Post-Graduate university courses and Diplomas at TAFE and watching training videos online, there are many avenues available to help enhance your skills. We also suggest trying more hands-on experience in the workplace by looking at personal development programs such as the PRIA Professional Framework for further insight into the industry and the type of supplementary services in demand.

2. Attend more events

Events such as PRIA seminars, Networx events or Intermedia workshops increase your knowledge in different parts of communications and can provide you with basic learnings for these areas. Many events focus on topics in certain sectors, which can help determine skills you would like to develop. By attending networking functions, you meet other people in the business and get to mingle with like-minded professionals.

3. Talk to your team

Many organisations have professionals who are skilled in a range of areas, so why not pick their brains? The best form of learning is to ask questions, so a good idea is to start asking. Your colleagues have excelled in these fields and more often than not are happy to train you. An alternative could be to use the ‘Meetup’ platform. This system allows you to meet up with communication practitioners to learn about their range of skills, and how it adds value to their career.

The team at Elevate are diverse in their skillset and are continually learning new ways to ensure their clients are achieving the best results. Call us and let us help keep you up to date with industry best practice, knowledge and skills. After all, we are the 2017 National Small PR Agency of the year!