PR competence vs. experience -- which is more important?

There's a question being asked on a LinkedIn public relations network that's of interest and worth comment.  Thanks to Judy Gombita in Toronto for alerting me to it.  Judy is a contributing writer at PR Conversations.

So here’s the question, as asked by Joe Klimavich, a public relations consultant and on the Adjunct Faculty of the Communication Department at Worcester State College, Worcester, Mass.

Which is more important: PR Competency or Industry Experience?

Anyone who has a degree or an advanced degree in professional communications and public relations has developed a range of skills that are universal to performing well in just about any industry.  That is certainly one objective of PRSA accreditation: to demonstrate public relations acumen and judgment across multiple disciplines.

Yet, it is often the case when you read job listings, that the employer requires experience working in their particular industry.  (It frustrates the heck out of my students, who often ask: "How can I gain experience in that industry if they won't hire me in the first place?"

Good question, Joe. This is a dilemma that's troubled young 
graduates in many fields, not only public relations.

Education is always important, but a degree in Public Relations or a PRSA credential is not at all necessary, or even much of a plus in terms of being able to do well in the public relations field. All things being equal, I would take a candidate with a degree in public relations over one with a degree in another field.  And I might take someone with a p.r. credential over someone with none, if that were the only difference between two otherwise equal candidates.

I have an MBA in Public Relations, albeit from some 30 years ago. What they taught us then may 
be very different from what's covered now.

But public relations is a field where common sense, analytic skills, some imagination and 
creativity are the key skills, plus the ability to write. All else can be learned on the job. 
And I don't know if common sense can be taught, after all.

I wouldn't expect an entry-level person (even with a B.A. in P.R.) to come out of school knowing 
all there is to know about p.r. They may know a lot from their textbooks and lectures, but the real 
learning is on-the-job.

When hiring someone right out of school, I look for the extracurricular things they've done. 
Have they taken leadership roles in campus activities? Were they involved with the school 
newspaper or the campus radio station? What sort of summer jobs -- or internships -- did they 
have? It's a plus if they've had a professional blog, so I can see how they think and how they 
write.

If they have a PRSA certification, that would be included in the mix, but would not be the deciding factor.

For people with some work experience, once again the certification won't mean much to me if 
I'm hiring. The real test will be in what they've done at previous jobs, plus seeing samples of 
releases and pitches they've written.    

So, in answer to Joe's question... for this public relations professional, Experience trumps 
Competency.  Get the education, get the "proof" of competency if you want, but you'll still have 
to show me what you've done and what you've learned from your experience -- even if that 
experience has been campus activities, internships and summer jobs. 

If you're still in school, you can get that experience, as I've suggested above.  New grads, 
find that entry-level job doing the grunt work while you learn, prove yourself and work 
your way up.

Above all, have patience.

.

Comments

[Termeh]

I think in the battle between competence and experience, the former should almost always come out on top. As a young publicist, I am extremely grateful to the company that hired me, AMP3 Public Relations, because they did so knowing I had no prior experience in PR. I was an English Lit major in college and pursued a career in journalism and film for a while before applying for a pr internship. Within a few weeks, I was hired because I was able to demonstrate that I had good writing and research skills as well as sharp instincts and lots of creative ideas - and those are the skills I feel are needed to be a good publicist.

[David Reich]

I agree, Termeh, that in your case Competence won out for you. However, that proof of competence did not come in the form of a college degree or a PRSA certificate, but a demonstrated ability to write and do research, along with good instincts and creativity. YOU convinced your employer you had those traits, not a piece of paper from college or PRSA. That's my point.

Thanks for joining in the discussion.

[Lorena]

This is such a great topic! I value my B.S. in public relations greatly. Although many people are successful in PR without the degree, my classes gave me a BIG advantage when I started working at a small agency more than a year ago. I was able to focus on learning my clients' industries and growing familiar with their key media because I understood the fundamentals.

That being said, despite my curriculum’s emphasis on written communications, my writing skills were nowhere near where they are now. And I needed to learn how to feel comfortable enough in my own skin to advise clients — some of them have been in their industry longer than I’ve been alive! The blend of new and seasoned professionals in my office really helped me develop in those areas but still feel like my fresh perspective had its place. Now, I'm pretty confident to say that I'm viewed as a strong contributor to my agency.

I don’t think that just anyone with a PR degree is cut out for the B2B environment that I work in, so it makes sense for my agency to be hesitant about hiring right out of school. But for new grads, I do feel that the amount of hands-on experience you can get from a small agency is well worth the pursuit.

[David Reich]

Thanks, Lorena, for your comment. My MBA in Public Relations covered the history of PR, some theory, a little bit of writing, and then advanced business courses in economics, accounting (thus, the MBA).

I was fortunate that in my first job in p.r. I landed at small company where they had patience, taught me a lot and, because they were small, let me quickly get involved in many aspects of the work. What helped me get the job over other candidates, I was later told, were two things -- the MBA credential and the experience at the school paper and school public information office that gave me real writing samples to show.

[Kathryn]

Competency.
The basic tenets of communication cross all industries.
As an example, I started my career in a county architect's dept, moved to a greetings card mfr, then changed countries to work at a computer systems consultancy, a software distributor, engineering company, manufacturers association, followed by many diverse orgs from food service to newspaper publishing to banking to healthcare as an independent PR practitioner. Always research and understand the business and their customers before the interview.

[Adam Singer]

In today's world, I think you need to be truly immersed in web culture to be successful in terms of spreading buzz online. I don't think any teaching can prepare you, I think it's a matter of diving in and participating.

[David Reich]

I may need to clarify a bit -- I interpret the original question as competency being equated with a degree or certification, possibly by PRSA or a similar group.

In that light, I see experience as building and enhancing competency, or ability to do the job well. A degree or certificate doesn't prove competency -- it proves you've done the work to get the basic education. Education, while invaluable, doesn't necessarily mean you can do a good job. I believe experience is the best teacher, to take you beyond the classroom and into the demands of the real world.

[Eric]

I was wondering if the job was other than PR, maybe ,doctor, politics or hooker, competence vs. experience -- which is more important?

We could ask Elliot Spitzer about the the last two.

[David Reich]

Experience and competence are both important and, hopefully, you enhance competence through experience. Can't comment re hookers or politicians, but both are important for p.r. and doctors.

[Heather Yaxley]

Of course experience is important - but it doesn't follow that all experience leads to competency. There are too many people working in PR who think their on the job experience has equipped them with all they need to know. Many pass their bad habits onto those who may well graduate with a more rounded understanding of what PR can achieve, even if they haven't yet got their hands wet.

It is rather odd that in PR there is a belief that you can only learn by doing - shouldn't we understand what to do and why to do it from those who might know better than whoever we happen to end up working with?

Of course, practice can help develop your skills and is vital for proving you can walk the talk, but for me, the key to a great PR person is a commitment to improving competence.

[David Reich]

Hi Heather...
I agree with you that experience does not automatically lead to competency, especially if someone is learning bad habits and bad practices, which too often is the case at many agencies.

But I don't accept a degree or certainly not a certification from the likes of PRSA as proof of competency. It simply means you've sat through classes or you've managed to pass a test to get a certificate to hang on your wall.

It all gets back to proper education -- both in school and on the job, as I've said before.