The best job in the world?

The final session of the PRCA Careers in PR event last week was optimistically titled “PR: the best job in the world.”

Surely this can’t be true?

Well, experts from the US found there were four qualities which employees rate most at work:

Flexibility. For some firms, like Campaign Collective, flexibility is the number one priority. Virtual teams, remote working, flexi-time are now common place in almost every PR agency. And if you want to move, PR is a job that can travel with you. More needs to be done to promote flexible working, especially for mothers / fathers, but with technology breaking down barriers faster than ever before, any agency or in house team which doesn’t embrace fully-flexible working will soon be left behind.

Variety. It’s a cliche, but every day is different in PR. With communications increasingly valued in every sector of the economy, PRs can be found in almost every organisation. And from engaging with MPs to staging high profile stunts in public places through to analysing data, press conferences, media outreach and (social) media content creation, new recruits may need a rounded skill set, but there is plenty of scope to specialise.

Community. The over-riding sense from one of the panels at the PRCA event is one of team spirit and how all PR departments and agencies try to create a spirit of community and a strong culture. People in communications work hard and often long hours, so it is vital that people want to work for each other and can overcome the challenges and crises that will come their way.

Pay. Starting salaries can now be over £20k a year and the PRCA report an average salary of £54,311 in the industry. So, yes. PR is well paid. From entry level, PR Apprenticeships mean school leavers can earn while they learn and the paid internship campaign is yielding results ensuring a fair day’s work is rewarded by a fair day’s pay.

Working in communications and public relations is certainly not on a par with being a caretaker of an Australian island, it certainly can claim to being one of the best jobs in the world. And with less poisonous spiders. Probably.

This post first appeared on the PRCA website.