REAL TALK

In this economy keeping your head above water as a PR professional can be tough! Whether you’re an independent contractor or a professional working within a communications department, finding lucrative opportunities can be more than challenging especially when everyone is still experiencing cut-backs and businesses are operating on not-so-hot budgets. Don’t be discouraged! This is the time to dig deep into your strong and resourceful PR soul to GET REAL AND GET CREATIVE.

DESIGN YOUR OWN OPPORTUNITY

When the going gets tough your ambition must get going! When the referrals aren’t coming through like they used to and people aren’t just throwing contracts your way, it is usually a sign that you should get your creative juices flowing like never before and go back to the drawing board.

This may be the time for you to develop a creative campaign for a cause that’s been buried in the social climate, or maybe you can create a platform to bring old and potential clients together to cultivate new projects for YOU to work on. Whatever you come up with, just make sure it’s something that can keep you relevant in the market.

IT’S OKAY TO GET A JOB

We all aspire and work hard to wake up every day doing what we love and to make great money doing it, but in hard times that isn’t always a reality. What is a reality though are the bills that will reach our mailboxes…on time every time…and the bills must get paid.  In order to keep the bill stack low, sometimes we have to trade some of the time we give to our CAREERS for some time on a J-O-B.

Getting a job that doesn’t fall within your career field (or going from an independent contractor back to the corporate world) is NOT a sign of failure and don’t let anyone make you feel otherwise. Instead, it is more so a characteristic of perseverance and strength as long as you don’t lose sight of your ultimate goals. In fact it is quite naive to think that such an unconventional career path as PR won’t throw you some curve balls—getting a job to help pay the bills may not feel like a homerun, but it’s certainly not a strike out of the game.

PREPARE FOR THE RAINBOW

After this horrid storm that we call the economic downturn, we can all expect something pretty—new opportunities, a nice surge of growing business—the rainbow! Now is the time to position yourself for the good times. Take the time to evaluate where you are in your career and make sure you are in the position to go after great opportunities when they are readily available. Join and become active in organizations that will boost your career, build relationships with people in the markets you aspire to reach, take a few classes to keep your education sharp and on point. Do what it takes to make sure you’re at the top of your game when the economy is doing well again.

PR is a career that is usually chosen by great communicators with dynamic personalities, however the harshness of this field can be character-building and humbling. Remember that the test of your passion for what you do is all in your reaction to harsh circumstances. How you handle the challenging times in your professional career usually determines whether you get to celebrate the fabulousness of it all.