All About Agency, Corporate and Nonprofit PR

Laura Andrews

Missy Krause

Laura Andrews, Marketing & PR Specialist at the Cleveland Zoo, Ralph Davila, Senior Director of Public Relations at WhiteSpace Creative; and Missy Krause, Public Relations, Planning and Communications Analyst at Sterling Jewelers spoke to PRSSA Kent last week about the three career paths of public relations.

All three professionals agreed it's important for students to try the three areas of PR to find out what they like.

"It's really important to try the different areas," Andrews said.

Plus, many of the same skills apply in each area.

"It's a lot about relationship building, wherever you are,"  Krause said.

"Whether you're agency, nonprofit, or corporate, it's about continuity of message," Davila added.

Younger students may not know agencies work with multiple accounts, while corporate as well as nonprofit is directly involved with only one organization.

To gain experience, all three professionals recommended students should learn through job shadowing, informational interviews and internships.