Today I received a letter in the mail from my cousin Rachel asking me what exactly Public Relations entails and what options I have for careers after I graduate. She was interested because her boyfriend Pete was thinking about changing his major to PR but was unsure what exactly it was all about.
Dear Rachel,
It was so good to hear from you! I feel like we haven’t kept in touch as well as I had hoped since the family reunion but I’m glad you still feel comfortable contacting me with your questions and concerns. I would love to be of any assistance to Pete as he struggles through the hard decision of choosing a major! I will first start off by saying, I was really confused for a while too about what I wanted to go into, but I am so happy to say that I have been overly satisfied with my decision to go into PR. Not only do I really enjoy it, but there are also endless amounts of career opportunities in this field. Let me explain a little about what public relations is and what public relations professionals do and write about.
First of all, Public Relations is a field associated with communications that mostly deals with creating positive relationships between two different entities. Some examples of these relationships may be between a corporation and the public, between two different companies, or between a single person and his or her targeted audience. To do this, PR professionals strive to create a positive image for their client while making sure the messages they are putting forth are being received in the way they want them to be received. Public Relations is a very interactive field where social, writing, and overall communicating skills are essential.
Some of the careers that PR majors seek after graduation are jobs in fields such as event planning, corporate relations, PR managers, fundraising, marketing communications or advertising, public affairs, publicity, internal communications, jobs in social media, public speaking or speech writing, and working for a PR firm. However, if I were to give Pete one piece of advice if he decides to go into this field would be to really try to develop his writing skills. I say this because in any PR related job writing skills are extremely important. Most jobs in this field will require tasks such as writing press releases, newsletters, emails, speeches, proposals, or letters.
I really hope that this information will help Pete in making a decision about whether this field is for him or not. I have loved my major so far and have already had many opportunities to put into practice the knowledge I've learned. Let me know if Pete has any more questions and I’d be happy to help!
Sincerely,
Sarah
I really like all the info you are able to pack into here. You give a real sense of how broad the field is. One thing to work on possibly would be to shorten some sentences. I started to lose some attention at a few points. I should point out I have a very short attention span though! Overall great job
ReplyDeleteSarah,
ReplyDeleteGreat job on this assignment! I like how you kept the letter pretty casual, but you still gave really good information. I feel that after reading your letter, even somebody who doesn't know very much about PR would have a much better understanding of what they do. I also liked how you talked about the careers PR majors seek once they graduate, and the piece of advice you gave Pete to make it personal. Awesome Job!
-Savannah Forsberg
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteThis was a great letter! I loved that you were able to include the definition from the book in a way that was less formal and clear to someone who needed it watered down. The paragraph you wrote about the many careers you can choose in PR was helpful, most people don't understand that there are countless opportunities in this field and I feel like you made a good point of demonstrating that. The letter was very well written and I enjoyed reading it. Nice work!
-Annie
Sarah, this looks fabulous! I loved the different relationships that you mentioned, showing the different capacities that you could be working in. I also really liked the examples that you gave of different things that PR professionals could possibly be writing. I don't think that a lot of people realize that it's that broad! Good job!
ReplyDelete