Crossing the divide – from journalism to PR
February 2010 by Kate LahiveAfter many years working in journalism I started the New Year with a new job – leaving my longstanding role as health writer at The Star – to become an account manager at HR Media.
As anyone who makes a career change knows taking the leap into a new sector is both exciting and at times a little daunting.
Suddenly everything you’ve known and taken for granted for years is different - from new colleagues (who have been very welcoming and supportive) to getting to grips with a different technology and understanding clients’ needs and expectations.
HR Media has many clients in the healthy sector – many of whom I have worked with in the past including Westfield Health,
The Children's Hospital , Sheffield and Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity, and it has been interesting to see how things work from the other side of the fence, from a PR perspective.
Fortunately joining HR Media which was founded on the principles of good journalism is making the transition into PR smoother than it could otherwise have been.
The company values good quality writing, along with accuracy, attention to detail as well as the ability to deal with rapidly changing events and to respond appropriately to a crisis - all essential skills in journalism too!
But what I had not fully appreciated when I was journalist receiving dozens of press releases each day, was the sheer amount of time and detailed planning which goes into each piece of work, if it is to hit the mark.
As I am learning from my colleagues it is essential to fully understand the needs of clients, to work with them to plan out PR campaigns and to provide regular feedback so that clients are fully informed each step of the way.
In my new role I’ll be learning more about new technology – and I am looking forward to tapping into the expertise of colleagues and developing skills such as podcasting, video making and using social media – which are all becoming increasingly important in PR as a way of reaching new audiences.
A month in and I’m still very much at the start of my PR career and enjoying my new job. But I fully appreciate that there is still much to learn in this challenging environment – which is really just what you want and expect when stepping into a new career!
