How to launch a career in PR in India

In the cut-throat competitive world of today, businesses need branding to survive. In the absence of brand visibility, it can indeed get very difficult to make your presence felt in a pool of small and big business organizations, all vying for customer attention. This is where Public Relations or PR comes to your rescue, giving you the right direction and guidance, and charting out a successful roadmap to success for your organization. Considering the key role PR professionals play in today’s business world, this blog highlights the easy steps to start a career in PR in India so that you can also kickstart your very own success journey. 

How to launch your career in PR?

If you are serious about pursuing a career in the field of Public Relations, it helps to have a systematic approach to achieving your goal. Here is a step-by-step process for starting a career in the domain:

1. Pursue relevant education: The first step is to make a wise degree choice for your Bachelor’s – one that is relevant to the PR field in which you wish to specialize. BA is one of the most preferred choices among students keen on pursuing careers in PR. You can also consider taking up any other related or relevant discipline from a recognized university for your PR career choice. 

2. Get the right experience: Along with the right qualifications, you also need the right work experience to gain hands-on experience and confidence in the field of PR. Make sure you work at a place that offers plenty of scope for on-the-job training in your field. Look for the best PR agencies and companies to work for in India.  

3. Build your skillset: Along with a degree and sufficient work experience in your portfolio, you would also need the desired skills in line with the current PR industry trends and demands in India. Pitching and promotional skills can particularly come in handy for this role.

4. Build a professional network: Along with the relevant qualifications and skills for PR professionals in India, a wide professional network can be particularly helpful at the start of your career. Interact with fellow professionals in the PR industry, follow their social media accounts, and learn more about what they do and how they do it. A good professional network would also help instill confidence and help show you the path to a successful launchpad for your career.

How to become a PR officer?

We learned in the section above about the desired qualifications, skills, and professional experience required to start a career in PR. Let us now look at the exact steps on how to become a Public Relations Officer:

1. You would first need to complete 10+2 in any stream, though Humanities is a more apt choice for PR aspirants.  
2. Move on to taking up a relevant degree for your Bachelor’s, such as a BA in Public Relations from a recognized university.  
3. A Master’s degree, such as an MA in Journalism and Mass Communication, can help advance your skill sets and improve your career prospects.
4. After graduating in the course of your choice, it’s time to start preparing for a job in the field. Prepare an impressive resume, highlighting the key projects or assignments completed during your education, which may point toward your knowledge of the PR domain. If you have completed an internship program, do mention that as well in your work portfolio. 
5. Build on your skills for the job of a PR officer, including research, effective communication, and understanding of social media.   

Roles & responsibilities of PR Manager

Before leaping into a career in PR, it would help to understand in detail the key roles and responsibilities of a PR Manager in India:

• Managing media inquiries, including reviewing all digital content about the brand and scheduling interviews between the organization’s management and the media
• Communicating clearly with the internal team as well as external stakeholders, including the media and the public
• Devise a clear and comprehensive PR strategy for the company and ensure that it is communicated to all stakeholders
• Conducting appropriate marketing activities as part of the company’s branding strategy
• Designing a social media strategy involving the promotion of company events and news across all official social media handles

Skills required for a successful career in PR

The importance of building the required skill set for a successful career in PR has already been emphasized earlier in the blog. Let us take a quick look at the top 5 skills that can be of particular use in boosting your success chances in the world of PR:

• Effective oral and written communication
• Creative idea generation
• Research skills
• Active social media approach 
• Impressive presentation skills

PR Manager salary in India

The average salary of a PR Manager at entry level is estimated to be around INR 5,71,643 per annum. With an increase in experience over the years, PR Managers in India are likely to witness a corresponding increase in pay scale up to INR 13 lakhs per annum.  

Conclusion

With the fast growth in India’s economic setup and the emergence of numerous business organizations every year, the role of Public Relations Officers holds utmost importance. They are the key responsible parties to promoting the business in the outside world, helping it thrive. This explains the upsurge in the demand for PR professionals in India and the consequent rise in demand for PR courses and certifications as well. 

BA is considered one of the most relevant degrees apt for pursuing a career in Public Relations. Sikkim Manipal University offers online BA programs on the Online Manipal platform. The course can be pursued in 100% online mode and is a perfect stepping stone to starting a career in PR.