r/PublicRelations

Like many people in the industry, I've seen a lot of turmoil in the past 12+ months.

My job got made redundent - the employer was gutted as was I. Purely financial. Then I got a freelance job - which I was doing well in but needed full time for mortgages etc. The job I got locked in fell through 3 days before starting and then I scrambled for another job, which dropped me when a client slashed their budget.

Now I'm here and it feels like the rock bottom of PR. No strategy, no proper thinking. Everyone uses AI, the founder insists on leading all client calls and has a very different way of pitching/writing release. Literally the team is sending out releases to thousands of people every day.

So as much as I need this job I do feel like it can't be long for the world. It also feels that all the skills I've built up over the past 10 years mean nothing.

Is anyone else in this position or has recently climbed out of this position? What advice would you give?

Is this a normal arrangement? I work for a small firm and am responsible for meeting with clients, but also producing everything from blog posts to flyers to social posts to business cards. It feels like I’m managing a thousand little pieces.

Curious how you have seen AI impact our industry? Layoffs, client requests, in-house changes…etc.

Since business/financial ability is one of the most important things for a solid PR person...where does one even begin to learn?

Is it reading Investopedia? Is it Finance for Non-Finance managers on Coursera? How did you learn? Is it reading financial statements with Claude's help?

What would you add? (below is taken from PRSA) Especially on the tech side of things? Like, I dunno, Google Analytics profciency is a must?

• Data Analysis Proficiency: PR is now about proving value with metrics like share of voice and sentiment analysis, not just media impressions.
• Emotional Intelligence: Building trust and managing relationships are key in a world where misinformation is rampant.
• AI Integration Mastery: Generative AI is central to PR workflows, from drafting content to media monitoring. Knowing how to use it ethically is critical.
• Advanced Storytelling Techniques: Craft narratives that resonate emotionally and are optimized for AI-driven platforms.
• Crisis Management Expertise: Prevention is the new focus, using AI tools to flag risks before they escalate.
• SEO and Digital Optimization: Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) ensures brands are accurately represented in AI-generated search results.
• Social Media and Influencer Strategies: Micro-influencers and real-time social listening are reshaping audience engagement.
• Strategic Thinking: Align PR efforts with business goals and demonstrate measurable outcomes.
• Ethical Communication Practices: Transparency in AI usage and combating misinformation are top priorities.
• Continuous Learning and Adaptability: Stay ahead by mastering AI, data analytics, and other emerging skills.

I was recently laid off, and it’s made me question something I’ve been feeling for a while.

I have 20+ years of experience in creative strategy, mostly across digital, branding, and content. I’ve worked with large brands and small companies, B2C and B2B, corporate communications, campaigns, sales-driven work, and pretty much every variation in between.

And right now, it feels like the market value of that kind of experience has changed dramatically.

Not necessarily because the work itself stopped mattering. Brands still need positioning, ideas, narratives, content, differentiation, and people who can connect business problems to creative solutions. But it feels like the perceived value of being someone with broad, senior strategic experience has fallen.

Sometimes it seems like companies would rather hire a much more specialized person, a cheaper executional profile, or distribute what used to be one senior strategic role across several functions. AI obviously adds another dimension to this, but I don’t think AI alone explains it.

I’m curious whether other people in advertising are feeling the same thing.

If you’ve been in the industry for 10, 15, 20+ years: do you feel your experience has become more valuable, less valuable, or simply valuable in a different way?

And more importantly, where do you think people with this kind of background go next?

Do we specialize? Move closer to business strategy? Become independent consultants? Move client-side? Build smaller operations around ourselves? Or is this just a particularly bad moment in the cycle?

I’m genuinely interested in how other people are reading the next 5–10 years of this industry.

Hi all, I'm a mid-level PR professional (been in the field for a few years) who recently got an interview for an agency. After the first interview, the agency that I am interviewing for asked for writing samples.

My issue is that the majority of things I've written like blog, op-eps, etc are things that are published under someone else's name. I'm sure they know how it works, but is it professional/best practice to send over that type of writing?

Any help is appreciated!

What is the best way to counter a very widespread/viral false narrative that attracts unwanted attention and harassment? Does ignoring, staying silent and hoping it will die down really work?

I resigned today after months of feeling terrible. The plan was always to find another job before leaving, but I reached a point where I couldn’t keep going and decided to resign without something lined up, give myself some headspace, and properly think about my next move. I’ve been considering a career pivot too, especially as this industry feels harder than ever.

I’ve worked in this industry for nine years and, honestly, I’ve encountered a lot of difficult people and very few genuinely supportive managers. Today, both my boss and the CEO asked me to reconsider and stay. After some pretty terrible and, at times, traumatic agency experiences, it actually felt really nice to feel valued and seen.

When I initially made the decision to leave, I felt excited… finally. It felt like a weight had lifted and the world was my oyster. I could take some time, explore other industries and potentially pivot into something completely different.

But now I’m questioning whether I should stay and see their reaction as a sign. It’s hard to find a company and leadership team that genuinely value you, and I’ve always known they liked and respected me. I just don’t think I’ve necessarily felt the praise or rewards of that because they’ve been under so much pressure themselves.

So now I’m torn: do I trust the relief and excitement I felt when I decided to leave, or recognise that being genuinely valued by your boss and CEO is rare and give it another chance?

Hi, I'm not from the PR field, but I recently launched a website service that I want to get more eyeballs on my website (trydeepcut.com) through PR who have connections with media outlets/influencers who can help put the site in front of more female shoppers.

Many years ago when I started a accessory business I was able to find someone through Craiglist, but it seems like it's just not a popular place for people to post or look for gigs (at least for Los Angeles area when I look)

I know I can always go to Upwork as an option but just want to know where PR professionals find gigs? Thank you.

Last-click is making this really difficult. Our campaigns are getting more integrated: we might have a celebrity or macro-influencer, a PR push with exclusive stories, an IRL experiential moment, and then a paid layer boosting the content. The problem is that our reporting is still largely last-click, so paid search ends up getting most of the credit while the influencer, PR and event layers look much weaker than they probably are. I’m curious how other brand and agency teams are handling this. Are you using multi-touch attribution, branded search lift, social listening, promo codes, holdout tests, or something else? Especially interested in approaches that work for mid-market brands without needing a huge data science team.

We just closed our Series A and need to make some noise. We're looking for a combined PR and influencer push – top-tier media placements, a steady drumbeat of creator content, maybe a small launch event. No celebrity (yet), just credible, earned-first awareness.

Agencies we've talked to range from $5k/month boutiques that feel too scrappy to $30k+ retainers from big name firms that seem built for post-Series C. What's a realistic monthly retainer range for solid, integrated work at our stage? And is it smarter to bundle PR and influencer under one retainer or keep them separate? I'm worried about paying two retainers that don't talk to each other, but also worried a bundled shop might be a jack-of-all-trades, master of none.

Would appreciate any real numbers or recent experiences.

I spend more time in alignment meetings than doing actual marketing. We have a social agency making content, a PR firm pitching media, and an influencer agency recruiting creators – and none of them talk to each other unless I'm in the room. The result: our influencer talent doesn't match our PR messaging, our social content feels disconnected from both, and we miss obvious opportunities to amplify earned moments.

When the PR firm gets a great media hit, the social team doesn't pivot to boost it. When an influencer creates an amazing piece of UGC, the paid team isn't whitelisting it for ads. It's fragmentation death by a thousand cuts.

Has anyone switched from a multi-agency model to a single integrated partner? Did it actually streamline things, or did you just trade three mediocre teams for one average one? I want to hear the good and bad of consolidation, and if there are shops that genuinely do all three well.

I’m reaching out to this community because I’m really stuck in my head right now and could use some practical perspective from people who’ve lived through career shifts, workplace restructuring, or long job searches..

For context, I’ve been in corporate communications at a tech company for eight years at a global tech company, in Germany. I lead our communications function: managing global PR, executive profiling, media relations. For years, the work felt expansive and meaningful, and I worked directly alongside executive leadership.

About 1.5 years ago, a new marketing leadership structure came in and sidelined my function. A person I originally hired to help me was shifted into a primary role (and not me, either because I wasn't all that great or they just liked other people better, also it doesn't help that I am not the loudest or the most confident person in the room), and I’ve spent the last 1.5 years watching myself disappear from a job I once felt chosen for. 

I recently had an honest conversation with our executive director (the one who 'chose' me many years ago). He confirmed there are no internal transfer paths, gave implicit permission to look externally while staying on the payroll, and promised a supportive exit when the time comes. But like...thanks, amazing, but it's not like I can pull this off for another year. So I have started applying for new jobs.

While that conversation brought some initial relief, I’m struggling with a few things...

--First, the psychological part. I realized my professional confidence was so anchored in executive belief in me rather than me believing in myself. Now that the role has dissolved, I keep spiraling into imposter syndrome, telling myself I was never actually good at tech PR, while simultaneously feeling unqualified to work anywhere else. I really feel like a fraud and a fool and like I have wasted 8 years. Now seeing certain colleagues' names pop up on Teams gives me physical nausea, yet I have to keep showing up and not get fired.

--Second, the citizenship question. I applied for German citizenship earlier this year after hitting the five-year residency mark. The processing timeline in Berlin takes about a year, and I know I cannot afford an extended gap on unemployment benefits while my file is active (if I am fired). I started applying for new jobs: comms roles in different industries. So far I've applied to 30 companies and got 10 rejections and 20 no responses yet. Evryone says one should rely on their network but tbh I don't think I have one.

If you’ve ever been restructured out of a role you started, how did you detach emotionally? Or how did you keep going while being so miserable at current job and looking for a new one at the same time?

I’d be so grateful for any direct thoughts, reality checks, or personal experiences. Thanks for taking the time to read.

Hey fellow PR folks. Writing to you all mid-stressing about work on a Saturday night (what else is new).

I wanted to pick everyone's brain on how you handle asking journalists to write about products organically (and by organic I mean I'm sending them product to review honestly). Every time I send a pitch I feel like I'm begging them to write, even though the products are awesome, it still feels so soul sucking to beg for an article.

Does this get easier? Are there secret hacks and tips you find they are more receptive of?

Same goes for event invitations... even if food, drink, transpo is provided it's so stressful to expect someone to arrive and THEN also write a review.

PHEW. Okay that's all.

Any advice would be helpful or

Hi, I recently graduated from college and want to find resources as a recent grad looking for a job. Is there a Discord Channel for anyone starting out in PR? Thank you so much!

hi all, I am about to graduate nyu this spring with a focus on comms/pr and I really want to go into entertainment. a lot of the threads i’m seeing are saying to skip grad school and go straight to work but unfortunately my parents have given me no choice. i’ve seen a lot of comments saying get an MBA but I don’t feel like that would align with what I want to do?

anyways, any recs for programs or schools would be great! I have no desire to stay in new york anymore and would like to go west, but really any location is fine :)

To me it sounds quite useless? If there is a watermark, Claude touched it at some point... And if there isn’t one, Claude still might have touched it at some point.

What does it really change? Is it just to make the EU feel better?

I just graduated with a degree in English Language, and while I know the degree can open doors to a lot of different fields, I’m honestly struggling to figure out which direction I should focus on.

Lately, I’ve been really interested in communications-related roles, particularly marketing communications and corporate communications, but I have no prior professional experience in the field.

For those who started in a similar situation:

1. How did you get your first communications/marketing role?
2. Do I need a portfolio even if I’m a fresh graduate? If yes, what kind of portfolio should I prepare?
3. What skills should I focus on learning first?
4. Where do you usually look for entry-level communications or marketing jobs in the Philippines?
5. Are there specific job titles I should be searching for?

I feel like I have the foundation from my English degree, but I don’t know how to translate it into something employers in communications would actually look for. 😭

Any advice, especially from people currently working in marketing or corporate communications, would be greatly appreciated!