About this article

Read time:

4 minutes

Category:

Opinion

My route to getting PRofessional

Speaking as a graduate fresh onto the PR scene, I can vouch for the fact that the PR industry hasn’t escaped the challenge of being a competitive job market. We all seek that exceptional edge on our CV to stand out from the crowd; I went about this by studying for a PR master’s degree. So now that I’m working at a B2B PR agency, I guess it’s time to reflect on what my master’s taught me and whether it was a worthwhile route into PR.

Joining Skout at the end of last year, I was keen to apply the skills I’d learnt on my course. Being taught by PR pros with many years of experience in communications at Manchester Metropolitan University really gave me an expert insight into the industry.

One of the key advantages was the business context of the course. Lectures were held at the MMU Business School, so naturally I got a good understanding of PR from a business perspective. In other words, I learnt to appreciate where PR sits in an organisation’s structure and all the different stakeholders that there are. With the presence of stakeholders comes the need to communicate; that’s where the PR person steps in.

The biggest eye-opener during my time studying there was how many stakeholders a business or organisation has to communicate with. Before my studies I would have probably given public relations and media relations the same definition. Now I know that the P in PR can mean more than just the media, and part of my job is to decide how best to target each individual audience. From conversations I have with family and friends, it seems that they too only think of the media when somebody mentions PR, proving that old stereotypes are still rife.

One challenge that I’m relishing now that I’m working in a B2B PR agency is how to make a story compelling and likely to capture the attention of journalists. My course addressed this issue when it introduced me to the art of the news angle. It’s an invaluable PR skill to be able to look at stories from different perspectives and pull out the most news-worthy approach – and not just for the media as a channel. The projects I carried out in my master’s also involved working with clients and understanding their expectations. Equally, I gained practice in putting forward my own creative ideas to clients; after all, in the real world that’s what they’re paying us for. Now equipped with the theory and practice essential to working in PR, I’m confident that my master’s experience was time well spent that I’ll put to good use at Skout.

Alex Brown has just started his career at Skout PR and will be a regular contributor to the Skout blog.

About this article

Read time:

4 minutes

Category:

Opinion

B2B thought leadership PR – everything you need to know

Meet Skout’s new owners!

Browse more blog posts

Posted on
byRob Skinner
In B2B PR, thought leadership is one of those concepts that gets spoken about all the time. But do you actually know what thought leadership is? And do you have the right tools and skills in place to make it work effectively for you? In this post we aim to clarify what B2B thought leadership can do and help you gain greater benefit from it.
Posted on
bySkout team
If you haven’t heard by now, Skout is under new ownership! No, we haven’t been bought out – in fact it’s quite the opposite. As of last week, Skout officially became an employee-owned business. This was achieved by the founding shareholders, Rob and Claire, signing 100% ownership over to a newly established Employee Ownership Trust acting on behalf of the...
Posted on
byClaire Lamb
A few weeks ago, the entire Skout team visited the beautiful and historic city of Palma, Majorca for our annual kick off event. It’s been a long time in the planning (pre-pandemic to be precise) and the first time we’ve been abroad for a kick off to the new financial year. We’ve always found kick off meetings a great way...
Posted on
byHonor Williamson
TikTok is increasingly being used as a platform for B2B companies to implement their marketing strategy, aiding in brand exposure, lead generation and profile building. But, where does paid TikTok advertising come into play? Is it an effective tool to engage with B2B audiences, or is the ROI just not worth it?  If you’re the least bit social media savvy,...
Posted on
byClaire James
In May I was fortunate to be able to attend the recent UK Construction Week at Excel in London and see the strides forward an industry, that has become recognised as one of the biggest contributors to carbon emissions, is making in tackling the thorny issue of achieving Net Zero. In his keynote on day one, Lord Callanan, Under Secretary...
Posted on
byJames Weaver
In the world of B2B marketing, it is essential that you have a solid B2B marketing strategy in place to effectively connect with your target audience.
Posted on
byHonor Williamson
Why was PR your chosen career?  PR is all about storytelling, with so much opportunity for creativity and content creation. Since I’ve always loved writing and always had a big imagination, I thought that PR would be the ideal career to channel my creativity. I’m all about communication, and PR really allows you to foster meaningful relationships. I’m already learning...
Posted on
byJack Doyle
As a smaller business, it can be hard to know where to start when it comes to sustainability. Sure, we all do our best to use the right recycling bin at home, and bring our re-usable coffee cups to work. But with serious pressures now mounting from the government – which pledged to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 –...
Posted on
byLee Simpson
Another week, another round of mass layoffs in the tech sector. With Amazon (AWS) and Meta cutting thousands of jobs, and further layoffs at Salesforce and of course Twitter, it has felt a bit like the tech world has been imploding of late. This is of course concerning for us working in B2B tech PR, but more importantly for the...
Posted on
byJack Doyle
2023 is off to a strong start here at Skout.  Our business has continued to grow with the addition of some exciting new clients. With new clients, has come new hires, who we’ve also been excited to welcome on board the team. And if our recent win for Best Marketing and PR Consultancy at the PR Brilliance Awards is anything...

Send us a message

Download The B2B business relationship report

The B2B relationship renaissance – did digital kill it? The importance of relationships throughout the customer buying journey. Please complete the form below and receive a download link via email.