A communications assistant helps the work of a PR agency creating content, coming up with publicity campaigns, editing newsletters and press releases, among other things. They contribute to brainstorming ideas, attend events, and monitor media coverage. They are responsible for managing social media as well.
Being a communications assistant is a great opportunity to learn about the life of a PR agency. Mastering the art of influential communication is what makes or breaks leaders, whether they work for the government, for business, non-profit, or entertainment. And this is not day-old wisdom either. Important figures throughout history knew very well the power that comes with persuasion.
The most important takeaway will probably be the fact that PR is not a 9-5 job. It is a 24/7 job. Media dictates the sleep cycles of people working in communications, and if you show your dedication early on as an assistant, the reward will follow soon. Especially now that 34% of PR professionals are about to retire in the next 4-7 years.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a communication assistant. For example, did you know that they make an average of $14.99 an hour? That's $31,175 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 13% and produce 52,200 job opportunities across the U.S.
There are certain skills that many communication assistants have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed compassion, time-management skills and communication skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a communication assistant, we found that a lot of resumes listed 14.0% of communication assistants included prospective residents, while 7.2% of resumes included customer service, and 6.3% of resumes included web content. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the communication assistant job title. But what industry to start with? Most communication assistants actually find jobs in the education and non profits industries.
If you're interested in becoming a communication assistant, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 66.2% of communication assistants have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 11.5% of communication assistants have master's degrees. Even though most communication assistants have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a communication assistant. When we researched the most common majors for a communication assistant, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or master's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on communication assistant resumes include high school diploma degrees or associate degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a communication assistant. In fact, many communication assistant jobs require experience in a role such as internship. Meanwhile, many communication assistants also have previous career experience in roles such as sales associate or cashier.