Public relations, to most, have been thought of as the underrated element in the success of an organization. For those of us who believe in the power of branding and identity, we beg to differ. In 1957, a young public relations Al-Golin gave Ray Kroc a cold call to discuss a potential in marketing for his fast-food chain, McDonald's. With a $500 monthly retainer, he ran the initiative in encouraging positive newspaper write-ups, contributing to trust banks, and pioneering the hamburger university for employee training. The regal yet humble image McDonald's restaurants carry today is a result of the unwavering vision Al-Golin saw 63 years ago.
The primary role of a communications manager is centered around managing a company's public relations. This involves tasks such as developing marketing materials, executing communications strategies, and producing media reports. Besides that, they oversee publication projects and lead the marketing team.
Employers require a communications manager to have a bachelor's degree that relates to business or communications. At least two years of work experience need to be demonstrated. This role earns, on average, $29 per hour and suits individuals who are passionate about public liaison activities.
Communications Manager Overview
Communications Manager Careers
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a communications manager. For example, did you know that they make an average of $34.21 an hour? That's $71,159 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 8% and produce 6,300 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Communications Manager Do
There are certain skills that many communications managers 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 leadership skills, speaking skills and writing skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a communications manager, we found that a lot of resumes listed 12.7% of communications managers included customer service, while 8.7% of resumes included prospective residents, and 7.4% of resumes included property management. 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 communications manager job title. But what industry to start with? Most communications managers actually find jobs in the real estate and technology industries.
How To Become a Communications Manager
If you're interested in becoming a communications manager, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 62.8% of communications managers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 10.6% of communications managers have master's degrees. Even though most communications managers 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 communications manager. When we researched the most common majors for a communications manager, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or master's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on communications manager resumes include associate degree degrees or high school diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a communications manager. In fact, many communications manager jobs require experience in a role such as property manager. Meanwhile, many communications managers also have previous career experience in roles such as assistant manager or internship.
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Communications Manager Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of owner you might progress to a role such as facilities manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title senior facilities manager.
Communications Manager Jobs You Might Like
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Average Salary for a Communications Manager
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Confidential Executive Communications Manager-University of Idaho Executive Communications Manager-University of Idaho | Confidential Confidential | 05/30/2021 05/30/2021 | $55,88505/30/2021 $55,885 |
C & R Real Estate Community Manager Community Manager | C & R Real Estate C & R Real Estate | 05/27/2021 05/27/2021 | $41,74005/27/2021 $41,740 |
Ebrpha Community Manager Community Manager | Ebrpha Ebrpha | 05/26/2021 05/26/2021 | $35,88005/26/2021 $35,880 |
Maiker Housing Partners Community Manager Community Manager | Maiker Housing Partners Maiker Housing Partners | 05/26/2021 05/26/2021 | $49,00005/26/2021 $49,000 |
The Conam Group Community Manager (Affordable)-Torrey Highlands and Torrey Vale Community Manager (Affordable)-Torrey Highlands and Torrey Vale | The Conam Group The Conam Group | 05/26/2021 05/26/2021 | $48,00105/26/2021 $48,001 |
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Communications Manager Resumes
Designing and figuring out what to include on your resume can be tough, not to mention time-consuming. That's why we put together a guide that is designed to help you craft the perfect resume for becoming a Communications Manager. If you're needing extra inspiration, take a look through our selection of templates that are specific to your job.
Learn How To Write a Communications Manager Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Communications Manager resumes and compiled some information about how best to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Detailed InformationTop Colleges for Communications Managers
1. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
3. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
4. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
5. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
6. Villanova University
Villanova, PA • Private
7. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Public
8. Bentley University
Waltham, MA • Private
9. New York University
New York, NY • Private
10. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Public
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Top Skills For a Communications Manager
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 12.7% of communications managers listed customer service on their resume, but soft skills such as leadership skills and speaking skills are important as well.
- Customer Service, 12.7%
- Prospective Residents, 8.7%
- Property Management, 7.4%
- Yardi, 4.5%
- Project Management, 3.8%
- Other Skills, 62.9% See All Communications Manager Skills
Best States For a Communications Manager
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a communications manager. The best states for people in this position are New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and California. Communications managers make the most in New Jersey with an average salary of $92,197. Whereas in New York and Connecticut, they would average $89,040 and $83,321, respectively. While communications managers would only make an average of $81,549 in California, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. New York
$89,040
Avg. Salary
2. District of Columbia
$90,796
Avg. Salary
3. New Jersey
$92,197
Avg. Salary
How Do Communications Manager Rate Their Jobs?
Top Communications Manager Employers
We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ communications managers and discovered their number of communications manager opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that American Cancer Society was the best, especially with an average salary of $50,884. Holiday Retirement follows up with an average salary of $70,111, and then comes United States Army with an average of $89,751. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as a communications manager. The employers include Trimble, U.S. Bank, and Verizon Communications
Communications Manager Videos
