How To Become A Community Relations Assistant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a community relations assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Kris Hovsepian

A community relations assistant improves a company's reputation by bolstering its relationship with the community their organization is located in. They usually assist a community relations coordinator or program lead with implementing their plan for improving community relations. Their duties may include assisting at events, drafting communications that will be distributed to the community, or brainstorming ideas for improving relationships. Community relations assistants need to have strong organizational skills in order to assist their supervisor with the logistics needed to run community outreach programs. Most importantly, community relations assistants need to have excellent interpersonal skills in order to leave a good impression on the community they serve.

Although a few community relations assistants get by with only a high school diploma, most go on to pursue a bachelor's degree in communications or a related field. Since this is an entry-level position, they don't need many years of professional experience, although an internship may be helpful.

Most community relations assistants earn an average salary of $41,127 a year. If they work hard, they can earn a promotion within their department.

What general advice would you give to a community relations assistant?

Kris Hovsepian

Assistant Professor of Marketing, Ashland University

I teach a Salesmanship class. You can show the basics of sales in about three weeks... so what do I do with the rest of the semester? In addition to role-playing, I invite professional sales reps to speak about how they got to their positions and what they love about sales. AND most bring their business cards! So, networking!!! I have had speakers in from Nestle, Smuckers, and Cintas, to name a few. And I have had students get internships and jobs from these contacts.

So, not only networking, but internships. An internship is a way to "preview" a potential hire. Does this person fit with the corporate culture? And does the student like that corporate culture? I had a student who got an internship through my class with a marketing company; when she came back in the fall, she told me it was the best internship she could have had - she hated it! She switched from marketing to finance and has been very happy with her decision.

Some of the speakers I bring in are former students. One pointed out that one's "public" appearance is essential. She encouraged everyone in the class to get LinkedIn and to use that site to promote who they were and what they could offer a firm.

ScoreCommunity Relations AssistantUS Average

Salary

2.8

Avg. Salary $36,453

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.3

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.59%

Asian 5.35%

Black or African American 10.39%

Hispanic or Latino 12.25%

Unknown 5.10%

White 66.32%

Gender

female 71.98%

male 28.02%

Age - 40

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40

Stress level

7.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.8

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a community relations assistant

Explore community relations assistant education requirements

Most common community relations assistant degrees

Bachelor's

74.9 %

Associate

12.4 %

Master's

7.0 %

Start to develop specific community relations assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
Community Outreach	16.03%
Press Releases	11.55%
Community Relations Programs	11.24%
Event Planning	8.33%
Community Relations Events	6.98%

Complete relevant community relations assistant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New community relations assistants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a community relations assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real community relations assistant resumes.

Research community relations assistant duties and responsibilities

Manage all copywriting elements for live broadcasts and promotional commercials.
Schedule and coordinate meetings in-house and off site; prepare PowerPoint presentations.
Maintain the website (RedDot), online calendar and Facebook event calendar.
Develop and ensure all necessary documentation are charted to meet Medicare criteria for DME approval.

Prepare your community relations assistant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your community relations assistant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a community relations assistant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable community relations assistant resume templates

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