How to hire a media relations director

How to hire a media relations director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step media relations director hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a media relations director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new media relations director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a media relations director do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your media relations director job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a media relations director for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a media relations director to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a media relations director that fits the bill.

   This list presents media relations director salaries for various positions.

   Type of Media Relations Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Media Relations Director	Public relations managers plan and direct the creation of material that will maintain or enhance the public image of their employer or client. Fundraising managers coordinate campaigns that bring in donations for their organization.	$33-90
   Manager Of Corporate Communications	A manager of corporate communications is primarily responsible for overseeing the external and internal communications in a company, ensuring everything is running smoothly. They are also responsible for managing marketing communications and public relations, and even developing various marketing content... Show more	$27-58
   Director Of Public Affairs	Directors of Public Affairs are executives who manage the public relations and communications initiatives of the company. They oversee all external communications that are intended for broadcast... Show more	$33-89

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Web Content
   • Spokesperson
   • Crisis Communications
   • Press Conferences
   • Communications Strategies
   • Facebook
   • Fact Sheets
   • Media Management
   • Twitter
   • Social Media Management
   • External Communications
   • Crisis Management
   • Direct Reports
   • Corporate Communications

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Hire, train and manage play-by-play broadcasters guaranteeing a professional and informative listening experience.
   • Initiate and supervise development of new media technologies including iPhone and iPad apps, Facebook, YouTube and mobile website.
   • Create daily posts on Facebook and engage with people there.
   • Develop and implement online SEM efforts optimizing conversion rate for e-commerce.
   • Direct internal communications tactics including newsletters, Intranet, domestic and international executive meetings, and special events.
   • Champion agency competency growth in SEO and digital marketing.

   More media relations director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your media relations director job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A media relations director salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, media relations directors' average salary in minnesota is 32% less than in nevada.
   • Seniority. Entry-level media relations directors earn 63% less than senior-level media relations directors.
   • Certifications. A media relations director with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a media relations director's salary.

   Average media relations director salary

   $115,268yearly

   $55.42 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level media relations director salary

   $70,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 19, 2025

   Average media relations director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Pennsylvania	$137,941	$66
   2	Georgia	$133,510	$64
   3	New Jersey	$131,999	$63
   4	Illinois	$131,683	$63
   5	New York	$131,564	$63
   6	Arizona	$131,544	$63
   7	California	$126,934	$61
   8	North Dakota	$126,455	$61
   9	Massachusetts	$123,315	$59
   10	Ohio	$120,926	$58
   11	Colorado	$118,221	$57
   12	Indiana	$115,268	$55
   13	District of Columbia	$109,577	$53
   14	Maryland	$106,601	$51
   15	Texas	$106,209	$51
   16	Minnesota	$97,759	$47

   Average media relations director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Phoenix Children's	$184,939	$88.91
   2	Baker Botts	$179,848	$86.47
   3	Harvard University	$153,793	$73.94
   4	Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc	$140,696	$67.64
   5	Bristol-Myers Squibb	$136,841	$65.79	8
   6	VF	$135,278	$65.04	9
   7	Merck	$134,450	$64.64
   8	Center for American Progress	$130,573	$62.78
   9	Ferro	$130,383	$62.68
   10	Gulfstream Aerospace	$126,869	$60.99
   11	BlackRock	$124,046	$59.64	4
   12	National Life Group	$123,369	$59.31	1
   13	The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights	$122,457	$58.87	1
   14	Pfizer	$122,191	$58.75	10
   15	Lincoln Memorial University	$121,694	$58.51
   16	Eversource Energy	$120,436	$57.90	4
   17	Growth Energy	$117,156	$56.33
   18	IDX System Technology	$114,594	$55.09
   19	NBCUniversal	$114,572	$55.08	19
   20	Sodexo Management, Inc.	$113,081	$54.37	2

4. Writing a media relations director job description

   A media relations director job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a media relations director job description:

   Media relations director job description example

   Insight is seeking an Investor Relations Director.In this role, you will handle all matters related to the investors that bridge the gap between Insight Executive team and investors including roles related to strategy, business plan, budget, and annual results
   What you'll do:
   Lead overall Investor Relations function Develop and execute an Investor Relations plan that supports our transformation to leading Solutions Integrator Lead and coordinate all activities associated with our Investor Day presentations Manage quarterly earnings process and earnings conference call including earnings slides, executive scripts, press release, guidance modeling and Q&A Monitor and analyze key peer announcements and earnings results; Summarize for CEO/CFO and key executives Maintain and develop presentations and related scripts for investor conferences, road shows, corporate communications and other activities Regular investor meetings/phone calls, responding to investor inquiries, analyst estimates Ad Hoc presentations for CFO and VP's as needed, including analyst research summaries Proactively monitors analysts estimates and price targets Assists others in the preparation of CFO presentations from Board of Directors, Town Hall meetings, Financial Analyst Conference, Ex-com, and as requested throughout the year Build strong relationships with external stakeholders including rating agencies, investors, and research analysts and provide a feedback loop to internal partners Provide senior management with feedback related to discussions with the investment community, commentary regarding events within the market and industry What you'll need:
   8+ years of IR within the Solutions Integrator or VAR space Bachelor's degree or higher in Finance, Marketing, Corporate Communications, Business, or related field required Public technology company investor relations experience Understanding of financial statements and public company reporting requirements and mechanisms Strong analytical skills Experience interacting with investment bankers, institutional investors, and research analysts Comfortable being both an individual contributor and team player Excellent presentation and writing skills The position described above provides a summary of some the job duties required and what it would be like to work at Insight. For a comprehensive list of physical demands and work environment for this position, click here.
   
   Today, every business is a technology business. Insight Enterprises, Inc. empowers organizations of all sizes with Insight Intelligent Technology Solutions™ and services to maximize the business value of IT. As a Fortune 500-ranked global provider of digital innovation, cloud/data center transformation, connected workforce, and supply chain optimization solutions and services, we help clients successfully manage their IT today while transforming for tomorrow. From IT strategy and design to implementation and management, our 11,000 teammates help clients innovate and optimize their operations to run smarter. Discover more at insight.com
   Founded in 1988 in Tempe, Arizona 11,000+ teammates in 19 countries providing Insight Intelligent Technology Solutions™ for organizations across the globe $8.3 billion in revenue in 2020 Ranked #409 on the Fortune 500, #15 on the CRN Solution Provider 500, 2020 CRN Innovator of the Year Award 2020 Intel Innovation Partner of Year, 2020 Microsoft U.S. Partner of the Year and Worldwide Customer Experience Partner of the Year Ranked #7 on the 2021 Fortune World's Most Admired Companies (Information Technology Services industry), #70 on the Fortune 100 Best Workplaces for Diversity, #296 on Forbes World's Best Employers (#27 within IT), and #5 on the Phoenix Business Journal 2020 list of Best Places to Work Signatory of the United Nations (UN) Global Compact and Affiliate Member of the Responsible Business Alliance Today's talent leads tomorrow's success. Learn about careers at Insight: jobs.insight.com.
   
   Insight is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by law.
   
   Posting Notes: Tempe || Arizona (US-AZ) || United States (US) || None || None || US - Tempe, AZ ||
   
   Nearest Major Market: Phoenix
   Job Segment: Financial Analyst, Investment, Manager, Corporate Communications, Supply Chain, Finance, Management, Marketing, Operations

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find media relations directors for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   To find media relations director candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as pr news job board, pr council, prsa job center, hoojobs.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting media relations directors requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new media relations director

   Once you've decided on a perfect media relations director candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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