How to hire a public relations consultant

How to hire a public relations consultant, step by step

Here's a step-by-step public relations consultant hiring guide:

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

What does a public relations consultant do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the public relations consultant you need to hire. Certain public relations consultant roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   A public relations consultant's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, public relations consultants from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of public relations consultant salaries for various roles:

   Type of Public Relations Consultant	Description	Hourly rate
   Public Relations Consultant	Public relations specialists create and maintain a favorable public image for the organization they represent. They design media releases to shape public perception of their organization and to increase awareness of its work and goals.	$13-40
   Social Media Internship	In a social media internship, the primary role is to take part in managing a brand's social media platforms for public relations. One of their primary duties is to craft informative and captivating content while under the supervision and guidelines of a manager or supervisor... Show more	$11-18
   Account Coordinator	An account coordinator assists account executives by providing day-to-day administrative support such as preparing and filing sales contracts and reports. As coordinators, they must maintain a good relationship with their clients and vendors by addressing issues and with regular communication... Show more	$13-25

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Press Releases
   • Web Content
   • Strategic Communications
   • Community Outreach
   • Facebook
   • Event Planning
   • Twitter
   • Press Materials
   • External Communications
   • Instagram
   • Business Development
   • Public Relations Strategies
   • Fact Sheets
   • SEO

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Maintain strong working relationships across all departments to manage successful on-site opportunities, content and multimedia asset development and spokesperson requests.
   • Create the first official Instagram account for the fine arts galleries.
   • Create highly visible content by utilizing a wide variety of social media platforms and SEO trends.
   • Plan and execute all web, SEO, PPC, email, and social media campaigns.
   • Leverage Facebook to create digital referral network and increase visibility in consumer market.
   • Foster an energetic public discussion through Facebook and videos, exciting visual displays, carefully target humor and thought-provoking questions.

   More public relations consultant duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your public relations consultant job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A public relations consultant salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a public relations consultant in Kansas may be lower than in Washington, and an entry-level public relations consultant usually earns less than a senior-level public relations consultant. Additionally, a public relations consultant with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average public relations consultant salary

   $50,333yearly

   $24.20 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level public relations consultant salary

   $29,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 30, 2026

   Average public relations consultant salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$67,520	$32
   2	California	$63,517	$31
   3	New Jersey	$61,643	$30
   4	Minnesota	$58,179	$28
   5	Maryland	$58,059	$28
   6	New York	$55,807	$27
   7	Massachusetts	$53,477	$26
   8	Michigan	$53,472	$26
   9	Ohio	$53,292	$26
   10	North Carolina	$51,566	$25
   11	Pennsylvania	$50,268	$24
   12	Tennessee	$47,278	$23
   13	Nevada	$47,111	$23
   14	Illinois	$46,680	$22
   15	Arizona	$44,766	$22
   16	Missouri	$43,046	$21
   17	Georgia	$42,814	$21
   18	Texas	$41,937	$20
   19	Florida	$39,968	$19

   Average public relations consultant salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	AbbVie	$97,946	$47.09	8
   2	Morgan Stanley	$95,472	$45.90	2
   3	Allergan plc	$77,591	$37.30
   4	Health Alliance	$68,945	$33.15
   5	Cambridge Health Alliance	$61,883	$29.75	1
   6	Deloitte	$61,002	$29.33	39
   7	Stanford Children's Health	$58,103	$27.93
   8	Henry Ford Health System	$57,410	$27.60
   9	Indiana University Health La Porte Hospital Inc	$56,007	$26.93	8
   10	M.E.I	$51,129	$24.58
   11	DKMS	$50,142	$24.11
   12	The Henry Ford	$47,287	$22.73
   13	FleishmanHillard	$45,681	$21.96	5
   14	Lighthouse	$43,813	$21.06
   15	Trinity Health	$34,886	$16.77	8

4. Writing a public relations consultant job description

   A public relations consultant 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. Below, you can find an example of a public relations consultant job description:

   Public relations consultant job description example

   Reporting to the Director, Marketing & Communications, Communications, as the Physician Relations Consultant. The Physician Relations Consultant serves as a conduit between physicians and clinicians and their practices and the hospital. By building collaborative relationships, the Physician Relations Consultant works to achieve growth for the Regional Health Ministry (RHM), clinical service lines and the Accountable Care Organization/Clinically Integrated Network (ACO/CIN), in alignment with the organization's strategic plan. Under direction of senior leadership and in partnership with Marketing/Strategic Planning, the Chief Medical Officer, the Medical Group Provider Services (MGPS) leader and the CIN Executive, the Physician Relations Consultant will implement plans of action to increase physician satisfaction and raise awareness of services available within the ministry. The Physician Relations Consultant will work toward physician engagement and retention with the RHM and ACO/CIN through open dialogue and in-person visits with both affiliated (both employed and private practice) and non-affiliated physicians in the assigned service area. The Physician Relations Consultant will serve as the primary liaison with physicians and their practices: advocating for physicians and their practices with the RHM and ACO/CIN administration, identifying business opportunities, aligning with other departments/services/experts, elevating and ensuring resolution of questions and disseminating information. The Physician Relations Consultant is responsible for two-way communication with practices and will coordinate with others who visit practices, in order to achieve an integrated approach to building trusted relationships and mutually effective partnerships with physicians and practice staff.
   
   1. Must possess a comprehensive knowledge of Physician Relations, as normally obtained through a Bachelor's degree in Business, Healthcare Administration, Marketing or related field from an accredited college or university, and minimum of five years of progressive experience in healthcare working with physicians and healthcare leaders, including senior management. Master's degree preferred.
   
   2. Ability to develop proactive partnerships with physicians, practice managers and staff, peers, senior leaders and other stakeholders.
   
   3. Highest level of interpersonal and business communication skills (verbal and written) to interact and influence people at all levels within the organization. Demonstrated ability to effectively communicate and present information to senior management, boards, and medical staff leadership.
   
   4. Self-motivator and self-director, effective delegator and employer of strong project management skills.
   
   5. Ability to problem-solve and execute initiatives. Ability to use judgement to determine steps to resolve issues and involve others appropriately.
   
   6. Sensitivity to physician practice issues and time constraints. Adheres to high standards of follow-through on issues.
   
   7. Proficiency with or ability to learn clinical information systems supporting PRM (Physician Relationship Management tools). Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office Products required.
   8. Must be comfortable operating in a collaborative, shared leadership environment.
   
   9. Must possess a personal presence that is characterized by a sense of honesty, integrity, and caring with the ability to inspire and motivate others to promote the philosophy, mission, vision, goals, and values of the RHM.
   
   10. Must be able to set and organize own work priorities, and adapt to them as they change frequently. Must be able to work concurrently on a variety of tasks/projects in an environment that may be stressful with individuals having diverse personalities and work styles.
   
   11. Must be able to travel locally to the various physician practices and facilities. (75% of time). 12. Must possess the ability to comply with RHM policies and procedures.
   
   **Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion**
   
   Trinity Health is a family of 115,000 colleagues and nearly 26,000 physicians and clinicians across 25 states. Because we serve diverse populations, our colleagues are trained to recognize the cultural beliefs, values, traditions, language preferences, and health practices of the communities that we serve and to apply that knowledge to produce positive health outcomes. We also recognize that each of us has a different way of thinking and perceiving our world and that these differences often lead to innovative solutions.
   
   Our dedication to diversity includes a unified workforce (through training and education, recruitment, retention, and development), commitment and accountability, communication, community partnerships, and supplier diversity.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right public relations consultant for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with public relations consultants they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit public relations consultants who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your public relations consultant job on Zippia to find and recruit public relations consultant candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as pr news job board, pr council, prsa job center, hoojobs.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit public relations consultants, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates 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 public relations consultant

   Once you have selected a candidate for the public relations consultant position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   To prepare for the new public relations consultant first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

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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