What does a public relations representative do?
Public Relations Representatives will generally earn around $43K per year and will need oratorial, writing, interpersonal, presentation, prioritization, and IT skills, as well as a healthy dose of creativity and initiative. Those who choose this career path will need a bachelor's degree in public relations, journalism, communications, English, or business for their respective portfolios. They are also involved in the planning and execution of activities centered around PR and both internal and external communication in representing a brand or client.
Public relations representative responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real public relations representative resumes:
- Manage all copywriting elements for live broadcasts and promotional commercials.
- Facilitate communications between CELA and student body through use of social networks such as Facebook.
- Create Facebook events of campus events
- Increase team visibility and interest through radio appearances, newspaper interviews and photography.
- Attend museum, art and cultural events throughout NYC while providing content for social media sites.
- Develop proposals, budgets and execution strategies for magazine releases & projects following editorial deadlines.
Public relations representative skills and personality traits
We calculated that 29% of Public Relations Representatives are proficient in Press Releases, Facebook, and Event Planning. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Organizational skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Public Relations Representatives that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Press Releases, 29%
Developed press releases notifying customers of future events.
- Facebook, 6%
Contributed fun and engaging content to Zoo's Facebook, Twitter, website, and blog.
- Event Planning, 5%
Helped with hiring, recruitment, scheduling meetings, and event planning.
- Promotional Materials, 4%
Worked with marketing and promotion department to facilitate other promotional materials and events.
- Twitter, 4%
Worked with management to identify new PR outlets such as Twitter and Instagram to reach the library's target audience directly.
- External Communications, 4%
Manage employee and external communications across the organization.
Most public relations representatives use their skills in "press releases," "facebook," and "event planning" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential public relations representative responsibilities here:
Interpersonal skills. The most essential soft skill for a public relations representative to carry out their responsibilities is interpersonal skills. This skill is important for the role because "public relations specialists deal with the public and the media regularly." Additionally, a public relations representative resume shows how their duties depend on interpersonal skills: "partnered with the event planning class to increase student involvement by creating strong interpersonal relationships. "
Organizational skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling public relations representative duties is organizational skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "public relations specialists are often in charge of managing several events or communications at the same time, which requires excellent skills in coordinating arrangements." According to a public relations representative resume, here's how public relations representatives can utilize organizational skills in their job responsibilities: "developed and managed organizational communications and associated media, including print newsletters, e-newsletters, brochures, advertisements and web content. "
Problem-solving skills. public relations representatives are also known for problem-solving skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to public relations representative responsibilities, because "public relations specialists sometimes must explain how a company or client is handling sensitive issues." A public relations representative resume example shows how problem-solving skills is used in the workplace: "conflict management problem resolution client relationships and business development"
Speaking skills. A big part of what public relations representatives do relies on "speaking skills." You can see how essential it is to public relations representative responsibilities because "public relations specialists regularly speak on behalf of clients or their organization." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical public relations representative tasks: "represented tbi at public events and charities in support of tbi foundation fund. "
Writing skills. Another crucial skill for a public relations representative to carry out their responsibilities is "writing skills." A big part of what public relations representatives relies on this skill, since "public relations specialists must be able to write well-organized and clear press releases, speeches, and social media posts." How this skill relates to public relations representative duties can be seen in an example from a public relations representative resume snippet: "coordinate material for broadcast and media advertising in addition to writing and distributing press releases announcing important company events. "
The three companies that hire the most public relations representatives are:
- Lifesteps4 public relations representatives jobs
- Qualcomm3 public relations representatives jobs
- Kronos Incorporated3 public relations representatives jobs
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Compare different public relations representatives
Public relations representative vs. 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. Account coordinators must possess essential skills such as a strong business administration background, adept at both written and verbal communication, and excellent time management. They are also responsible for researching prospective clients and produce client feedbacks to their account management teams.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a public relations representative are more likely to require skills like "external communications," "press conferences," "community events," and "community relations." On the other hand, a job as an account coordinator requires skills like "customer service," "data entry," "account management," and "project management." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
The education levels that account coordinators earn slightly differ from public relations representatives. In particular, account coordinators are 1.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a public relations representative. Additionally, they're 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Public relations representative vs. Media coordinator
A media coordinator acts as a communications professional in charge of developing and implementing target communications and advertising for various media platforms. Media coordinators plan, implement, and monitor the social media strategy of an organization. They discern the most successful media outreach and establish advertising partnerships and business deals. They aim to increase their respective companies' brand awareness, strengthen their advertising campaigns, improve their marketing strategies, and increase their sales.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that public relations representative responsibilities requires skills like "external communications," "community relations," "fact sheets," and "public relations strategies." But a media coordinator might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "digital marketing," "social media marketing," "social platforms," and "video content."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Media coordinators tend to reach similar levels of education than public relations representatives. In fact, they're 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for public relations representatives in the next 3-5 years?
Stefanie Leiter
Assistant Professor of Public Relations, Anderson University
Public relations representative vs. Digital media internship
In a digital media internship, an intern participates in various creative projects while under the supervision and guidance of a supervising manager or staff. They usually perform support tasks to gather industry insights and experience, which typically includes creating digital content according to project guidelines and themes, conducting research and analyses, utilizing client feedback, and handling digital platforms, such as websites and social media pages. They also perform clerical support tasks such as preparing documents, taking calls and other forms of correspondence, and running errands as necessary.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, public relations representatives are more likely to have skills like "external communications," "trade shows," "community relations," and "fact sheets." But a digital media internship is more likely to have skills like "video content," "digital marketing," "digital content," and "video production."
When it comes to education, digital media interns tend to earn similar degree levels compared to public relations representatives. In fact, they're 0.8% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Public relations representative vs. 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. Furthermore, there may also be instances where an intern must participate in devising strategies that would bring more public recognition to the brand, such as social media campaigns to boost sales and improve client base.
Types of public relations representative
Updated January 8, 2025
