How to spot the ones who give a sh*t

And I expect you can guess some of what’s coming. So let’s crack on.

An increasing number of people want to take up PR as a career. This has been the case for, to my reckoning, more than a decade.

So why, once they’ve bagged that elusive job, do too many not seem to really ‘care’ about what they’re doing, beyond earning a living and making more money? I wish I knew the answer, and it’s a challenge that I’ve thrashed through with many an agency head and senior bod. The raw truth seems to be that some people are simply along for the ride, rather than truly wanting to work in a media environment.

But let’s leave this issue to one side for this post. Instead, what interests me is those who really do care about PR, as it’s them who’ll drive most success from editorial for their employer, or do the best job for their clients if they work for an agency.

Identifying the ones who’re really going to make it and helping them to accelerate their progress isn’t easy. And a lot of people won’t agree with the points I’m going to make here. But I believe them, and I know a lot of others do too, even if they can be reluctant to admit it in open forum.

So here are the tell-tale signs that PRs, at any stages of their careers, really have a passion for what they’re doing and believe in their abilities rather than are content in the role of smiling passengers:

- They read. Remember when you first went into PR and people told you to read the papers? Far too few people do. The best PRs are media junkies. They can’t pass a TV screen without stopping to listen when the news is on. They will glimpse at any open newspaper. They devour magazines and think about their content. When they rise each morning, they put the radio news on. I’m not talking about letting it take over your personal life, but equally the PRs who really give a sh&t will live and breathe the news

- They listen. To their clients, colleagues, journalists, politicians, marketing pros, in fact anyone who could have a bearing on the reputations of the brands they represent. They’re always thinking about how influence can be better exerted through ideas and techniques

- They innovate. They want to improve how PR is done and the value it can provide. It may not always be obvious that they’re even doing so, but the ones who think about and suggest things that challenge conventions are the ones to look out for

- They’re fearless. They don’t fear change, they revel in it. This is not just about technological progression and the digitisation of the media with which we work. It’s more about the pace of change in the world, in how society is reacting to brands, in how reputation is swayed differently, and sway is ever-changing. Basically, they’re not daunted and don’t revert to trusted ways of working rather than thinking differently

- They’re proud. Of the work they do, and in particular of the quality of the words and pictures that they produce, and that result from their endeavours

- They’re connected. They go out of their way to make friends and develop working relationships with the media, others PRs, brand influencers, clients, colleagues. Anyone who can make a difference to what they do

- They’re ambitious. Not just hungry for career progression, but they have ambitions to improve their ability to do PR better

- They’re communicators. Obvious isn’t it? So why are too many PRs – communications professionals after all – not very good at communicating? Some of us are more outspoken than others, and communication comes more easily to some of us. This isn’t my point though; it’s that those who really care about their jobs care about both the art and science of how human beings communicate with one another, and they make efforts to enhance how they communicate themselves

- They toil. Perhaps the most obvious point, but even at the very top end of the PR game, the best people work really hard. These are not jobs for people who’d prefer a set lunch hour. You can get a reasonable work/life balance, but when you’re working you need to work hard

- They get into work on time, or are mortified when they’re late. This point should be clear

I may have missed some points here, but these are the main ones that occur to me. Spotting these traits, individually and collectively, in other PRs is a never-ending task. But if we’re going to continue to make PR have greater value, and if we’re going to take advantage of all the opportunities that change presents, we need to be alert in spotting and encouraging the ones who want to share in that work.