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Public Relations Specialists

Promote or create an intended public image for individuals, groups, or organizations. May write or select material for release to various communications media. May specialize in using social media.
  • Summary

  • Details

  • Work Activities

    • Plan or direct development or communication of programs to maintain favorable public or stockholder perceptions of an organization's accomplishments, agenda, or environmental responsibility.
    • Confer with production or support personnel to produce or coordinate production of advertisements or promotions.
    • Write press releases or other media communications to promote clients.
    • Develop marketing campaigns for environmental technologies or services.
    • Purchase advertising space or time as required to promote client's product or agenda.
    • Respond to requests for information from the media or designate an appropriate spokesperson or information source.
    • Develop plans or materials to communicate organizational activities that are beneficial to the environment, public safety, or other important social issues.
    • Prepare or edit organizational publications, such as employee newsletters or stockholders' reports, for internal or external audiences.
    • Study the objectives, promotional policies, or needs of organizations to develop public relations strategies that will influence public opinion or promote ideas, products, or services.
    • Prepare or deliver speeches to further public relations objectives.
    • Consult with advertising agencies or staff to arrange promotional campaigns in all types of media for products, organizations, or individuals.
    • Arrange public appearances, lectures, contests, or exhibits for clients to increase product or service awareness or to promote goodwill.
    • Establish or maintain cooperative relationships with representatives of community, consumer, employee, or public interest groups.
    • Post and update content on the company's Web site and social media outlets.
    • Coordinate public responses to environmental management incidents or conflicts.
    • Coordinate public responses to environmental management incidents or conflicts.
    • Establish or maintain cooperative relationships with representatives of community, consumer, employee, or public interest groups.
    • Prepare or edit organizational publications, such as employee newsletters or stockholders' reports, for internal or external audiences.
    • Confer with other managers to identify trends or key group interests or concerns or to provide advice on business decisions.
    • Plan or conduct market or public opinion research to test products or determine potential for product success, communicating results to client or management.
    • Coach client representatives in effective communication with the public or with employees.

    Skills

    • Critical Thinking
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
    • Instructing
      • Teaching people how to do something.
    • Reading Comprehension
      • Reading work-related information.
    • Repairing
      • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
    • Monitoring
      • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
    • Quality Control Analysis
      • Testing how well a product or service works.
    • Management of Financial Resources
      • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
    • Operation and Control
      • Using equipment or systems.
    • Installation
      • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
    • Management of Material Resources
      • Managing equipment and materials.
    • Persuasion
      • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
    • Speaking
      • Talking to others.
    • Coordination
      • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
    • Complex Problem Solving
      • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
    • Social Perceptiveness
      • Understanding people's reactions.
    • Judgment and Decision Making
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
    • Active Listening
      • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
    • Programming
      • Writing computer programs.
    • Equipment Selection
      • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
    • Technology Design
      • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
    • Equipment Maintenance
      • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
    • Mathematics
      • Using math to solve problems.
    • Science
      • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
    • Systems Analysis
      • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
    • Operations Analysis
      • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
    • Active Learning
      • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
    • Service Orientation
      • Looking for ways to help people.
    • Troubleshooting
      • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
    • Systems Evaluation
      • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
    • Negotiation
      • Bringing people together to solve differences.
    • Learning Strategies
      • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
    • Time Management
      • Managing your time and the time of other people.
    • Operations Monitoring
      • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
    • Management of Personnel Resources
      • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
    • Writing
      • Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    Abilities

    • Oral Expression
      • Communicating by speaking.
    • Memorization
      • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
    • Flexibility of Closure
      • Seeing hidden patterns.
    • Glare Sensitivity
      • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
    • Visual Color Discrimination
      • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
    • Speech Clarity
      • Speaking clearly.
    • Dynamic Strength
      • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
    • Near Vision
      • Seeing details up close.
    • Originality
      • Creating new and original ideas.
    • Multilimb Coordination
      • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
    • Selective Attention
      • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
    • Rate Control
      • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
    • Depth Perception
      • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
    • Stamina
      • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
    • Hearing Sensitivity
      • Telling the difference between sounds.
    • Problem Sensitivity
      • Noticing when problems happen.
    • Inductive Reasoning
      • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
    • Extent Flexibility
      • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Peripheral Vision
      • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
    • Gross Body Coordination
      • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
    • Sound Localization
      • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
    • Speech Recognition
      • Recognizing spoken words.
    • Night Vision
      • Seeing at night or under low light.
    • Gross Body Equilibrium
      • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
    • Oral Comprehension
      • Listening and understanding what people say.
    • Category Flexibility
      • Grouping things in different ways.
    • Spatial Orientation
      • Knowing where things are around you.
    • Time Sharing
      • Doing two or more things at the same time.
    • Reaction Time
      • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
      • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
    • Control Precision
      • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
    • Explosive Strength
      • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
    • Far Vision
      • Seeing details that are far away.
    • Deductive Reasoning
      • Using rules to solve problems.
    • Speed of Closure
      • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
    • Written Expression
      • Communicating by writing.
    • Number Facility
      • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
    • Trunk Strength
      • Using your lower back and stomach.
    • Information Ordering
      • Ordering or arranging things.
    • Perceptual Speed
      • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
    • Written Comprehension
      • Reading and understanding what is written.
    • Fluency of Ideas
      • Coming up with lots of ideas.
    • Mathematical Reasoning
      • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
    • Visualization
      • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
    • Response Orientation
      • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
    • Wrist-Finger Speed
      • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
    • Manual Dexterity
      • Holding or moving items with your hands.
    • Finger Dexterity
      • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
    • Speed of Limb Movement
      • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
    • Dynamic Flexibility
      • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Auditory Attention
      • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
    • Static Strength
      • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    Knowledge

    • Food Production
      • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
    • Education and Training
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
    • Telecommunications
      • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
    • Communications and Media
      • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
    • Production and Processing
      • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • Engineering and Technology
      • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
    • Mechanical
      • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
    • Administrative
      • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
    • Medicine and Dentistry
      • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
    • Geography
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • Physics
      • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
    • Therapy and Counseling
      • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
    • Law and Government
      • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
    • Sales and Marketing
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
    • English Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
    • Foreign Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
    • Transportation
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • Customer and Personal Service
      • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
    • Personnel and Human Resources
      • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
    • Building and Construction
      • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
    • Philosophy and Theology
      • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
    • Public Safety and Security
      • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
    • Design
      • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
    • Economics and Accounting
      • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
    • Administration and Management
      • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
    • Biology
      • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
    • Mathematics
      • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    • Psychology
      • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
    • Chemistry
      • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    Education

    Education
    Bachelor's degree
    Work Experience
    No work experience
    Training
    No on-the-job training

    Pay

    Washington Annual Salary
    85500/yr
    Washington Hourly Wage
    41.11/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    7,900
    Yearly Projected Openings
    840

    Personality

    Enterprising: People interested in this work like activities that include leading, making decisions, and business. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Attention to Detail
    • Integrity
    • Initiative
    • Dependability
    • Persistence
    • Adaptability/Flexibility

    Tools

    • Desktop computers
    • Laser printers
    • Notebook computers
    • Personal computers
    • Photocopiers
    • Special purpose telephones

    Technology

    • Cloud-based data access and sharing software
    • Customer relationship management CRM software
    • Data base reporting software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Data mining software
    • Desktop communications software
    • Desktop publishing software
    • Development environment software
    • Document management software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Graphics or photo imaging software
    • Information retrieval or search software
    • Instant messaging software
    • Internet browser software
    • Multi-media educational software
    • Network conferencing software
    • Network monitoring software
    • Office suite software
    • Operating system software
    • Presentation software
    • Project management software
    • Sales and marketing software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Video conferencing software
    • Video creation and editing software
    • Web page creation and editing software
    • Web platform development software
    • Word processing software