Public Relations Resume 2022: Guide To PR Resume With Examples & Samples
Writing a public relations resume can be difficult.
[Click here to directly go to the complete public relations resume sample]
To make it easier for you to make a PR resume, our public relations resume writing experts at Hiration have come up with this article in which they have explained their method of making a PR resume. Read on this article and follow the steps to make your public relations resume with ease.
By the end of our Guide on PR Resume, along with PR resume samples and public relations resume example, you will know:
- How to write the public relations resume skills section
- When to make a public relations resume objective section and when to make a summary section
- How to include your public relations resume skills in the professional experience section
- What all to include in the personal information section
... All to make a job winning public relations resume!
The article will cover the following topics:
How To Write A Public Relations Resume?
It can be really difficult to make a public relations resume if one does not know the correct method of writing one. To make this process an easy one, we've written and explained the process of making a PR resume in detail in the article further.
In addition to this, you can opt for Hiration's Online Resume Builder where you will get pre-filled public relations resume templates which are ready to use. These templates have been prepared by select industry experts and making use of them will increase your chances of getting shortlisted by many folds.
Hard to believe us? Then go give it a try and check for yourself.
Our Online Resume Builder offers over 20+ professional design templates whose designs are in minimalistic design format which will enhance the overall look of your PR resume drastically.
It is pointless to spend nights and days in beautifying your public relations resume if it ends up in the bin every time a recruiter sees it just because it was either not up to the mark in terms of looks or is overly decorative, which is not needed at all.
Public Relations Sample Resume
To get an idea of how a PR resume should look like when it's done and dusted, look at the public relations resume example given below:
- Awarded the 'Best Employee of the Month' award at Novo Food Tech '15
- Received the 'Star Intern' award at Jet Blank Inc. for stellar performance during the summer internship '13
- Successfully completed the 2 week training for PR professionals by Donald Shimp, leading PR expert '17
- Received the 'PR expert' certification by completing the expert PR course by Stanford University on Coursera '16
- Chaired the role of first PR Associate in the firm under the reporting to CMO and the Public Relations Head
- Co authored the PR strategy and marketing content for the past 2 years consecutively
- Contributed to drafting the strategy by gathering PR best practices from similar startups around the country
- Illustrated ~10 press releases every month for national dailies for 7 months
- Inviting major journalists and reporters in the technology space to interview the CEO & CMO
- Handling multiple questions from newspapers, magazines etc. on a regular basis
- KEY SKILLSExecuting the PR strategy on multiple social media channels by monitoring the communication tone as well as executing campaigns
- Launched the 'Food for the Homeless' campaign that generated ~1mn. impressions on social media
- Handled the organization of 2 press conferences with a 50+ attendance
- Responded to 20+ queries by reporters around the latest e-book
- Edited the letter of appreciation sent by the CEO to publishing partners
- CGPA: 4/4
- Languages: English, Spanish & Dutch
What Is A Public Relations Resume & Why Do You Need It?
The workings of a public relations professional include organizing open days as well as a lot of tours and traveling to promote the products and organizations. They also speak at interviews, presentations and press conferences.
The following roles and responsibilities are some of the major job description that requires a public relations professional to work on:
- A public relations professionals' job requires them to provide clients with information on current PR campaigns progress and also identify new opportunities to promote their brand or organization. They also need to conduct analysis of media coverage.
- A public relations professional should be able to commission or conduct relevant market research, be able to liaise with clients, journalists and management staff regarding budgets, objectives, and timescale.
- A PR resume will help the recruiter know the level of your expertise in carrying out all these duties.
- A public relations resume concisely provides information on your education and professional history to the recruiter.
According to money.usnews.com freshers in the field of public relations get an approximate salary of USD $4,000 per month, whereas those in a senior position get a monthly salary of approximately USD $7,000 per month. To get to the higher paid slot, it is important for a person to keep updating his/her PR resume.
An updated public relations resume shows your progress and growth in the field of public relations through the years to the recruiters.
Hiration Pro-Tip: By using Hiration's Online Resume Builder you will also get access to 100+ content templates to make that professional looking public relations resume.
Public Relations Job Description
Below given is a public relations resume example of the job description for the profile of a public relations professional. Further, in the article, we will also explain how to make the best use of the job description to write your public relations resume professional experience section.
- Gaining support and understanding of your clients
- Efficient at using different forms of communication and media
- Building, maintaining and managing the reputation of the clients
- Effectively communicating key messages of the clients to the target audience
- Monitoring the publicity and conducting research on the same
- Reporting and explaining the findings of the research conducted
- Developing, planning and implementing PR strategies
- Liaising with the clients, media, and organizations
- Answering the queries of the clients and the media
- Analyzing media coverage
Public Relations Resume Sections
Your sections of public relations resume will be made in the following order:
- Header
- Profile Title
- Personal Information
- Summary
- Key Skills
- Professional Experience
- Internships
- Education
- Training and Certifications
- Awards and Recognition
Writing Your Public Relations Resume
The Public Relations Resume will be made in four stages:
- Compilation PR Resume
- Master Public Relations Resume
- First Draft PR Resume and
- Final Public Relations Resume
- Compilation Stage for your PR Resume: In this first stage of public relations resume making, you just have to collect all the information related to your PR resume at one single place. Collect all the information related to the above mentioned public relations resume sections at one place.
It will help in the PR resume making process further as you when you will have all the information collected at one place, there won't be any need to go looking here and there for the needed information later.
- Master Public Relations Resume: In this stage, you will make your professional experience section and internship section. To make them, make sure you have the following information:
- Company Names
- Locations
- Dates of joining and resigning/completion of tenure
- Points arranged in terms of importance for each work experience
- First Draft for your PR Resume: In this third stage of public relations resume making, you will make the sections of the header, profile title, personal information, education, training and certifications as well as awards and recognition.
Hiration Pro-Tip: Save a copy of your master PR resume, so that in future whenever you switch your job or think of changing your career, you can just open this master public relations resume and make a PR resume.
- Final Public Relations Resume: Now, at this final stage of PR resume making, you need to do three things.
- Making the public relations resume skills section
Scan the complete professional experience section to look for public relations resume skills to write in the key skills section.
- Writing the summary/objective section
Again, scan your professional experience section and pick out points that are the highlight of your career. Rephrase these points and then write them in the summary section.
- Highlight and bold
Lastly, highlight and bold all the important words, phrases, and numbers in your professional experience, internship, education, training and certifications as well as in awards and recognition sections.
Look at the PR resume sample given below to see how a well finished public relations resume looks like:
Public Relations Resume: Professional Experience
As mentioned above in the article, once you're done with stage one, which is the compilation stage, we will move on to the second stage, the master public relations resume stage.
As we will make the professional experience and internship section in this stage, let us see how.
The professional experience section is of utmost importance in a PR resume.
This section will demonstrate your entire professional trajectory to the recruiter. Let us now see how to write the professional experience section so that it leaves an impression on the recruiter's mind.
Now, let us see how to write the points of this section. The points of this section need to be written using the cause-effect method and bucketing and highlighting.
Public relations resume Example 1:
- Creating the PR strategy
- Creating press releases for major newspapers
- Drafting the strategy by gathering PR best practices
- Inviting major journalists and reporters to interview the CEO & CMO
- Handling multiple questions on a regular basis
The above-written points of the professional experience section don't provide much information around the kind of work the person has done as the cause-effect method and bucketing and highlighting method are not used in writing the above public relations resume example.
Public relations resume Example 2:
PR Strategy
- Played a key role in creating the PR strategy for the past 2 years
- Contributed to drafting the strategy by gathering PR best practices from similar startups around the world
Press Releases
- Creating ~10 press releases every month for major newspapers
- Inviting major journalists and reporters in the technology space to interview the CEO & CMO
- Handling multiple questions from newspapers, magazines, etc. on a regular basis
Now, from public relations resume example 2 you can see how we've used the cause-effect method to write the points as well as bucketing and highlighting has increased the readability of the sentences.
Writing similar points together and putting them under a bucket will provide instant clarity to the recruiter of the kind of responsibilities that you have held.
Other buckets that can be made for the professional experience points of a public relations resume are of Social Media, Strategy & Budgeting, Media & Press, etc.
Public Relations Resume: Internship
Internship section comes next in the master public relations resume making stage.
For those who are freshers in the field of public relations, internship section will be the first section that they will make as they don't have any relevant work experience to make a professional experience section.
And for those professionals who have previous work experience, this will be the second section that they will make in their PR resume.
Name this section as 'INTERNSHIP' and not as 'PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE' as these both vastly differ from each other.
Internships are mostly unpaid whereas you get a proper salary for working for an organization when you are doing a job.
Making an internship section in your public relations resume shows the recruiter that how serious you are when it comes to your career.
As shown above, the points which need to be written under the internship section will also be written using the cause-effect method and bucketing and highlighting. For example:
Press Conferences & Editing
- Handled the organization of 2 press conferences with a 50+ attendance
- Responded to 20+queries by reporters around the latest e-book
- Edited the letter of appreciation sent by the CEO to publishing partners
Public Relations Resume: Header
Now, let's proceed towards completing the third stage of the public relations resume making process. As mentioned above, it is the first section that you will make at this stage.
So, you must be thinking:
What is a PR resume header?
Header comes as the very top of your public relations resume and is the first section in the order of the sections. So, what is the purpose of writing a header?
Well, it differentiates your PR resume from hundreds of other public relations resumes that are there to apply for the same profile. It consists of your name.
- Make sure that the header is the largest text in your entire PR resume.
- It should be written between the font size of 14-16 points.
- The second most important thing to ensure in the header is the correct spacing. Correct spacing is highly crucial if you have a middle name.
- The correct way to write your middle name in the header is: 'Christopher A. Kutcher'. Write only the first initial of your middle name and then put a full-stop after that initial.
However, you can instead use Hiration's Online Resume Builder to make that on point public relations resume header. Our Online Resume Builder uses a fixed font size and font style to write the resume header.
Public Relations Resume: Personal Information
In the personal information section, you will write three things: 1. Personal Phone Number 2. Personal E-mail Address and 3. Location
- Personal Phone Number
Write only that phone number on which you are available 24x7.
Further, there is a specific manner in which the personal mobile number is written. You need to write it properly, you can't just go and scribble down your phone number.
Ensure two things when writing your personal phone number.
One, write the International Subscriber Dialing (ISD) code of your country.
Second, give a single space after the first five digits of your phone number.
- Personal E-mail Address
The second thing to be written in the personal information section is the personal e-mail address.
The e-mail address is written in the center, right next to the personal phone number. Do not use an unprofessional e-mail ID names like 'hotharley@xyz.com'.
Use a professional looking e-mail ID name which is also appropriate for putting in a public relations resume. For example: 'christopher@xyz.com'.
You can also add hyperlinks to your other social media sites and personal websites with the e-mail address, but ensure that they all are on the same page in terms of information and up to date with your professional information.
- Current Location
The third thing to write in the personal information section is your current location of residence. The current location will be written on the right-hand side, right next to the e-mail address.
If you are living outside your home town, then mention the city where you are currently living and not your home town.
Also, do not write the complete address of your current location as it is of no use. The basic idea behind writing the current location is for the recruiter to know if you'll be relocating to join the company. So, for that matter, only the city name followed by the country pin is enough.
Again, you can opt for Hiration's Online Resume Builder to make your PR resume wherein you get the options to change the icons in the personal information section in order to make your public relations resume more appealing.
You get the following icons to customize your personal information section:
- WhatsApp icon for the personal mobile number section if your number is available on WhatsApp and a mobile phone icon if your number is not on WhatsApp.
- Icons of various social media platforms to put in front of the space where you provided your hyperlinks to the various social media accounts.
So, what are you waiting for? Make your PR resume at Hiration's Online Resume Builder Today!
Public Relations Resume: Profile Title
It is important to add a profile title to in your PR resume as it lets the recruiter know for which profile you've applied for.
For example: Publicist, Copywriter, PR Specialist, etc.
The profile title tells the recruiter within a glance if your public relations resume if worth reading or not.
When making your profile title, write it in the font size of 12-14 points.
You can also go for Hiration's Resume Reviewing Services to get a review of your PR resume length which will be done by professionals at Hiration.
Public Relations Resume: Education
In this section, you will provide information around your education, which includes things such as the name of the university/school attended, courses pursued, their locations, dates of enrolling into and graduating from them and the CGPA acquired.
Public Relations Resume: Certifications
The second last thing to make in the first draft PR resume stage is the training and certifications section.
In this section, you can include any and every certification and training that adds value to your public relations resume. The following information needs to be mentioned in this section:
- Certification/Training Name
- Affiliating Institution
- Location
- Dates of enrolling into and graduating from
Use the below given format to write this section:
{Name of certification} | {Affiliating Institution} | {Location} | {Date (month & year)}
You can also get your PR resume reviewed by an industry expert at Hiration to check the relevant key skills of your public relations resume.
Public Relations Resume: Awards & Recognition
In this section, you will write all the awards and recognition that you got in your previous jobs, internships, college, and school.
But do not write awards like that of 'Best Student In The Class' and 'Best Handwriting'. Awards like these aren't worth writing in a public relations resume and at the same time, they won't even add any value to your PR resume.
Use the below-given format to write the awards and recognition section of your public relations resume:
{Name of the award}| {Award giving Institution} | {Dates of getting the award}
Public Relations Resume Key Skills Section
Now starts the last stage of public relations resume making, which is the final draft PR resume. As mentioned in the starting of the article, you will start off this stage by making the public relations resume key skills section.
The best way to get as many key skills for your PR resume as you can is by scanning the whole of your public relations resume for the public relations resume skills.
When writing this section, make sure you don't write them in more than three lines. Your key skills sections shouldn't exceed the limit of three lines. When you're done making the key skills section, make sure to bold the whole section.
Add a bullet before each skill when writing the key skills section. Also, center align your key skills section to give it a neat and organized look.
After bolding and center aligning the section, also italicize it. Italicizing the section will drastically separate it from the other sections and will ensure that the recruiter reads your public relations resume skills section as the very first thing as soon as he/she sees your public relations resume.
Besides this, to make your PR resume more visually appealing make it on Hiration's Online Resume Builder where you'll get the option of adding bar graphs and pie charts to make your public relations resume skills section in our California Template. So, use Hiration's Online Resume Builder Now!
Public Relations: Summary
The summary section is the last section to be written while making a public relations resume. To write this section, first scan whole of your PR resume and pick out those points that are the highlight of your career.
Now frame these points in such a way that they tell the recruiter how you used your public relations resume skills to benefit the previous organization. Also, you will write a summary section
only if you have work experience of over three years.
Again, you can opt for Hiration's Resume Reviewing Services to get your public relations resume professionally reviewed by the industry experts and to check your STAR PR resume points (outlining the cause and effect in each public relations resume point).
Public Relations Resume: Objective
Like the summary written at the end, similarly, the public relations resume objective section is also written at the end. Scan whole of your public relations resume and find the points which are the highlight of your career. Now, rephrase these points and write them in the public relations resume objective section.
Hiration Pro-Tip: Write your summary/objective section in a paragraph form not exceeding 3-4 lines
Public relations resume objective section is written when you have professional experience of less than three years.
Look at the below given public relations resume sample to get greater clarity on how a well finished PR resume looks like:
Public Relations Resume Template Free
Hiration's Online Resume Builder offers 4 free content templates along with a free template design which is customized by professionals to suit the needs of professionals.
So, make your PR resume at Hiration's Online Resume Builder today!
Public Relations Resume PDF
Make your PR resume at Hiration's Online Resume Builder, where you get the option of downloading a PDF of your public relations resume as well.
If you make your public relations resume at Hiration's Online Resume Builder, you can download Unlimited PDFs of your PR resume.
So, go and make your public relations resume at Hiration's Online Resume Builder now!
Key Takeaways
- When you write your job title, make sure it is optimized according to your targeted job profile. It is vital to optimize the job title according to the target job profile as it provides clarity on the position which you have applied for. It also gives clarity with respect to your profile in case you are changing your field.
- Write a summary section, instead of a public relations resume objective section if you are applying for a mid-senior level or senior level profile.
- In the summary/objective section write what you can do for the company instead of writing what you expect the company to do for you. By doing so, you can convince the recruiter that you're the ideal candidate for their company.
- Write a public relations resume objective section instead of a summary if you are an entry-level professional.
- The summary/objective section will come just after your personal information section. Summary/objective section is most likely the first section that a recruiter will see. So, it is of paramount importance that they are crisp and on point. In this section mention, only those public relations resume skills and achievements that the recruiter is looking for.
- When writing your summary section, start off by writing the number of experience that you hold followed by some values that you uphold. For example: '3+ years experienced PR associate skilled in managing public relations for startups.' Continue in this way and highlight your most valued public relations resume skills and achievements.
- The key skills section of your PR resume will come just after the summary/objective section. Since the space in the key skills section is limited, only mention your hard public relations resume skills which you can substantiate, and do not write any soft public relations resume skills. Also, these public relations resume skills should be specific to your target profile.
- Make sure to write your public relations resume skills throughout your public relations resume and not just in the key skills section.
- When your PR resume reaches the recruiter, there are chances that he might not be aware of the company in which you have worked previously. So, for that matter, write a one-line description of your company just below the company name. In this description, you can write the number of employees, the revenue of the company, etc.
- Keep a separate line for the company description and start your public relations resume points from the next line.
Go to Hiration resume builder and create a professional resume for yourself. Additionally, reach out to us at support@hiration.com and you can get 24/7 professional assistance with all your job & career-related queries.