Public Relations Assistant

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“Public Relations Assistant related Frequently Asked Questions by expert members with professional career as Public Relations Assistant. These list of interview questions and answers will help you strengthen your technical skills, prepare for the new job interview and quickly revise your concepts”



76 Public Relations Assistant Questions And Answers

21⟩ Explain me how would you go about finding relevant contacts and sources?

Finding relevant contacts and sources is quiet easy now-a-days with the help of social media and Internet.

☛ Get email notifications directly to your inbox whenever journalists tweet or link to articles matching your search term.

☛ Contact directly through their email.

☛ You can keep an eye on which journalists are following or sharing your content on social media.

☛ Maintain a list of media people and include private notes from past campaigns to make your upcoming outreach more efficient.

☛ There may be a situation when you may not have any contact or source of information of a particular media house; so you can search for their website and the contact us section has contact number of the important people of the organization.

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22⟩ Explain me what are some of the growing trends in the public relations industry?

As the field of communication is growing, public relations is more than press releases and press conferences. Social media and Internet are the recent trends for PR strategies, and here are some trends to watch.

☛ Change in the traditional forms of press releases - the old forms are mostly filled with texts and it gets boring for the reader to read so much without illustrations. Through the Internet and social media these documents will be more appealing to the readers with images and videos.

☛ Public relations specialists will be required by every corporate office - With The growing trend of Internet and social media the pressure on businesses to be transparent and practice open communication, has increased.

☛ PR will be more about building relationships - Social media will be used by public relations specialists to deliver relevant information to the public and get connected to them. Followers are not just a number of people, in fact they are opportunities to build stronger relationships.

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23⟩ Tell me what media outlets do you follow on a regular basis? Why those ones?

You should be following outlets relevant to the job and industry you’re interviewing for. If you’re interviewing for a tech start-up, make sure you’re following places like Wired. Don’t just pretend you follow them either. Do some serious research since interviewers are usually smart enough to know who is genuine and who isn’t. However, you shouldn’t pander or be dishonest. If you’re interviewing for a job at CBS, don’t lie and claim you get all of your news from CBS. They won’t be flattered.

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24⟩ Tell me why do you want to work in PR?

Just be honest here and have something interesting to say. If you’re passionate, it will be apparent in your answer. You’ll be able to show off your knowledge of the industry and the importance of PR. If you’re not passionate, maybe you shouldn’t be doing the interview in the first place. The last thing interviewers want to hear is “Well, it just seemed like a practical job to get.”

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25⟩ Explain me how would you put together a pitch?

Being a public relations personnel you must know the techniques of making an effective pitch. Here are some common ideas to put a pitch together.

☛ Choose your target- Your target must be according to your requirement, so that it actually fits.

☛ Go through the writer's previous articles- Before you make any pitch you must go through the writer's articles and know about their interests, styles, and know the ways you can promote them further along their lines.

☛ Plan your pitch in advance- Plan out your pitch on the basis of what the story would be. You can make your first pitch through an email and then, you can call.

☛ Speaking to the point- While making a pitch you must speak to the point and let the reporter know what the subject is and what your reasons are for taking the interview. And at that point there is no sense in buttering them as they must know your interests are sincere.

☛ Be specific about the purpose of the interview- If you are not specific about the purpose of the interview, reporters may entertain you once but not from the next time.

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26⟩ Tell me why do you think corporates require public relations specialists?

With all of us using smart phones and the presence of so many social media websites everyone knows about every brand, so there is transparency in the market. Corporates will need public relations specialists because:

☛ Effective PR creates an image of a company.

☛ Connects with consumers to create a relationship between company and customer.

☛ Your brand creates a conversation with customers.

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27⟩ Explain me have you ever had to handle a social media crisis? What did you do?

At times we have to come under situations where we need to handle social media crisis in such a way that we are able convince the audience in a satisfactory manner. Being a public relations specialist I would follow some of the common steps mentioned below to get over with the social media crisis.

☛ Open yourself to the conversation - Rather than ignoring the situation I would come forward and respond or comment and will open myself to the opinion and feedback.

☛ Listen genuinely - I would listen to the people's opinion like what they have to say and will note down all the major points and even recognize inaccuracies or inconsistencies in what happened.

☛ Become the evaluator - I would raise some serious questions about the organization or brand. For an example, Did you do something wrong? Could you have stopped it? Perhaps more importantly, what can you do to prevent it from happening in the future? Pro actively share some of those ideas and show you are actively working through the issue.

☛ Take action - At last think of some solutions to the problems and plan out how you can take actions on to get over with the crisis.

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28⟩ Explain me what skills have you acquired that would help you communicate a client’s message?

Overall a good PR candidate is one who has great written and oral communication and is able to be persuasive, meet deadlines, and make long lasting connections. Betsy Hays, the lead Public Relations Professor for the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism at California State University Fresno, says, “A great PR professional is a great writer that understands human nature. They have beautiful intuition and can articulate their ideas in a clear, concise way.” What makes them even better is their ability to be energized and creative in communicating a client’s message. Does the PR candidate have skills in video production and editing? Photography? Community management? Diversity of skill is key.

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29⟩ Explain what do you think are the most valuable methods of combining the “art” that’s inherent in PR with the metrics (the “science”) that C-level executives now demand from communicators?

This may be the $64,000 question for PR candidates, revealing how much currency they place on deploying measurement tools to gauge the success of campaigns, and whether they have a head for numbers (which is increasingly becoming the price of entry for PR job candidates).

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31⟩ Tell me how do you rate your writing skills?

Writing skills are absolutely essential for a public relations professional, so ideally, you’ll say you’re an expert. If you’re not, don’t say that you’re terrible at it. Instead, show resourcefulness and tell the interviewer that you’re sure to have each piece of work edited before you put it out for public consumption.

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32⟩ Tell me finding a balance between remaining objective and advocating for your clients is vital. How would you do this?

Although my job as a PR manager will be promoting my organization, I know it is important to remain as unbiased as possible. Sticking with the facts is a great way to ensure that I remain objective. When I work for a great organization, the facts will be enough. I simply need to present them in a positive way. This ensures I remain honest. However, I also understand that I don’t have to disclose every last piece of information. I would always try to find that balance between telling consumers information they need to know without bias while also maintaining the best possible outcome for the organization.

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33⟩ As you know social media is an important tool in this industry. Tell us about your favorite platforms and why they are your favorites?

I use various platforms, each depending on the target audience and goals for the organizations I am working for. Facebook is an excellent platform for people in their mid-to-late twenties and thirties or older, while Instagram, SnapChat and Twitter may be better platforms for younger individuals. Each has particular strengths that I can use to increase my reach to my target audience.

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34⟩ Tell me is there anything our organization has been doing lately that you find interesting?

If the interviewer asks you this question, he or she is probably referring to corporate news or news about the company as a whole. What do you think of a new product they released? Have they announced the acquisition of any start-ups recently? Did they donate a substantial amount to charity? Knowing these things will impress your employer since it proves you did your homework. If you’re feeling brave, you even talk about things you would do differently if you had power in the company.

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35⟩ Tell me how would you go about finding relevant contacts and sources?

Once again, HARO and social media are resources that experts recommend. Reddit and Quora can also be great resources for seeing what people are saying about a story, who is talking about what, and how current the subject is. As Gary once stated, you should remember not to conflate relevance and prestige. As Gary says, “Everyone is relevant!” Just because someone is from The New York Times does not mean they are a more relevant source than an independent blogger. The people you talk to should always be connected to the story!

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36⟩ Tell me what kind of media outlets do you follow on a day to day basis? Why particularly those?

The kind of media outlets you follow reflect your interests and your character. If you are appearing for a job interview in a company that deals with technology, you must follow outlets like Global Guideline.

It is not just about following media outlets, make sure that you did a serious research since interviewers are usually smart enough to know who is genuine and who is not. If you are following any social media website, you must have reasons to follow it like you get updated on technology through Wired or TechCrunch.

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37⟩ Explain me how to use social media as a public relations specialist?

☛ Use twitter chats or #B2B chat on twitter every Thursday or #pr20 chat, which a weekly exploration of social media’s exploration on public relations

☛ Use Pitch-engine, to create a pitch and share your release or news directly with the customers

☛ Use PRX builder, also known as Social Media Release is a simple tool that help you to write your content, add images and video, insert links, etc.

☛ Use CNW’s Social Media Release, it gives online audience a platform to visit for multi-media content and conversation about your message

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38⟩ Explain me some of the challenges that Public Relation specialist are facing?

☛ PR for mobile users: Mobiles have pushed PR specialist to think out of the box and prepare messages that are small and yet effective

☛ From local to global: To understand the market value and client’s product demand, PR has to increase their field spectrum from local to global. Studies have to be carried out to know about the geographical and cultural differences before recognizing the target audience

☛ Continuous Monitoring of product in real time: Continuous monitoring of client’s product through PR helps to add value to it. Also, it helps the client to fade away any negative branding done by the rivals about the product.

☛ Image driven Content: Image driven content are more in demand than normal content. Image that conveys the product message with minimum description

☛ Hyper personalized content: Client’s demand of representing them with a personalized symbol or style statement through a right channel and at the right time. For instance, coke’s personalized bottles or Microsoft logo

☛ Social Media and SEO: PR specialist should be aware of all technical glitch of the social media optimization and how SEO works

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39⟩ Tell me how can you use social media to reach and impress traditional media?

We live in the digital age where social media can either leverage your company’s brand or break it. Social media goes hand-in-hand with traditional media like print, television, and radio. How good is a PR candidate in promoting their own personal brand on social media? Mark Ragan, CEO of Ragan Communication and publisher of PR Daily, points out, “The successful PR candidate will understand the connection between producing great content and social media. If I look at a job candidate’s LinkedIn page or Twitter feed, and it’s unimpressive, why would I think the candidate would be any more successful representing a client?”

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40⟩ Tell me what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I once trained a college grad who thought her destiny was PR. After several months of hard work and dedication, she wasn’t afraid to admit it wasn’t for her. Despite what she thought, she confessed on her last day: “I discovered that I really don’t like writing or reading.” To succeed in PR, you must love both. No matter what your hobbies include, make sure to mention a love of reading or that you blog or do creative writing in your spare time. This shows the interviewer that you have an existing love of the creative world.

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