How to Ace a PR Job Interview | Public Relations

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Here are my top interviewing tips for gaining a job in the field of public relations. First impressions are important, and in PR you need to dress the part. Wear something fashionable, on-trend, chic and not too corporate, unless you're applying for a corporate PR position. But if you're applying for anything in entertainment, fashion and brands, it's important again to dress on-trend.

The next thing is being prepared. Come to the interview with writing samples, a clip book of press that you've pitched and placed. Now, I know if this is an entry level position, you may not have these things yet. But the fact that you know about them and that they exist and that you know that that's what you're going to be doing once you gain that job in PR, be prepared.

So, have a sample of the way that you write. Give an example of what a prospective client would be for you and the sections and the placements you would like to get for them. If you came in to an interview with me, and let's say you didn't have any experience but you knew that field of PR, and you said, "If this was my client, this would be the pitch that I would pitch for them, and this is the sections in the magazine that I would get them in," and give me an example in that interview I'd be sold. And no one has done it to me yet.

Like I said, your Rolodex is everything. So, you're going to be asked in an interview, "Who are your contacts? Who are your media relationships? What celebrity publicists or celebrity managers do you have relationships with?" Come in with three to five strong contacts that you can say, "These people will help me in the position at your company," because again, it's about who you know.

Also, be prepared to have a list of magazines, blogs, and newspapers that you read on a daily basis. Being that our job is to get our clients in the news, you need to know the news. So during the interview, I want you to tell your future employer, blogs, magazines and newspapers that you read on a daily basis and that you're up to date on what's current.