PR CV Example

As a public relations (PR) officer, you’ll be responsible for improving the reputation of your clients, organisation, or brand. You’ll also do outreach work across various traditional and new media platforms. PR officers may work with businesses, nonprofits, service providers, or the public sector.

A career in PR is highly competitive, but its outlook is promising. The industry is set to grow considerably in the UK over the next few years as social media continues to diversify the marketing avenues available to companies.

To get ahead in PR, you’ll need to be adaptable, quick thinking, and an effective communicator. Your PR CV should demonstrate that. Here’s how you can make a hard sell with your application.

1. Start strong with a memorable personal statement

Effective communication skills are essential to PR, so your personal statement should demonstrate that you’ve got them. Your personal statement gives an overview of your professional profile. Cover the following details in three to five sentences:

• Your years of experience — or educational background if you have none
• Area of expertise — including any important achievements or previous duties
• Objective — what you want to achieve with this career move

Think of this as your elevator pitch. Most employers take seconds to decide whether to give your CV a thorough read or drop it in the waste paper basket. Capture their interest by writing in the active voice and highlighting any achievements that are highly relevant to the job description and use numbers where possible. Compare these two personal statements:

Forward-thinking public relations officer with three years of experience in the fashion industry. Worked with two award-winning media relations agencies, assisting smaller design firms to increase retail presence in the UK. Used targeted outreach strategies to increase client base by 10% over two years. Seeking in-house press position with opportunities to advance into a managerial role.

Public relations officer with experience in the fashion industry. Tasked with developing outreach strategies and helping design firms to increase retail presence in the UK. Seeking in-house position.

2. Optimise your work experience section

Knowing where to put work experience on your CV is crucial.

If you’re formatting your CV for a senior role, your work experience should appear directly beneath your personal statement and be ordered with your most recent job first and work backwards on a reverse chronological CV. If you’re applying for an entry-level role or have no experience, a skills-based CV is ideal.

For each listing, detail your duties and achievements in three to five bullet points. Use the job advert as a guide, highlighting aspects of your work experience that closely relate to the job.

3. No formal experience? Include volunteer work

Most PR positions require previous experience, but that doesn’t mean only established PR professionals can apply. Relevant volunteer work can demonstrate a practical understanding of the job while proving your passion for PR. Let’s not forget you did all that work for free.

You can list your volunteer work with your work experience or in its own section. Structure it as you would your work experience. Here’s an example:

4. Don’t overlook your education section

PR jobs generally require a university degree, so your education section is valuable. It can also be your best asset if you don’t have much work experience.

Areas such as your relevant modules, dissertation, and extracurricular activities demonstrate your considerable theoretical and practical knowledge of PR.

Here’s how the education section of a CV for a public relations position should look.

Bachelor (Hons), Journalism
London College of Communication
2016–2019, London

Relevant modules: Multimedia Storytelling, Long-form Journalism, Fashion Journalism, Media Analysis, Audio Journalism and Podcasting, Writing for Public Relations

With an education like this on your CV, employers can tell at a glance that you have writing, research, and multimedia skills that would be an asset in a PR department.

5. Include the right transferable skills for a public relations CV

PR is an incredibly varied field, but you’ll need transferable skills you’ll almost certainly have acquired at university, if not in previous jobs. Transferable skills can be hard skills (skills you learn) or soft skills (natural abilities).

Some common skills PR employers look for include:

• Google Analytics (Google Analytics IQ Exam)
• Image editing software like Adobe Photoshop
• Mock-up software such as Adobe Illustrator & Canva
• Social listening tools (Sprout, Hootsuite)
• Interpersonal skills
• Research skills
• Communication skills
• Creative writing
• Time management