The challenges of being an Introvert in the PR industry
The craziest thing happened to me the first time I started my PR career. It was in my first year of university and I was attending my very first PR class and one of the questions posed by the lecturer was why do you want to be a publicist? My immediate response (in my head) was because I am a great writer.
I was certain this would be an overwhelming reason for many of my peers. Alas was I wrong. The many people that did answer chose the path because it matched their personality type. The majority of the respondents said that they loved interacting with human beings and enjoyed being around people. I do not dislike human beings but I would love to limit the amount of time I spend around them.
Having been in the industry for a little over 8 years now, I am proud to say that I am an introverted publicist and I am great at what I do. It does help significantly to be some sort of an extrovert, but believe you me, that is certainly not the deciding factor on whether or not you’ll be good at PR. I’ve decided to list a few challenges I’ve experienced as an introvert in the PR industry. Hopefully this will ease your anxiety about your personality type and your choice of career:
The assumption that you’re outspoken:
Yes having an opinion for or against something is important, especially when working with an array of clients, however being the only voice in the room doesn’t make you a great publicist. Quite on the contrary even, what really helps in this career, is hearing all sides of the story. It will do you good to be willing to have your opinion tested and tried. This will give you a deeper understanding of any given situation.
The realization that follow -up is the name of the game:
As an introvert, I personally find the idea of having to call up journalists and / or editors to pitch my story idea incredibly terrifying. Firstly because they might flat out tell me that my story is crap or even worse they haven’t received it yet and that would mean that I would have to call, email and call and possibly email them again to ensure they at least get to look at it. This game of follow up is mind numbing to me. I literally have to die a few times before I make any attempt to call them up. In my mind I see it as being bothersome and a nuisance, however if I want to give my client an opportunity to have their story told, I have to be consistent in my follow-up.
Network, network and network just a bit more:
Your relations are your power in the industry. As a professional publicist it is highly imperative to have some kind of qualification to your name however what you know is just as important as who you know. Depending on which industry you’re in, there is a list of people you need to keep on good terms with to be able to elevate your career. These could be designers, event organisers, photographers, journalists, bloggers and the list goes on and on. This is all for you to be able to call up someone on a whim and ask for a favour when you are tied down by deadlines for your clients. It works both ways, you will need to avail yourself when your people need you just to keep the relationship on good terms.
Putting yourself out there:
Building a professional career requires you putting yourself out there over and over again. You need to treat your brand like you would a clients brand. Keep it current, keep it aligned with the goals of the brand and make yourself known. Nothing screams fantastic PR pro quite like a professional public profile. Use social media, use your contacts, use what is at your disposal to make your pubic persona what you’d like it to be.
As an introvert, these are tasks I still find challenging to this day. However I know my love for this profession will not allow me to cower away from the hustle and bustle of my job. And that is all that it is, my job. I am fortunate enough to understand this and know this. I can turn it on and off as and when I need to. My personal time and space is mine, it is sacred and I value it.
I am quite sure that there are plenty of other challenges you may have faced as introvert in this very public industry, please share what those were and how you’ve managed to overcome them or if you’re still challenged by them.