Weatherproofing your PR career is critical in the current climate

As an Aussie who now lives and works in Europe, I’ve found there’s “no such thing as bad weather, just unsuitable clothing”. 

As someone who leads a people function, spotting and retaining talent for a leading independent marketing and communications business, I think the same applies.  

“The economy is doing well.” “It’s an employer’s market.” “It’s an employee’s market.” These are phrases you’ll hear repeatedly throughout your communications career. It is why the concept of weatherproofing your skillset and constantly learning is something everyone should think about, regardless of stage.  

Since making a significant career switch myself many years ago, there are key learnings I’ve found critical on my career journey.  

Keep practical and apply yourself  

Learning on the job is the best source of training. People in our industry are smarter than ever and develop skills more rapidly than they did in the past. This is partly thanks to the easily accessible knowledge that virtual and online learning has provided.  

However, learning is one thing and applying it is another. Theory gets you so far in PR, but if you’ve never put it into practice, it can be like having all the gear and no idea in a force ten gale. Learn how to put the tent up before the storm blows in. 

Working in real time, using trial and error, teaching others on the job, helps you retain and build expertise in the long term. Practice makes perfect is a phrase that still rings true. So, when opportunity arises to step into a new area or challenge, don’t be jaded and understand that it’s to the company’s benefit as well as yours. The more knowledge you build, the more you have in your toolbox for when times get tough. 

Different hats for different weather conditions

Closely connected to practical learning is this concept of building skills and wearing the metaphorical clothing that best matches the forecast. Before you think about shinning up the career ladder, make sure you have first accumulated a versatile ‘wardrobe’ of skills.  

Traditionally, when we enter the workforce, our focus is on climbing that corporate ladder to get to the big corner office. Well, those offices are gone and have been replaced with hybrid working and open floor plans. These days, the best types of leaders are the service-oriented ones who work in lockstep with their team. A learning I’ve taken from the Gen Z group.  

Gen Zs tend to enter the workforce truly focused on learning a lot of different skills. They’re constantly upskilling, working in different environments. They’re often bolder when making career switches or pivots. Rather than focusing on collecting titles, collect skills. Whatever the economic cycle, being multi-dimensional takes you a long way and enables you to do a lot with a little when times are tough.

Look at the longer-term forecast and connect the dots  

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not an advocate for job hopping. Sometimes the way to build depth is through time. Building a portfolio of skills is only beneficial if they’re applied. This comes from connecting the dots, a skill underestimated in the working world. We all have the ability of being “good at our jobs”, but how many of us take that additional step to understand the why? Why does my role make an impact on my peers, my organisation, my industry? Take the time to find out.

This understanding is truly felt by going through various business cycles. This means you can see where you can add value, do things differently and innovate. But that does take time. So, the next time you are rushing to add that new skill to your portfolio, take pause and think, have I got all the practical learnings that will help me connect the dots? Do I understand the value which my role and skills bring?

All relationships matter 

Human relationships go a long way – not just the good ones or the people you’d borrow an umbrella from on a rainy day. You don’t have to be best buddies with someone in PR to learn from them.

I’m a big believer in not burning bridges. In every organisation, every step of your career, you’ll encounter individuals you work brilliantly with, and those you could start World War III with. They’re all important.

The easiest ones are obviously those you admire; the inspirers and mentors who act as beacons throughout your career. These learnings are pivotal and leave a lifelong imprint. I can immediately think of role models for each milestone in my career. I’m sure you can too. It’s those that you butt heads with that might take more work to understand. But I guarantee you’ll benefit from them if you put the work in. 

They might have a different style of working or thinking, but be patient and observe, your skills may actually be complimentary. Take your emotions out of the equation and be objective. What is one thing you can learn from a clash and add to your skill portfolio? 

If you can master working well with them and even driving results for them, you can do it all. These experiences can only improve your communication skills and provide lifelong lessons in how you want to work with others and be perceived. Your ability to work successfully with all personalities, generations, work ethics, in all environments, will help you navigate any season your career encounters and, in PR and communications, the seasons are bound to change.  

My overall takeaway from this heavily weather-influenced column is constant learning. The key to weather proofing your career is the willingness to keep learning through a variety of different channels. Learning programmes through the likes of the CIPR, LinkedIn Learning and our own e-learning platform, Lewisversity will help you fast-track your career. But it’s the subtle learnings every day that will keep you ahead of the curve, whatever the outlook.   

Jennifer Wu is vice-president of people (APAC and EMEA) at global marketing agency Team Lewis.