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PR professionals share career lessons learnt
As Women’s History month continues, female PR professionals share their experiences - from challenging casual sexism, to navigating the move from in-house to agency and much more.
As a noted community of anarchist philosophers once said: “I get knocked down, but I get up again, you’re never going to keep me down.”
Well, you find wisdom where it falls. But it’s a useful life lesson-cum-driver for us all – especially in an era where it often feels rather difficult to, as another political statesman, Winston Churchill stated, “Keep buggering on”.
And these life lessons, whether concerned with endurance, motivation or reflection, are an essential part of personal and professional growth. They suggest well-trod or unexpected pathways that teach us how to adapt, persevere, and ultimately thrive.
Take, for example, Thomas Edison. When developing the nickel-iron battery, he conducted over 9,000 laborious experiments that led to zero breakthroughs (no lightbulb moments, you might say).
“Isn’t it a shame that with the tremendous amount of work you have done you haven’t been able to get any results” remarked a sympathetic colleague. Walter S Mallory. As Walt later related, “Edison turned on me like a flash, and with a smile replied, ‘Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results! I know several thousand things that won’t work.’”
Great answer – and great life lesson: showcasing how important it is to embrace these knock backs – whether in our professional or personal lives – as golden opportunities for learning, rather than viewing them as setbacks. And, as we know, the inventor’s perseverance and ability to learn from each one of those failed experiments ultimately led to one of the greatest innovations in history. One that allowed us to truly see the light.
We asked some PR professional for life lessons they’ve learned en route:
“Realising I could be a kind, supportive, empathetic and creative woman AND be an ambitious, driven, punchy, bold, directive leader. Our feminine ‘soft skills’ are part of what make us such powerful leaders.” Jenny Carrington-Elson, managing director, Intent Health
“If the only time you’re offered a pay rise is when you say you are going to leave, it’s clear they don’t truly value you – and likely never will.” Charlotte Dimond, director, Sidekick PR
“The biggest lesson is to believe in myself. When I decided to move from Bangalore (India) to the Maldives for work, there were many questions. People who doubted that I’d be able to stay alone and thrive. Others who questioned my decision to stay away from my family. It has been three years since I moved and an incredible journey of learning and adventure.” Seema Misra, communications manager, Atmosphere Core
“I made the transition from a very happy 17 years in-house into agency life five years ago and initially found myself questioning my every instinct, which was both deeply unnerving and unnecessary. It’s easier said than done but sometimes you’ve just got to back yourself and kick that imposter syndrome into touch!” Emily Highmore-Talbot, director, HT Communications
“Never pitch for work based on the budget alone. There needs to be some sort of alignment with values and passions, and you have to really believe in what you’re selling. It’s never a good outcome with ‘bad-fit’ clients. Thankfully now our senior management team radar is so in sync, we always agree on what to turn down even if it’s big money. This keeps the work inspiring, teams motivated and means our standard of work is always really high.” Natalie Neave, partner and head of campaigns, Tin Man
“The best PR you will ever do is to PR yourself. It’s not arrogant, it’s necessary – communicating your own achievements and contributions will help you get the recognition and career advancement you truly deserve.” Anna Ewer, independent PR consultant and former global head of consumer comms at Deliveroo
“The biggest lesson I’ve learned in my career is to challenge casual sexism immediately. I failed to do this on one occasion back in the early 2010s when pitching for a new account with a female business partner. We were challenged in the pitch about being female, of childbearing age, and how we weren’t a ‘safe bet’ in case we ‘left them in the lurch by having kids.’ We politely pushed back – no doubt stunned by the turn in conversation – but in hindsight we should have firmly challenged and said simply that we didn’t wish to represent them. The experience, albeit negative, proved empowering and gave me the confidence to challenge.” Jane Whitham, director, Altitude PR
“You need to learn your drivers and motivations and understand why you might do what you do. It takes work to unpick it but once you realise it’s because of cultural norms or from your upbringing, your behaviours make more sense, and that can help you navigate through your career.” Surinder Sian, external comms lead, Harbour Energy
“You can’t change other people, but you can change the way you deal with it. Being resilient is incredibly important in this challenging world.” Amanda Coleman, Director, Amanda Coleman Communications
“My biggest lesson has been the importance of resilience and learning to believe in myself achieving whatever I set my mind to. The path to leadership hasn’t been linear, and setbacks are part of the journey. Embracing challenges, learning from them, setting my goals always high and staying true to my values have been key in navigating my career, leading by example and empowering others along the way.” Shalini Gupta, head of internal communications, UK & IMEA region, Arup
“Sending 12 journalists – brought together for a lunch with a top three global technology company under the theme of ‘Building Bridges’ as a way of improving poor relations between the media and said client – to the wrong restaurant. The detail matters, the ATD of the work we do is essential, you have to care deeply and passionately about the job you do. From the 2 inch not 1.5 inch margin in a coverage report so the client can make notes (they’d measure it!), delivering work an hour before the deadline, remembering a client’s allergy when you order in food for a working lunch without asking... they all seem such small and potentially insignificant ‘things’ in the grand scheme. But get them wrong or forget them and they’re like two penny pieces that stack up till you give the client a tower of costly reasons to bin you.” Rachel Gilley, CEO, Clarity Global
“Your network is everything. My career has been far from linear and I had some difficult personal circumstances to navigate in my twenties. Every time I have needed to bounce back there has been someone in my work network ready to help and to cheer me on. It’s truly heartwarming and one of the reasons why I want to give back more with mentoring, networking and generally helping others out. It’s what makes our careers rewarding.” Jenny Kokolas, global communications manager, Walkers
“It’s PR, not ER’” is a phrase often heard in the industry, and it’s one that I remind myself of frequently. In the midst of tight deadlines and ambitious targets, it’s easy to feel like it’s the end of the world when you don’t hit a goal. Over the years, I’ve learned to take a step back, stay calm, and view setbacks as opportunities for growth. I always remind myself that, in the end, everything will work out. A recent example of this was when a client campaign wasn’t getting the links or coverage we expected. I paused, reevaluated the strategy, collaborated on a new approach, and it paid off – showing me that sometimes, stepping back and reassessing is the key to success.” Olivia Bence, head of digital PR, Bring Digital
“Stay true to your values and make sure that they guide your work. Use your expertise and experience to remain focused on what matters most. But also be aware that being values-driven can have a cost.” Susan Simmonds, founder and director of Northdown Alexander
You can read more about women working in PR in the CIPR's new study, The Missing Women. Plus hear from two of the study's research panellists in their blogs on why women are missing from senior PR roles and closing PR’s gender leadership gap.
Resilience is the driving force behind women's success across the profession. Gain the skills to navigate workplace challenges with confidence through the CIPR's Building Resilience course - available in London and online later this year.
Ali Catterall is an award-winning writer, journalist and filmmaker whose writing has featured in the Guardian, Time Out, GQ, Film4, Word magazine and the Big Issue, among many others. Ali is also the writer and director of the 2023 film Scala!!!