Hi there, my name is Richard McMunn from the interview training company, PassMyInterview.com.
And in this tutorial, I will teach you how to pass a Public Relations interview. So if
you have a PR interview coming up with any company or organization from across the world,
I promise you this tutorial will make a big difference to your preparation. To achieve
that, this is what I am going to cover during this tutorial. I'm going to give you a number
of sample Public Relations interview questions, the kind of questions that I believe will
come up during your interview. I will give you suggested answers to those questions to
help you prepare for and pass your PR interview. I will tell you the qualities that you must
demonstrate during your public relations interview. And I will also give you further resources
to help you PASS. So, 4 positive reasons why you should stick around and watch this tutorial
from beginning to end. Now, before I get in to the public relations interview training
tutorial, a very warm welcome from me. My name is Richard McMunn. That's me there in
the center of the screen. I have been helping people for over 20 years now to pass their
interviews. I always do that by giving you top-scoring, unique answers you can't find
anywhere else. Please do hit the SUBSCRIBE button below the video and then you won't
miss out on any of the weekly training videos that I'm uploading. And I would also appreciate
your support if you gave the video a LIKE, that tells me you enjoy the content and I
will, therefore, create more for you. OK. Let's get into those (PR) Public Relations
interview questions and answers. The first question I want you to prepare for is, tell
me about yourself and why you want to work in PR? Now, my tip for answering this question
correctly is: it is very important that you mention the specific skills and qualities
you have that will benefit their company in your answer. And here's how to do that. “I
am very hard working, passionate about PR, enthusiastic and totally team-focused in everything
I do. My passion for public relations started many years ago, when a friend asked me to
help her market a new business she was starting. I quickly realized I had a passion and a skill
for public relations, and it was then that I decided to gain some relevant qualifications
and experience in the industry, to enable me to pursue a career that I very much love.
I want to work in PR because the skills and qualities I have are a perfect match for the
position. I am an outstanding communicator, I can work on my own initiative, I can prioritize
tasks and plan effectively, and I have a natural creative side that means I will always create
the most effective PR campaigns that are guaranteed to get results. Finally, I am a positive person
who thrives working in a pressurized environment, and if you hire me for this PR position today,
I feel confident you will start to see a positive return on your investment quickly. That is
a brilliant answer to that question! What I like about it is, it gets you off on the
right footing for the remainder of your public relations interview. So, the ‘tell me about
yourself’ interview question is pretty much guaranteed to come up, first of all. If you
give an answer like that, you then have the confidence to move forward for the remainder
of the interview. Now, you can either pause the video and take notes as I go along, or
if you want to wait, I will tell you where you can download my full set of Public Relations
interview questions and top-scoring answers. The next question is, why do you want to work
for us? Again, this is guaranteed to come up during your PR interview. Now, my tip is
most candidates will not have prepared an answer to this interview question. However,
this is your opportunity to show you have really looked into them and why they would
be an attractive organization to work for. Here is my suggested answer. “For the simple
reason that, in order to be good at public relations, you have to not only set very high
standards in the work you undertake, but you must also be one step ahead of your competitors.
During my research into your company, it quickly became obvious that you hire some very intelligent
people, you have a large base of impressive clients, and you also consistently achieve
great results from a public relations perspective. I have high standards too, and I only want
to work for an organization that wants to grow, develop and also provide the best possible
service at all times.” Again, that is a cracking answer! That, again, shows that you
are the STANDOUT CANDIDATE during the interview. I still have a number of questions to run
through, so don't go anywhere. But when you're ready, if you want to CLICK THE LINK in the
top right hand corner of the video, it takes you through to my website, PassMyInterview.com,
where you can download my full set of Public Relations interview questions and top-scoring
answers, including the ones that I'm covering here during the tutorial. But the next question
that I want to run through is, what are the different stages of a successful PR campaign?
My tip is, when responding to this interview question, be sure to provide clear and concise
steps that cover all aspects of how you would run and deliver a PR campaign, because that
will show that you can plan and organize your work effectively. Here is my suggested answer.
“I would start off by determining the exact goals and objectives of the campaign, including
the budget I had available. This part is vital, because if you fail to obtain a thorough brief,
the other stages will fail. The second stage is to know your target audience and where
they are located, both online and offline. Stage three involves setting audience objectives
– what is the message we want to deliver, and how do we make that message crystal clear?
Stage four is where we develop strategies for the audience objectives and set definitive
tactics to achieve them. Stage five is where I would plan the activities of the campaign,
including definitive time scales for the deliverables. During stage six, I would assess and evaluate
the performance of the campaign by using the data and information available to me – if
anything needed changing, then I would respond quickly and positively. Stage seven would
involve a thorough debrief in respect of the campaign achievements so we could continually
learn, improve and develop.” What I like about the answer is, you are using a 7 stage
approach and you can learn that in preparation for your interview, because if you sit there
and you are just thinking off the top of your head, it's going to be hard to come up with
a concise answer. Whereas, if you learn those 7 stages and you say… “stage one is…”
“stage 2 is..” “stage 3, etc. etc”, then they will be more impressed with your
answer. Next question: if we run a PR campaign, how would you evaluate the success of the
campaign? My tip is, there is a very simple way of answering this interview question.
Within your answer, show you are someone who can work to a system that allows you to ensure
the successful performance of each campaign you run. “I would evaluate the success of
the campaign by determining whether or not the initial campaign objectives had been met.
Whenever I set up, run or manage a PR campaign, I always start out by determining the campaign
objectives. This then enables me to assess whether or not I have achieved the objectives
of the campaign. By following a set of processes, and by implementing a PR campaign system,
you are far more likely to achieve your PR campaign goals.” Next question, what's your
biggest weakness? This is a tricky, tough interview question that again, will come up
during your interview! Now, we have to be very careful when answering this PR interview
question. It is guaranteed to come up during your interview. And it's very easy to give
the wrong answer. Don't give a weakness that is a match for the job description. You'll
see that I do something quite clever with my answer that's coming up right now, and
I'll explain what it is after I've given you the script. Here we go. "I think I have two
weaknesses that I am trying to improve upon. The first is that I definitely struggle to
find a healthy work-life balance. As I stated at the start of the interview, I am very passionate
about my work and I often find myself working long hours which understandably can get tiring
at times. I am trying to strike a healthier work-life balance. The second weakness is,
I am sometimes impatient. This is simply down to the fact I am very much an action taker,
and somebody who wants to get things done quickly. Again, I am learning to be more patient
and to also use effective negotiation and persuasion techniques to get others to speed
up, which in turn helps me to get my projects completed.” Now, what is clever about that,
I have given two weaknesses, and you don’t have to give two if you don't want to, but
I've given two. And although they are a weakness, they are actually also very much a STRENGTH
within PR. You know, you are working long hours. And also, you are impatient, you want
to get things done. In fact, impatience is one of MY weaknesses. I struggle sometimes
waiting for people to come back to me. I want to get things done really quickly. And that
enables me to achieve lots of things. Within public relations, that can only be a GOOD
thing! I think that's a great answer! You can either use both of them if they are applicable
to you, of course, or you can just choose one of them, if you want to. Don't forget,
if you want to download my full set of Public Relations interview questions and answers.
It's a PDF guide. You can have it in your inbox within two minutes from now. Click that
link in the top right hand corner of the video or go through to my web site, PassMyInterview.com.
Also, if you'd like to connect with me on LinkedIn.com, please do check the link in
the description below the video, and you can follow my LinkedIn.com connection link within
there. It is always great to connect with like-minded professionals. I hope you've enjoyed
that. Please don't forget to SUBSCRIBE and also hit the LIKE button. As I say, that tells
me you enjoy the content and I will then spend more time creating it for you. Thank you for
watching and have a brilliant day.