Endless Opportunities

It seems as though opportunities can be found anywhere for an eager communications student nearing college graduation. There are various outlets for applying communications, but many students have difficulty deciding between corporate and agency public relations. This week's guest speakers were able to shed some light on the positive aspects of the agency side of public relations and how diverse it can be compared to a corporate job. As part of the Consumer Marketing division of Edelman, Senior Vice President Jennifer Little and Account Executive Ashley Maddocks work with a variety of clients as compared to one account in a corporation.

"It gives you lots of opportunities you might not get working at a place with one account," said Ashley Maddocks. She is able to work with Dickies, EBay, Unilever, Xbox and various other brands that make her work more entertaining and diverse. While Jennifer Little can attest to the corporate side having its share of fun events after working as the Director of Public Relations for Pizza Hut, there are still major differences.

With a corporation you have one specific set of needs to fulfill because you are working for one client as opposed to juggling various needs for many different clients. Although both jobs can be hectic, your attention is more strictly focused on one client in a corporation. As far as job descriptions go, both corporations and agencies will have the opportunity to work with brand management, crisis control and other specialized work although it is more divided among employees in an agency.

"In a larger office you get larger pieces of business," said Little. Your responsibilities are generally the same whether you have one large client or several, but in an agency your work is spread out more. As an account executive you would still be doing client services, writing, managing projects and planning for the account but your focus might be more towards brand management instead of creating campaigns. Everything really depends on what kind of atmosphere you enjoy. If you enjoy multitasking then an agency might be a better fit.

"The one reason PR is great is because you have lots of opportunities to do things no one else does," said Maddocks. One day you're writing press releases nonstop and the next you could be helping prepare a famous spokesperson to appear in a commercial. While a corporate job is fun and rewarding in its own right, there is a greater diversity that an agency brings to the table. For example, Edelman is made up of various specialty units dealing with brand experience, crisis, financial, government, marketing, public affairs, sports, entertainment and travel among various other areas in communications. Not only does this mean more job opportunities, but also more opportunities to find something specific you love to do.