Piaras Kelly PR - Public Relations in Ireland

One of the most valuable skills anyone can have in Public Relations is good task management, especially if you work in an agency. It’s one of the reasons why I’d maintain that you should always look out for people with retail experience when filling junior roles.

Looking specifically at the agency scenario, you’re going to have a portfolio of clients and possibly a number of different people or divisions to report to within those clients. Simply put, there are only so many ways to try and cut you up, but don’t tell your client that because they’ll all feel that they have an equal right to you.

In order to remain flexible, you have to stay on top of your workload and watch the tasks that you have to completely very carefully, especially their deadlines.

A simple piece of advice in this respect is that you should never assume that the person you need to call will be available when you get around to ringing them.

By realising that the person at the other end of the phone is running under the same pressure as yourself, you will develop an understanding of how different people and organisations operate. As a result, you’ll become more flexible in your dealings with clients, suppliers and the media, but more importantly learn how to remain on top of a task, even if you don’t get around to completing it.

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