You learned many useful lessons in the college classroom. However, as you transfer those skills to your first PR position, you might realize how much you gained from the things you learned outside of the classroom.

The art of multitasking

By the time you graduate from college, you are undoubtedly a successful multitasker capable of juggling a full class load, an internship, a senior project, a job, and the shred of a social life you are clinging to for dear life.

Good thing, because your first position will require you to handle a slew of unfavorable items: working 12 hour days, paying a list of bills, working a weekend job to pay off student loans, and scraping together the three hours a week you have to maintain some sort of life.

Oh, the joy of being launched into the work force.

Finding a bargain

It’s among the most popular topics among college students—textbook prices. (Insert booing from crowd here.) While it might have caused an anxiety attack to see those prices listed at the beginning of every semester, you probably found alternative ways to get your hands on those books.

From sharing those overpriced books with classmates to scouring used textbook sites, you can save a lot of money. Guess what? Your clients don’t want to pay full price for anything, either. So, the skill you acquired by getting what you needed at a lower cost will come in handy when you’re trying to do the same for your clients.

Representing yourself

Whether or not you realized it, you are your own public relations manager in college.

Were you on time to class? Did you show up in your pajamas or were you dressed neatly? Did you speak to the professor respectfully and offer useful conversation? Did you make up for any classroom blunders such as missing a test or forgetting a paper?

If you did all of these things correctly, you are on your way to become a talented PR manager.

Now it’s time to take your PR skills to the next level. Can you represent your client the way you did for yourself? The way you managed yourself is the way you want to approach your client’s reputation: meticulously, consistently, and with a similar fear of having to take that class over if you don’t do well.

Christine Smith is the public relations specialist at Davanti Digital Media. Follow them on Twitter @DavantiDigital and Christine @Christineyou99.

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