10 ways PR pros can build outstanding careers

Communicators often spend hours perfecting their clients’ brands and campaigns, but you shouldn’t forget about your own professional desires.

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It’s in our DNA to burn the midnight oil to plan all the project pieces just right. PR pros work weekends and holidays, responding to emails while we’re on vacation. We’re all in. This is our mindset when we take care of our clients.

However, when it comes to taking care of our own careers, we tend to put that on the back burner, rarely checking in with where we are, where we want to go and how we’re going to get there.

As time ticks by, a career can happen to you based on situation and circumstance. Instead, what would happen if you put more energy and effort into mapping out a personal game plan for your career—treating yourself like a client?

When moderating a PRSA panel in Seattle, I posed that question (and others) to Mary Camarata, the director of global communications at Amazon Web Services; Katie James, Microsoft’s senior communications manager; Pete Pedersen, Sono’s vice president of global communications; and Joy Portella, president of Minerva Strategies.

Here are the insights they shared that can help you build an outstanding PR career:

1. Build momentum. What are the intentional steps you’re taking right now to manage your career?

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