What experienced communicators wish new PR pros understood

The field of communications and PR is almost unrecognizable even for someone who entered it as recently as five years ago. For those fresh out of college and looking for their first job, the challenges can seem daunting. But experienced communicators say the fundamentals still matter: Understand the business, ask smart questions, learn how reporters think and build the judgment that technology cannot replace.

Nearly 200 communicators shared their advice for new graduates entering the comms space on LinkedIn. Their answers point to a clear theme: Strong communicators stay curious, understand context, show initiative and learn how their work helps organizations earn trust, manage change and tell clearer stories.

This is a selection of their answers, lightly edited for style and brevity.

Why new PR pros need to understand the business

Nicholas Budler, senior manager, technology, Weber Shandwick

We can teach you to do tasks. It’s a lot harder to teach you to think strategically. Do everything you can to show off your critical thinking, proactivity and dot connecting. That’s significantly more valuable than knowing how to write a press release.

Matt See, health care communications adviser

Early in my career, I thought great communicators were great writers.

I was wrong.

The best communicators I’ve worked with understood the business. They knew what leaders cared about, what employees were worried about and where the organization was headed.

Their writing was good because their thinking was good.

Jay Weisberger, communications leader, external communications, DPR Construction

Get a focus on the businesses you are applying to and be able to discuss, even at a very high level, how communications influences the organization’s ability to do business. This is much harder to train than some basic comms skills.

Dan Landson, founder, Ascension Comms

My number one piece of advice is to be ridiculously curious. Think of PR as being a journalist for a company. Your job is to know the business, how things fit together and be able to explain it to a reporter or an employee so that everyone understands the company’s mission, vision and direction.

Dan Sytman, executive communications manager, SAP Business AI, Lions & Tigers

Wanting to be a “storyteller” isn’t enough. PR is a business management function. If you dream to “tell stories” but aren’t prepared to swim with sharks and sell the soap, this may not be for you.

How curiosity helps early-career communicators succeed

Joshua Kail, strategic communications consultant

Read. The biggest complaint clients give agencies and which trickle back to you as an individual employee is “my team doesn’t understand what we do.” The fastest and most effective way to avoid that critique is to read absolutely everything you can on the client, their competitors and their target markets. Read the campaign research when the client starts and read the relevant press every morning for the entirety of the campaign. Not the AI synopsis, the full articles. If you put in that effort at the beginning of every campaign and remain diligent in keeping up with the industry, you will dwarf everyone else on your team in terms of understanding and being able to strategize for your client. There are no shortcuts. The work you put in dictates the knowledge you get out.

Alan Dunton, marcomm advisor, Nine Volt Communications

First few years, be a sponge. Enter the space with zero preconceptions. Nothing you experience will resemble what your professors told you. Tackle every assignment like the company’s success depends on it. If you feel yourself getting walled into a specific subject or lane, bob and weave. You can specialize later. Get as much exposure to as many aspects of the industry and business you can. Build connections and nurture those relationships. In 20 years, those relationships will pay dividends.

Megan Ondrizek Afkham, assistant vice president, communications, University of Miami:

Always be learning. Just because you’ve entered the workforce doesn’t mean that your education stops. Communications is an ever-evolving industry, and it’s important to keep informed on industry trends, emerging technologies and overall business practices. Ask questions. Get to know the work that others in your organization do and learn how you can integrate. Communications should never just take a one-lane approach.

Aimee Ironside, audit assistant manager, AAB

Ask. More. Questions! Comms pros rarely get the information, context and insights they need in the first go — be curious, challenge assumptions, be relentlessly audience-led and keep asking “so what?”

Better insights and understanding = better comms.

Ashley Plante, senior internal communications specialist, USO

Assume nothing is implied. Double-check everything! Ask questions that seem simple. Once you hit send, that’s that! It’s better to ask a silly question to one person than have to own a mistake among the masses.

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Why new communicators should stay open to different roles and industries

Stephanie Roberts, head of communications, Hitachi

Looking back, I’d tell new grads this: Say yes while you can.

There will never be a perfect time to move to a new city, work internationally or take on a challenge that feels bigger than you. In fact, when you’re just starting out is probably the easiest time in your life to do those things.

All of the best experiences of my career came from opportunities that would have been very easy to turn down, and most others do/did.

Aparna K. Paul, director of communications, Society for Science

To build experience in communications and PR, try not to be overly focused on one specific industry. I’ve met new graduates who are determined to work only in beauty or fashion, for example. Early in my own career, I was similarly focused on book publishing.

Keeping an open mind can lead you to opportunities you never expected to align with your interests, values and strengths in surprising ways. Whether you’re working in science, health care, nonprofits, technology or consumer brands, the fundamentals of storytelling, media relations, crisis communications, strategic messaging and audience engagement are highly transferable.

Jessica Kowal, former Boeing media relations, corporate communications

If it’s possible, my suggestion is to find a job or a collection of part-time jobs where you’ll have fun and have new experiences that expand what you’ve considered so far. After college, I couldn’t find a traditional role as a writer or editor on the East Coast, so I moved to Aspen and pieced together jobs to pay the rent: greeting skiers on the mountain, selling fancy ski outfits and cowboy boots and working as an editorial assistant at Aspen Magazine. I met people with different backgrounds and goals; it was a ton of fun and an on-ramp to future editorial and customer-centric roles.

Brenda Kramer, senior corporate marketing communications specialist, Terracon

Apply for jobs that have communications tasks but maybe other primary duties — you’ll get experience you can build upon later. Don’t be afraid of fields you don’t know anything about — dive in and learn!

Mike Allende, senior director of strategic communications, Seattle University:

While you may have an idea of what job you want, life rarely works out that way, so be flexible and say yes as much as you can. Get your foot in the door and start building skills, tools, experiences and most importantly, contacts. Waiting for the perfect fit of what you’re looking for — type of job, location, industry, salary — is going to leave you always trying to catch up.

Kelley Lynn Kassa, senior analyst, data & analytics, BARC

It’s a lumpy, volatile business. Not getting that job or getting laid off is much more about the organization than it is you, your skills and your value.

How new PR pros can build trust at work

Anthony Farina, chief corporate communications & brand officer, Fujifilm

RAISE YOUR HAND! When opportunities arise to help with a new task, or even if you can envision it before an opportunity surfaces, raise your hand and offer your skills. We make our own career breaks. This could range from something as simple as volunteering on an internal committee to working on a large-scale launch. Some of my best career opportunities occurred when I leaned in, stepped into something new, which made me uncomfortable, even when I did not have all the answers

Richie Escovedo, director of project management & PR specialist, Balcom Agency

Remove “that’s not my job” from your vocabulary: There will be times you’ll need to tackle new needs, strategically pivot or think creatively in your role. Have a posture that says, “Let’s roll!” instead of “Nope, not me.”

David Kochman, senior director, communications, Gainwell Technologies

Speak up — with questions and ideas. As a new employee, you’ll likely have both fresh thinking but also lots to learn. Don’t be afraid to share your ideas or to admit you don’t understand something.

Meredith Bushman, account executive, PANBlast

Being the youngest one in the room or on the call isn’t a disadvantage. Don’t be afraid to offer your insight or your perspective just because someone has more years on you. You were hired for a reason, and your ideas are valuable!

John Gonda, vice president, media & public relations, Sage Growth Partners

I would tell them that the reality of the world you are about to enter is not glamorous. It’s not about building a brand for yourself. It is not about your front-facing hot takes or number of connections that are “liking” your AI-generated LinkedIn posts. But it IS about crafting a deserved reputation for being reliable, personable, punctual and a go-to resource when someone in your organization needs help and does not know who else to ask. Work hard. Show up. Be a great colleague. Mentor those around you when you can and be willing to accept feedback from those that are willing to help mentor you.

Mandy Mladenoff, president, Matter Communications:

Get a job that allows you to be IN the office consistently, for at least a few days a week. My early days, I learned so much through listening to other people on the phone or in meetings, having ad hoc conversations and sharing ideas deskside. It’s hard to replicate that remotely when you’re first starting out. Plus, you make lifelong friends.

What communications skills AI can’t replace

Leah M. Dergachev, marketing and comms leader, founder, Austley:

Don’t enter the field thinking you need to compete with AI. Start honing the skills AI can’t do. Start building real relationships, start studying content and figuring out what makes it good, and what makes it land at the right moment. Start building the reflexes that turn into judgment. The kind that lets you look at a message and know it won’t hit the way someone thinks it will, and the confidence to say so. Figure out what quality comms looks like and learn when something should be said, and when you should push back.

Cody Luongo, media consultant

Even as AI delivers better outputs with enhanced reasoning, you absolutely need to engage and nurture the strategic half of your brain that differentiates you as a professional in the marketplace.

At the same time, there is enormous value waiting to be unlocked from those that master AI, venturing outside of prompts and task-based workflows into deeper and more sophisticated waters. For the first time, there is a real technical renaissance in communications, and a massive opportunity for those that can see through its full potential and integrate it in companies and teams.

John Perilli, senior vice president, Prosek Partners

Touch grass. Don’t lose contact with the real world.

Erin Mantz, director, North America R&D site communications, AstraZeneca

Be able to speak to and show you have context and are aware of the shifts and things happening in the broader world — current events, consumer behavior, hot issues, business trends, etc. You don’t have to be an expert and offer up stats on all of these — just be prepared to speak to related real-world things related to the role. Because communications today isn’t just about skills — it’s about context.

Why media relations and writing fundamentals still matter

Nick Moran, gaming & Esports PR manager, JSA+Partners

Get really comfortable being a journalist. So many mistakes I see young PR pros make stem from a fundamental understanding of journalistic basics — what the reporting process looks like, what makes a good story, etc. All of the AI tools and vibe-coded websites in the world won’t help you if you can’t meet a reporter where they are and help them tell a compelling story.

Ali Sylte, senior manager global PR and communications, Remitly

Ninety percent of media strategy is getting good at predicting outcomes and your ability to influence them. What does a reporter’s past coverage tell you they will ask? If they ask that question, what are they really getting at? What will they connect your answer to? What could you say to get them to think in another direction? Or to make this story a nothing burger if you need it to go away?

The questions are endless. Start asking long before you’re responsible for the outcome and pay attention to the times you get it right/wrong.

Mariela Azcuy, VP of B2B strategy and executive communications, Carve Communications

Never consider building a target list as a “junior task.” It should take more time than you think. Read past articles, find the right section or column, have a real solid reason why a journalist is a good target and show that reason off very clearly in your pitch. This is the sort of critical thinking that becomes invaluable in a world of copycat slop.

Eva Marie Wasko, senior vice president & practice lead, PR, Allen & Gerritsen

Practice creative and succinct writing like it’s a sport. Write every day. Short stories. And then make them shorter. We all should’ve spent less time in school feeling pressure to enlarge the font sizes of our periods and commas to make our reports longer, and instead dedicated more time to honing our skills in short, persuasive writing.