So, you’ve been working in PR for about five years. You’ve had your first job, and it might have been good, but probably wasn’t fantastic. That’s why it’s a first job and not the last. You’re probably settled into your second job, feeling fairly confident in your day-to-day work and gaining increasing responsibility every day. Perhaps you’ve been given your first project to manage from beginning to end.
Now is the best time to apply for CPRS accreditation.
“Right,” you’re thinking. “I’ve got this new project on the horizon. All the pressure is on me, and you think I’ve got time to apply for accreditation? Are you crazy?”
Yes. (Well, except for the crazy part.) It is the perfect time to apply for accreditation because you’re at the beginning of a project. You’ve got the perfect opportunity to build a communications plan around it that incorporates all the elements of a great accreditation project. What research do you need to do to ensure the project is a success? What do you need to know about your audiences, and what and how will you communicate with them? What does success look like? How will you measure it? What’s the budget? You have the chance to answer all of these questions right at the start, essentially building your accreditation submission at the same time as you implement your project.
In my experience, having a complete project with all of these elements is the first hurdle in deciding when to apply for accreditation. Often, early in our careers, we are responsible for just a small portion of the overall project, and therefore, aren’t able to use the submission for accreditation. The project doesn’t have to be large in scope or scale, but it must include all of the elements of a complete communications plan.
Then there is the “why” behind accreditation. There were several answers to my “why”. The first was to level the playing field among my peers. I found my PR calling after completing a Bachelor of Commerce degree. While I attained a certificate in PR, my peers and colleagues had diplomas and degrees in public relations, or years of industry experience. I wanted a means to compare my capabilities to those of my peers. The accreditation process is the same for every candidate. Therefore, I believe getting your APR puts you on level ground with peers with all kinds of backgrounds and experience.
My second “why” was about credibility. We work in the world of reputation management, where the key to a good reputation is credibility. The APR designation indicates to the world that you have proven your skills and abilities against an industry standard. It provides the third-party endorsement we would advise our clients to secure. I believe the APR designation provides credibility.
My third “why” was about my dedication to the public relations profession. I have been part of the industry for more than 20 years, and my commitment began even before I got my APR. It is critical that as professionals, we hold ourselves and our colleagues to high standards. I believe holding an APR is proof of our commitment to the profession we are passionate about.
We’ve talked about the when and why of pursuing accreditation. Hopefully, my “whys” resonated with you, or at least got you thinking about your own reasons for pursuing accreditation. The time is now – in fact, the deadline to apply is December 1st, so jump to it!
If you’ve got questions, please join us at the 1-hour information session on Wednesday, November 8. E-mail accreditation@cprscalgary.com to register. For more information, visit www.cprscalgary.com/accreditation.
Lisa Rushka, APR is the principal of Momentum Communications Inc., a boutique PR agency dedicated to sharing client stories and celebrating their successes. She received her APR in 2002.
