It’s an exciting time to be in public relations with businesses and organizations becoming hyper-aware of how both offline and online reputation can impact the bottom line. With the potential for every customer interaction to be broadcast online, companies are looking for PR professionals who have experience with risk assessment and online reputation management.
Social media has made the traditional news cycle a thing of the past. A savvy PR professional will know how to use social data to be a pre-crisis prevention specialist and also have the skills to handle a crisis both online and off. Candidates should be able to highlight their experience with tracking and listening to the communications of both internal and external audiences, measuring outcomes, and building relationships that lead to bottom line value.
Sample of Possible Interview Questions for Public Relations Professionals:
What is your opinion of the PRSA’s new (2012) definition of public relations?
Have you ever prevented a crisis?
Discuss the following: If you can’t measure it, it doesn’t count.
What steps would you take following the realization that your company has a social media crisis?
How do you get ahead of the news cycle in the digital era?
What communication protocols do you use to assess risk on a regular basis?
The press release is dead. Agree or disagree? Why?
Talk about a time you identified a preventable risk.
How would you go about spearheading a social media effort within an organization to help with team building?
Discuss the benefits of and differences between using traditional vs. non-traditional media for messaging?
Discuss your experience with working with demanding reporters.
Have you ever guided executive decisions during a communications crisis?
Have you ever conducted a reputational audit for a company? What did it involve?
What things do you consider when creating a PR plan to avoid creating a #PRFail moment?
How do you ensure that your social media goals align with the higher level business objectives of the company?
What is the role and responsibility of the PR person at the pre-crisis, crisis, and post-crisis phases?
What is your definition of social capital? How can it help a business?
How do you use social data to gauge the level of satisfaction of your target audiences?
Discuss a time you used social data to help create messaging and brand strategy.
How do you know when to sound the alarm of a major communications crisis vs. less severe issue?