Speaker 1: Hi there, my name is Richard McMunn from the interview training company, PassMyInterview.com. And in this tutorial, I will teach you how to pass a public relations interview. So, if you have a PR interview coming up with any company or organization from across the world, I promise you this tutorial will make a big difference to your preparation. So, to achieve that, this is what I'm going to cover during this tutorial. I'm going to give you a number of sample public relations interview questions, the kind of questions that I believe will come up during your interview. I will give you suggested answers to those questions to help you prepare for and pass your PR interview. I will tell you the qualities that you must demonstrate during your public relations interview. And I will also give you further resources to help you pass. Four positive reasons why you should stick around and watch this tutorial from beginning to end. Now, before I get into the public relations training tutorial, a very warm welcome from me. My name is Richard McMunn. That's me there in the center of the screen. And I've been helping people for over 20 years now to pass their interviews. I always do that by giving you top-scoring, unique answers you can't find anywhere else. Please do hit the SUBSCRIBE button below the video, and then you won't miss out on any of the weekly training videos that I'm uploading. And I would also appreciate your support if you gave the video a LIKE. That tells me you enjoy the content and I will therefore create more for you. OK, let's get into those PR, public relations interview questions and answers. The first question I want you to prepare for is, tell me about yourself and why you want to work in PR? Now, my tip for answering this question correctly is, it is very important that you mention the specific skills and qualities you have that will benefit their company in your answer. And here's how to do that. I am very hard-working, passionate about PR, enthusiastic and totally team-focused in everything I do. My passion for public relations started many years ago, when a friend asked me to help her market a new business she was starting. I quickly realized I had a passion and a skill for public relations, and it was then that I decided to gain some relevant qualifications and experience in the industry to enable me to pursue a career that I very much love. I want to work in PR because the skills and qualities I have are a perfect match for the position. I am an outstanding communicator. I can work on my own initiative. I can prioritize tasks and plan effectively, and I have a natural creative side that means I will always create the most effective PR campaigns that are guaranteed to get results. Finally, I am a positive person who thrives working in a pressurized environment, and if you hire me for this PR position today, I feel confident you will start to see a positive return on your investment quickly. That is a brilliant answer to that question. What I like about it is it gets you off on the right footing for the remainder of your public relations interview. So, the tell me about yourself interview question is pretty much guaranteed to come up first of all. If you give an answer like that, you then have the confidence to move forward for the remainder of the interview. Now, you can either pause the video and take notes as I go along, or if you want to wait, I will tell you where you can download my full set of public relations interview questions. The next question is, why do you want to work for us? Again, guaranteed to come up during your PR interview. My tip is, most candidates will not have prepared an answer to this interview question. However, this is your opportunity to show you have really looked into them and why they would be an attractive organization to work for. Here is my suggested answer. For the simple reason that, in order to be good at public relations, you have to not only set very high standards, but you also have to set very high standards for your job. You have to set very high standards in the work you undertake, but you must also be one step ahead of your competitors. During my research into your company, it quickly became obvious that you hire some very intelligent people, you have a large base of impressive clients, and you also consistently achieve great results from a public relations perspective. I have high standards too, and I only want to work for an organization that wants to grow, develop and also provide the best possible service at all times. Again, that is a cracking-on. Now, I still have a number of questions to run through, so don't go anywhere. But when you're ready, if you want to, click the link in the top right-hand corner of the video. It takes you through to my website, PassMyInterview.com, where you can download my full set of public relations interview questions and top-scoring answers, including the ones that I'm covering here during the tutorial. But the next question that I want to run through is, what are the different stages of public relations? What are the stages of public relations? What are the stages of a successful PR campaign? My tip is when responding to this interview question, be sure to provide clear and concise steps that cover all aspects of how you would run and deliver a PR campaign, because that will show that you can plan and organize your work effectively. Here is my suggested answer. I would start off by determining the exact goals and objectives of the campaign, including the budget I had available. This part is vital, as it is a thorough brief. The other stages will fail. The second stage is to know your target audience and where they are located, both online and offline. Stage three involves setting audience objectives. What is the message we want to deliver and how do we make that message crystal clear? Stage four is where we develop strategies for the audience objectives and set definitive tactics to achieve them. Stage five is where I would plan the activities of the campaign, including definitive timescales for the deliverables. Stage six is where I would assess and evaluate the performance of the campaign by using the data and information available to me. If anything needed changing, then I would respond quickly and positively. Finally, stage seven would involve a thorough debrief in respect of the campaign achievements, so we could continually learn, improve and develop. What I like about that answer is you are using a seven-stage approach, and then you can learn that in preparation for your interview. Because if you sit there and you are just thinking off the top of your head, it's going to be harder to come up with a concise answer. Whereas if you learn those seven stages, and you say stage one is this, stage two is that, stage three, etc., etc., then they will be more impressed with your answer. Next question. If we run a PR campaign, how would you evaluate the success of the campaign? My tip is, there is a very simple way of answering this interview question. Within your answer, show you are someone who can work to a system that allows you to ensure the successful performance of each campaign you run. I am someone who loves following systems. They always work. And within public relations, they work very much too. Here we go. I would evaluate the success of the campaign by determining whether or not the initial campaign objectives had been met. Whenever I set up, run or manage a PR campaign, I always start out by determining the campaign objectives. This then enables me to assess whether or not I have achieved the objectives of the campaign. By following a set of processes, and by implementing a PR campaign system, you are far more likely to achieve your PR campaign goals. Next question. What's your biggest weakness? This is a tricky, tough interview question that, again, will come up during your interview. Now, we have to be very careful when answering this PR interview question. Again, it's guaranteed to come up during your interview, and it's very easy to give the wrong answer. Don't give a weakness that is a match for the job description. Now, you'll see that I should do something quite clever with my answer that's coming up right now, and I'll explain what it is after I've given you the script. Here we go. I think I have two weaknesses that I am trying to improve upon. The first is that I definitely struggle to find a healthy work-life balance. As I stated at the start of the interview, I am very passionate about my work, and I often find myself working long hours, which understandably can get tiring at times. I am trying to strike a healthier work-life balance though. I am sometimes impatient. This is simply down to the fact that I am very much an action-taker and somebody who wants to get things done quickly. Again, I am learning to be more patient and to also use effective negotiation and persuasion techniques to get others to speed up, which in turn helps me to get my projects completed. Now, what is clever about that? I have given two weaknesses, and you don't have to give two if you don't want to. But I've given two, and although they are a weakness, they are actually also very much a strength. So, you know, you are working long hours and also, you know, you are impatient. You want to get things done. In fact, impatience is one of my weaknesses. You know, I struggle sometimes waiting for people to come back to me. I want to get things done really quickly and that enables me to achieve lots of things. So, within public relations, that can only be a good thing. So, I think that's a great answer. You can either use both of them if they are applicable to you, of course. Just choose one of them if you want to. So, don't forget, if you want to download my full set of public relations interview questions and answers, it's a PDF guide. You can have it in your inbox within two minutes from now. Click that link in the top right-hand corner of the video or go through to my website, PassMyInterview.com. Also, if you'd like to connect with me on LinkedIn, please do check the link in the description below the video and you can find my LinkedIn connection link within there. It's always great to connect with like-minded professionals. I hope you've enjoyed that. Please don't forget to subscribe and also hit the LIKE button. As I say, that tells me you enjoy the content and I will then spend more time creating it for you. Thank you for watching and have a brilliant day.