Professional Goal and Action Plan - Essay Example

? Like other successful men and women, I also dream of achieving a career that I can be the best in. Before achieving my goal, which is to become successful in the public relations industry, I have to create an action plan that can improve not only my skills and add to my experience but also to prepare myself emotionally, financially and physically. This paper is to outline what I intend to do in order to achieve a stable and successful career in public relations and eventually own my own public relations firm. I wouldn’t be able to reach my goals without an action plan as I need to start from the very basic and work on a step-by-step plan that will correspond to my needs when I reach the peak of my plan. For me, being successful in public relations will serve a lifelong purpose as it will help me create an environment that significantly values the importance of interpersonal relations. It is not only for me but for the society. I want to create a difference in the society, and this is the primary reason why I want to become successful in that field. I want to reiterate the value of interpersonal relations in the success of any person, business or culture. Since humans are natural social beings, the field of public relations is important as it helps in creating the environment, values and morals of the society (Reddi, 2009). It gives a hand in shaping people’s perspectives and reveal the truth and facts behind things in a manner that laymen can easily understand. The first thing that I need to do is specify my goals. In this section, I need to create a specific objective statement which corresponds to the smart action plan. The smart goal contains a statement which is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound. Without these important aspects, I wouldn’t be able to create an action plan that is relevant to my goal. My goal statement, then, is to be able to succeed in the field of public relations as a proud owner of my own public relations firm in ten years. Surprisingly, the field of public relations is vast and wide. In fact, the different names of public relations people like Corporate Affairs Manager, Public Affairs Executive, Communications Liaison Director and the like refer to specific areas of specialization. This shows how public relations can be specific and defined according to the area or purpose it is targeting or focusing. The primary function of a public relations practitioner is to advise the management of the impact of its policies to the public and to relay the impact of business moves and policies to the public (Johnston, et.al., 2009; Narula, 2006). Breaking this down, a public relations publicist are: “to advise management on policy and its effect on public relations, to channel and coordinate within an organization the activities that affect public relations, to provide the mechanics for explaining an organization and its policies to its various publics through communication media and to ascertain and explain to management what various publics think about the organization” (Johnston, et.al., 2009). In this regard, I believe that the role of a public relations practitioner is to guide not only the public of what is happening within the business by relating the policies to the masses’ experience but also to inform the business industry of the impact of their policies to the public (Botha, et.al., 2007). This is an important ground in creating policies and defining changes and development within the business in order to be better and to be able to gain the trust and confidence of the public. The different areas of public relations are the following: communication, publicity, promotions, press agentry, integrated marketing, issues management, crisis management, press secretary or public information agent, public affairs or lobbyist, financial relations, communication relations, internal relations, industry relations, minority relations, media relations, public diplomacy, event management, sponsorship, cause relationship marketing and fundraising (Johnston, et.al., 2009; Harrison, 2000). Public relations is considered one of the best skills a person could have. Relation skills can help you in many ways, for instance how to make friends. Making friends doesn’t mean that two individuals would have the same likes and dislikes, personality, interest and more. Two individuals with the opposite personalities can still be friends if they understand each other. Public relations is deeper than understanding, it is the art of reaching out through ones’ personality. In business terms, that is the target market. For example, the business or event is targeting a specific age bracket of the population, therefore a study should be conducted. In order to create a strategy out of the data collected, each and every personality should be taken into consideration. This requires a deeper understanding of the said age bracket, not all of the individuals that belong to this bracket would have the same personality, likes or interests. Convincing them and taking them to your side of the picture is the most challenging and fun thing about public relations. One of the most important factors in public relations is the communication media. Recent developments in the social media have impacted the world of public relations (Devereaux and Peirson-Smith, 2009). This is important in considering how we, as public relations practitioners, can use the power of the social media, and ultimately the World Wide Web, in putting forward the ideas, policies and information that businesses need in order to gain the public’s interest, trust and confidence. Communication media plays a big role in the field of public relations. Newspapers, magazines, the Internet, television, radio. These are the tools that public relations use in order to reach the public. With these tools, it is easier and faster to reach more people regardless of their market. We can see that the communication media of today encompasses all people, whether young or old, students or professionals, working class or even those without work. The importance of social media in today’s world has given the public relations practitioners a more inexpensive and valuable way of putting forth their messages. Living in today’s world, I can say that this development impacts public relations in both negative and positive ways. Because social media is fast and practically unstoppable, it is important that public relations practitioners are more careful of what are being presented and how these information are being presented. To hone my skills and gather experience in the career field that I am choosing, I have chosen to become associated with different departments such as the human resources department, administrative department, store management, and sales. I have chosen these departments in order to better understand interpersonal relations, marketing, management and sales. With this, I will be able to understand how consumers and business think in the real world of business and consumer industry. I consider myself very lucky in this aspect because I am living in a world wherein communication is not hard. The only thing that I have to make sure of is to get the true message across and to know whether my target market understands the point of what I’m saying. My work experience in the different departments within a company enabled me to improve my communication skills, my working relations and my management skills. I believe these are important in becoming a successful public relations practitioner as these skills, including being able to build professional relationship, are important when dealing with clients, customers and the public (Grunig and Huang, 2000). Aside from working in a corporate setting, I also worked in the communications media industry to have an insight of the environment that I will be using in public relations. I also exposed myself in different events to know the ins and outs of marketing and advertising as this will help me on how to deliver information in such a manner that the public may accept it easily or with less doubt. Also, I have started off my university degree with business administration to understand better the business world in technical and theoretical terms. Also, I have pursued my college degree with a concentration in Communication to understand better how to relay to people the message that I want them perceive as truthful and factual, not just through words and evidences but also through actions, behavior and through my personality. I think that what I have learned in the university combined with my professional experience gives me an edge not just in understanding how to relay information but also how to present it that people will better understand it. Also, I believe that my skills, knowledge and experience combined will be beneficial for me in terms of creating my own style and reputation in the public relations industry. But I know that I still have a lot to learn and by continuously exposing myself to the different areas of public relations, I will be able to pinpoint which area I am the best in. I chose to focus on communication as I believe this is the most important aspect of public relations. Communication is not only through words but also through actions, behavior and imaging. This is an important tool in relaying information, as well as, building interpersonal relations which is a big factor in public relations. I want to be different in the sense that I create relationships between me and each individual, whether or not I am able to meet them. I want my audience to feel that I am real as if I have talked to them personally. I believe that understanding the trade of communicating well is important for people to feel that I am in front of them, speaking to them directly, even if I am using the media, or whatever is accessible to them. There are a lot of successful public relations practitioners and I want to create a name of my own. By studying business administration, communications and the other aspects of public relations such as management, marketing, advertising and the areas I have mentioned above, I believe I will be able to intricately weave my own personality and style that will be advantageous for me when I speak or relay information. With the different classes that I have that focuses on communication through writing or speech, I believe I will be able to learn more on how to create a two-way communication style, not just for my own benefit but also for the benefit of my audience (Ledingham and Bruning, 2000). With this, my audience will be able to understand my thoughts simply by feeling that they are part of what I am telling them. I am focusing now on the study of Business Communications as this is very different from casual communication. I want to be formal and professional but not too uptight. I want to create a business-like atmosphere but not too boxed in or predictable that people will be bored when reading, listening to or watching my work. I want to be able to affect people because in this way they will be able to relate more and they will be able to understand better. I believe that public relations is an art as well as a skill. It is the art of speaking and communicating to people. I strongly believe that public relations is, in all aspects, Liberal Arts. It frees the mind and captures the mind at the same time. And I believe that this is an important point in my understanding of what public relations it. It is not simply a job to do, it is not even just a study or a speech. It is integrating thoughts, emotions and senses. I want to be able to touch people’s lives and I believe that through this field I will be able to reach their innermost thoughts and emotions and let it come alive in understanding what is and needs to be done. References Botha, D. et. al. (2007). Public Relations: Fresh Perspectives. Cape Town: Pearson Education South Africa Pty. Ltd. Devereux, M. and Peirson-Smith, A. Public Relations in Asia Pacific: Communicating Effectively Across Cultures. Singapore: John Wiley and Sons Pte. Ltd. Grunig, J. and Huang, Y. (2000). “From Organizational Effectiveness to Relationship Indicators: Antecedents of Relationships, Public Relations Strategies and Relationship Outcomes.” Public Relations as Relationship Management: A Relational Approach to the Study and Practice of Public Relations. Eds. Ledingham, J. and Bruning, S. NJ: Lawrence-Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Harrison, S. (2000). Public Relations: An Introduction, 2nd ed. Cornwall: Thomson Learning. Johnston, J. et. al. (2009). “Public Relations: An Overview.” Public Relations: Theory and Practice. Eds. Johnston, J. and Zawawi, C. Crows Nest, NSW: Griffin Press. Ledingham, J. and Bruning, S. (2000). “A Longitudinal Study of Organization – Public Relationship Dimensions: Defining the Role of Communication in the Practice of Relationship Management.” Public Relations as Relationship Management: A Relational Approach to the Study and Practice of Public Relations. Eds. Ledingham, J. and Bruning, S. NJ: Lawrence-Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Narula, U. Business Communication Practices: Modern Trends. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers and Distributors. Reddi, C. (2009). Effective Public Relations and Media Strategy. New Delhi: PHI Learning Private Ltd. Read More