In this article: The PR Job Market | Where Public Relations Jobs Actually Live | What PR Hiring Managers Filter For | How to Stand Out in a Stack of PR Applications | Start Your PR Job Search
The job title “Public Relations Specialist” appears in fewer listings every year. That doesn’t mean PR hiring is shrinking.
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The work of media relations, reputation management, and earned communications is often held under titles such as “communications manager,” “earned media strategist,” and “corporate affairs associate.” Candidates who search only for “public relations specialist” miss a huge share of relevant openings.
Bureau of Labor Statistics projections put employment growth for PR specialists at roughly the average rate for all occupations through the end of the decade. The challenge is knowing where public relations jobs actually live, understanding what modern PR hiring managers filter for in the first 30 seconds of reviewing an application, and positioning yourself as someone who gets the work.
The PR Job Market: Fragmented, Not Shrinking
PR job openings haven’t disappeared. They’ve dispersed.
Healthcare organizations, technology companies, financial services firms, and government or nonprofit entities are among the largest employers of PR professionals. The traditional agency model still exists, but a growing share of PR work happens in-house across industries that weren’t historically associated with communications roles.
Think: hospital systems with dedicated media relations teams. Fintech startups hiring their first “corporate comms” person. State agencies looking for public affairs specialists who can handle both press inquiries and social media.
Here’s the real shift: “public relations” as a discrete job function is being absorbed into broader communications, content, and brand roles. Employers want professionals who can write a press release, sure, but also analyze social sentiment, brief executives before broadcast interviews, coordinate crisis response, and understand how earned media ladders into larger marketing objectives.
If you’re limiting your search to listings with “public relations” in the title, you’re competing for maybe half the roles that actually involve PR work.
Where Public Relations Jobs Actually Live
Search Broader Than “Public Relations Specialist”
Start with the title variations hiring managers actually use:
- Communications Manager
- Media Relations Coordinator
- Corporate Communications Associate
- Reputation Manager
- Crisis Communications Specialist
- Earned Media Strategist
- External Affairs Manager
- Public Affairs Specialist
Set up job alerts for all of these. The work is fundamentally the same. The title fragmentation reflects organizational structure, not actual responsibilities.
Use Niche Job Boards Where PR Roles Surface
Indeed and LinkedIn can bury PR openings under hundreds of marketing and corporate communications listings. Niche boards surface roles specifically in media and communications.
Mediabistro’s public relations job listings focus on media, publishing, and content-driven industries where PR work intersects with editorial judgment. The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) maintains a job board filtered by specialization and experience level. The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) lists roles that blend internal and external communications.
These boards matter because recruiters targeting communications professionals post there first. By the time a role hits a general aggregator, you’re competing with candidates who applied a week earlier through the niche channel.
Work LinkedIn Like a PR Professional
Follow agency principals, corporate communications VPs, and recruiters who specialize in communications roles. Engage with their content before you need something. Comment on their posts. Share relevant articles with a sentence or two of your own perspective.
When you do reach out about a role, you’re not a cold applicant. You’re someone they’ve seen contributing to the conversation.
Identify Companies at Communications Inflection Points
Product launches, crises, rebrands, leadership changes, IPOs, mergers. These moments generate PR needs. Companies going through them are either hiring or about to be.
Track the news in your target industries. When you spot a company navigating a high-stakes communications moment, pitch yourself directly to their communications team before the role is formally posted. A well-timed, substantive email to the VP of Communications can bypass the application queue entirely.
Hiring managers facing immediate pressure need someone who already understands their challenge. Someone who references their specific situation and offers relevant experience gets a conversation. Generic applicants get stacked.
Tap Professional Communities Where Referrals Happen
Referrals carry enormous weight in PR hiring, especially at agencies where cultural fit matters as much as skill. Many roles fill through informal networks before they’re publicly posted.
PRSA chapters host monthly events in most major cities. IABC runs professional development programs. Local press clubs and media mixers bring together journalists and communications professionals. Go to these not to collect business cards, but to meet people doing the work you want to do.
The person you meet at a PRSA mixer might not have an opening for months. But when their agency wins a new client and needs to staff up quickly, they’ll remember the candidate who showed up, asked smart questions, and clearly understood the work.
Understand the Agency vs. In-House Distinction
These are fundamentally different job searches.
Agencies hire in waves around new client wins. Openings appear suddenly and fill quickly. In-house corporate communications roles are steadier but less frequent.
Agency work offers variety and rapid skill-building: multiple clients, multiple industries, a high volume of media placements. The trade-off is longer hours and less predictability. In-house roles offer deeper brand knowledge, more strategic involvement, and often more predictable schedules, but with narrower exposure.
Decide which path fits your career stage and work style, then focus your search accordingly.
What PR Hiring Managers Filter For
Writing Samples Are the First Gate
No writing samples? Disqualified before anyone reads your resume.
A solid portfolio includes a press release, a media pitch, and ideally a crisis statement or thought leadership draft. Speculative or academic samples are fine for entry-level candidates, but they need to look professional. No typos. No formatting errors. No language that screams “this was homework.”
Present your portfolio as a clean PDF or simple portfolio site with a one-sentence context note for each sample: “Written for [client or class project] during product launch; resulted in coverage in [outlet or would have targeted outlet].”
Digital and Social Fluency Is Non-Negotiable
Listing “Microsoft Office” as a skill in a 2026 application is a red flag. Hiring managers expect comfort with media monitoring platforms, social listening tools, analytics dashboards, and content management systems.
You should be able to pull reports from platforms like Meltwater or Cision and explain what the data means. You should understand the difference between reach, impressions, and engagement. You should be able to navigate a CMS to publish content without calling IT.
Nobody expects you to be a data scientist. But modern PR is measured, not just executed, and you need to speak the language of metrics when a CMO asks what your media placements actually delivered.
Media Relationships or Evidence of Earned Coverage
Even entry-level candidates can demonstrate this. Student media placements. Freelance bylines. A media list you built for a class project or internship. Coverage you secured for a volunteer organization.
Hiring managers want to see that you understand how journalists work, what makes a story newsworthy, and how to pitch without annoying people. If you have existing relationships with reporters, even at smaller outlets, say so explicitly. If you’ve placed stories, include links or screenshots.
The “Purpose and Values” Layer
PR is increasingly tied to organizational reputation, ESG initiatives, and purpose-driven communications. Candidates who can articulate how PR intersects with organizational values stand out.
Applying to a healthcare organization? Mention how communications can support patient trust. Targeting a financial services firm? Reference reputation management in a regulated industry. Show that you see PR as strategic, not just tactical.
AI Literacy as an Emerging Differentiator
AI tools are creeping into the PR workflow: media list building, draft generation, sentiment analysis. You don’t need to be an expert, but demonstrating awareness signals adaptability.
If you’ve experimented with AI for drafting press releases or analyzing media coverage, mention it. If you haven’t, spend an afternoon testing a tool and be prepared to discuss how you’d integrate it into your process. Hiring managers aren’t looking for technical mastery. They’re looking for people who won’t resist when the organization adopts new platforms.
Red Flags Hiring Managers Notice Immediately
Generic cover letters that could apply to any company. No writing samples attached. Listing “social media” as a skill without specifics about platforms, metrics, or results. Not knowing the difference between earned, owned, and paid media.
Typos in a PR application are disqualifying. This is a profession built on written communication. If you can’t proofread your own materials, hiring managers will assume you can’t proofread client-facing content.
How to Stand Out in a Stack of PR Applications
Tailor Ruthlessly
Every application should reference the company’s recent communications activity. A campaign they ran. Coverage they received. A crisis they navigated. This takes 10 minutes of research and eliminates most of your competition immediately.
Lead with Results, Not Responsibilities
“Secured coverage in [publication]” beats “responsible for media outreach.” Every time.
Even at entry-level: “Built a targeted media list of 40 reporters for [client or project]” is better than “assisted with media relations.”
Hiring managers skim resumes in seconds. They’re scanning for evidence you’ve done the work. Quantify wherever possible: number of placements, audience reach, spokesperson prep sessions conducted, crisis response time.
Follow Up with Substance
After applying, send a brief, personalized message to the hiring manager on LinkedIn. Not “just checking in.” Share a relevant insight that shows you’re already thinking about their communications challenges.
“I saw the recent coverage of [company initiative] in [publication]. I’ve worked on similar campaigns in [industry] and found that [specific tactic] helped extend the news cycle. Happy to discuss if useful.”
This works because it adds value instead of just asking for attention. If you can’t think of anything substantive to share, don’t send the message.
Credentials That Move the Needle
PRSA’s Accredited in Public Relations (APR) designation carries weight, especially at agencies and in corporate communications. It’s not required for most roles, but it signals seriousness to hiring managers who know the field.
Early in your career and don’t yet qualify for APR? PRSA membership still matters. It demonstrates professional commitment and gives you access to the networking events where referrals happen.
For more strategic career guidance, explore these five secrets to success in public relations from professionals who’ve built long careers in the field.
Start Your PR Job Search
The public relations job market rewards candidates who search broader than they think, in more places than they expect, and show up as modern PR professionals who understand the work extends well beyond press releases.
Search using the full range of titles: communications manager, media relations coordinator, corporate communications associate, earned media strategist. Use niche job boards where PR roles surface first. Tap professional communities where referrals happen. Build a portfolio that demonstrates writing skill and media savvy, even if your samples come from academic or volunteer work.
Browse public relations jobs on Mediabistro to see what roles are open and how they’re actually titled. Set up alerts for multiple title variations so you’re notified when new opportunities post.
Once you land interviews and start receiving offers, this guide on evaluating job offers will help you negotiate effectively. When hiring managers request references, use this email template to reach out to former colleagues professionally.
For employers looking to hire PR professionals, post your open roles on Mediabistro to reach candidates actively working in media and communications.
The work is out there. It’s just hiding under different titles, in different industries, and on platforms most candidates aren’t checking. Now you know where to look.
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