1. Tell me what would you say are the top two personality traits someone needs to do this job well?
The answer to this question will be very telling. You can translate "creative" and "intuitive" to mean you will be on your own, while "patient" and "collaborative" could mean the opposite.
Not only will this question allow you to feel out whether you'll be a good fit, it will get your interviewer to look past the paper resume and see you as an individual.
2. Tell us about your writing experience?
Writing has always been a huge part of my life. I was editor of both the high school and university newspapers, and I minored in English in college. I know that having strong writing and communication skills are essential in this industry, so I did all I could to prepare myself for what would be required in this area. I have learned to write concisely without compromising my message.
3. Tell me how do your skills relate to this position?
I bring to the position, management experience, experience in designing and executing campaigns for clients and strength in writing and editing.
Trust employees, give them the tools they need to succeed on own, but realize that I will not throw them into deep end. Put team member in charge of developing outreach list, managing the process and garnered results.
5. Tell us how well do you manage your time?
Very well, lists, don't let job expand to fill time.
6. Tell me what skills would you like to develop in this job?
Industry understanding, new media techniques.
This is a very important question because it relates directly to the public relations job. Give an example of working in a PR team; define your role and show how you contributed. Emphasize the value of your contributions.
8. Tell us how do you manage a difficult client?
This is actually a trick question. The answer is you do your job to the best of your ability, regardless of difficulties. The management of any PR client, difficult or otherwise, is a business issue for the employer, not yours as a PR consultant. You can advise and help retain the client, and you can advise management regarding the client's issues.
9. Tell me what improvements or changes do you hope the new candidate will bring to this position?
This answer can shed light on what might have made the last person lose or leave the job, as well as tip you off on the path to success. Asking this shows an employer you are eager to be the best candidate to ever fill this position.
Asking this question can be scary, but also beneficial. Not only does it give you a chance to redeem any hesitations the employer might have about you, it demonstrates you can take constructive criticism and are eager to improve. These are valuable qualities in any candidate.
11. Top Public Relations Manager Job Interview Questions:
☛ Why do you want to work in public relations?
☛ What previous experience and education lead your interest in a public relations position?
☛ Why do companies need public relations?
☛ Why did you apply to our company?
☛ What does "public relations" mean to you?
☛ What kind of opportunity are you looking for?
☛ What would your role be at this firm if you were hired?
☛ What qualities make a good public relations employee?
☛ What's the difference between public relations and advertising?
☛ How would you balance advocacy and objectivity?
☛ Can you multi-task?
☛ What are the elements that make up interactive public relations?
☛ What are the advantages of an in-house public relations department?
☛ What are the disadvantages of hiring a public relations firm?
☛ Do you prefer working for an in-house pr department or a pr agency?
☛ What writing experience do you have?
☛ What is a press release?
☛ How would you contact and communicate with a reporter?
☛ Have you created a by-lined article or case study?
☛ Have you even been misunderstood professionally or personally?
☛ When responding media and public inquiries, what do you find most difficult to answer?
☛ Tell me about a print campaign you have worked on?
☛ Tell me about a social media campaign you have worked on?
☛ Have you ever had to handle a social media crisis? What did you do?
☛ What media outlets do you follow? Why?
☛ Give me an example of how you creatively solved a problem at work.
☛ How do you measure the results of a PR campaign?
☛ Why are exhibitions at trade shows popular?
☛ What is the role of content in public relations?
☛ In what direction do you see the public relations industry heading?
☛ What personality characteristics are most important to be successful in public relations?
12. Technical Public Relations Manager Interview Questions:
☛ How do you ensure a successful campaign in a different language?
☛ What is a spin?
☛ How does a public relations manager use a spin effectively?
☛ When and how should a spin be used?
☛ Who is a spin doctor?
☛ What is a Flack in public relation terms?
☛ What is a desk visit?
☛ Explain the principle and uses of astroturfing.
☛ How is a talk show useful for public relations?
☛ What are the advantages of blogs in public relations and promotion?
☛ What are the disadvantages of blogs?
☛ How does the public relations industry benefit from the internet?
☛ What are the most beneficial types of media in terms of reachability?
☛ What is a pseudo-event and how is it useful for promotions?
☛ Give an example of a famous pseudo-event.
☛ What is a photo op?
☛ Define hyperreality.
☛ What are the aspects for a publicity stunt to be successful?
☛ How do you deliver a message in a publicity stunt?
☛ What is a sound bite?
☛ What are buzzwords?
☛ Explain green PR.
☛ Define greenwash.
☛ What is a survey? What are its uses?
☛ How are the results of a survey published?
☛ What is the role of advertisements in public relations?
☛ What are the disadvantages of an advertisement?
☛ What is a Q score? What are the forms of Q score?
☛ How is television Q score calculated?
☛ What is cost per conversion?
☛ What is view-through rate?
☛ How do you calculate view-through rate?
☛ What is organization-public relationship?
☛ Define control mutuality.
☛ Define Favor and Face.
13. Informational and behavioral Public Relations Manager Job Interview Questions:
☛ Tell us about yourself.
☛ What are your strengths?
☛ What are your weaknesses?
☛ How will your strengths help you in a public relations job?
☛ Have your weaknesses interfered in your profession?
☛ What are the basic qualities of a public relations manager?
☛ What is an ideal day in office for a public relations manager?
☛ What is your worst experience in office until date?
☛ What is a publicist's dream?
☛ What are the basic requirements of a company or project to ensure successful publicity?
☛ Rate yourself as a public relations manager 1 to 10.
☛ How would your boss rate you in terms of creativity?
14. Operational and Situational Public Relations Manager Job Interview Questions:
☛ In your opinion, what's PR about?
☛ Why are social media important for PR?
☛ What does a media list involve?
☛ Imagine the PR manager asks you to give them the contact details of a media person. How would you go about finding them?
☛ How do you put together a press kit?
☛ Do you have any video editing experience?
☛ How do you organize your tasks?
☛ What media outlets do you follow and why?
☛ What skills should you possess to communicate with clients?
☛ How would you deal with an enquiry from the press?
☛ What do you think of our PR campaigns?
☛ Tell me about a time you helped in organizing an event. Was it a success?
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15. Professional Public Relations Manager Job Interview Questions:
☛ What areas of PR or communications do you see growing/being important in the future?
☛ Can you tell me about a favourite campaign you worked on
☛ How do you measure your personal and team ROI on campaigns?
☛ How much involvement do you have in new business?
☛ What is the value of the new business you have contributed to in the last 12 months?
☛ How would you deal with a PR crisis?
☛ How would you describe public relations to a five year old?
☛ How do you use social media to reach and impress traditional media?
☛ Can you give me 3-5 key publications and/or journalists that you would want to target for xxx client
☛ How is PR different from advertising?
16. Management/Director based Public Relations Manager Job Interview Questions:
☛ What media win are you most proud of?
☛ Tell me about a time when you had to overcome a challenge with an individual or group when developing and executing a PR campaign?
☛ What was the most difficult situation you have been in when responding to media and public enquiries. What made it difficult? How did you handle it?
☛ What are the advantages and disadvantages of appointing a PR consultancy?
☛ What would you consider to be your most creative or effective campaign?
☛ What would you do if a client or manager disagreed with your PR strategy?
☛ Describe a time you had to manage negative media attention.
☛ Describe a time your PR communications were misunderstood by your target audience. How did you handle it?
☛ Who are the current members of your team? What are their respective roles?
☛ What's interesting about our current PR work? What would you improve?
17. Entry level Public Relations Manager Job Interview Questions:
☛ Why do you want a career in PR?
☛ Can you tell me about a recent PR campaign that you thought worked well and why
☛ Can you tell me about a recent PR campaign that you thought failed and why
☛ What current news stories would you want to hijack for xxx client
☛ What writing experience do you have in PR?
☛ How would you prioritize and start your work day?
☛ How would you go about finding relevant contacts and sources?
☛ Which PR firms do you admire and why?
☛ Which media outlets do you follow?
☛ Which PR figures do you admire and why?
18. Stress based Public Relations Manager Interview Questions:
☛ How will you respond to criticism?
☛ How do you handle stress?
☛ What is your most successful campaign to date?
☛ What is your biggest failure and what have you learned from it.
☛ What do you know about our company?
☛ Why should we hire you?
☛ What are your blind spots?
☛ What are your hobbies?
☛ Do you have any questions for us?
19. Basic Public Relations Manager Job Interview Questions:
☛ Which PR firms do you admire and why?
☛ Which media outlets do you follow?
☛ Talk about the difference between PR and advertising.
☛ How do you choose angles for a story pitch?
☛ What media placements are you most proud of?
☛ Describe some affiliate networks you've collaborated with and why you chose them.
☛ How do you integrate social media with PR?
☛ How does PR support content marketing?
☛ How would you present the results of your work?
☛ What would you consider to be your most creative or effective campaign?
☛ What would you do if a client or manager disagreed with your PR strategy?
☛ How would you define thought leadership?
☛ Describe a time you had to manage negative media attention.
☛ Describe a time your PR communications were misunderstood by your target audience. How did you handle it?
☛ How have you worked with a team to handle a PR crisis?
☛ Who are the current members of your team? What are their respective roles?
☛ Describe a time you trained or mentored a colleague.
☛ What do you know about our products/firm? Why do you want to work here?
☛ What's interesting about our current PR work? What would you improve?
This question is sure to impress. It shows you researched the company, and gives you a chance to gain insight into what values the company holds highest.
I use various platforms, each depending on the target audience and goals for the organizations I am working for. Facebook is an excellent platform for people in their mid-to-late twenties and thirties or older, while Instagram, SnapChat and Twitter may be better platforms for younger individuals. Each has particular strengths that I can use to increase my reach to my target audience.
Although my job as a PR manager will be promoting my organization, I know it is important to remain as unbiased as possible. Sticking with the facts is a great way to ensure that I remain objective. When I work for a great organization, the facts will be enough. I simply need to present them in a positive way. This ensures I remain honest. However, I also understand that I don't have to disclose every last piece of information. I would always try to find that balance between telling consumers information they need to know without bias while also maintaining the best possible outcome for the organization.
Better ways of compiling briefing sheets, media lists, use of Google docs to share info.
Overtaxed client did not deliver what we needed, we were able to step in and work on draft of items so that she could merely approve.
International clients require availability outside work hours and I assure that I or team member is available. Work with editors to meet needs for sotry.
