COMM 209: Public relations, lobbying

Here's a link to the Advertising and Public Relations Services career profile on the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Career Guide to Industries. Updated annually, the BLS website is the best place to get an overall view of career prospects in different fields. Money graf (one of several):

In an effort to attract and maintain clients, advertising and public relations services agencies are diversifying their services, offering advertising as well as public relations, sales, marketing, and interactive media services. Advertising and public relations services firms have found that highly creative work is particularly suitable for their services, resulting in a better product and increasing their clients' profitability.

And this:

Employees in advertising and public relations services should have good people skills, common sense, creativity, communication skills, and problem-solving ability. Foreign language skills have always been important for those wanting to work abroad for domestic firms or to represent foreign firms domestically. However, these skills are increasingly vital to reach minorities not fluent in English in U.S. cities, such as Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Houston, and Phoenix. New media, such as the Internet, are creating opportunities to market products, but also are increasing the need for additional training for those already employed. Keeping pace with technology is fundamental to success in the industry. In addition, advertisers must keep in tune with the changing values, cultures, and fashions of the Nation.

Success in increasingly responsible staff assignments usually leads to advancement to supervisory positions. As workers advance on the job, broad vision and planning skills become extremely important. Another way to get to the top in this industry is to open one’s own firm. In spite of the difficulty and high failure rate, many find starting their own business to be personally and financially rewarding. Advancement among the self-employed takes the form of increasing the size and strength of their own company.

Here's also a link to a webpage put up by the American League of Lobbyists on how to break into a career in lobbying.

Lobbying? Isn't that nasty, crooked ... bribing sleazebag politics?

In a word, no. I'll say it again. No.

Lobbying is a type of public relations that deals with government and public affairs. According to Wikipedia (at least tonight), it "includes all attempts to influence legislators and officials, whether by other legislators, constituents or organized groups." In Springfield you'll hear it called advocacy or "legislative liaison," and it's one of the home industries in our town. An overview by the American League of Lobbyists:

Most lobbyists are college graduates, and many have advanced degrees. Of these advanced degrees, the most prevalent is legal training, with other common backgrounds being communications, teaching, public relations and journalism. Lobbyists must be able to understand their clients' interests as well as the laws and policies they hope to influence. They must be able to communicate effectively with their audience, both orally and in writing. It is also necessary for them to understand the legislative and political process.

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... The best suggestion we can make is for individuals [wanting to break into the field] to use the contacts they have through previous work or studies, seeking informational interviews and networking as much as possible. As indicated in the paragraph above, political or government contacts are particularly helpful in entering the field.

In short, it helps to know someone. But the way to get to know someone is to take an interest in the political process, volunteer for campaigns and network with people whose politics and philosophies match your own. We have had several students from Springfield College and Benedictine line up internships with local members of Congress, associations like the Chamber of Commerce and social service agencies that do advocacy over the years, and that is probably the best way to get a feel for the legislative process.

The key: Network, network, network.