Hiring a PR Assistant can be a great way to expand your PR agency and your PR services. While your new hire is taking care of the administrative portion of your business, you can focus on your PR clients and growing your PR agency as a successful woman in public relations.
When you interview potential candidates, listen for their level of professionalism and how they speak about past clients or employers. There’s quite a difference between an assistant who is watching the clock, waiting to go home, and one who stays until the work is complete. You need to hire a PR professional who will always complete a project within the deadline rather than one who gives you excuses. Advertise your PR Assistant opportunity, look through resumes with care, and interview those who meet your initial criteria. You can also have your PR Assistant join the Women in PR Business Challenge! Over the next four weeks, you will work through 20 daily lessons to help you get organized and move from chaos to clarity in your PR business.
However, don’t start the interview process without first considering the following:
What tasks do you need to delegate?
Know ahead of time what tasks you need to delegate so you can determine in the interview if this is the right PR Assistant for the job. Walking into an agreement with a “I’ll get you a list of tasks in a few days” attitude is bound to fail. Just as you want to find the perfect help, the interviewee wants to find a job that is the perfect fit.
What experience does this PR Assistant need?
Do you want someone who is just starting out so you can train them in the way you like things done or do you want someone with experience who can just run with a job until it’s complete? Do you want someone in the same time zone? Do you want someone who will work only for you or are you willing to hire someone who handles work for their own PR clientele?
How much can you afford to pay?
If you’re overburdened with your own work and business isn’t moving forward, hiring an assistant is a smart move. Look at your books and realistically determine a budget for this assistant and stick to it. Keep in mind, the more experienced and capable the assistant, the larger the hourly wage.
Have you been feeling disorganized or overwhelmed by life’s distractions? Are you finding it challenging to keep on top of your business systems?
You’ve spent the past years working hard, but you’ve lost track of your digital property. You can’t remember the last time you sat down to update your master list of passwords, business accounts or tracked your expenses. You can’t remember the last time you assessed what you need to keep or get rid of to take your business to the next level.
If this sounds like you, then you will LOVE the Women in PR Business Challenge! Over the next four weeks, you will work through 20 daily lessons to help you get organized and move from chaos to clarity in your PR business.
American Women in Public Relations™ (Women in PR USA®) and Canadian Women in Public Relations (Women in PR Canada) has been formed to enable groups of public relations women leaders across the Americas to come together to share ideas, contacts, experiences, and to advocate for major issues directly affecting women working in the PR industry today. Join our online community to be interviewed on our website as Women in PR, gain access to our premium resources, find your next job and build contacts in your field. We also offer member discounts on PR tools, events and training to help you thrive in your career.
Talia Beckett
Talia Beckett Davis is the Founder of Canadian Women in Public Relations and American Women in Public Relations. She works as the Managing Director of Pink Pearl PR.
