Dear public relations majors,

I would like to offer up a few words of advice in regards the fast-paced, stressful, wonderful, insane industry we have grown to love in between all of the chaos.

First, I wanted to share the best advice I have ever been given. Sophomore year I was in the middle of a visual campaign when every possible thing seemed to be going wrong, and my professor told me, “Make it work.” Profound huh? Well in public relations there is a 110 percent chance that things will not go according to plan, no matter how well you plan. A client will change their mind about what they want months into a campaign, a venue will cancel the week before a big event, or just when all is seeming to go well – a crisis will come forth. That is the beauty of PR though, we are the chosen few who make things better. So when it feels like nothing is going right and you are drowning in chaos – be resourceful, take things one  step at a time, think outside of the box, ask for help – and you will make it work.

Secondly, I know that we all live and die by our Erin Condrens (or Emily Leys or Lilly Pulitzers or insert favorite planner here) but do not let take away from truly living. There have been far too many times I have missed out on really enjoying myself because I didn’t pencil it in. I love the fact that I am obsessively organized, punctual and time efficient, but it has also been my fatal flaw in truly living my life. So let’s stop glorifying busy and write in a little wiggle room so we can start enjoying things a little more.

My next word of advice is stop letting competition discourage you and start making it inspire you. Public relations majors are notoriously competitive, always fighting for the next big internship, leadership position or opportunity – and that constant clawing to be at the top of the totem pole can be utterly exhausting and disheartening. Stop thinking about your peers’ resumes and just focus on being the best at what you do. As I have said before, I would rather have friends in high places. Let’s all make a collective decision to stop with the underhanded brags and competition and just encourage one another.

Lastly, explore. PR is so multifaceted, between media relations, event planning, crisis communications, integrated marketing and the other million sides of the industry – it can be easy to feel lost. It is okay to not have a staunch answer when people ask what you want your focus to be, but what is not okay is if you are not exploring to find what that answer is. Finding your calling is a journey and 4 years is usually not long enough to make that destination. So calm down, take a deep breath, and explore away.

Best,

Natalie Adams