Healy Communications has a small but strong team, and because of our experience in media, we know what makes a good news story.
Time for a change – switching careers from Journalism to PR
I worked for 20 years in the media in a job I loved and felt capable of doing no matter the situation. But when I hit my 40s, I questioned whether this was the career path I wanted to continue on for the next 20 years. I realised I wanted a new challenge but felt I had been working for so long in one particular sector that I didn’t have the right experience or qualifications for anything else.
That was until someone spoke to me about transferable skills, and I had a serious look at my attributes:
- Good communicator
- Quick thinker under pressure
- Able to spot an interesting story and tell it clearly and concisely.
- Determined to get results
Skills, I realised, which are suited to the work of PR practitioners.
So when the opportunity arose to join Healy Communications team in Cork I jumped at the chance. All the team come from journalistic backgrounds, having worked in both print and radio, so I knew this was the team I wanted to join and would feel most comfortable with – especially as I began the steep learning curve to what makes a good PR practitioner.
Healy Communications has a small but strong team, and because of our experience in media, we know what makes a good news story. When clients work with Healy Communications they can be assured of getting the best news angle on their pitch. Newsrooms receive hundreds of emails every day, so it’s important to make sure the press release you send will stand out from the rest – and that’s what Healy Communications strives to achieve for our clients.
But PR is about more than writing press releases. One of the most crucial elements of the job is getting to know the client you’re working with. It’s essential to know and understand their target audience, and what they expect from any PR campaign. This is also an important part of journalism as you must earn a person’s trust in order to share their story.
It can be challenging for a person to put themselves out in the public domain. Many people, particularly those who are just starting out in business, may be telling their story in public for the first time. They may have yet to speak on radio or be mentioned in a newspaper. The team at Healy Communications can prepare clients for this first step and offer ongoing advice as they continue their journey.
I have been the recipient of the team’s advice and support as I progress on my own journey, and I’m glad I took that leap from the career I knew to a new adventure. I’m also glad I listened to that person who told me to look at my transferable skills. So, here’s to the next 20 years!
Read more about Fiona’s career here https://healycommunications.ie/meet-the-journalists-fiona-corcoran/feed/meet-the-journalists-fiona-corcoran/
