Staying Employed in PR

As everyone in our trade knows, PR is a fast employee turnover business. And cookie cutter diplomas in-hand, countless communications graduates are willing to take your job by working for less money Also, even before they graduate, during semester breaks and summer vacations, would-be PR wanabees are knocking at agency doors. They also are after your job.

But the observant employee can learn when the pink slip might soon be coming, and truth be told, the quality of your work is not as important as the smoke-filled room decisions at your agency: It’s the bottom line that management is most concerned with. So know matter what you are told by supervisors, you’re always at risk of being disposable.

While some terminations come as a complete surprise, there are definite signals that should alert employees that their days at the agency might be numbered.

In some ways the signals when it’s time to look for a new girlfriend or boyfriend are the same sent by your agency to let you know when it’s time to look for a new job:

Your significant other stops initiating phone calls; so does your supervisor.

Phone calls are not returned as promptly as they were a few weeks ago; the same with your supervisor.

He or she cuts short phone calls after only a few minutes; so does your supervisor.

And the most important signal: “I think we should cut back seeing each other so often.” While your supervisor won’t say that (unless you are having an agency romance), there are other signals that indicate that it’s time to start a job search.

You are no longer invited to lunch or an after work drink.

You are no longer invited to group meetings.

You are no longer invited to creative meetings.

You stop getting memos.

Your office telephone calls cease.

You are designated as “not a team” player.

When you are in the elevator, your supervisor and others in your group avoid small talk.

Your work is suddenly consistently criticized and when you ask for constructive suggestions your supervisor is unable to provide any. (Of course that can happen even when you’re not on the firing list. Being a supervisor doesn’t mean that the individual is a better PR practitioner than you are.)

You get a bad performance review for the first time (even though you and your client know that you are doing a good job).

Your assignments are transferred to others who get “great work” memos from your supervisor, when in reality they are only reworking your initial draft and the changes are limited to moving around a few graphs or subbing a few words.

You are passed over for a salary increase.

Colleagues who were water cooler friendly stop speaking to you.

Dialogue with others in your company is limited to brusque “hellos” and “goodbyes."

If you’re receiving such signals, it is important to not get discouraged. Few proficient practitioners in our business “lose it” overnight.

There are many reasons that an agency decides that you’re no longer wanted and it has nothing to do with substandard work.

Here are a few:

People to whom you report are jealous of your work and keep it from management because they fear you’re a possible replacement for them.

You get too many compliments from clients, making management nervous that you might walk away with the client.

Management demands a list of people who can be cut and your supervisor places you on the list in order to protect social buddies.

A mid-management shake-up often results in change just so the new supervisors can demonstrate action to top management.
You’re not afraid to criticize your supervisor’s work when you are shown a draft.

And, of course, there’s the “team concept,” a devious tactic that prevents management from knowing how valuable you might be to the success of an account(s), which allows your supervisor to write a report commending the work of the group without giving credit to individuals.

If you feel that you are receiving good bye signals there are important strategies that you should do.

Send memos to your supervisor every week saying you have time to work on accounts and ask how you can help.

Ask your supervisor in writing why you are no longer be given work.

If you don’t receive replies, send a memo to top management requesting work. Chances are top management knows what’s happening, but you never know and it will send a signal that you can’t be intimidated.

If your supervisor tells you to stop sending memos disregard what they say. It’s in your interest to keep the memos flowing, even if you don’t receive replies.

Act naturally. Don’t be afraid to take vacation time.

Don’t be cowed by Human Resource people. They are not your friends. If they ask you questions your replies should always be positive; always refer to your good work for the agency and suggest they check with clients (which they will never do).

If Human Resource people start to harass you, immediately send a memo to highest management saying the tactics might force you to seek legal help.

Always show up for work on time and stay for the entire work day, as difficult as it may be; take a lunch break every day.

If you are on good terms with clients, call them, explain the situation to make certain that they don’t think you wanted off the account.

(Chances are before you do this you will be told not to contact your former clients. Forget about it. Do so.)

As soon as you’re sure that you are being frozen out, consult a

labor attorney, who will tell you how to act; do not tell anyone that you have done so. (A close client ally can recommend good ones.)

Very important: Keep a daily diary which should include every conversation and action by your supervisors and others. (In fact, it’s a good thing to do so every day of your employment. You never know when it might be useful. If a client compliments your work, ask if it the comments could be put in a memo. Keep them.)

During my first few years at Burson-Marsteller, I was responsible for restructuring, managing and playing key roles in some of the most significant national and international sports and non-sports programs and traveled the world as a media advisor to high-ranking foreign government officials. But early on I found myself trapped in the “team concept” model until a very senior manager from an out lying office on whose accounts I worked told me, “If you want to get ahead here, you better find a way to let top management know about your work even if it means upsetting some people.” I found a way and my career blossomed for almost 25 years at -M. until I moved on.

So if you feel that top management doesn’t know about your contributions to the success of account(s) because of the "team concept,” find a way to make sure they do.

And if you’re terminated because of office politics, be mad, but don’t be discouraged Our business is famous for people not being appreciated at one firm and rising to senior positions at another.

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Arthur Solomon, a former journalist and senior vice president/senior counselor at Burson-Marsteller, is a frequent contributor to public relations and sports business publications, consults on public relations projects and is on the Seoul Peace Prize nominating committee. He can be reached at [email protected].