What does a Public Relations Specialist do?

Promote or create an intended public image for individuals, groups, or organizations. Day to day that includes work like respond to requests for information from the media or designate an appropriate spokesperson or information source and Plan or direct development or communication of programs to maintain favorable public or stockholder perceptions of an organization's accomplishments, agenda, or environmental responsibility.

What skills should a Public Relations Specialist put on a resume?

O*NET rates Active Listening, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Social Perceptiveness, and Writing among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Public Relations Specialist list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes 3M Post-it App, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Adobe Acrobat Writer, and Adobe ActionScript. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Public Relations Specialist work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Communications Specialist, Public Affairs Specialist, Public Information Officer, and PR Specialist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Public Relations Specialist need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 91% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Public Relations Specialist role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Public Relations Specialist resume example

A resume for a Public Relations Specialist needs to show the work itself: promote or create an intended public image for individuals, groups, or organizations. Day to day that means work like this: respond to requests for information from the media or designate an appropriate spokesperson or information source; plan or direct development or communication of programs to maintain favorable public or stockholder perceptions of an organization's accomplishments, agenda, or environmental responsibility. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Communications Specialist
Public Affairs Specialist
Public Information Officer
PR Specialist
Community Relations Coordinator
Corporate Communications Specialist
Information and Communications Specialist
Media Relations Specialist
Public Information Specialist
Public Relations Coordinator
PR Coordinator
PR Consultant
PR Counselor
PR Officer
PR Rep
Audience Coordinator
Brand Advocate
Communications Associate

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Respond to requests for information from the media or designate an appropriate spokesperson or information source.
Plan or direct development or communication of programs to maintain favorable public or stockholder perceptions of an organization's accomplishments, agenda, or environmental responsibility.
Post and update content on the company's Web site and social media outlets.
Write press releases or other media communications to promote clients.
Establish or maintain cooperative relationships with representatives of community, consumer, employee, or public interest groups.
Confer with other managers to identify trends or key group interests or concerns or to provide advice on business decisions.
Coach client representatives in effective communication with the public or with employees.
Study the objectives, promotional policies, or needs of organizations to develop public relations strategies that will influence public opinion or promote ideas, products, or services.
Prepare or edit organizational publications, such as employee newsletters or stockholders' reports, for internal or external audiences.
Arrange public appearances, lectures, contests, or exhibits for clients to increase product or service awareness or to promote goodwill.
Plan or conduct market or public opinion research to test products or determine potential for product success, communicating results to client or management.
Develop plans or materials to communicate organizational activities that are beneficial to the environment, public safety, or other important social issues.

18 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Respond to requests for information from the media or designate an appropriate spokesperson or information source, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Plan or direct development or communication of programs to maintain favorable public or stockholder perceptions of an organization's accomplishments, agenda, or environmental responsibility, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Post and update content on the company's Web site and social media outlets, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Write press releases or other media communications to promote clients, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

3M Post-it App
Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Acrobat Reader
Adobe Acrobat Writer
Adobe ActionScript
Adobe After Effects
Adobe Creative Cloud software
Adobe Dreamweaver
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Photoshop
Airtable
Apple Final Cut Express
Apple Final Cut Pro

71 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Computer laser printers
Desktop computers
Laptop computers
Multi-line telephone systems
Personal computers
Photocopying equipment

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

Adobe Creative Cloud
Adobe Photoshop
coach others

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Active Listening
02Speaking
03Reading Comprehension
04Social Perceptiveness
05Writing
06Coordination
07Critical Thinking
08Time Management
09Persuasion
10Judgment and Decision Making

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Communications and Media
English Language
Administration and Management
Customer and Personal Service
Sales and Marketing
Computers and Electronics

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

91%Bachelor's Degree
9%Master's Degree

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Considerable Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Common questions

What does a Public Relations Specialist do?: Promote or create an intended public image for individuals, groups, or organizations. Day to day that includes work like respond to requests for information from the media or designate an appropriate spokesperson or information source and Plan or direct development or communication of programs to maintain favorable public or stockholder perceptions of an organization's accomplishments, agenda, or environmental responsibility.
What skills should a Public Relations Specialist put on a resume?: O*NET rates Active Listening, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Social Perceptiveness, and Writing among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Public Relations Specialist list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes 3M Post-it App, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Adobe Acrobat Writer, and Adobe ActionScript. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Public Relations Specialist work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Communications Specialist, Public Affairs Specialist, Public Information Officer, and PR Specialist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Public Relations Specialist need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 91% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Public Relations Specialist role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.