Ensure your CV layout is structured to best highlight your unique experience and life situation.
Text Format
PERSONAL STATEMENT
Forward-thinking public relations officer with three years of experience in the fashion industry. Worked with two award-winning media relations agencies, assisting smaller design firms to increase retail presence in the UK. Used targeted outreach strategies to increase client base by 10% over two years. Seeking in-house press position with opportunities to advance into a managerial role.
WORK EXPERIENCE
Public Relations Officer WEARE PR
April 2020–present — 2.5 years, Southampton
Work closely with account team to build, develop, and execute PR strategies
Supervise account interns, ensuring client reports and media pitches follow company guidelines and style guides
Collate and analyse media coverage for new opportunities, helping WEARE PR establish relationships with two key industry leaders, increasing reach by 15%
Write and edit features and case studies for in-house publications and collaborate with photographers to create vivid accompanying visuals
Public Relations Intern Wieden + Kennedy
August 2019–February 2020 — 6 months, Shoreditch, London
Wrote and edited press releases and lookbooks, ensuring key messages reached target audiences
Monitored magazines, news sites, and social media for new opportunities and presented findings to account team in weekly meetings
Assisted in coordinating studio and location photography, including PR lookbook ahead of London Fashion Week A/W 2020
Personally delivered samples and ensured they were returned on time
Prepared regular client reports and attended client meetings with the account manager
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Arts (Hons), Journalism (2.1) London College of Communication
2016–2019, London Relevant modules: Multimedia Storytelling, Long-Form Journalism, Fashion Journalism, Media Analysis, Audio Journalism and Podcasting, Writing for Public Relations
Castle Hill Sixth Form College 2016–2014, Ipswich
A-Levels: English Literature (A), Business Studies (B), Psychology (B)
SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS
Google Analytics (passed Google Analytics for Beginners)
Adobe Photoshop
Social listening tools (Sprout, Hootsuite)
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
Time management
Conversational Spanish (CEFR B1)
HOBBIES & INTERESTS
Theatre enthusiast, volunteer producing productions at Joseph Rowntree Theatre
Keen baker
Yoga (Vinyasa, Hatha)
How to make an impact with your public relations CV
Before you begin writing, make sure you know how to write a CV in a way that best emphasises your strengths.
As a public relations (PR) officer, you’ll be responsible for improving the reputation of your clients, organisation, or brand. You’ll also do outreach work across various traditional and new media platforms. PR officers may work with businesses, nonprofits, service providers, or the public sector.
A career in PR is highly competitive, but its outlook is promising. The industry is set to grow considerably in the UK over the next few years as social media continues to diversify the marketing avenues available to companies.
To get ahead in PR, you’ll need to be adaptable, quick thinking, and an effective communicator. Your PR CV should demonstrate that. Here’s how you can make a hard sell with your application.
1. Start strong with a memorable personal statement
Effective communication skills are essential to PR, so your personal statement should demonstrate that you’ve got them. Your personal statement gives an overview of your professional profile. Cover the following details in three to five sentences:
Your years of experience — or educational background if you have none
Area of expertise — including any important achievements or previous duties
Objective — what you want to achieve with this career move
Think of this as your elevator pitch. Most employers take seconds to decide whether to give your CV a thorough read or drop it in the waste paper basket. Capture their interest by writing in the active voice and highlighting any achievements that are highly relevant to the job description and use numbers where possible. Compare these two personal statements:
Forward-thinking public relations officer with three years of experience in the fashion industry. Worked with two award-winning media relations agencies, assisting smaller design firms to increase retail presence in the UK. Used targeted outreach strategies to increase client base by 10% over two years. Seeking in-house press position with opportunities to advance into a managerial role.
Public relations officer with experience in the fashion industry. Tasked with developing outreach strategies and helping design firms to increase retail presence in the UK. Seeking in-house position.
If you’re formatting your CV for a senior role, your work experience should appear directly beneath your personal statement and be ordered with your most recent job first and work backwards on a reverse chronological CV. If you’re applying for an entry-level role or have no experience, a skills-based CV is ideal.
For each listing, detail your duties and achievements in three to five bullet points. Use the job advert as a guide, highlighting aspects of your work experience that closely relate to the job.
3. No formal experience? Include volunteer work
Most PR positions require previous experience, but that doesn’t mean only established PR professionals can apply. Relevant volunteer work can demonstrate a practical understanding of the job while proving your passion for PR. Let’s not forget you did all that work for free.
You can list your volunteer work with your work experience or in its own section. Structure it as you would your work experience. Here’s an example:
Include volunteer work when you don’t have much formal work experience on your PR CV.
4. Don’t overlook your education section
PR jobs generally require a university degree, so your education section is valuable. It can also be your best asset if you don’t have much work experience.
Areas such as your relevant modules, dissertation, and extracurricular activities demonstrate your considerable theoretical and practical knowledge of PR.
Bachelor (Hons), Journalism
London College of Communication
2016–2019, London
Relevant modules: Multimedia Storytelling, Long-form Journalism, Fashion Journalism, Media Analysis, Audio Journalism and Podcasting, Writing for Public Relations
With an education like this on your CV, employers can tell at a glance that you have writing, research, and multimedia skills that would be an asset in a PR department.
5. Include the right transferable skills for a public relations CV
PR is an incredibly varied field, but you’ll need transferable skills you’ll almost certainly have acquired at university, if not in previous jobs. Transferable skills can be hard skills (skills you learn) or soft skills (natural abilities).
Some common skills PR employers look for include:
Google Analytics (Google Analytics IQ Exam)
Image editing software like Adobe Photoshop
Mock-up software such as Adobe Illustrator & Canva
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