My husband is active-duty Air Force and our commitment to our country means we move often. This means I have to find a new network every three to five years. I knew that the APR would travel with me and provide some credibility to potential employers. I have more than eight years of experience in PR starting in the Air Force as a public affairs officer and followed by work in finance and education.
The challenge for me was distance. I live two hours away from a PRSA Chapter, but have attended meetings. Our Chapter provided group study sessions … which I could not attend. So, I ended up giving it a go on my own. I think that was a mistake and would like to encourage you to find a group to study with!
Scared. I was scared throughout the process— scared of failure and ridicule. However, I knew I needed to try. I reached out to colleagues and reviewed their portfolios, took a few to lunch and relied on their advice on where to focus.
Time out. I took three days off to study for the Examination for Accreditation in Public Relations. Reading all the books in the world was never going to help me. Talking through application of Sarbanes-Oxley, copyrights and working through strategic planning are the best tools to making it. The Examination is application-based and you need to be able to put the knowledge into scenarios and apply it, not regurgitate facts of history.
Not scared. In the end I found myself screaming out loud in joy when the preliminary results said I passed. It was a leap I would gladly do again. And I recommend the APR process wholeheartedly. I hope it will help me to continue to progress in my career as we embark on our next move.
By Tawny Dotson, APR, owner, t.Public Relations. Connect with Tawny on LinkedIn and Twitter @tawnydotson.
To learn more about Accreditation in Public Relations (APR), visit http://www.prsa.org/Learning/Accreditation.
