Careers In Public Affairs December 14, 2011
Posted by Jeff Riley in : Uncategorized , trackback
Weber Shandwick is one of the biggest Public Relations companies in the world and I head its political communications section. The public affairs industry is under some pressure right now because of the activities of Adam Werrity, the ‘lobbyist’ that attached himself to Liam Fox, the former defence secretary. What Werrity was doing was nothing to do with what public affairs professionals do.
“So what do we do? Well we work with declared clients. We help them in different ways. For some it might be providing a list of stakeholders that are impacted by an issue they are involved. We might suggest an event they could stage to achieve a specific end. Provide template for letters they might use to move an argument forward or outline a campaign they could stage. Clients usually come us very late in the day to help us easily achieve their aim.
“Or our work might be more straightforward lobbying. Our client, for example, might be a major software house who are concerned with proposed legislation and we would organise a meeting with relevant parties in the government. This is achieved through being able to point out shared interests rather than handing over cash in brown envelopes as the tabloids would occasionally have it.”
Getting jobs in public affairs
- “Like other agencies we do offer a graduate training programme (www.webershandwick.co.uk/company/careers) but, frankly, nothing beats a personal recommendation for getting started in the sector.
- Cold calling – my first job followed a cold call to the Conservative Party who happened to be kicking off a campaign they needed help with.
- Get a business card. Really, this is the abc of networking.
- Network. Go to meetings where you might meet with public affairs professionals and make sure you follow it up afterwards.
- Get work experience. Practical experience through paid internships (like ours at Weber Shandwyck) is ideal. The downside of the fact they are paid means there are a lot less than there used to be. There are unpaid ones still out there – see Bell Pottinger for example. There isn’t a central place where they are advertised so you will need to check individual firm’s websites. Of course there isn’t any guarantee but a good intern will undoubtedly generate some loyalty from their firm either in terms of work or referrals to other industry contacts. By the way don’t underestimate the value of indirect work experience as well. Even shelf stacking provides useful information about things like teamwork as well as your determination to do what you need to do to get to where you want to go as well as underlining your willingness to work and an arena to demonstrate leadership.
- Make as many applications as possible and, of course, avoid ‘cut and paste’ errors. You need to tailor your applications and following firms on Facebook or Twitter is a good way of doing this.”
What would be better as the next step? A media internship or more public affairs experience? “Neither, get some Westminster experience. The UK public affairs sector really values knowing how Westminster works. Other useful organisations to get involved with are those concerned with advocacy, charities and NGOs or experience in think tanks such as Demos or the Centre for Social Justice”
Who gets hired? “Well we recruit people with journalism experience, people with research backgrounds especially civil servants with backgrounds in defence or health and people who have worked for MPs. Sometimes we also hire ex MPs. ”
What does the work involve? “In addition to the things already outlined entrants should be aware that the work can involve long hours. Breakfast meetings and evening networking with MPs, for example.”
In House vs Consultancy. “Weber Shandwyck is a consultancy but lots of public affairs people work for clients. Contrary to what you might expect in-house work is paid at least the same and sometimes better that consultancy work. With the added bonus that you can boss consultants around when they get hired by your firm. In-house also has the advantage of better terms and conditions such as more generous maternity leave”
Any advice for Interns? “In brief – don’t get ill. You have little time to make an impression and taking time off because of illness should be avoided. Also be prepared to make the coffee – really. Everyone has done it.”
Is international experience valued? “Not really though languages can be useful. A good example are talented Americans often with extensive experience in Capitol Hill but for us its a question of who they know in the UK and whether they know how parliament works. Bigger consultancies may have more scope to use them.”
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