Don’t be too quick to brand yourself as a specialist. You may think you want to be a content strategist or an reputation management expert right now.
But prematurely narrowing yourself into a lane can cheat you out of many opportunities to learn other vital aspects of the craft.
I was lucky enough to work in small communications departments in Washington, D.C., where either I was the only practitioner or I worked with a very small team. Either way, the job was basically whatever needed to get done.
One day I would be on location directing a video. The next day I’d be in an emergency operations center. Then I might have to staff a media interview, draft executive talking points, write a blog post, or plan a major event. Often, many of these things would happen all in the same day.
There was no clean separation of disciplines or tidy org chart. Just work, and a lot of it.
The endless variety forced me to learn fast, adapt fast, and sharpen skills I didn’t even know I was going to need later on. That kind of generalist exposure changes how you think.
When you’ve done video production, you understand producers. You speak their language. When you’ve worked events, you understand logistics pressure. When you’ve been in crisis communications, you learn how to operate in an environment of controlled chaos, where things could change directions at any second.
At that point, you’re not operating based on theory anymore. You have the confidence of solid first-hand experience.
Being a generalist doesn’t mean you have to stay one forever. It means you can build a firm foundation before you narrow your focus. It means that when you do decide to specialize, you’re not doing it as an exercise in branding. Instead, you’ve acquired the skills and experience to say, “I’ve done pretty much everything, but this is what I know best.”
So be available for assignments that stretch you. Dive into things that feel unfamiliar. Take the work that you’re not quite sure about. Volunteer for roles that provide mentorship so you can observe how other public relations disciplines operate.
First, learn how the whole body works. You can specialize in brain surgery later.
But, then again, you may discover that you enjoy being a general practitioner.
Do you have questions about PR or communications that you’d like me to address in On Background? Please feel free to email me at paul@paulgriffo.com.