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Why finance and technology PROs love their jobs

If you are hoping to mingle with celebrities and get your copy into the most scandalous publications, a career working in finance or technology probably doesn't appeal. Yet when PRmoment asked leading PROs which sectors are the most fascinating, it was the financial and techy experts who were the first to extol the advantages of their work.

Corporate, financial and highly technical subjects may be less glamorous than celebrity, fashion and consumer PR issues, but as Caroline Cecil, chairman of the CIPR corporate and financial group and director of corporate communications consultancy Caroline Cecil Associates points out, it is financial news which is dominating the press. She says: “Today, no one can say business and finance are boring when they have hardly been off the front pages for the last 18 months. The credit crunch has brought finance to the attention of everyone.” Cecil describes that this has led to many business and finance journalists and PR people working round the clock to cover these stories, although she does add wryly that this is only “if they still have a job.”

Technical subjects may not be as often at the forefront of news, but their appeal lies in the fact that they concern such original and ground-breaking products. Rebecca Douglas, account director at PR firm MCG, argues that the particular advantage of technological clients is that their unique selling proposition is easier to define, she explains: “If you are a hi-tech client who is launching a revolutionary product that has the potential to change, or even save lives, then it will be far easier to sell in and place than if you were working for a well-known consumer brand that was launching a me-too product.”

Smart and clever
Complex products also challenge the intellect. Sam Howard, director of influence at global digital marketing firm Metia, says that doing business-to-business technical work could actually be compared to rocket science, unlike more straightforward consumer work. Howard adds that this makes it all the more engaging because it is so difficult. She explains: “Given the nature of the subject matter, we have to really put energy and effort into understanding the issues of the day and the contribution our clients' technology makes in addressing those issues.”

As those working in such sectors must love looking beneath the surface and keeping abreast of complex evolving markets, Howard claims that these sectors attract the brightest sparks into the profession. She adds that this leads to a “really committed, and motivated team culture”. As Howard enjoys getting to grips with tomorrow’s technology, she is not sure that she would be interested in engaging with a non-tech environment, concluding, “after all it’s not rocket science is it?”

When it comes to attracting talent to the financial sector, an appreciation of numbers is obviously a benefit, but financial expert Cecil is probably not the only PR professional that ended up in this sector more by chance than design. She says that although her economics degree meant that she felt comfortable reading the business pages, she also wanted a career that would involve working with people. She adds that in her experience, it is not only the love of a subject that makes you good at your job, but also that, “if you want to get into PR, it helps if you have some experience of journalism. It gives you first-hand insight of how the media works which can be very useful.”

Write on
If someone enjoys communicating in the media, then it could be argued that the obvious path to take is a journalistic one rather than PR. But Cecil makes the point that you get much more involved in a subject by working in PR:“Essentially, I would say journalism is a like having a one-night stand, while working in PR consultancy is like having an affair and an in-house PR job is more like a marriage.”

Discussing the particular experience of working in financial PR, Cecil says that a typical day might start with checking out all the relevant stories in the financial media: “We might deal with interviews we have already arranged for clients where we have to make sure both the journalist and the client understand the terms under which the interview is taking place: is it on or off the record, can the client have control over the copy?” Such an ordered day, however, can easily be upset if there has been a story in the media about a client, which will mean that this has to be dealt with, responses made, perhaps press releases issued and, if necessary, arrangements made for the client to speak to the media directly.

One of the great aspects of working in the corporate and financial sectors for Cecil is the fact that there is often direct access to top teams in companies. She says: “Working with brilliant people to solve knotty problems is incredibly stimulating.”

Whatever sector a PRO chooses to specialise in, it is worth following Cecil’s golden rule, which is to remember that the PR contact is always the messenger, not the lead player in the story. She adds: “The stars are the key corporate people. If the media is writing about a company, then the people doing the business are the ones who should be highlighted.”
 

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