By: Dia LeGarie, Senior Communication Studies Major
I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Megan Busch, an alumnus from the University of San Francisco communications department. Busch, graduated in 2016 and went on to become an account manager at Rachel Kay Public Relations. I got the chance to talk to her about the realities of working within the public relations industry. I asked her about her normal day, her accomplishments, and to offer any practical tips for those looking to work in PR. This is what she had to say.
Megan Busch, USF alumni and PR professional
Q: Describe a normal day in your workplace.
Megan Busch: The first few minutes of the day is spent monitoring the media to see if any publications have run stories on [our] clients. The next few hours are spent pushing out pitches. We may have a client meeting sprinkled in there. Afternoons are reserved for writing new pitches or press releases, pulling together media lists, working on additional projects, clipping coverage that clients have been featured in and general client communication. But every day is a little different. That’s what I love about PR, it’s always changing and never the same thing every day.
Q: What inspired you to start working in PR? Do the same things inspire you now?
Megan Busch: I like being a part of building stories. I also love social media and working with brands that are passionate about make good products and doing good things. I also like how exciting and different it is every day. Yes, parts of it are the same, like building media lists and pitching. But those pitches are different and it’s really fun to be creative and draft new pitch and story ideas. And putting together media lists is a kind of art in itself. Choosing the best outlets and contacts to pitch is a skill that takes time to cultivate. I’m inspired to get great coverage for my clients, because I love them so much, and honestly want to do well for them.
Q: Is the world of public relations what you expected? What differences (if any) did you find?
Megan Busch: It’s very similar to what I expected. I was fortunate to have an internship at an amazing PR agency before graduating, so I knew a lot about what to expect. It’s way more fast-paced than I could have imagined, and the amount of things I do in a day and week are astronomical. But it’s not that different from I imagined. But then again, my internship and current position were in similar industries, so they’re not drastically different.
Q: What are you most proud of about your work? Can you give an example?
Megan Busch: When I see a piece of coverage come through that I spent a lot of time securing. Sometimes it can take weeks for a piece to be published, and it’s always amazing to see your hard work in print or on online.
Q: What tips can you offer to those going into the field?
Megan Busch: Start monitoring the news. Seriously. To know what reporters are writing about and trends in specific industries is hugely important. PR is a lot about timeliness, knowing what is being written about and pitching your clients in that way. It’s easy to miss trends and great story angles if you’re not paying attention. Practice writing. Start a blog and write, even if no one reads it. Pretend you’re a journalist and write stories, or find a way to write for a local publication or blog. Get to know social media. You can’t be in PR and be unfamiliar with the most popular social media sites [such as] Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. Follow some of your favorite brands to see what they’re doing on the platforms.
Q: What are the most important skills to have? What are the best ways to learn these skills?
Megan Busch: Writing. You cannot go into PR and be bad at writing. I write every day, in the forms of pitches, client emails, social media and if you’re not good at it, you will need to work at it or you will not be able to succeed.
Organization. I work on five client accounts, juggling multiple client contacts, pitches, social media accounts and other projects. It is easy to lose things in the shuffle because there is always so much going on. You need to have an organization system that works for you, because in PR, things cannot slip through the cracks. To learn these skills, you just need to practice.
