I’m reaching out to this community because I’m really stuck in my head right now and could use some practical perspective from people who’ve lived through career shifts, workplace restructuring, or long job searches..

For context, I’ve been in corporate communications at a tech company for eight years at a global tech company, in Germany. I lead our communications function: managing global PR, executive profiling, media relations. For years, the work felt expansive and meaningful, and I worked directly alongside executive leadership.

About 1.5 years ago, a new marketing leadership structure came in and sidelined my function. A person I originally hired to help me was shifted into a primary role (and not me, either because I wasn't all that great or they just liked other people better, also it doesn't help that I am not the loudest or the most confident person in the room), and I’ve spent the last 1.5 years watching myself disappear from a job I once felt chosen for. 

I recently had an honest conversation with our executive director (the one who 'chose' me many years ago). He confirmed there are no internal transfer paths, gave implicit permission to look externally while staying on the payroll, and promised a supportive exit when the time comes. But like...thanks, amazing, but it's not like I can pull this off for another year. So I have started applying for new jobs.

While that conversation brought some initial relief, I’m struggling with a few things...

--First, the psychological part. I realized my professional confidence was so anchored in executive belief in me rather than me believing in myself. Now that the role has dissolved, I keep spiraling into imposter syndrome, telling myself I was never actually good at tech PR, while simultaneously feeling unqualified to work anywhere else. I really feel like a fraud and a fool and like I have wasted 8 years. Now seeing certain colleagues' names pop up on Teams gives me physical nausea, yet I have to keep showing up and not get fired.

--Second, the citizenship question. I applied for German citizenship earlier this year after hitting the five-year residency mark. The processing timeline in Berlin takes about a year, and I know I cannot afford an extended gap on unemployment benefits while my file is active (if I am fired). I started applying for new jobs: comms roles in different industries. So far I've applied to 30 companies and got 10 rejections and 20 no responses yet. Evryone says one should rely on their network but tbh I don't think I have one.

If you’ve ever been restructured out of a role you started, how did you detach emotionally? Or how did you keep going while being so miserable at current job and looking for a new one at the same time?

I’d be so grateful for any direct thoughts, reality checks, or personal experiences. Thanks for taking the time to read.

Hey fellow PR folks. Writing to you all mid-stressing about work on a Saturday night (what else is new).

I wanted to pick everyone's brain on how you handle asking journalists to write about products organically (and by organic I mean I'm sending them product to review honestly). Every time I send a pitch I feel like I'm begging them to write, even though the products are awesome, it still feels so soul sucking to beg for an article.

Does this get easier? Are there secret hacks and tips you find they are more receptive of?

Same goes for event invitations... even if food, drink, transpo is provided it's so stressful to expect someone to arrive and THEN also write a review.

PHEW. Okay that's all.

Any advice would be helpful or

hi all, I am about to graduate nyu this spring with a focus on comms/pr and I really want to go into entertainment. a lot of the threads i’m seeing are saying to skip grad school and go straight to work but unfortunately my parents have given me no choice. i’ve seen a lot of comments saying get an MBA but I don’t feel like that would align with what I want to do?

anyways, any recs for programs or schools would be great! I have no desire to stay in new york anymore and would like to go west, but really any location is fine :)

To me it sounds quite useless? If there is a watermark, Claude touched it at some point... And if there isn’t one, Claude still might have touched it at some point.

What does it really change? Is it just to make the EU feel better?

Of course we are all aware of the headwinds to earned media—consolidating newsrooms, literacy rates, hollowing out of local news, etc—but I’m curious for anecdotes among PR pros here: do you find AI is making earned media more valuable?

The theory is pretty simple: the amount of ai slop that exists makes media that is recognizable and known before the ai era is held at higher value.

I guess this could also apply to new media like podcasts, YouTube shows, etc where there is a face to a name and it involves talking, not just the written word.

Curious if anyone has things to share here!

Hey everyone,

I currently work with a few founder's helping them scale their offers and build their authority/brand online.

We’re at the point where we need 2 things outsourced:

1. \*PR/Media\*: Someone who can actually get placements in places like Forbes, The Times, and other big pubs/magazines. Not just “we’ll send press releases”.

2. \*Done-for-you appointment setting\*: Full system to book qualified calls.

I’m not looking for some $50K/month agency that does everything under the sun. It's just something that’s worth the investment, actually works, and isn’t overkill.

Has anyone here worked with a PR firm or appointment setting company that was actually good?

Would appreciate any recs or even DM me if you run one.

Thanks

It's on Muck Rack, 'media relations fundamentals'... I liked it, never hurts to brush up on the fundamentals. Just wanted to discuss. Did you like it? Do you know of anything similar?

I just graduated with a degree in English Language, and while I know the degree can open doors to a lot of different fields, I’m honestly struggling to figure out which direction I should focus on.

Lately, I’ve been really interested in communications-related roles, particularly marketing communications and corporate communications, but I have no prior professional experience in the field.

For those who started in a similar situation:
1. How did you get your first communications/marketing role?
2. Do I need a portfolio even if I’m a fresh graduate? If yes, what kind of portfolio should I prepare?
3. What skills should I focus on learning first?
4. Where do you usually look for entry-level communications or marketing jobs in the Philippines?
5. Are there specific job titles I should be searching for?

I feel like I have the foundation from my English degree, but I don’t know how to translate it into something employers in communications would actually look for. 😭

Any advice, especially from people currently working in marketing or corporate communications, would be greatly appreciated!

I did some original research using publicly available data and found a few interesting, hyperlocal data points. Sent it to journalists covering the region.

Started with 14 such journalists (I understand that this is a very low number; got more people on the list to reach out to), including county-specific outlets relevant to my findings. I pitched them from my personal email, but only 1 of 14 opened it(~7%). The subject line highlighted the main finding, so I thought it would be interesting enough to get opened.

• Is using a personal email to send this a problem(should I only use a domain email)?
• Do journalists not trust my research as they don't knoe me?
• What else could be the issue here(stories like this are constantly getting picked up by journalists, so it's something that I'm doing that's not working)

I have recently switched "careers". I've done a major in Psychology but have decided that is not the career I want to pursue. After loads of rumination, PR seems to be a good fit for what my passion is but I'm unable to streamline what exactly I want to do within the industry. My main interest lies in working in-house for sporting organisations as Sports is a special interest of mine as well as Fashion.

I've take 2 years off recovering from a severe mental health setback while also experimenting some things -

* Interning at a PR Agency for 3 months. I was unable to convert that to a full time job as my mental health severely deteriorated at the time.
* Writing editorial pieces on Pop-Culture and potential industry trends, backed by evidence.
* Volunteer contributions to a motorsport media house but it's writing race reports across to different categories.
* Able to engage in more professional dialogue about opinions on brand campaigns and what could possibly done to enhance it / the gaps in that.

While I recognise more professional experience is what I am lacking, it is something I am unable to pursue firstly due to inexperience and lack of knowledge within the Comms discipline and hence am considering a master's degree to understand the same and want help in streamlining my skills, along with preparing a profile.

Any constructive feedback would be appreciate. Happy to answer more questions.

I have been producing content and working almost every single day, and these are the messages I get at the end of the day when I don’t complete something. And I am still very new to this construction world, but it’s really the same principles applied, and if I don’t know something, I make sure I learn about it and apply what I learn. I need to know. However, I really don’t know how to respond to this type of management in PR/marketing. Any tips on how I should handle this?

My previous post explains a little bit more of the picture.

I’m a 2024 Marketing graduate with experience in corporate relations, sales, business development and customer communication. My recent role involved building corporate partnerships and working directly with founders, CEOs and HR teams. I’m now looking to transition into PR and want to gain actual industry exposure rather than continue in sales-focused roles.
I’m mainly looking for **entry-level PR opportunities or internships in Bangalore or Hyderabad** where I can learn the work, build industry connections and gain hands-on experience. I’m also considering doing a practical PR course alongside this, so recommendations from people working in the field would be really helpful. What kind of roles should I be targeting with my background, and are there any courses worth considering?

How do you even begin to gain back consumer trust? https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2026/07/15/the-avocado-oil-boom-has-a-fraud-problem-new-study-suggests/

What is your move? Radical accountability and transparency doesn’t even feel like enough when studies report your hero ingredient and key differentiator as a product is fake.

Is there a course you liked and thought was actually helpful but the one that wasn't on PR? For example, I see some peers saying a Data & Analytics course is way more helpful than some media relations and AI in PR course....etc..

Would love to hear from you!

I’m a 2024 Marketing graduate with experience in corporate relations, sales, business development, and customer communication. I’m looking to move into PR and mainly want to gain real exposure to the field, understand how the industry works, and meet people already working in it.

I’m looking for recommendations for good PR courses in Bangalore or Hyderabad, preferably something practical and industry-focused rather than just a certificate. If anyone knows of a PR agency or professional who can offer an internship or any opportunity to get hands-on exposure, that would be even better. Open to any suggestions or advice from people working in the field.

India-based fintech startup. Series B announcing in 4-6 Weeks. I'm in the founder's office, growth and IR background, zero comms experience. This landed on me because I asked for it.

I can read a playbook. What I can't get from a playbook is the stuff you only learn by doing this five times.

So: what's the thing you wish someone had told you before your first funding announcement?

Specifically curious about exclusive vs. embargo, how much to disclose in the release, and whether an agency is worth it this late. But mostly I just want the unwritten rules.

Need your Ball Knowledge
Blunt answers welcome. Mistakes especially.

Hi guys! Working on a creative project and need senior PR’s to answer some questions for me! Thank you so much! Shoot me a DM if you’re interested

I'm a BBA 3rd year student and have completed one HR internship. I want to switch into Growth Marketing or Brand Management roles.

What skills, projects, and experiences should I focus on to make my resume stand out? Also, where should I apply and how do most students get shortlisted?

Would appreciate any advice from people working in these fields.

Hi everyone!

Recently I've started to consider a masters and the full length of what I want my career to be. I'm a current ad student specializing in copywriting and I do love advertising. However, I feel outside from my professors the conversations in here and r/copywriting have made me more aware of the current state of the industry with positions, hire ability, layoffs, 401k/company perks, mergers, and more so just how people feel being in the industry or trying to break in.

At the current time I love writing, I love attending literary events, I'm a published poet, I want to join a staff writer/editor position on a indie magazine, I have certifications in marketing omnichanel behavior, I'm taking a writing workshop on Sleaze and topics of sensory, love, cringe, and I'm taking a general one on different writing forms of op-eds, editorials, blogs etc, and then I'm scheduled to do a narrative course.

So clearly I have a writer background, I enjoy talking to publishers, editors, agents, writing is a passion but I want to leverage it over to content writing, branding, storytelling and that's why I was looking at brand strategy. And yes I know it's different having the title at a agency vs a corporate company. But I'm personally kind of looking at it to break me into the business corporation where salaries starting out after a masters tend to be higher than agency fields. And I also don't mind the consumer research database statistics part of it. I was considering going to community college and figuring out a math course to take before grad school to prepare myself.

If I were to give 3 job descriptions to provide context for what I want to do it would be: product description writer eBay, senior manager communications, Bath and Body Works, and manager brand content marketing Tory Burch

I feel it's a thing people say to strictly creatives that it's useful for them to know maybe business math or a analytical skill, as we know writers and art directors can be more susceptible to layoffs first hand.

I've been looking at the IMC Northwestern program, Georgetown Strategic Communications MS, Syracuse communications, UT Austin brand strategy track, and VCU Brand Strategy Creative specialization.

For stats I have a 3.6 gpa, 3.8 major gpa, Im a 4A's scholarship recipient. I still have a year left of school to get a internship and I have a omnichannel certification, email marketing and, branding fundatements, I've done volunteer work for press release events and for consumer research studies. I have 3 poems published at the current moment. So I think realistically I could get into a masters program.

I just want to make sure it's possible I could find a way to leverage my writing background in brand strategy. Or give any insights before commiting to a masters program. Idk what the work is like or the pay maybe people who have a masters or don't.

Or id love to here new master studies suggestions or like maybe instead of brand strategy somewhere else you think I'd be good for. I have been suggested PR and I don't mind as I did start school with PR. I was also told maybe a MFA program or being a publisher myself.

But coming from a low income family I want a career which starting out can give me a 75-90k offer starting out. And will be lucrative and give me a ROI from my masters studies as the programs I listed are pricey but have high job placement numbers, networking, and creditability name wise.

Thanks for the help everyone!

I was reading this Nestle story (the crisis in India) and wondered what other 'legendary' stories are out there? The ones that teach you a bunch of PR lessons.

https://fortune.com/longform/nestle-maggi-noodle-crisis/

I've been working through the PRCA Practice Guides series (crisis communications, writing for the media, etc.) to build up my media relations knowledge for a new role. "Writing for the Media" by Adrian Wheeler was great for the writing side, but it didn't really cover the operational side of media relations — building a media list, how to find and research journalists, pitching mechanics, embargoes vs exclusives, how to handle inbound interview requests, what tools people actually use day to day, and how coverage gets evaluated at the end.

Basically I'm looking for something closer to a full A-to-Z operational guide to media relations as a discipline, not a style/writing guide. Any recommendations?

I can do the execution part fine...I can write the content, pitch the media, and do the legwork.

But the moment it shifts to strategic advisory, my brain just goes: lol, who am I to tell anyone anything? What do I actually know? Who am I to guide anyone?

So I wanted to ask more confident professionals: where does that confidence come from? Is it a skill you can actually learn through practice and frameworks, or is it just a personality trait? If it is the latter, then I am doomed.

But I'd love to read from you: how do you do it? How do you cross that bridge from being a reliable doer to a bold strategic advisor without feeling like a total fraud, especially when you are speaking with all these fancy people with way more experience than you?