Moving from journalism to PR & Communications is often called a ‘move to the dark side’. My experience has shown this is far from the truth.
I recently joined Pinstone as a technical content manager after over 10 years as an agricultural journalist. Previously, I worked at publications like The Press & Journal and Farmers Weekly.
I knew it was time for a career change. While excited to join Pinstone, the agri-hack on my shoulder warned me about this ‘move to the dark side’.
Would I like it? Would I miss journalism and the buzz of seeing my byline in print?
How wrong I was! It’s been anything but dark. I’ve faced many challenges and it was the right move for me.
Here are three reasons why my ‘move to the dark side’ was a smart move.
1. Creativity
A role in PR is more creative than you might think.
Finding new and innovative way to communicate a client’s services or products is a constant challenge. You have to get creative to develop great content that fits the news agenda or seasonal calendar. Identifying the right hook for a client is a very creative process. I underestimated this with my journalistic background.
My role varies greatly. I work on advisory pieces, write 2,000-word article for leading crop magazines, proof-read LinkedIn posts and interview farmers.
In many ways, it’s similar to my previous jobs as a journalist. I’m still creating great content. But now, my editor is now the client. While we all want to keep the reader happy, we also have an objective to hit.
2. Teamwork
I’ve been blown away by the camaraderie at Pinstone since I joined in September 2022.
Although I work remotely, I feel very much part of the wider team. This is something I missed in my previous role, where I worked in a much smaller team.
The structure of a PR agency means there’s more opportunity for collaborative work with colleagues.
We all work on different projects for different clients. But, it’s very much a case of everyone mucking in to get the job done. There’s definitely no ‘I’ in team at Pinstone. We have a team matrix that ensures the sharing of expertise. Teamwork makes the dream work!
3. Learning
The move from journalism to PR & Communications can leave you asking: Will I know how to do everything? Will I understand how they do things ‘on the other side’?
In my new role, I’m challenged to write in different ways than I have in the past.
This means I’m learning new things all the time. But I’m also able to help my colleagues learn from my experience as a journalist.
Learning is a two-way process at Pinstone. We all learn from each other through an extensive programme of in-house and external training to meet our Target 52 goal.
I recently contributed by delivering a refresher training session on how to write compelling content.
It’s refreshing to see that my new colleagues can learn as much from my experience as I’m learning from them.
