How to Advance Communications Roles

𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟬+ 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵, 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗵𝗶𝘁 𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴. Not because of skill. Because of communication. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗲𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝗽 𝘀𝘂𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗹𝘆. It shows up quietly. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁: – You’re doing more work but getting less recognition – Your ideas land flat in leadership meetings – Your boss sees you as reliable, but not promotable – You avoid tough conversations because they feel risky – You see less talented people moving ahead faster 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗶𝘁: The higher you go, the less your technical skill matters, and the more your communication becomes the differentiator. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱:   • Visibility   • Executive presence   • Managing up   • Influence   • Conflict handling   • Leadership   • Promotions   • Salary growth   • Credibility 𝗦𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 — 5 communication upgrades that change careers fast: 𝟭. 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁. Senior leaders care about impact. Shift your language from “what you did” to “what changed because of it.” 𝟮. 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. Most people talk to think. Leaders think, then talk. You become clearer. Sharper. More credible. 𝟯. 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. Avoiding them is what keeps you stuck.** Use a simple frame: State → Impact → Request. Direct. Respectful. Actionable. 𝟰. 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆. Your boss is busy. Visibility is your responsibility, not theirs. 𝟱. 𝗦𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. High performers often rush. Leaders pause. The pause signals confidence and presence. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁. ✔️They get noticed. ✔️They get respected. ✔️They get promoted. ✔️Their work finally matches their title. ❌Not from changing industries. ❌Not from doing more work. ❌Not from learning 5 new tools. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘂𝗽𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲. If you’ve been feeling stuck at your career ceiling… this might be the piece that’s missing. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱, 𝟭:𝟭 𝘄𝗮𝘆, Book a free discovery call. (link in comments) 𝗣.𝗦. ♻️If this helped, reshare it. Someone else may need it today. #𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 #𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 #𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 #𝗱𝗻𝗮𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 #𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀

A guide for rising through the ranks at a PR agency. I've spent the past 8+ years rising through the ranks at Matter Communications and am always having conversations with my teammates about what it takes to get to the next level. Whether you're just starting your career or a few years in and trying to get to the next step, here are my top tips: Account Coordinator/entry level: You're going to own the admin for most of your accounts. Work on mastering these tasks and time management. Before you know it, you'll be cranking out agendas and reports in a fraction of the time it used to take, making room for other tasks that will help you up level. Advice: Push yourself. The first few months will be tough; we've all been there. Once you master the basics, ask for opportunities to take on more media relations tasks. Assistant Account Executive: You will be straddling two worlds (at least in the beginning). You'll have some admin tasks mixed in with more media relations responsibilities (pitch writing, media pitching, etc.). Advice: Consume the news and constantly think about how to insert your clients. Bring your teams proactive ideas and start to secure your own media opportunities. Account Executive: You will be one of the primary media drivers at this point. You've established yourself as a successful media relations pro and now it's about consistently repeating that success day in and day out. You have a pulse not only on the news cycle but on how reporters think and what will resonate with them. Advice: Mentor your AAEs and ACs and get them on your level. Begin to delegate. You can't do everything on your own and the next step is about becoming a team leader. Senior Account Executive: You've proven you can be a media driver, now you're helping to lead the media team. You're working with your managers and above to devise media plans for securing ongoing coverage for your clients. You're looking past the day-to-day and starting to see the bigger picture for your accounts. Advice: Start to move beyond media manager and into account manager. Your success is the team's success, so keep an eye on your metrics and ensure your teams are meeting KPIs. Manager: You're now the primary day to day contact for the client. You have a bird's eye view of the entire account, you're responsible for keeping it in good standing and course correcting when necessary (with support from your directors and VPs). Advice: Focus on the three elements of a "healthy" account: Great metrics, a happy client and a high performing internal team. Continue to keep an eye on success, put yourself in the client's shoes, and anticipate of potential challenges. Identify ways to continually improve your team's processes. Never stay stagnant. This is my personal experience and every agency will have its own unique career path, but if you follow these tips, you'll work your way up in no time. #Leadership #Management #PublicRelations #TechPR #PRAgency #Communications

Here's the promotion strategy most professionals completely miss: being amazing at your current job doesn't automatically get you promoted. I see this mistake constantly. People think exceptional performance equals advancement, but that's not how promotion decisions actually work. Companies don't promote you for mastering your current role - they promote you when you've already proven you can handle the next level. Here's the strategic shift you need to make: Stop waiting for recognition of past achievements. Start demonstrating future capabilities right now. How to operate at the next level before you get there: 1. Think beyond your immediate responsibilities - Understand broader business challenges and opportunities. Your perspective needs to expand beyond your current scope. 2. Contribute strategic insights, not just status updates - During meetings, present solutions and analysis, not just task completion reports. 3. Communicate with next-level authority - Present solutions, not just problems. Your communication style should reflect the level you want, not where you are. 4. Take initiative on stretch projects - Demonstrate leadership capability before receiving the formal title. Show them you can handle increased responsibility. The visibility factor is everything: Companies promote people who have already proven they can handle more responsibility, not those who might be capable with proper development. By consistently operating at your desired level, you make promotion the logical next step rather than a developmental risk. You eliminate the guesswork about your readiness and position yourself as the obvious choice when opportunities arise. What strategies have you found most effective for demonstrating readiness for advancement? Sign up to my newsletter for more corporate insights and truths here: https://vist.ly/3ycta #deepalivyas #eliterecruiter #recruiter #recruitment #jobsearch #corporate #careeradvancement #promotionstrategies #leadershipdevelopment #careerstrategist

Some advice to help you go from Communications order taker to business advisor. The other day I posted about reasons why the Communications function is treated as an order-taker not business advisor at some organizations. But we can’t stop at talking about it. And What can we DO about it? Sorry to say, it’s a long road. But the destination is WORTH it. For you. For your team. For the Communications profession in general. Here are some guidelines to get started: 1. Create a proactive, annual communications strategy that maps to business goals. (This is a post and much more in itself.) 2. Set expectations. Explain how long you need to respond to inbound requests, that you look for the goal and not the tactic. Do this with everyone. Explain that the longer you have, the better the impact. 3. Understand your peers. Meet with them to understand their motivations, goals, priorities, and share yours. If something comes inbound that could have been planned for when creating your annual plan, make sure you note it and investigate the reason. Was it lack of trust? Was it just forgetting or dismissing? Address accordingly. Do not sweep under the rug and move on. 4. Find your advocates and let them be your internal key influencers. Once everyone sees what Communications did for Joe or Julie when acting as business advisor, they'll all want it. 5. Set and KEEP boundaries. Boundaries are flexible, but are generally there to keep you sane. This means saying no. That’s right, say no to things that don't fit with business goals. 6. When at the table on a key issue, show them how you are an advisor using the lens of communications. Focus on implications … the operations impact, the sales impact. Share an alternative approach to meet the goal. 7. If you're not proactively invited to the table to address a key issue, invite yourself. Yes, ask if you can join and why. What's the worse that happens? They say no. So what? At least they’re paying attention to you now. When or if something is decided or a decision is changed after the fact when you weigh in on an implication, it can be pointed at as a reason being at the table is important. What’s simple to us, isn’t simple to others. So we have to MAKE them see Show them what we’re capable of Teach them to treat us as the business advisors we are. Nothing changes without change. Make it happen. Want more? Go back and listen to episode 14 of the Communications Business Advisor™ Podcast. It’s an oldie but a goodie. OR if you’re ready to make change happen but want support because doing it on your own is A LOT … (and not your only option) reach out! Bringing in third-party advisor can help you think through all of these pieces, navigate with you, discuss options, and shoulder some of the weight of planning behind-the-scenes. An agency, a consultant, a coach … someone! Doing it alone is daunting.

One of the toughest leaps in my career was going from a PR agency to an in-house communications role. I made it to the final round for several roles over the years, but I ultimately lost to internal or competitor candidates. What they had in common: They knew what it takes to be in-house comms people. To secure my current role, I changed my approach to job hunting to become more competitive. Here’s what I learned during that process and what I wish I knew now that I’ve been in-house for nearly four years… FRAME YOUR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES I spoke with several CMOs and CCOs who made the same leap, and they helped me understand which strengths to highlight. For example, as a generalist, I cold pitched media in different beats simultaneously, and I regularly secured coverage because I knew how to write a compelling newsworthy hook. They also explained where I might have gaps in experience: financial communications. BEHAVE LIKE YOU’RE ALREADY IN-HOUSE How you explain your experience matters. Most PR agency pro resumes and cover letters do not clearly translate for in-house recruiters or hiring managers. They must be tailored to those audiences like we were writing messaging. If possible, highlight: - Business outcomes - Strategic counsel to ELT/leadership - Project and staff management experience - Breadth of experience (e.g., media relations, internal comms, social & digital) PR agencies have a narrow brand perception of only conducting media relations. Broaden their understanding of your well-rounded portfolio and skills. PREPARE FOR INTERVIEWS LIKE THEY’RE NEW BUSINESS PITCHES I’ve never met a PR agency person who didn’t have to help develop a proposal or pitch a new business prospect at least once. Apply those research and presentation skills to interviews: - Research the company & industry - Read their news and annual reports - Audit their social media presence - Review the interviewers’ LinkedIn posts - Connect the role to business goals - Create a growth plan for the role - Follow up with a memorable thank you note While I can’t guarantee that you’ll land that coveted role, I do believe you’ll stand out among the competition. - - - - - Tagging a few people from my network who went in-house from an agency. What other advice would you give? Jennifer Goodman Horowitz, Izzy Santa, Jill Kermes, Heather Rim, Philip Carroll, MPH, Raleigh Hogan-Miller, Lauren Rubbo

the hard truth about career advancement: only 30% of professionals are doing what's required to grow rapidly (when its their priority). the other 70% stay stuck. i know this because i have watched it for 20+ years. i can pinpoint the exact behaviors that separate advancers from the pack. these principles predict career trajectory regardless of company logo, industry, or whether you landed on some "top" list. the 4 principles of accelerated career growth: 1. show up for the job you want, not the one you have. most professionals wait for formal permission or title changes before taking on advanced responsibilities. the top performers identify critical gaps and fill them without being asked. they create their future role through consistent, strategic overdelivery in areas that matter to the business. 2. master consistent execution without supervision. brilliance is worthless without reliability. the ability to consistently deliver quality output without reminders or management intervention creates exponentially more opportunities than occasional genius. set your own deadlines and beat them religiously. 3. develop change resilience. in today's market, your specialized knowledge becomes obsolete rapidly. what separates high-trajectory professionals isn't what they know—it's their capacity to abandon previous expertise and pivot hourly when circumstances demand it. ego attachment to "how things were done" is career suicide. 4. build intellectual flexibility. the highest-paid professionals aren't necessarily the smartest—they're the most adaptable. they actively seek contradictory viewpoints, instantly absorb new information, and immediately incorporate superior approaches without defensive resistance. the high performers will read this and know exactly what to do. #PR #communications #marketing #career #growth #executive

Internal Communications pros, let's ditch being the "email person" and show we're high-impact leaders. Here's how I explain my role to stakeholders: Internal Communications isn't about drafting messages, editing emails, and sending updates. We're leaders. But only if we position our work as strategic, not tactical. 3 ways to reimagine your Internal Communications role to show you're more than a "doer." You're a leader. 1. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 Help VPs become clear, confident communicators. We're more than ghostwriters. We're skill builders. When every executive communicates well: 👉 Business priorities are clear. 👉 Employees feel more connected. 👉 Customers feel the difference too. Turn communications into a business capability. —— 2. 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿 Great comms pros don’t only execute—they advise. We tie our comms strategy to business goals. We create sustainable systems: 👉 Signature channels that build a leader's reputation. 👉 Scalable approaches to reach the right audiences. 👉 Structures for clarity, alignment, and momentum. Earn your boardroom seat with your strategic chops. —— 3. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 & 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 Product & culture are intertwined. How you build matters as much as what you build. Be the internal journalist: 👉 Go behind the scenes. 👉 Spotlight the humans behind the work. 👉 Bring values to life in a way posters never will. Stories stick. They shape culture. That’s your edge. —— 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗽: You do a lot. But you're only a doer. You're a leader. 3 vital roles of top Internal Communications pros: 🗣 Communication Coach 📊 Strategic Advisor 📖 Product & Culture Storyteller Focus here and you'll never being seen as 'nice-to-have' around. You'll be seen as the leader you are. 👇 Let’s talk in the comments. 👉 Which role do you lean into most? 👉 How do you position your value with stakeholders?