No matter what stage of your career you’re at, if you’re a PR professional then chances are you have had to make the decision whether you want to work as part of an organisation’s in house PR team or in a PR agency. Whilst both in-house and agencies deal in the day-to-day business of public relations, there are some major differences to consider when making the choice. As someone who started my career in an in-house role, I often found myself wondering about agency life and, based on my own preconceived ideas, had concluded that it would be much tougher than working in-house. However, after reaching a point in my career where I felt ready for a change, I joined Refresh and all the fears I had were quickly proven to be unfounded, with some of the aspects I was most worried about turning out to be the biggest selling points of an agency role.
The fundamental difference between working in-house and for an agency is that in-house you are only servicing the company you are working for, whereas at an agency you will work with lots of different clients, often simultaneously. This is perhaps where my anxiety about agency life stemmed from. In my in-house role I had become an expert in my sector, which gave me confidence in the work I was producing and allowed me to really get my teeth into projects. The thought of servicing several clients, in different sectors, at once filled me with dread. How would I write a press release for a client in a sector I knew nothing about? Well, it turns out nobody expected me to be an expert on my first day, nor to write a press release. I was given time to get to know my clients and their respective industries. Even now, I am still not an expert and that’s ok! Armed with the reassurance that even the more experienced members of staff are still learning, I am constantly absorbing new information during my work without even realising it and having the opportunity to work across different campaigns has given me the chance to learn about lots of different sectors. From construction to tech, if there’s anything I’m not, its bored!
The learning does not end with client sectors either. Something that always frustrated me in my in-house role was that training opportunities were few and far between. It did not help that at my specific organisation PR and comms were seen as soft skills or ‘fluff,’ compared to the more technical aspect of my colleagues’ role. I cannot decide if it was just that they felt training opportunities weren’t necessary, as they felt PR was not necessary in general, or due to a lack of industry knowledge on my previous employer’s part. In an agency, everyone is on the same page regarding the importance of PR and the need for training no matter what level you’re at. Aside from formal training and qualifications, being around so many creative minds all with their own skillsets and specialisms allows to learn just through proximity. Furthermore, working across a variety of campaigns provides the opportunity to understand all the different methods of PR. If like me you have previously been in a role where they have a tried and tested campaign method, or just operate as a traditional press office, you may never have had opportunity to learn about other types of PR. I would go as far as saying that I have learnt more about PR in my two months in agency than two years in house.
Possibly the biggest worry I had about working in an agency before joining Refresh is that being part of a bigger team of PR professionals would be intimidating, competitive and possibly even stunt my career. I assumed that there would be some level of rivalry between the employees as everyone is working towards similar personal goals. This could not have been further from the truth. Since joining Refresh, it has been clear that rather than working against each other, everyone is working together toward a common goal, supporting each other to get there and celebrating each other’s successes.
During my in-house role, being a team of one or two at a push, I often felt isolated – the wider team didn’t really get it. I may have been lucky to fall into such a nice team, but I have never felt so supported in a role before. It seems silly now that this ever worried me and I would say the people are the best part of agency life!
Overall, whilst there are obviously going to be pros and cons to both, and it is definitely a matter of personal preference, after my own experiences in each I am certainly an advocate for the agency camp, specifically when beginning your PR career. I almost cannot believe I was ever so cynical of PR agencies and the culture they produce. Since being part of an agency, I finally feel like I am in the thick of it and developing at a significantly faster rate than ever before thanks to the variety, learning opportunities and the people I’m surrounded by on a daily basis. Of course, like anything in life, not all agencies and in-house roles will be the same and some people may be more suited to one than the other, but I am so glad I took the plunge and would advise anyone with similar fears to mine to give it a go.