Contents: Special International Careers Issue

Corporate communications has definitely changed over the past 15 years, having said that, the core skill set is very much the same. Communication skills, written and verbal. Interpersonal skills, relationship development skills. Those are really at the core of what we do in our field of public relations. I’m very lucky to be in a profession where the skills are quite transferable, not only from industry to industry but also from culture to culture. I’ve been lucky enough to work on four continents, in three different languages, doing the same profession. The core skills are there, if you can communicate and build relationships, that will take you a long way. I will flip right to the last page of someone’s resume, instead of looking at the first.  I go right to end, to volunteer or community experience. That’s important to me. If a person’s worked in the community and done a lot of volunteer work, they’ll naturally understand the work we’re doing in community development and corporate social responsibility. This is a profession that if you let yourself, you could work 100 hours a week, and the work will not stop. There’s always a new priority, there’s always an issue to manage. I find young people often come with that hero complex, "I can do more, I can work 100-hour weeks, and I’ll impress them if I’m here later than the CEO." To me, it’s the opposite. I look at the people who work without taking their time off, and they’re going to burn out quite quickly. I don’t need someone on my team who’s burnt out.

The verdict is in: some level of post-secondary education is key to getting hired... but there is more to it than that.