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Some sample questions that I found are:
What do you understand by public relations?
What does it take to be a public relations specialist?
What do you know about the job profile of a public relations professional?
What are some of the growing trends in the public relations industry?
How would you balance advocacy and objectivity?
How would you put together a pitch?
What kind of media outlets do you follow on a day to day basis? Why particularly those?
What skills do you have that would help you in responding to a client’s message?
How would you go about finding relevant contacts and sources?
What is a PR Crisis? How would you deal with one?
Which are your favourite social media platforms? What do you like about them?
Why do you think corporates require public relations specialists?
What's the difference between public relations and advertising?
What is a press release?
Have you ever had to handle a social media crisis? What did you do?
What is the role of content in public relations?
Why do you want to work in PR?
How would you prioritize and start your work day?
What do you know about the PR activities of our organization that has been carrying out in last6 months?
Important terms used in PR Industry:
Affiliate Network- It is a technique where other publishers and websites will promote the brands by allowing it in their network. It acts as an mediator between publishers and brands so that you reach out more number of audience.
B-Roll- It is the extra footage captured to provide the background of the story to have greater flexibility when editing.
B2B- It stands for business to business that means a business that markets to another business for an example a manufacturer marketing to a retailer.
B2C- It stands for business to consumer that means a business that markets the products to its customers.
Boilerplate- There is a section at the end of a press release, before the media contact info, that tells about the company, business, product, brand or event discussed in the main body of the press release.
Gatekeeper- He is the one who looks after the flow of information from the media to the public.
Pitch- It is a way of reaching out someone in a formal way either through mail or a phone call.
Placements- Stories that are popular in media are called placements.
Press Kit- It is a packet of materials given to the media that contains backgrounds, bios, photos, and news releases.
Reach- It is the number of audience connected to the media through print, broadcast or online medium.
Journo- It is the abbreviated form of journalists.
What Are Typical Questions for Public Relations Interviews?
Interviewing for a job in the public relations field is much like interviewing for a sales position. The potential employer will want to discuss your people skills, your ability to persuade and your past performance milestones. If you have been in the field for some time and have established contacts, potential employers may also ask about any existing clients with whom you still keep in touch, and may be able to bring with you to the new position.
Goals
Employers in nearly every field will ask you about your short and long-term goals during a job interview. The objective is to determine where you ultimately want to go professionally and if your goals are in line with the company’s strategic plans. This question takes on a different kind of significance in the public relations field because public relations is all about cultivating trusting and lasting relationships with the media and with clients. Potential employers who ask about your goals are trying to ascertain if you are looking for an opportunity to grow with the company over a long period of time, or simply get some experience and move on. If it appears you want the job as a stepping stone, the employer may hesitate to hire you for fear you will obtain clients and take them with you to a bigger, better job in the near future.
Skills
Employers hiring for a public relations position are looking for a particular skill set. They want a candidate to have good written and oral communication skills, the ability to meet deadlines, and most importantly, good skills of persuasion. The ability to speak in public, to effectively network and to cultivate professional relationships are additional solid skills being sought in a public relations hire. Also address your general business skills such as time management, teamwork and reliability.
Greatest Successes
Employers want public relations professionals who have a proven track record for retaining clients and securing positive publicity. You can impress them with accounts of past performances in which you effectively handled a major publicity crisis for a company, secured press coverage for a large event or coordinated a large public relations campaign with measurable results.
How Would You Handle…
Potential employers are likely to pose public relations scenarios related to their industry and ask you how you would propose handling the situation. For example, a food distributor may ask you to describe how you would deal with a product recall or an accounting firm may ask you how you would handle public accusations of corporate fraud. Prepare yourself for these queries so you can come across as someone able to think on her feet.
The most essential question in an interview for PR position is, why do you want to work in PR?
You need to be honest and have something interesting to say. Especially explaining your communication skills & willingness to build new relationships that’s all about PR.
If you’re passionate, it will be apparent in your answer. You’ll be able to show off your knowledge of the industry and the importance of PR. If you’re not passionate, maybe you shouldn’t be doing the interview in the first place.
