Sure, I have a few more gray hairs now than I did a few years ago, but I always chalked that up to signs of wisdom and experience. Apparently … not so much. CNBC (via CareerCast.com) recently reported that PR is the 8th most stressful job in 2010. To be more specific:
Stress Rank: 193
Stress Score: 78.523
Unemployment: 4%-7%
Hours Per Day: 9
Time Pressure: High
Competition: Very High
Well, great. If I wasn’t stressed before, I am now. Thanks a lot CNBC.
But why should I be stressed? It’s not like PR professionals have to write a press release, book a speaking engagement, schedule a media interview, update Facebook for a client, and mange a video shoot before noon. Oh wait, yes we do.
So here are a few multitasking tips for my frazzled PR friends (and I’m only allowed to give organizational tips because everything on my desk is perfected aligned and in OCD-style array. I’m not bragging – I can’t help it.).
- Organize your to-do list every morning. The same thing that was important on Monday might be irrelevant on Tuesday.
- Don’t volunteer for everything. Make realistic assessments of how long it will take you to do something, and if you see your plate filling up, don’t offer to take on more work or attend more meetings.
- Once you start a project, finish it. It’s worse to have all of your tasks in various states of completion because you’ll be left thinking about all of them instead of one or two that have your full attention.
- Don’t let so much pile up on your desk that you can’t see your desk!
So bring on the stress! I like that we keep it exciting around here. I definitely wouldn’t want to be on the list of 2010’s most boring jobs!
And if you were curious about the top five most stressful jobs, here they are.
5. Police officer
4. Surgeon
3. Taxi driver
2. Senior corporate executive
1. Firefighter
Hopefully, there aren’t any corporate execs moonlighting as volunteer firefighters.
As design director at Cookerly, Tim serves as the creative lead in the development of branding campaigns, print collateral and digital media for clients across a broad range of industries, including consumer, professional services, healthcare and technology.
As senior vice president at Cookerly, Mike Rieman specializes in building and maintaining relationships with the media and has an excellent track record of landing significant placements in print and broadcast media including USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and Money Magazine.
As vice president of Cookerly, Sheryl Sellaway uses her extensive corporate communications background to lead consumer PR efforts, deliver strategy for marketing programs and share expertise about community initiatives.
As a senior vice president at Cookerly, Matt helps organizations protect and advance their reputations and bottom lines through strategic communications programs. Using creativity, planning and flawless execution, he works with a team to deliver compelling public relations campaigns that produce results and support clients’ business objectives.