Summary of Public Relations Strategy test
The Public Relations Strategy test evaluates the ability of candidates to create public relations strategies for reaching out to the media and protecting the reputation of an organization. This test will help you identify PR professionals who can secure relevant coverage and PR professionals who can protect your organization’s reputation in times of pressure.
Covered skills
- Understanding your news
- Media engagement
- PR and marketing
- PR and the business
Use the Public Relations Strategy test to hire
A strong public relations hire is able to turn your company’s news into a compelling media angle, pitch it to the reporters most likely to cover it, and keep the messaging in line with your marketing and product plans. And in a crisis, they can coach your executive spokesperson and carry out a response protocol.
The Public Relations Strategy test offers evidence of these skills. Send every applicant the test before you begin reviewing resumes. Then compare candidates side by side, so you can decide who to invite to an interview. This reduces the risk of rejecting a qualified candidate who has a nontraditional background.
Using the test can save your team time on interviews, and it can lower the risk of a mis-hire. And it is likely to mean fewer errors at work, such as sending the wrong pitch to the wrong outlet or confusing the public with an unclear message during a crisis.
Job roles employers can hire using the Public Relations Strategy test
The Public Relations Strategy test can help you hire for roles such as these:
- Public Relations Manager: Hire an applicant who can develop and run public relations programs, set media priorities, and oversee coverage of the organization.
- Communications Specialist: Hire an applicant who can write announcements, maintain media lists, and handle routine press requests.
- Media Relations Director: Hire an applicant who can manage journalist relationships and decide which outlets receive each story.
- Corporate Communications Lead: Hire an applicant who can shape executive messaging for the press, employees, and investors.
- Brand Strategist: Hire an applicant who can set brand positioning and monitor audience perception.
- PR Account Executive: Hire an applicant who can manage agency client accounts and carry out media outreach for each client.
About the Public Relations Strategy test
Public relations shapes the way journalists, customers, and investors see an organization. A poorly worded announcement or a badly timed statement can damage that view quickly.
That's why PR professionals with strategic judgment have to be considered an important and inseparable position within each company.
Wetest provides this role-specific skills test at an intermediate level, and it only takes 10 minutes. It looks at strategic communication skills, media relations tactics, and reputation management practices across corporate and agency PR roles.
Candidates with high scores are able to develop PR strategies that reach the right audience, stand up to public scrutiny, and fit commercial priorities. So hiring them can help your PR function to work closely with marketing and product teams and to protect your brand at times of receiving public attention.
What does the Public Relations Strategy test measure?
This Public Relations Strategy test looks at candidates’ ability to apply strategic thinking to both routine and high-pressure PR work in five broad areas:
- Story and pitch development: Candidates are evaluated on their ability to create compelling media angles and pitches and their judgment in optimizing press releases for easy use by journalists.
- Media targeting: The test asks candidates to identify beat reporters, choose between local and national media targets, filter media database searches, and engage with media at trade shows.
- Crisis communication: The test evaluates candidates’ skills in guiding an executive spokesperson through a high-profile personal crisis and their judgment in activating a crisis protocol for a major corporate event.
- Marketing and brand alignment: Questions cover candidates’ ability to work with marketing and product teams, craft messaging that supports market-share goals, measure brand perception, and navigate a rebrand or slogan change.
- Business priorities: Questions in this area cover how candidates allocate PR resources across competing internal product lines and how they balance coverage opportunities against the organization’s top business needs.
FAQ
A public relations strategy is a plan for the way an organization is to gain media coverage, build its reputation, and manage risks to that reputation. It sets out the messages, audiences, and media targets to be used by the PR team in its daily work.
The Public Relations Strategy test lasts 10 minutes and is an intermediate-level test that will suit candidates with some practical knowledge of PR.
Yes, it covers the key elements of reputation management in both corporate and agency public relations roles. It is relevant to in-house communications teams and agencies managing client accounts.
No, the Public Relations Strategy test cannot replace an interview. It shows candidates’ ability to apply their PR strategy, but it will not show their ability to build long-term relationships with journalists or to present ideas to leadership. So you can use the results of this test alongside a structured interview and review of candidates’ past work to get a fuller picture of each candidate.
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