I was delighted to learn recently that as an accredited practitioner who has kept up my CPD I was able to attend a Chartership day and get Chartered. I recently completed the Masters Level Diplomas in PR and internal communications which gave me confidence to put myself forward for the assessment – but must admit when the preparation work arrived and as the day got nearer, the nerves started to kick in. It is that on the spot aspect of assessment, a bit like a French oral test or a driving test, which is particularly challenging. But nothing ventured I thought….
The day itself was equally interesting and rigorous. Five of us per group in three 90 minute sessions on leadership, strategy and ethics. It definitely wasn’t for the unprepared. We had a case study to review ready for discussion and then the topic was widened to get our opinions and our own examples from Practise. Not everyone passed on the day but there is the opportunity to go back a second time and retry.
Those of us who were successful really felt as though we had achieved something high level. It was great to meet a variety of senior, interesting professionals from all areas of the PR industry and really committed assessors who put us through our paces. I hope to stay in touch and continue the conversation with all of them.
More than that, it felt fantastic that as an industry we have evolved the services that we offer so that we are more accountable and what we do is more measurable – more than ever, we have to prove ourselves and achieve measurable success. We are not perfect of course – there is always more to learn and develop. We need to keep listening to the changing needs of our clients and develop our skills and competencies and share experiences. We are challenged more but the role of a PR Practitioner is more interesting and more rewarding than ever.
To all Fellow Practitioners, when you’re ready, definitely get Chartered and to all clients and potential clients looking forward to sharing the benefits with you and to inviting you to our 21 year birthday celebrations soon……..
