Calling all undergraduate/graduate students and recent
college graduates interested in agency careers
Here’s an opportunity to gain a credential that will ensure you stand out to hiring managers and hit the ground running when you land the job.
The program includes webinars led by agency leaders on the most critical skills, including strategic planning, applying data, strategic social media, influencer engagement, crisis communications, client service, digital innovation and more.
Whether you have an internship/entry-level role or are looking to secure one, earning the Agency-Ready Certificate and then adding your resume to our proprietary career portal will help you attract the attention of our 130+ Member firms.
This program is free to all participants.
*PR Council aims to be an inclusive organization and remove barriers and obstacles for people with any disabilities. If you are a person with activity limitations or participation restrictions, please reach out to us at prcteam@prcouncil.net so we can explore modifications that can be made.
This PR Council (PRC) program is open to college/graduate students and recent grads. The certificate program will require participation in recorded webinars on important areas including strategic counsel, client service, persuasive writing, applying data, social media strategy, crisis communications, etc. Four panels with agency leaders are also included and can be viewed live or as recordings.
The PR Council (PRC) is the U.S. trade association for the Public Relations industry representing 130+ of the country’s top PR firms. The organization’s mission is to help grow talent, revenue, profits and reputation for Member agencies, and the industry. The Agency–Ready Certificate program delivers on our mandates to grow talent and reputation.
We want to help young talent build successful careers in our agencies by building their resumes, learning about the multitude of exciting and varied career opportunities available at agencies and growing their professional networks.
The program is for current college/graduate students and recent grads, who want to become better prepared to work in a PR agency or simply learn more about the career opportunities PR agencies offer.
We’re happy to have you again, however only a few courses will be new. Please note that you must re-register for the program, making sure to select a different username from the one you used last year.
No, students simply need to indicate their interest by registering online. The program outline will be available to students in early May. Registered students will receive program sign-on instructions in the weeks leading up to the program’s start.
This is a rolling registration. The final date to enroll and complete the program is Friday, July 22nd. Please note, you will only have until Friday, August 5th to complete the program. There will be no exceptions.
The program is free.
The country’s leading PR agencies are providing learning and development opportunities that they normally only provide to their employees.
No assignments will be given; however, participants will have to submit a written response after every course to receive credit. The link for this will be available on the website following each pre-recorded webinar and live panel discussion.
Earning the certificate requires completing 20 hours of educational webinars. Out of the 20 hours, 15 have been pre-recorded and will be released weekly. The additional four sessions will be live panels, which will also be available as recordings.
Credits will be given for live and recorded sessions. Our intention is to make it equally accessible for all.
At this time, the program is not designed to provide college credit. Please discuss special circumstances or requests directly with your academic institution.
We initiated this effort in 2020 in response to the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis, summer internship cancellations and a pause on entry-level hiring. Due to the success and positive response to the pilot program, we are pleased to continue offering it.
Registration for the 2022 program has closed.
We will accommodate all students who register before the Friday, July 22nd registration deadline.
You will receive an email letting you know your account has been approved within five business days following registration. We will be communicating about the program via email regularly beginning in May. Please make sure to read all weekly e-blasts carefully and check your junk folder to ensure they are not going there. The emails will come from the PR Council.
The program will start on the week of June 6th and will run for eight weeks, through July 29th.
While the live webinars are scheduled from June 6th through July 29th, you’ll have an extra week to complete any required hours. The program must be completed by Friday, August 5th. There will be no exceptions.
We will release pre-recorded sessions each week. Live sessions will be offered on a select four Wednesdays at 12:00 PM ET. Each session will then be available as a recording the following Monday.
To receive credit, participants must submit a written response (<250 words) after viewing each webinar. The link for this will be available on the website following each pre-recorded and live webinar and will also be included with the recording if you are viewing the session that way. Once you’ve completed your 20 hours, you will be able to download your certificate directly from your account.
Students will need a computer or smartphone.
The career portal is available for Agency-Ready Certificate participants to post their resumes and conduct job searches at the completion of the course. Our member agency recruitment teams will access the portal as they search for intern and entry–level candidates. Member agencies also post job openings directly on the portal.
We currently do not have a faculty component other than asking educators to encourage their students to join. Faculty are welcome to listen in and, of course, feedback is always welcome.
We have created a LinkedIn Group for program participants only. Once you have registered for the program, please click here to ask to join the group. You must be a student or recent grad and enrolled in the course to join the group.