How to hire a Public Relations Manager

How to hire a public relations manager, step by step

Here's a step-by-step public relations manager hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a public relations manager job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new public relations manager
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a Public Relations Manager do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your public relations manager job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a public relations manager for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

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   Hiring the perfect public relations manager also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents public relations manager salaries for various positions.

   Type Of Public Relations Manager	Description	Hourly Rate
   Public Relations Manager	Public relations managers plan and direct the creation of material that will maintain or enhance the public image of their employer or client. Fundraising managers coordinate campaigns that bring in donations for their organization.	$30-61
   Manager Of Corporate Communications	A manager of corporate communications is primarily responsible for overseeing the external and internal communications in a company, ensuring everything is running smoothly. They are also responsible for managing marketing communications and public relations, and even developing various marketing content... Show More	$27-58
   Director, Customer Relations	Director of Customer Relations is responsible for leading the design and improvement of an organization's overall customer service experience. Their duties include developing customer service budget, driving customer service process improvements, implementing customer service agents, managing email and telephony customer service routing, and creating training programs for customer service staff... Show More	$43-94

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common Skills:

   • Press Releases
   • Web Content
   • Pr Campaigns
   • Marketing Campaigns
   • Digital Marketing
   • Facebook
   • Fact Sheets
   • Twitter
   • External Communications
   • PowerPoint
   • Corporate Communications
   • Instagram
   • Brand Awareness
   • Crisis Communications

   Check All Skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage social media - provide content ideas, monitor FB and Instagram activity.
   • Manage events and promotions; create Christmas event, manage twitter account and make marketing plans.
   • Lead a successful rebranding effort to transition the organization into a premier corporate training provider in SoCal.
   • Lead a rebranding and revitalization of the intranet by focusing on improving internal communication, search capabilities, and branding elements.
   • Interview featured alumni, manage copywriting staff and editorial calendar, and coordinate photography.
   • Maintain strong working relationships across all departments to manage successful on-site opportunities, content and multimedia asset development and spokesperson requests.

   More Public Relations Manager duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the public relations manager job description is a good way to get more applicants. A public relations manager salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a public relations manager in Wisconsin may be lower than in Nevada, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level public relations manager. Additionally, a public relations manager with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average public relations manager salary

   $91,426yearly

   $43.95 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level public relations manager salary

   $64,000 yearly salary

   Updated March 27, 2025

   Average public relations manager salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate
   1	Nevada	$127,053	$61
   2	California	$121,582	$58
   3	District of Columbia	$109,663	$53
   4	Massachusetts	$109,262	$53
   5	Washington	$109,090	$52
   6	Oklahoma	$105,933	$51
   7	New York	$103,537	$50
   8	Virginia	$100,512	$48
   9	Oregon	$95,901	$46
   10	New Jersey	$95,229	$46
   11	Arizona	$94,702	$46
   12	Colorado	$94,644	$46
   13	Utah	$94,170	$45
   14	Michigan	$94,149	$45
   15	Indiana	$93,932	$45
   16	Pennsylvania	$92,244	$44
   17	Rhode Island	$90,552	$44
   18	Georgia	$89,686	$43
   19	Connecticut	$89,148	$43
   20	North Carolina	$87,719	$42

   Average public relations manager salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
   1	Google	$170,937	$82.18	27
   2	Microsoft	$158,712	$76.30	2
   3	Asana	$157,704	$75.82	12
   4	Apple	$155,196	$74.61	33
   5	Egnyte	$148,253	$71.28
   6	Cisco	$143,860	$69.16	3
   7	Zoho	$143,587	$69.03
   8	Amazon	$141,762	$68.15	165
   9	Twilio	$141,627	$68.09	3
   10	Allbirds	$134,602	$64.71
   11	Xilinx	$134,031	$64.44
   12	Netflix	$131,404	$63.17	4
   13	Oracle	$131,127	$63.04	23
   14	Amd	$130,122	$62.56	1
   15	Kronos Incorporated	$129,933	$62.47
   16	Burberry	$128,942	$61.99
   17	Nasuni	$128,683	$61.87
   18	Applied Materials	$127,859	$61.47	1
   19	APCO Worldwide	$123,829	$59.53	2
   20	Fox News	$123,197	$59.23

4. Writing a Public Relations Manager Job Description

   A good public relations manager job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a public relations manager job description:

   Public Relations Manager job description example

   Feld Entertainment is the worldwide leader in producing and presenting live touring family entertainment experiences that bring people together and uplift the human spirit. Properties include Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, Monster Jam , Monster Energy Supercross, Disney On Ice, Marvel Universe LIVE!, Sesame Street Live!, Jurassic World Live Tour, Kawasaki and Spin Master. Across the brand portfolio, Feld Entertainment has entertained millions of families in more than 75 countries and on six continents. Visit feldentertainment.com for more information.
   
   Successful candidates must be fully vaccinated or be qualified for a medical or religious exemption. Proof of vaccination is required and may be submitted via the Company's secure website. Florida employees may request exemption pursuant to FL House Bill No. 1-B. Fully vaccinated is defined as 14 days after the second dose of a two dose vaccine or 14 days after the single dose of a one dose vaccine.
   
   Please note that all Mitigation Guidelines for touring employees remain in effect as do any applicable venue, local, state, and/or international requirements, rules, regulations, and/or laws in territories outside of Florida.)
   
   Assist in the day-to-day operations of Feld Entertainment's Public Relations team in providing strategic public relations guidance for owned and licensed touring shows. Assist in managing national PR agencies and the day-to-day needs of the touring units with licensed properties, the Event Marketing & Sales team, and Corporate Partners.
   
   Essential FunctionsWork with the Global PR team to develop and manage the support for the overall publicity campaigns for Disney On Ice brand relaunch and touring shows.Assist the Senior PR Manager in coordinating the overall Public Relations efforts for licensed touring shows- Disney, Marvel & Sesame Street Live. Assist Global Sr. PR Manager and PR Team in providing the field with the tools to promote productions and streamline resources.Serve as liaison to corporate partners regarding local publicity efforts for touring shows. Manage day to day needs with national PR agency for Disney On Ice. Maintain all show publicity materials for the press room and the publicists' resource site.Pitch and coordinate publicity requests from the media. Plan and coordinate media training sessions for performers and staff as it pertains to assigned tours.Coordinate content capture for video and photo needs. Manage Timelines, planning and budgets.
   
   QualificationsCollege degree required (PR, Journalism, Advertising, Marketing or English major preferred) Three to five years of public relations or related experience with emphasis on creating and producing the components of a robust PR plan with a national agency. Pitching and media relations experience. Experience with online media and web-based PR tools a plus
   
   Skills and AbilitiesStrong interpersonal skills, polished, professional appearance and must be highly organized. Extremely strong writing, presentation delivery and media interview skills. Comprehensive overall written and oral communication skills.Ability to interface with multiple levels within and outside Feld Entertainment Solid event planning skills.Ability to manage heavy workload, multiple projects simultaneously and be fiscally responsible to approved budget.Levelheaded capacity to make sound judgments and lead under pressure.Team orientation Highly flexible and resourceful Willingness to travel (approximately 30% of time)
   Feld Entertainment is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and a Drug Free Workplace. We are committed to providing an inclusive environment for our employees, customers, and partners worldwide. We celebrate diversity and encourage our profoundly talented workforce to express themselves proudly. Our successful business model requires different perspectives and voices so that we can create the incredible live shows we put on. Come join us and help us light up the world.

   Copy This Example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find public relations managers for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your public relations manager job on Zippia to find and recruit public relations manager candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as pr news job board, pr council, prsa job center, hoojobs.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with public relations manager candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new public relations manager

   Once you have selected a candidate for the public relations manager position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new public relations manager first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a public relations manager?