🎓 New Grads in PR: How to Win Your First Year

Author

Ash + Lizzy
May 31, 2025

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It’s that time of year again—LinkedIn feeds are full of graduation caps and “I’m excited to announce
” posts. If you’re one of the fresh faces entering the world of PR, welcome. You’re about to start a career that’s fast-paced, creative, and sometimes a little unpredictable.

We asked some of the top minds in the industry what advice they had for recent grads, and today we’re sharing a bit of wisdom from our PR peers.

Listen and be curious. 👂

Especially in the work place, your twenties are all about figuring out who you are. And a lot of that manifests into trying to be a certain type of person. Instead of trying to be someone or something, ask questions. Don’t try to prove yourself by being the loudest person in the room. Rather, try and be as curious as possible. Listen to your peers and your clients. Research their industries and issues with genuine interest. Try and look at things from every different angle, instead of just your default perception. And ask as many questions as possible. Get people thinking and, in turn, get them talking. People love to talk - about themselves, about their companies, about their products, etc. Treat every person and client as an expert and over time you’ll turn into an expert yourself.

- Lizzy Harris, CEO, The Colab

Be Gritty đŸȘš

This is the moment to go all in. Be the person who’s willing to work hard, put in the extra time, and go the extra mile. There’s no better time than now, while you’re young and hungry, to dive headfirst into learning everything you can. A healthy work ethic stands out—people notice, and it pays off. Set the foundation for your career now, and you’ll thank yourself later.

- Ashley Mann, COO, The Colab

Own Your Mistakes ✅

The best way to learn about PR is to do it. And make mistakes. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable and accept that perfection is impossible– even when clients and bosses try to attain it. You’re going to send an email with a typo in it. You’re going to send a message to a client that was meant to stay internal. You’re going to completely forget about a task until the deadline has already passed. This is normal and one of the best ways to learn and refine your process to try to ensure those mistakes aren’t repeated. When a mistake is made (like I said, they are inevitable!), be honest, direct, apologetic and cooperative. Go to your manager or the account lead (and perhaps even the client, depending on the situation) and own up to the mistake, apologize and offer to help mend the situation however they see fit. You’d be surprised how far honesty and good communication can take you, even when it stings.

— Megan Gasper, Founder, Megan Gasper PR

Embrace Curiosity đŸ€—

PR is a game of endless at bats. Don’t worry if the thing you had high hopes for doesn’t connect like you hoped. Keep pushing and iterating and being curious. That energy is what matters and if you’re consistently trying to innovate and tell great stories you will connect when the time is right.

Never forget to be self aware about where your published content is showing up in the average audience member’s day. Make sure you’re always looking to stand out and never do anything just because. The best PR people are always connecting to how what they’re doing is driving business impact. Be a student of the metrics, up and down the marketing funnel.

— James Robinson, Founder/Principal, Weatherfield Strategies

Prioritize Reporter Relationships đŸ§‘â€đŸ’»

Clients will come and go, your relationships with reporters will always be more important. If you feel like a client or account lead is putting you in a bad position with a reporter, speak up according to your comfort level. (That one is tricky w/ agency cultures around hierarchy.) If you can't speak up, then feel empowered to pitch w/ a ‘Hey I know this is a reach, feel free to disregard.’ I've never had a reporter get mad at me in those situations bc they get being under the gun too.

PR can feel discouraging -- it's not in our control, and getting an inclusion these days is TOUGH. Be the one on the team who's always thinking of new ways to spin the assets you already have to combat that. Either one of them will work, or the work of ideation will keep you fulfilled in and of itself. Remember, the worst case is content goes to a CEO's LinkedIn vs. an editorial outlet. We're all gonna be fine!

— Yumi Temple, Founder, Yonsai Communications

Bottom line:
Work hard. Be honest. Ask questions. Build relationships. Stay creative. And remember—everyone in PR started where you are now. You’ve got this.

đŸ“± New in non-traditional media

Tracking the newsletters, podcasts, and creators reshaping media influence.

📰 In the news

  • Business Insider Cuts 21% of Staff Amid Strategic Shift. On May 29, Business Insider announced layoffs affecting approximately 21% of its workforce across all departments. CEO Barbara Peng cited a strategic transformation focusing on high-quality business, tech, and innovation in journalism. The company plans to reduce reliance on traffic-sensitive revenue streams and fully embrace AI integration to enhance operations. Additionally, Business Insider is launching BI Live, a live journalism events initiative aimed at deepening audience engagement.

  • The New York Times Signs AI Licensing Deal with Amazon. The New York Times has entered into a multi-year AI licensing agreement with Amazon, marking its first such deal involving generative AI. Under the partnership, Amazon will incorporate The Times' editorial content, including summaries and excerpts, into various customer-facing products such as Alexa. Additionally, Amazon will use articles from The Times, its sports platform The Athletic, and its NYT Cooking service to help train its AI models. This agreement follows the newspaper's 2023 lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI for copyright infringement, accusing them of using its content without compensation.

  • Google Unveils Veo 3 AI Video Tool, Stirring Industry Debate. At the 2025 Google I/O event, Google unveiled Veo 3, its latest AI-driven video generation tool, sparking significant discussion across the internet. Veo 3 allows users to produce high-quality videos from simple text or image prompts, complete with synchronized audio, including dialogues and sound effects. This breakthrough represents a major innovation in digital content creation and has the potential to revolutionize advertising, social media and filmmaking by simplifying and accelerating the production process. However, it also raises critical concerns about the future of creative industries. Many are debating whether such advancements could endanger traditional creative roles by automating jobs previously reliant on human creativity and collaboration.

đŸŽ€ Spotlight on New Creators

They might not have a million followers (yet), but these are some of the new and noteworthy creators we’re keeping an eye on.

📧 Colligo

  • Curated by: Dr. Erik J. Larson, computer scientist and author of The Myth of Artificial Intelligence

  • Focus: Explores the limitations of AI and advocates for a human-centric approach to technology

  • Why Subscribe: Offers deep philosophical insights into AI, challenging mainstream narratives and emphasizing the importance of human intelligence in the age of machines

📧 User Mag

  • Curated by: Taylor Lorenz, former Washington Post technology columnist and frequent news maker herself (not always for good)

  • Focus: Delves into internet culture, digital trends, and the impact of technology on society

  • Why Subscribe: Provides in-depth analysis of how technology shapes our daily lives, with a keen eye on emerging online communities and platforms

  • Curated by: Ed Zitron, tech writer and PR specialist

  • Focus: Critiques the tech industry's culture, AI developments, and corporate practices

  • Why Subscribe: Provides candid and often humorous takes on the tech world, challenging prevailing industry narratives

⭐ Favorite story of the week:

  • “A New Generation is Loving Steve Madden, And He is Here For It”  - The New York Times

    Steve Madden went viral after doing a brutally honest interview on "The Cutting Room Floor" podcast where he talked about everything from his time in prison to how his brand basically makes designer knockoffs.

    The clips blew up on TikTok with over 24 million views, and people were shocked by both his appearance and his unfiltered takes. Gen Z is suddenly obsessed with him because he didn't give typical corporate PR answers - he just owned his whole controversial story. The interview was such good publicity that his company's stock price actually went up afterward. Basically, being completely authentic on a podcast turned into the best marketing move he could have made.

âšĄïž The Breakdown - Turning a Lukewarm Launch into National Headlines

We’re switching up our “Steal this Pitch” section to show you how we frame, pitch, and subsequently land coverage for our clients.

When customizable intranet platform Haystack came to us, their new corporate intranet product was already live—without much media fanfare. No embargo. No exclusivity. And no clear “why now.”

But at The Colab, we know newsworthiness isn’t a fixed asset—it’s something you create.

After ideating around potential hooks, we reframed the story around inclusivity in the workplace, positioning jargon not just as a communication hurdle, but a barrier to DEI goals. The pitch: corporate language is alienating Gen Z workers and non-native English speakers—and Haystack was launching a free tool to fix that.

The result? 20+ pieces of coverage, including a feature in Bloomberg.

“Jargon not only disrupts employee communications and complicates onboarding, it also ostracizes younger Gen Z workers and non-native English speakers...”

💡 Takeaway: Even without a “new” product, a sharp POV tied to real-time conversations can cut through and win headlines.

đŸ’« Client wins

Our clients are making headlines. Check out coverage our clients got this week in IT Brew, Carbon Herald, and Martech Edge.

Want coverage like this? Say hello.

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