With it being the New Year and all, perhaps you’re on a quest to find a new job with a PR agency. We don’t have an “HR Manager” at Environics Communications. The interviews and hiring are all done by more senior people, and the head of the company personally interviews almost every candidate to get a sense of their fit with our philosophy and culture. As they say, hire for attitude; train for skills.

I’ve conducted my fair share of interviews. Fortunately, after more than 15 happy and rewarding years with Environics, I haven’t had to be the interviewee, but I think I understand the challenges as well as or better than most.

I’m sure that it’s hard to go through an interview for a job with a company that’s a great place to work. Here are a few tips that I hope will make things easier.

Prepare. I am alarmed when a candidate comes to the interview unprepared. In writing he or she might seem perceptive, but in-person fails to demonstrate that he or she’s informed and smart about Environics Communications. A major aspect of public relations is the ability to communicate a story in a smart and perceptive manner, understanding the audience and subject-matter before the communications begin. If you don’t demonstrate that ability in the interview, why would we expect you to do it on the job?

Show your personality. Too many applicants are overly uptight at the interview. Nerves are expected and even important (a little anxiousness indicates that you really want the job), but it’s important to communicate that, in addition to PR expertise, you have a life – and an interesting one at that. In every interview I ask, “What do you do for fun?” We’re a shop that encourages and even demands that employees leave work at a sensible time and have fun in the evening and on the weekends. Talking about your personal interests inevitably sparks good conversation and establishes commonality at the interview, and finding common ground beyond PR can give you an edge.

Differentiate yourself. Good PR people are easy to find. Exceptional PR people are not. Think about the intrinsic values that you will bring to the agency. What is different or unique about you? What is it about you that might be “marketed” to a prospective client? Strive to set yourself apart by communicating that you’re an extraordinary machine.

Detail. One typo and, generally speaking, you’re done. Ensure that all of your written communication – e-mails, cover letter, resume, samples – is free of typographical errors.

Write well because you want to and because you can. Given that communicating is so often about the written word, the examples of dismal writing by “PR professionals” that I read are truly amazing. Environics puts a great emphasis on writing excellence. More than a quarter of our consultants are former (and even current) journalists and editors. Almost every candidate brings writing samples to an interview, but they’re almost always news releases and articles that have been edited and tweaked by numerous people. Show me stuff that is purely original – blog posts, letters to the editor, contributed articles by-lined by you.

Read the news. I focus on the technology industry. I interview candidates to work in Environics’ Technology Practice. That’s always clear to the people I interview. Why, oh, why, then, would you not bone-up on current tech news? We’re not terribly interested in folks who aren’t interested in the job’s subject-matter.

I hope this was of use, and good luck with your career pursuits!