Are the PR Stereotypes Accurate?

It’s an extremely ironic fact that our industry of PR has a PR problem. The stereotypes our industry receives are often fictitious and make our type seem like a glorified party planner or the awful name we never want to hear, the master of “spin”. We don’t “spin” and we actually do plan some amazing events and parties. PR is a tough industry to define, but I found an article entitled PR Stereotypes: Fact or Fiction? interesting because it explored some of the typical stereotypes even further to determine what is real and what is not. Here is what the article covered:

1. All PR pros are Democrats: This is an untrue stereotype. Yes, our industry does lean to the left, but there are plenty of Republicans as well.
2. All PR pros are outgoing people: This is also an untrue stereotype. We’re not all outgoing and some of the best PR pros are very introverted individuals. I know I personally am more introverted and I still love everything about PR.
3. All PR pros are good writers: Unfortunately, this is not true. As vital as it is to be a good writer to be a successful PR professional, not all PR professionals are skilled writers. This is why it is so important for PR students to work on their writing abilities to help further the profession instead of damaging this positive stereotype.
4. All PR pros have degrees in communications/PR: This is completely untrue, especially in the agency setting. Many current PR professionals come from different backgrounds including political science, English and even the dreaded mathematics.
5. PR pros are hyper-organized: This is absolutely true. People do not survive in the PR industry unless they are organized.
6. All PR people are workaholics: This is untrue, especially since our PR pros tend to work smarter, not harder in today’s PR industry.
7. All PR people dress “on trend": Although this might have some truth to it on the agency side, corporate and nonprofits tend to be more conservative in their dress.
8. All PR people drink massive amounts of coffee: This is generally a fact of the PR profession. Coffee is the only thing that can help us get through our long, stressful days!
9. PR agency people are more creative than corporate types: Creativity is present in both agency and corporate settings. Creative minds are not solely present in the agency setting.
10. All PR people are women: It may seem this way because the ratio of women to men in our industry is 4-to-1, but there are still successful men in the PR industry.

I found this article interesting because I hear these PR stereotypes mentioned quite frequently. What kind of stereotypes do you hear of PR professionals? How do those compare to PR students?