| Many PROs have worked on both sides of the fence, | | | | study below). Caldicott found that when she worked |
| with some deciding to choose in-house life, and others | | | | in-house at Tube Lines, the private engineering |
| consultancy. Tristan Garrick, PR manager of industry | | | | company upgrading the Tube, there tended to be |
| body the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) is | | | | longer lead times on projects. She also found that the |
| someone who is happy to be back in-house. His | | | | pressure and demands were more manageable, |
| current position is his second in-house role, after | | | | people were more relaxed and had time to plan things |
| spending a year working for an agency. He explains | | | | in more detail. But there were drawbacks: "Sometimes, |
| that even though his time in house was this was at | | | | there was bureaucracy and some thought of PR as |
| times high-pressured, work rarely ate into home life. He | | | | an unnecessary cost, but it just meant you had to |
| also found there wasn't a rapid turnover of staff, as is | | | | convince them otherwise!". |
| often the case at PR agencies. | | | | Pros of in-house: |
| Comparing this to his sojourn in an agency, Garrick | | | | - Opportunity to get to grips with a specialist field |
| says: "I found that I was expected to manage | | | | - Longer lead times on projects |
| accounts in sectors as diverse as education, online | | | | - The chance to work for an organisation which has |
| businesses, sustainable development and construction. | | | | aims you particularly believe in |
| Flitting between these accounts meant that I found it | | | | - Easier to build lasting relationships with specialist |
| near impossible to master my brief, as well as building | | | | journalists |
| and maintaining decent media contacts. | | | | - More time for in-depth training |
| There was a considerable churn of staff and very little | | | | - You tend to provide all, or a large part, of the |
| camaraderie, even though everyone was perfectly | | | | organisation's PR expertise |
| friendly. Ultimately, the real killer for me were the unduly | | | | - No stress of working on new-business pitches |
| long hours, the sheer volume of admin, and the fact | | | | Pros of agency: |
| that I spent more time handling the business side of my | | | | - Fast-paced, dynamic environment |
| accounts than actually doing PR work." | | | | - Every day is different Less bureaucracy |
| Louise Caldicott, who is now happily working at PR | | | | - Chance to get to know a range of clients |
| consultancy Fleishman-Hillard, also agrees that working | | | | - Provides training in wider spread of disciplines |
| in-house is less exhausting. However, she enjoys | | | | - You work in a large team of PR specialists |
| agency life, as "the fast pace and pressure is | | | | - Pitching offers the chance to come up with creative |
| exhilarating", although she admits that, "it can also be | | | | solutions. |
| stressful and difficult to manage at times", (see case | | | | |