PR, Marketing and Advertising Careers

Almost every organization, companies big and small, nonprofits and governments, have integrated public relations (PR), marketing, and advertising functions, and while these three areas share many similarities, there are significant differences.

  • Marketing is primarily interested in the market — consumers and demand.
  • Public relations (PR) is interested in relationships — reducing conflict and improving cooperation between the organization and its public.
  • Advertising tells a story to attract attention to a product or service. Advertising is a step in the marketing process.

While some companies have set hiring timelines, hiring generally occurs when employers need to fill positions.

Information Gathering

If you are interested in a career in advertising, marketing or PR, you must be able to demonstrate to employers that you know how to create content and that you follow the field closely. Read trade magazines like AdAge, AdWeek, PRWeek, and PR News; subscribe to newsletters like The Drum; and stay current with popular industry websites like AW360. Follow industry insiders on social media. Company websites, O*NET, and the Occupational Outlook Handbook can also help you learn about the types of jobs in your field.

Select career paths include:

Marketing

  • Brand Marketing
  • Product Marketing
  • Growth Marketing
  • Digital Marketing
  • Content Marketing
  • Marketing Analytics
  • Customer Insights
  • Social Media Marketing
  • Marketing Operations

Public Relations

  • Media Relations
  • Corporate Communications
  • Crisis Communications
  • Public Affairs
  • Government Relations
  • Investor Relations
  • Internal Communications
  • Nonprofit Communications

Advertising

  • Account Management
  • Account Planning / Strategy
  • Creative
  • Media Planning & Buying
  • Analytics
  • Programmatic Advertising
  • Production

Select entry-level job titles include:

Marketing

  • Marketing Coordinator
  • Marketing Assistant
  • Brand Assistant
  • Product Marketing Associate
  • Marketing Analyst
  • Growth Marketing Associate
  • Digital Marketing Coordinator
  • Content Marketing Specialist
  • Social Media Coordinator
  • Email Marketing Coordinator
  • SEO Specialist
  • SEM/Paid Search Associate

*Marketing is a broad field that encompasses many specialties. Entry-level roles may focus on brand management, digital marketing, content creation, analytics, social media, search engine optimization (SEO), paid advertising, email marketing, or a combination of these areas. When searching for internships and jobs, use a variety of titles and keywords to identify opportunities that match your interests and skills.

Public Relations and Communications 

  • PR Assistant
  • Account Coordinator
  • Communications Assistant
  • Media Relations Coordinator
  • Public Affairs Assistant
  • Corporate Communications Associate
  • Communications Coordinator
  • Strategic Communications Associate

Advertising and Agency 

  • Account Coordinator
  • Assistant Media Planner
  • Media Assistant
  • Associate Strategist
  • Advertising Coordinator
  • Assistant Account Executive
  • Programmatic Advertising Associate
  • Junior Copywriter

Select Resources

Advertising Educational Foundation: The AEF creates and distributes educational content to improve the understanding and appreciation of the societal role of advertising and marketing through programs on college campuses across the country. Check out the fast forum, industry conversation and career guide sections.

Ad Forum: AdForum currently offers access to profiles of over 20,000 agencies and a searchable library of more than 90,000 different ads from 110 countries.

Public Relations Society of America: The largest professional organization for PR professionals (also includes 255 college and university chapters). PRSA focuses on continuing education for members through networking, professional development and publications. Maintains an extensive job bank.

American Marketing Association: Professional organization for marketing professionals. AMA focuses on continuing education for members through networking, professional development and publications. Maintains a directory for members and a job bank open to all.

Building Technical Skills for Marketing, Advertising, and Public Relations

While many skills can be developed on the job, you can strengthen your application by becoming familiar with commonly used marketing, communications, analytics, and creative tools before beginning an internship or full-time role. Georgetown students have free access to LinkedIn Learning through Lauinger Library, along with a wide range of additional free training and certification platforms.

A good tool to start with is Microsoft Excel, which is widely used in marketing, advertising, and public relations roles to analyze data, track budgets, and report campaign performance. Employers expect entry-level candidates to be comfortable working with spreadsheets, interpreting data, and communicating insights clearly.

You can also build skills in the following key areas:

  • Data & Analytics: Google Analytics (Google Skillshop), Tableau (Tableau Public and training resources)
  • Digital Marketing & CRM: Google Ads (Google Skillshop), HubSpot (HubSpot Academy), Salesforce CRM (Trailhead)
  • Search & Content Strategy: Search Engine Optimization (Semrush Academy)
  • Social Media & Advertising: Meta Blueprint (Facebook and Instagram advertising and analytics)
  • Design & Content Creation: Canva (Canva Design School), Adobe Creative Suite (Adobe Learn and campus resources where available)

In addition to these technical tools, familiarity with artificial intelligence is increasingly expected in modern marketing and communications roles. Employers use AI to support content ideation, audience research, campaign optimization, social media planning, and performance analysis.

You are not expected to be an AI expert, but you should understand how AI is used in professional workflows and develop skills in prompt writing, AI-assisted research, fact-checking, human editing, and ethical use, including accuracy, bias awareness, and transparency.

You can build these AI skills through free learning platforms such as LinkedIn Learning (available to Georgetown students), Google AI Essentials (Coursera), Microsoft Learn AI Fundamentals, and introductory courses from DeepLearning.AI. HubSpot Academy and Semrush Academy also offer applied training in generative AI for marketing, content creation, and SEO.

The goal in using these platforms is not to master every system, but to become familiar with how modern marketing and communications teams use data, digital tools, and AI to generate insights, create content, and execute campaigns.

Making Connections

Attend employer information sessions, industry events — on and off-campus — and connect with the local chapter of popular professional organizations such as the DC chapter of the American Advertising Federation, the National Capital Chapter of The Public Relations Society of America, or the DC Chapter of the American Marketing Association.

Professional associations host a variety of professional development, educational and networking events. If the membership fee is prohibitive, contact leadership and ask if there are sliding scale prices for students. Volunteering for a conference, educational, or social event is another great way to connect with leaders in the industry.

Develop a LinkedIn profile that communicates your personal and professional brand. Joining groups related to your industry is a great way to meet new people, find mentors, and contacts, and ask them questions. Reach out to alumni through Hoya Gateway and the alumni section of Georgetown’s LinkedIn page. The Cawley website provides helpful guidelines on networking and informational interviewing.

Making Connections at Georgetown

Joining a school club is another excellent way to learn more about the field, develop your skills, and get hands-on experience. Georgetown offers many opportunities for Hoyas to get involved. Check out the Georgetown Marketing Association, for example.

You can also join a group based on your interests and develop your professional skills. For example, if you want to refine your social media skills, you could join The Corp and work on the communications team.

On-campus jobs are another excellent way to build skills that employers value. Many university departments need student help designing promotional materials and newsletters, writing internal and external communications, managing their social media accounts, and implementing an effective social media strategy. Check out the Student Employment Office for available positions.

Preparing Your Application Materials

To better understand what skills to highlight on your resume, check out internships, fellowships, and entry-level positions in public relations, marketing and advertising. Employer websites, the Public Relations Society of America job board, the American Marketing Association job board, and the American Association of Advertising Agencies job board are great places to research industry opportunities.

Your resume should be one page, and your cover letter should be thoughtful and concise. See our resume and cover letter guides for more tips and advice.

In the creative industries, you may be required to have a portfolio or “book” of your best work or a website that doubles as your portfolio. Portfolios are about proof of applied skills:

Marketing: “Can you analyze and think strategically?”

PR: “Can you communicate and influence perception?”

Advertising: “Can you generate compelling creative ideas?”

In some cases, a strong LinkedIn profile can also function as a digital portfolio through the “Featured” section, where students can showcase projects, writing samples, and multimedia work.

Application requirements vary by employer, so students should carefully review each job description. Some roles, particularly in public relations and communications, may also require writing assessments or timed exercises.

Free and low-cost tools such as Wix, Behance, and similar platforms can be used to create and maintain an accessible online portfolio that evolves over time.

Applying

Many students new to the industry question whether their first job after graduation should be in-house or at an agency. Unfortunately, there is no right answer. Read through the following articles for the pros and cons of each.

Agency vs. In-House: Finding the Right Fit by Mackenzie Smith, PRSA

Where should I work? The pros and cons of agency vs in-house by Scott Merritt, PRDaily

The advertising and communications industry is dominated by several large holding companies that own networks of agencies across creative, media, public relations, and digital marketing disciplines. The “Big 5” holding companies are WPP, Omnicom, Publicis Groupe, Havas, and Dentsu and they own many of the brands familiar to Georgetown students—like Ogilvy and BBDO. Internships and jobs can be found on the websites of the holding companies or their subsidiaries.

Timelines in these industries are variable. For in-house internships and entry-level roles, especially larger companies with structured rotational or leadership development programs, recruiting often begins in late summer through early fall, with many postings and applications appearing between August and October. Smaller organizations, however, tend to hire on a more flexible, “just-in-timej basis, filling internship and entry-level roles closer to when they start.

Agency hiring timelines can differ again. Larger advertising and PR agencies may offer post-graduate internships, fellowships, or entry-level programs, but these often open later in the cycle, commonly in late winter through early spring (around February to April), although some may post select roles earlier in the fall.

Compensation varies by employer, location, industry, and function. Use resources such as LinkedIn Salary, Glassdoor, O*NET, and the Occupational Outlook Handbook to research salary ranges for specific roles. In general, analytics, product marketing, and strategic communications roles may offer higher starting salaries than some content or social media-focused positions. Agency roles may start at a lower salary, but they often provide opportunities to work with multiple clients and develop skills quickly.

Select Employers and Internships

Early-Career Marketing Programs

  • PepsiCo
  • Johnson & Johnson
  • Colgate-Palmolive
  • Nestlé
  • L’Oréal
  • Unilever
  • Similar opportunities can be found in industries such as fashion, beauty, hospitality, sports, entertainment, and luxury goods.

PR Agencies

  • Edelman
  • Weber Shandwick
  • Ketchum
  • FINN Partners

Creative Agencies

  • Ogilvy
  • BBDO
  • AKQA

Public Affairs & Strategic Communications

  • APCO Worldwide
  • Brunswick Group
  • FTI Consulting