I never take for granted that I have a job that allows me to pursue what I enjoy doing. People relations, strategic message and media strategy development. So I hardly drag my feet into the office in the mornings and dread what is to come. To see obstacles as challenges and set self targets to overcome them adds spark to the career journey.
The salary will never be comparable to other industries such as banking and finance but I do believe we have more intangible perks than they do. Nothing is free in this world, every cent we earn needs to be invested in the form of time. The hours that lawyers, investment bankers and the likes, clock in are reflective of the amount they earn.
More companies are beginning to catch on to the value of PR or earned media and are slowly but surely shifting their budgets in this direction. Local companies are more skeptical but that is the Asia culture for you, something that is arbitrary and cannot be converted into dollars and cents immediately is going to be harder to get buy-in for.
On my way to work this morning and thinking about our staff meeting discussion yesterday, one of our "fun but intangible" moments of a priceless experience is to witness CEOs at their most vulnerable in front of cameras, voice recorders and journalists. They want to look their best on TV and find the reassurance not only from their loved ones but also their PR partners like ourselves on how successful they are as storytellers in front of the media. Deep down inside, I guess there is a tiny part in every one of us that doesn't mind the few secs or mins of celebrity fame.
Which is a pity, that the emotional strain will take its toll one day. Taking pride in our work is a given and at times like these, the line between right and wrong is written very clearly. The comforting thing is today, the team connection is clear. When one member is down, it affects the other too. And then there's also the spirit where we are all contributing to one key goal for the company and we all feel accountable and responsible for bridging any gap.
