Why Bother to Earn the Accreditation in Public Relations?
While my father and husband enjoyed a round of golf on a hot summer day in southeastern Virginia, I stayed in their golf cart, hunched over the pages of a study guide.
I was preparing to earn the Accreditation in Public Relations, or APR, credential. In about a month, I was scheduled to take a computerized exam that would determine if I would be able to use those initials after my name. Much of my free time was spent poring over my notes and books.
The APR recognizes public relations practitioners who have mastered the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to develop and deliver strategic communications. According to the Public Relations Society of America, of which I am a member, the APR:
Asserts professional competence
Communicates professional expertise, plus personal and professional dedication and values
Reflects progressive public relations industry practices and high standards
APRs commit to learning through continuing education, serving as a volunteer or other professional development activities. APRs also are expected to meet high standards of performance and ethics.
I wanted to be one of those capable, knowledgeable, ethical, reliable people.
I had started the APR process several years earlier, taking an in-person class offered by the local PRSA chapter. After that class ended, several of us students continued to get together for weekly study sessions over dinner. Three members of our “APR Supper Club” soon went on to earn their APRs.
Not me, though. My perfectionistic tendencies turned to fear that I would fail, thus proving to the world that I was a fake. I didn’t study public relations in college. I had been a reporter for almost two decades before making the switch to PR by taking a job at a nonprofit. I believed then — and I still do — that many of the skills I had developed as a journalist made a great foundation for PR work.
I also realized that learning more deeply about the PR fundamentals could only help me grow as a PR pro, enhancing my skills and helping me to evolve from a tactician to someone with a more strategic mindset. I became very involved in our local PRSA chapter and set a goal for obtaining the APR.
As the APR Supper Club wound down, I took an online prep course. The material was very helpful, but hearing several instructors talk about how hard it was for them to pass the exam turned me off. I decided that I had learned a lot through study; why the heck did I need to take a test to prove that I was a good PR person?
Then came the opportunity to apply to be an APR beta tester. The accreditation process is updated periodically, and I was one of 100 people nationwide selected by PRSA to take a beta version of the exam in the summer of 2015. That gave me a short window to study and an absolute deadline for taking the exam — a push that my deadline-driven self needed.
In late August, I went to a computerized testing center and took a five-hour exam that tested competence in and knowledge of public relations, including research, ethics and law, communications models and theories, business literacy, media relations, crisis communications and management skills.
All the beta testers had to wait until the end of September to learn whether they had passed. I knew I had been prepared for the exam, especially thanks to regular sessions with a couple of really smart study buddies. Yet, I spent the intervening month fretting that I had messed up. When I received the email congratulating me on earning the APR, I immediately called my intern who had helped me by quizzing me on concepts. Her excitement helped me to blink back my tears of relief that the stress was over.
Was it worth the effort?
The process of studying — even before I mustered the courage to actually take the exam — gave me insights and ideas and pushed me to strive to grow as a communicator. Maintaining the credential by volunteering and taking time for professional development keeps my skills fresh. My confidence in my abilities increased as my knowledge expanded. The sense of accomplishment at having earned the APR distinction is immensely satisfying. Perhaps most important of all, I made some strong friendships among my PR colleagues.
I am proud to be an APR.
The Public Relations Society of America has a lot of helpful resources about how to earn, and the value of, the APR. Learn more.