I recently got an e-mail from a reporter friend who has decided to change careers and move into public relations. Even though he has almost completed his MBA, his initial attempts to find a PR job have fallen flat; he hasn't even been able to get an interview. Here's his theory as to why he's having such a hard time:

The best PR people I deal with are in big corporations with departments full of ex-reporters. And these are companies I write some of the most critical stories about. But those guys understand my job.

Most PR people I deal with, however, are completely clueless about my job. My theory is that most PR people or the hiring managers bringing in PR people are actually scared of a reporter coming in.

One of the companies I applied to had a big discrimination lawsuit and that's all that's been written about them. Am I screwed in the job market because reporters are feared? Or worse, as I've feared -- execs think we are incapable of anything else?

Unfortunately, I don't think my friend is being paranoid (even though that is a speciality of journalists.)

Many people in business simply don't understand reporters. They don't understand their motivations for going into journalism, and they worry they won't be able to thrive -- or even be happy -- in a corporate setting.

Reporters in general, and especially newspaper reporters, don't enter the profession of journalism for a quick buck. Their egos are fed not by the money they make, but by the impact they have. Journalists have impact by covering controversy and causing change -- two things that frighten most corporations, which are essentially conservative institutions.

Being "negative" (as most corporate hiring managers would define that term) is a big part of the job of most reporters. And hiring managers are taught to screen out negative people.

You see, there are no "problems" in corporate America -- only "challenges." And though the media loves to celebrate the corporate maverick, the reason we celebrate them is because they're so few and far between. Most people get ahead in business by not making waves -- the same kind of waves that reporters are trained (and, in some cases, born) to make.

A couple years ago, a recruiter for a Fortune 500 company contacted me about a senior VP position reporting to the CEO. Even though I love the Idea Grove, I decided to take the interview. If nothing else, perhaps it could lead to some consulting work.

When I met with the overly enthusiastic HR VP, she said this about the CEO: "If he told me to dye my hair purple, I'd dye my hair purple." I was reminded of the scene in Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room when the delirious female exec advised employees to invest their entire 401(k) balances in Enron stock.

I'm afraid it's too often like this in corporate America. And the more a company is filled with purple-haired "team players" and Kool-Aid drinkers, the more likely the HR department will think twice about hiring a cynical, negative, stubbornly independent-minded ex-reporter.

But you know what? That's not necessarily a bad thing. Because most ex-journalists wouldn't want to work at companies like that anyway.

My friend is right; the best PR agencies and departments are chock-full of former journalists -- people who know that corporate Kool-Aid is not suitable for public (and especially media) consumption. The smartest companies empower their PR departments to play the critical role of intermediary between the company and the outside world -- and to do it with integrity.

If you hold yourself with dignity, aren't afraid to state your opinions, and stand up for the importance of your role, you will ultimately find an employer that respects you for it.

And by actually having an impact rather than nodding enthusiastically in the corner, you will improve the less-than-superlative image of the PR profession in the process.

Labels: journalism, Marketing Views, newspapers, PR careers, PR jobs, public relations jobs