Lately, I’ve had quite a few chats and glasses of wine with friends looking to make the switch from their current industry to a career in public relations.  Of the four career-leap talks I’ve had in the past month, my advice remains consistent: the burden of explaining to a potential employer the value of your non-pr-career experience is on you.

To the average PR recruiter, hiring you is not a no-brainer. You are going to have to connect the dots for hiring managers, which means you must create an all-new resume with a matching cover letter. Please, I beg of you, don’t use the words “social,” “media,” “maven” and/or “guru” in any sentence about yourself.

These paper versions of you should not only convey the overall depth of your skill set, but clearly explain how the responsibilities and successes at each of your past gigs are relevant to the public relations career you now seek.

The hard part for career-leapers seems to be confidently articulating how being a lawyer for all these years translates into superb writing skills, a strategic mind, billable hours and the ability to keep a client’s confidence, etc.

This my-skills-add-value-so-hire-me approach is more of a self-esteem challenge than anything. A change in career path does not negate your 5, 8, 10 or 15 years of hard-earned work experience, but it’s up to you to prove that.

If you want a career in PR, you’re going to have to make your case on paper, be confident in your pitch and take the guesswork out of the hiring-you equation. The good news: this is actually what makes a successful PR pro anyway, so you’ll be able to count this as applicable PR practice!

Some great places to search for PR and communications gigs include:

• Lindsay Olson’s PR Jobs
• Media Bistro
• Talent Zoo
• Mashable

Are you new to public relations or communications? What was your crossing-over strategy? Did it work?

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