Fulcrum Blog

I don’t like to be tested. I really don’t appreciate it when people put you in situations just to see how you will react, with some sort of expectation about how you should. But for some reason, it seems I’m perfectly fine with testing myself.

For several years now I’ve been interested in pursuing accreditation in public relations. It’s called the APR process and if you get it, you’re permitted to put some cute little letters after your name… kind of like M.D. or PhD. (ok, maybe not quite like that).

I’ve always thought highly of accreditation, as my major professor in graduate school was a great advocate for the program. Being accredited affords you increased respect amongst your peers and can really help someone like me (a small business owner and consultant) to gain credibility with clients. It’s also an effective way to refresh your knowledge of the profession and test whether or not you’ve effectively progressed to strategic thinking and application.

I was never quite sure if I had the time to go through the process, or if I was really ready. So I’m not sure why this February I decided I was. Momentary lapse in judgment I suppose. Nonetheless, I signed up. Accreditation is intended to be earned arduously through five steps:

1. Application – Four pages sent to the Universal Accreditation Board (UAB) which results in a letter either confirming (usually) or denying your approval to move forward. You have one year to pass the exam after the date this application is approved.
2. Workshops – Eight weekly one-hour sessions to walk you through what to study.
3. Written Submission – Responses to a series of difficult questions about your organization and role, your experience, and your strengths and weaknesses. It is given to your Readiness Review panelists before you meet with them, and typically ends up being about 10 pages in length.
4. Readiness Review – A panel of APRs meet with you for one to two hours to determine if you are in fact ready to sit for the exam. The session is focused around presenting a portfolio, which should demonstrate your experience in the 10 public relations competencies. Approximately two weeks after the review, you will receive a letter either giving you a go or no go from your panel.
5. Exam – If you pass the Readiness Review, you will be able to take the exam. Prior to doing so, they recommend studying for about 30 days. The exam is computer-based, lasts about two hours, and the questions are 100% scenario-based. You’ll know instantly whether or not you passed.

My written submission is due this Friday… two days from now. I am learning a lot through this process and really enjoying it, but getting a little worried I’m going to get through it.

I also decided it would be a good idea to enter some of my company’s work from the past year in the annual FPRA Image Awards, a local public relations competition. I am a firm believer in the value of awards programs. It allows you to reflect on the work you did in the previous year, both your successes and failures, and forces you to choose the best of the best. It also provides value through the process, by reviewing the specifics of the work that you did and evaluating the steps you took. And I guess it isn’t so bad to call some of your work “award-winning” if you’re lucky enough to win. But entering takes a lot of time… and I haven’t yet started!

This week I’ve clearly put myself to the test. And now I’m making that public. Was it a way to put even more pressure on myself to deliver? Maybe. Am I trying to spread understanding of and respect for these two programs? Sure. Or am I just procrastinating my completion of the work I’ve tasked myself with? Definitely.

Wish me luck!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 12th, 2008 at 6:58 pm and is filed under public relations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.