Public Relations Knowledge Exam: Your entry to practice

Recent public relations and communications graduates and current junior-level practitioners will soon have the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, in written form. The CPRS National Council on Education is in the process of developing the first-ever standardized public relations exam in Canada. The Public Relations Knowledge™ (PRK)exam will be available in classrooms across the country this spring.

Companies that receive a high number of job applications have indicated they look for more reliable methods of assessing prospective and newly hired employees. After successfully completing the PRK exam, individuals will be able to set themselves apart from other applicants with this resumé builder. They will be able to enter the job market with increased confidence and be received with added respect.

“Had the PRK exam been available to me when I was a student, I would definitely have taken it,” said Geoff Koehler, 2010 public relations graduate, Public Affairs Associate, University Health Network, Toronto. “As a testament to the necessary public relations skill sets, the exam will provide another element that graduates can speak to during the hiring process,” added Koehler.

Completing the PRK exam will show potential employers that new graduates are well prepared to fill positions within the PR and communications industry. The exam also gives students the opportunity to promote and market themselves similar to other Entry-to-Practice exams. Regulated occupations such as engineering, teaching, law, physiotherapy and nursing use Entry-to-Practice exams as a way for individuals to identify themselves as highly knowledgeable in their field. Outcomes of exams are often a topic of conversation among peers.

The exam will cover an array of public relations and communications management topics in several different formats. Proposed topics for the exam include: public relations history, theory, ethics, fundamentals, case study analysis and a scenario-based writing exercise. 

“The efforts made by the CPRS National Council on Education to help advance the profession can be credited to all the dedicated volunteers,” said Pierrette Leonard APR, FCPRS, National President, CPRS. “Volunteers in the academic and professional public relations communities have worked hard, and continue to work hard, to provide an exceptional opportunity for new public relations graduates,” concluded Leonard.