How PR messes with your mind

I never used to be an insincere person, but I just found myself telling a hack that the magazine she works for is the best in the industry, when actually, I think it’s a truly dreadful magazine. Guaranteed to underwhelm.

PR has changed me, I may not have been completely sane when I started in this industry, but I am sure as hell a lot madder now. I am also worried that I am not such a nice person, but my boyfriend says I was never that nice to begin with.

Here’s how PR changes you:

You tweet at least five times a day

Surely this is not the behaviour of a normal person? Tweeting, re-tweeting, liking tweets? People in PR think Twitter rules the world, but I suspect “normal” people would disagree.

You laugh madly at the news

Not because you think it is funny, but because you are aware of the lengths some of your PR colleagues have gone to, to place particular stories.

You grimace when you watch reality shows

You may laugh at the news, but watching drama is another matter. It is impossible to follow any plot as you are so distracted by product placements and wondering if a particular actor would make a great brand ambassador. Oh for the days when you never noticed such things!

You smile when you feel like crying

The problem with working in a client-serving industry is that you have to be so darned nice all the time. Wouldn’t it be nice to tell certain people where to get off!

You edit your life

You know that stuff you post on Facebook needs to give a good impression. So while all your mates do interesting stuff on Facebook – you have to create this picture postcard (false) profile. And never do anything non PC.

You have become ruthless

PR is about making money, if a client is lovely, but has no budget, you will drop them for a rich bastard any day.

You are paranoid

If everyone else in PR is as two-faced as you are, you wonder, if secretly, everyone hates you.