The 2024 Comms Career Cheat Sheet

Hello! This cheat sheet has been put together by Adedoyin Jaiyesimi to help you hit
the ground running in your career in 2024.

Below are a list of resources and links that I believe you will find valuable. Don’t just
download this cheat sheet, please create a plan that will help you to maximise the
resources in this cheat sheet and accelerate your career growth.

The resources in this cheat sheet will be updated periodically so that it remains relevant
to you in your professional journey. Please feel free to share this resource with other
professional colleagues.

If you have questions about this cheat sheet or more general questions about your
Comms/ PR career, please send me an email - adedoyin@thecommsavenue.com or
connect with me on LinkedIn.

If you’d like to book a session with me, kindly complete this form.

Competencies and Skills to Develop/ Improve on in 2024

The world of Communications and Public Relations is changing rather quickly. To stay
relevant and earn a good income, you need to develop the necessary competencies
and skills for success.

COMPETENCIES SKILLS

● Communications Strategy ● Content Creation

Development ● Storytelling
● Communications Research ● Pitching and persuasion
● Data Analysis and Data
● Communications Measurement
Storytelling
and Evaluation ● Commercial Awareness
● Stakeholder Management ● Critical Thinking
● Visual Communication
● Media Relations
Templates and Guides

Templates give you a structure you can build on when carrying out your
communications activities and guides point you in the right direction. You may not
always find the perfect template or guide but you can learn how to pick the useful
information from what you have and run with that.

1. Comms Planning and Strategy Template

2. Comms Planning Guide

3. The First 100 Days in Comms Guide

4. Transitioning to Comms Guide

5. Press Release Template

6. The Comms KPI Guide

7. Communications Directors’ Handbook

8. Modern Communications Operating Model 3.0

9. SA&A Resources and Templates

10. Development Communications Toolkit

11. Navigating Development Communications Career Guide

12. AMEC’s Integrated Evaluation Framework

13. Communications Measurement Case Studies

14. Ethical Storytelling

15. CSCE Toolkits

Courses/ Training to Improve Your Skills

To be a communications professional who has a competitive advantage, it is important

to be committed to honing your skills, building your knowledge and learning industry
best practice through training.

1. CIA Strategic Communications Course

2. PR, Media and Stakeholder Management Course

3. Speech Writing Course

4. CIPR Communications and PR Training

5. PR Academy Courses

6. PRCA Training Courses

7. Comms Strategy Course

8. Brand Strategy Course

9. Effective Issues Management Course

10. Measurable Comms Objectives Course

11. The 360 Comms Audit Course

12. AMEC Foundation in Media Measurement and Evaluation Course

13. CSCE Courses

14. Social Media Marketing Crash Course

Comms/PR Mentorship Programmes

Learning from the professional experience of those who have gone ahead in the field is
priceless. Structured mentorship programmes can help you to shorten your learning
curve and build a good network within the communications industry.

1. The Comms Mentoring Programme

2. Women in PR Mentoring Programme

3. Marketing Mentorship Program

International Professional Associations You Can Join

I love professional associations because they provide an opportunity to learn from

experts in the field, access a wide network of professionals and benefit from very
valuable resources.

If you find that the membership fees for the international associations are a bit high (for
now), join local and regional associations where you are based and follow the activities
of the international associations because they have resources and activities that
non-members can benefit from.

1. International Association of Business Communicators

2. Chartered Institute of Public Relations

3. Public Relations and Communications Association

4. World Communications Forum Association

Professional Certifications to Consider

Knowledge brings confidence on the job and certifications are a great way to boost your
professional knowledge. A good certification will also increase your professional
reputation and it has an impact on the quality of results you deliver.

1. Communication Management Professional

2. Strategic Communication Management Professional

3. CIPR Foundation

4. Professional PR Certificate

5. Professional PR Diploma

Comms/ PR YouTube Channels + Podcasts

If you are committed to lifelong learning, YouTube is a great place to improve your
Comms/PR knowledge and learn how to practically apply the theoretical knowledge that
you have gained. Podcasts are also a great way to learn on the go.

1. Adedoyin Jaiyesimi YouTube Channel

2. PRCA TV

3. SA&A Learning

4. IABC Heritage Region

5. PR Safari Podcast by the Center for Public Relations

Comms/ PR Job Boards

Job Boards are super helpful when job hunting. In addition, having access to job
opportunities can help you when you’re doing a Skill Audit to climb the ladder in your
career.
 1. Media, Comms & PR Jobs

2. The Channels Network - Social Impact Communications

3. Afrorama Job Board

Reports to Review

Reports are a great way to gain consolidated knowledge about a particular topic or
competence area. They are also filled with insights that you can use to improve your
work and deliver better results. Most importantly, reports help you to stay ahead of the
cure.

1. Communications Trends and How to Spend 2024

2. The State of Marketing and PR Leadership 2023

3. Edelman’s Future of Corporate Communications Study

4. Africa PR and Communications Report

5. Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools and the impact on Public Relations (PR) practice

6. The Public Relations Big Data Revolution

7. Creativity in PR Study

Websites for Insights and Resources

There are many great websites where you can find latest insights and useful resources
including templates and guides. Include them in your personal development plan and
set a goal to read at least one or two relevant articles per month.

1. The Comms Avenue

 2. Institute for Public Relations

3. PR Academy

4. PRnomics

5. Take Your Seat Newsletter

6. Tell Better Stories

7. Ragan

8. PR Futurist

9. PRCA Blog

Books to Read

I’m a book lover and I have learnt so much from books. Leverage books to improve your
foundational knowledge of Communications principles and learn how those principles
apply within a contemporary setting.

1. Exploring Public Relations: Global Strategic Communication

2. The IABC Guide for Practical Business Communication: A Global Standard

Primer

3. Planning and Managing Public Relations Campaigns: A Strategic Approach (PR

In Practice)

4. PR Technology, Data and Insights: Igniting a Positive Return on Your

Communications Investment

5. Books to improve storytelling

6. Everybody Writes by Ann Handley

7. From Clueless to Success by Adedoyin Jaiyesimi

 8. Daughter of Africa: An Autobiography by Gina Din

9. E-books from Axia PR

10. Book Reviews from PR Academy

Comms Communities to Join

This is perhaps the ultimate cheat sheet for career growth. Being part of a supportive
and resourceful professional community means you never have to walk along in your
career.

1. The Comms Avenue

2. Africa Communications Week

3. Women in PR Ghana

4. Nigerian Women in PR

Industry Events to Look Out For

Plan to attend one or two industry events or conferences to expand your network and
improve your knowledge.

NB - This list will be updated periodically.

1. Africa Comms Week 2024

2. African Public Relations Association (APRA) 2024 Conference

3. Women in PR Ghana Summit

4. The Nigeria Public Relations Week

5. East Africa PR Week