Your Professional Development is Your Best Investment
Posted by admin on Apr. 10, 2026 / Subscribe 0
By Chantal Boeckman, APR
April is APR Month — a time when we pause to celebrate the value of earning the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) and reflect on what it means for the future of our field. After recently completing this journey, I agree that accreditation isn’t just a credential, as our APR Committee Chairs Angie Champsaur, APR, and Lisa Vasquez, APR, explain so well in their recent blog.
It’s a commitment to raising the bar in our practice, strengthening our standards, and building a shared foundation for excellence.
Why Accreditation Matters in Public Relations
One of the ongoing challenges in our profession is that, unlike many other fields, accreditation is not yet the norm. When you look at lawyers, accountants, educators, or health professionals, accreditation and certification are expected in addition to higher education degrees – it’s not an either or. They create a common language, a shared framework, and a clear understanding of what excellence looks like.
In public relations, we don’t always have that.
Too often, when we start a new project or join a new team or company, we find ourselves re‑creating the wheel — redefining processes, re‑explaining best practices, and rebuilding standards from scratch. Without a widely adopted professional baseline, excellence becomes something each organization has to invent on its own.
The APR helps solve that.
It gives practitioners a standardized, research‑based, ethics‑driven framework for strategic communication. It ensures we’re not just doing the work — we’re doing it with intention, rigor, and accountability. I commend managers and workplaces, like Three Box and Buckner International, who encourage their employees to pursue the APR.
The Investment That Pays Off
Professional development costs money – money that we don’t always have to spare. That’s a reality, especially for those in the first decade of their careers. But it’s also among the most important investments we make.
Whether it’s the APR, a certificate program, or a conference, these opportunities will
- Further develop your strategic thinking
- Build your confidence
- Increase your value to your organization
- Expand your professional network
- Open doors to leadership
And here’s the part early‑career professionals often underestimate:
You don’t have to fund it alone.
Asking Your Company to Invest in You
Many employers want to support professional development — they just need clarity on the return...and it doesn’t hurt to ask. The likelihood of a manager approving funding for a certification or conference increases dramatically when you:
- Include the training in your professional development plan
- Articulate the skills you want to build and how they will benefit your team or organization
- Demonstrate how the opportunity aligns with industry standards (like the APR).
When you can clearly express what you want to achieve and how the investment supports both your growth and your company’s goals, you’re not asking for a favor. You’re making a business case.
Want some practice? PRSA Dallas just opened registration for UnSummit, a half-day conference on May 15, 2026, that will gather public relations, communication and marketing professionals across our area to dive into how our profession is evolving and what that means for our companies and our careers.
Click here for a draft letter to help you explain to your manager why this conference is important for you and your company.
A Message to Young Professionals
If you’re early in your career, this is the perfect time to build the foundation that will shape your trajectory for decades to come. You don’t need to wait until you’re a senior leader to pursue accreditation or advanced training. In fact, the earlier you build these skills, the more they compound over time.
Invest in yourself.
Ask your organization to invest in you, alongside you.
And trust that you are absolutely capable of achieving your goals.
Moving Our Profession Forward
As more practitioners pursue accreditation and professional development, we strengthen not only our individual careers but the entire field of public relations. We create shared standards. We elevate our practice. We build a profession that is respected, strategic, and grounded in excellence.
APR Month is a reminder that our work matters — and so does our commitment to doing it well.
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