Living It: Spotlight on PR Woman Millicent Baku

Name:    Millicent Baku

Position/Company:    Public Affairs Officer/West Africa Examinations Council(WAEC)



Describe your job in one sentence: My job as a Public Affairs Officer and Head of Protocol at the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Headquarters is a very challenging but also a very fulfilling role.

How did you get into Public Relations; how long have you been in PR? I did not set out to be in communication or public relations to be specific. I always knew I was good with words and for me that meant I needed to be a lawyer. After secondary education, I applied to Legon to do law but my application was late so instead of staying home for a year doing nothing, my father decided that I should enroll in a communication school. I listened to him and I loved the school and the course so much that I have no regrets in my choice. I am now in my 8^th year of working in Public Relations.

What is your interest/specialization in PR? I like public relations as a whole because I am good with people and I like seeing problems as challenges but the aspect of PR I find very fascinating is Persuasive Communication.

What is a regular day for you as a PR Person? Hmmm a regular day for me differs from day to day. Being responsible for 2 offices, PR and Protocol, I am always pulled in different directions. In PR, I have a boss who keeps me busy with a lot of writing and reading and in Protocol, I have to plan and luckily sometimes delegate the work. Right now, we have our annual conference coming up this March, this means planning every aspect of the conference, writing speeches and various reports etc. at the same time, I have to see to travel arrangements for delegates all over the member countries.

How do you think PR can help change how brands are perceived? When you call yourself, your product or service a brand, and no one gets to know about it, then the effort you used in branding was a complete waste. It is one thing to brand and another thing to communicate your brand to your audiences. This is where PR comes in to communicate effectively to your publics what your brand stands for and how different it is from others. This means that anyone looking to brand themselves or their business needs to employ PR skills and tactics or a PR specialist to get the job done effectively.

What kinds of challenges do you face in your Public Relations career choice? Besides the bureaucracy that goes on in the public sector, a lot of what we study about PR is theoretical and very different from what the actual job entails. Especially working for an examination body, you are faced with the challenge of balancing how much information the public should have while at the same time safeguard the integrity of the institution. This means being able to balance information flow among all stakeholders of the council. I have learned a lot on the job and have gained a lot of exposure within the past years.

As a PR Professional, what can’t you live without… the one thing I can’t live without is my brain and my gadgets (computer and phones). If I lose them my job is on stand still.

Do you feel pressure to dress well for the job?n From the very first day on the job, my CEO made me understand that as a Public Relations Professional I was automatically the face of my organization this meant that I had to be at my very best at all times – appearance, comportment etc. all inclusive. Fortunately, I always like to look my best because it gives me some kind of confidence. So no. there is no pressure except on my pocket.

Any advice to young ladies especially African women who may want pursue a career in PR or any communications related field? I will encourage more young ladies to venture into the world of PR and Communication because it is a very interesting field and one that will take you place if you let it. But to get to the top, you have to be well spoken, well read, develop excellent interpersonal relationship and skills and of course be ready to learn. No one can teach you confidence in the classroom. You can only be confident if you are knowledgeable in your field and you apply that knowledge to whatever you do.