Renée S. Edelman to 2026 Communications Graduates: Stay Open to New Opportunities and Build a Circle of People You Trust

At Hofstra University’s The Lawrence Herbert School of Communication, Hempstead, NY: from left to right: Michael and Maureen Ward, parents of Grace Ward; Grace Ward, Hofstra Class of 2026, and PRSSA Tri-State District Conference coordinator; Renée S. Edelman, SVP, Edelman and keynote speaker;  and Prof. Jeffrey S. Morosoff, PRSSA Hofstra chapter advisor. (Photo Credit: Samuel Cordero-Arboleda, treasurer, PRSSA Hofstra University chapter)

I’m excited each spring about a new generation of students entering the communications industry.  I recently spoke with students at the PRSSA Tri-State District Conference, hosted by Hofstra University. I advised them to stay open to new opportunities and build a circle of trusted advisors. 

Careers and life transitions occur because of our own efforts and seredendipity—a chance occurrence such as meeting someone who tells us about a job or a person who advocates for us when we least expect it.

My brother Richard Edelman, CEO, Edelman, talked last fall at the Museum of Public Relations with Steve Barrett, U.S. editorial director of Campaign and PR Week, before an engaged audience of New York area students and professors.

Steve asked Richard: "What skills and attitudes do you want to see in job applicants?"

"Ambitious, hungry for knowledge, always learning, unafraid to challenge your older co-workers because you actually know more about creators than they could ever dream of doing.

"I want you to be good writers, obviously, but I also want you to be smarter than anyone else about AI tools, about what are the opportunities, what are the limits… and I want you to feel confident in this profession.

" We are here …because what society needs are facts, they need better information, and they need it more frequently. And that is what we do.

"My father always said that PR was the most important of all the marketing disciplines… I always talk about communications marketing--and not marketing communications. Because communications comes before marketing. So that’s the attitude you should have."

A student asked, "What should we be learning?"

"I want you to learn about geopolitics… I want you to know about the European Union."

My Career—Planning with Serendipity

My career started at Edelman 41 years ago after my job as a reporter for a trade magazine was not the right fit. My father, Dan Edelman, said, “You can work for us at Edelman.” I had never thought of that. He said, “You will be like everybody else. You have to work hard.” 

This was a turning point for me. It was serendipity. 

I spent most of my career doing earned media for technology companies. 

A Japanese technology client, Fujitsu America, needed someone to lead the business who knew how to work with reporters. I learned technology PR on the job. Tech PR began to grow in popularity in the late 1980s with the rise of the PC, and in the 1990s with the launch of the internet. I was one of the early women specializing in tech PR.

I promoted a Fujitsu America Pocket Phone in the early 1990s, the size of a brick meant to be the smallest, lightest cellular phone and marketed to business users and individuals. 

In 1993, I worked on the launch of Adobe's PDF. This was the first technology to enable the transmission of copy and graphics across computers, while the content retained its format. The PDF, the portable document format, became a standard.

In 1994, Edelman helped Oracle stage a press conference using the internet, to connect four cities. CBS anchor Walter Cronkite was our emcee. An earthquake hit Los Angeles the day before our press event. Cronkite said, “The show must go on.”

You are entering a communications marketing industry at a time of accelerating technological change. We live in an era of AI. We all need to become fluent in AI.

Fay Shapiro, CEO and publisher, CommPRO, says, “We are all lifelong learners. The ones who keep learning will lead.”

I want to encourage you in your careers and in your personal lives to aim high. My mother told me, “The world is your oyster,” meaning I could accomplish what I wanted to in life if I worked hard. 

Shelley Spector, co-founder of the PR Museum, and I agree that serendipity plays a key role in how we build our careers. Shelley says:

“I urge you to cultivate a serendipitist or open mindset. Embrace curiosity. Opt into new experiences. Engage with new crowds—in real life, NOT online. Turn accidents into opportunities.” 

As you leave the campus for the industry in late spring, stay open to new opportunities. Stay on top of current events and popular culture. Live a full life. Enjoy your work and outside pursuits—and find value in your relationships. Gaze up at the stars and aim high. Seek counsel from your trusted advisors. As poet John Donne wrote, “No man is an island.”