During Readiness Review, accreditation candidates meet with a three-member panel that will look for a balance of general knowledge and experience in the profession and an understanding of the setting in which the candidate practices the profession.

The Readiness Review panel will be responsible for evaluating each candidate's readiness in 16 specific areas of competence that cannot effectively be judged in the written examination environment. 

To help you determine your potential for a successful meeting with a review panel, score yourself from 0 to 3 in each of these critical areas:

1.       Creative conceptualization/creativity: Uses imagination to develop new insights into or responses to a public relations issue. Develops innovative solutions to the issue or problems posed. Devises new methods /processes or adapts existing ones when the standard methods and processes are not applicable.

2.       Initiative: Displays courage in suggesting new ideas and justifying them to clients/employers.

3.       Interpersonal skills: Related empathetically to other individuals in order to understand their concerns and needs. Influences another's decision or behavior. Displays confidence when interacting with others.

4.       Management skills: Develops expertise in planning, organizing, budgeting, communicating, coordinating, scheduling, monitoring, and evaluating.

5.       Client/Employer/Organizational focus: Holds service to and interest in their employer or cause as a top priority. Considers long-term client needs as well as short-term demands. Makes and delivers on commitments to clients.

6.       Multi-tasking: Effectively and efficiently manages numerous projects and responsibilities simultaneously. Applies prioritization and tracks progress toward completion of tasks.

7.       Flexibility: Responds to the changing business, social, and cultural landscape.

8.       Teaches others: Identifies learning needs of staff. Coaches others on how to perform tasks. Serves as a mentor. Leads by example.

9.       Time management: Prioritizes and sequences tasks to meet goals and deadlines.

10.    Uses multiple delivery mechanisms: Uses advertising, direct mail, web and other delivery mechanisms and promotional tools effectively.

11.    Control analysis: For selected media, determines who the owners are, their aims, their political allegiances, their influence on the content and editorial policies, and their legal constraints.

12.    Communication Skills/Speaking: Demonstrates logical thinking when describing client issues and framing approaches to solving public relations problems.

13.    Communication Skills/Interviewing: Asks relevant, insightful, and probing questions when interacting with employer/clients and target audiences.

14.    Communication Skills/Writing and Editing: Communicates relevant information (including technical material) in a concise, organized fashion. Writes content that is factual and grammatically accurate and at a reading level that is audience appropriate. Authors persuasive communication material for public relations programs. Demonstrates the ability to examine and alter a document and correct for format, organization, completeness, factual accuracy, style, tone and grammar.

15.    Communication Skills/Listening: Receives, interprets, verifies, and responds to verbal and non-verbal messages and other cues in the context of client, teammate and audience concerns.

16.    Presentation skills: Uses visual aids (charts, slides, transparencies, etc.) effectively. Maintains eye contact with audience. Uses appropriate language, gestures, tone of voice, and volume to convey information.

In order for the Readiness Review panel to make a recommendation that you proceed in the accreditation process, you will need to earn – from all three panelists – a minimum score of 32 without a zero score in any area.