Career Path Of A Managing Director At SHIFT Communications
Alan's career path began with a journalism degree from Cal Poly, but an internship at Copthorne and Bellows, a "groundbreaking technology PR firm," revealed a passion for PR, described as "reverse journalism." This led to a 25-year career spanning agency and in-house roles, culminating in Alan's current position as Managing Director at SHIFT Communications after six years.
Public Relations, Journalism, Technology, Agency Life, Career Pivots
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Alan Dunton
Managing Director
SHIFT Communications
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
NA
Creative Writing, Journalism
Consulting & Related Professional Services, Advertising, Communications & Marketing
Business Strategy
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. Alan studied journalism in college but discovered PR through an internship, which he describes as 'reverse journalism'.
2. His career path involved working at both large and small PR agencies, as well as in-house roles on the client side.
3. He emphasizes the importance of internships in gaining relevant experience and discovering career interests, highlighting how his internship led to his long and successful career in PR
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college and any internships or jobs you had before your current role?
There have been many jobs before my current role. If you go all the way back to college, I studied journalism at Cal Poly. At the time, I thought I would become a print journalist. That was the focus for the department back then.
To graduate from Cal Poly, you needed an internship. Because I had a background in technology and really liked journalism, my advisor suggested I try public relations. Cal Poly offered no PR classes, and I had no idea what it was.
I drove up to San Jose for an interview with a firm called Copthorne and Bellows. It turned out to be one of the groundbreaking technology PR firms in Silicon Valley at the time. I did that for a few months and absolutely loved it.
I discovered it was essentially reverse journalism, which really appealed to me. I went back to college, graduated, and then returned to Copthorne and Bellows full time. I've been in the PR world ever since.
Over the last 25 years or so, I've mostly been on the agency side, working for both big and small agencies. I've also spent time in-house on the client side, running communications programs for the companies I worked for. That's what led me to my current shift. I've been here for about six years, and it's been a great experience.