But I would like to make a case for us, as individuals with unique talents, and far from the cookie-cutter perceptions unfairly thrust upon our hardworking derrieres.

Let me extrapolate, at The Red Republic I work in an office chock full of inspiring, strong, creative and just plain bloody awesome ladies, who are motivated to achieve incredible results, push creative limits and give their clients the edge in a crowded media landscape – and, we are all vastly different.

As self-indulgent as it may appear, I’d like to use myself as an example of why the ‘typical PR girl’ label just won’t fly with me.

My background is rather diverse, to say the least. I somehow went from an English and drama buff in high school, to a steel-cap-sporting tradie when I decided to complete my construction traineeship (working mainly on industrial in situ concrete tilt-up projects if you’re interested), to TV extra, event theming whiz, make-up artist, musician, surf lifesaver and the list continues….

At 23 I decided to enrol in a Bachelor of Journalism (things may have turned out a little differently if I had been successful with my second QTAC option of architecture….), and settled on a PR major. With PR I found a discipline that allowed me to flaunt my creativity, challenge my communication skills and indulge in my love of writing.

You would be forgiven for thinking I wasted those precious post high school years flitting from job to job, but you know what? Chatting over smoko (and Friday pub beers) with tradies, slipping in to a TV role and working with actors and dealing with musicians gave me invaluable insight into communication, presentation and persuasion – across many different industries.

Fast-forward a few years and my experience means I can talk shop with my construction and mining clients, put myself in the shoes of a beauty editor and confidently discuss the motivations of donors with a not-for profit.

So the next time you hear someone refer to one of us as ‘just your typical PR girl’ give them my number- I’m happy to set the record straight.

And if you ever want to talk concrete, or anything else, get in touch with me at [email protected].