Interview with Mike Daily, APR About the Mentoring Process

July 2025

Are you an APR candidate who needs a mentor or an APR that wants to help someone earn APR? Meredith Libbey, APR, Fellow PRSA, corporate public relations practitioner and Accreditation advocate in Nashville, Tenn., interviewed Mike Daily, APR, about the mentoring process.

Mike Daily, APR, has mentored 10+ candidates for Accreditation in Public Relations and believes mentors can help candidates earn the APR.

“A mentor adds a layer of discipline that ensures things are going to get done, and psychologically, helps the candidates be the best prepared they can be. It’s one of those things I recommend, like taking a structured course to prepare for the APR,” Daily said.

The CEO of Communications Metrics, Inc., Daily is a member of the PRSA Public Affairs & Government Special Interest Section (PAG) and is on the national PRSA Accreditation Marketing Committee. He answered questions about mentoring.

When should a candidate request a mentor?
At minimum, when you make your APR application. At maximum, the minute you start thinking about earning Accreditation. There’s no requirement to be officially in any process to request a mentor. The earlier in a process I’ve been a mentor, the better it’s been.

Go through the PRSA MentorConnect or your PRSA Chapter to ask for a mentor.

What should a candidate expect from a mentor?
The mentor is there to inspire you and keep you moving forward.

• The mentor should have regular meetings with you to find out what your progress is and help when you have a challenge.
• The mentor can help deconflict schedules and overcome hurdles.
• The mentor can assuage fears about the exam or the panel presentation.

As the mentee, it is your process. Form a close working relationship with your mentor right away. Tell them what your challenges are, what your timetable is and other details so they can help with schedules and coaching and deficits that need to be worked on. Don’t wait for something to happen.

What tips do you have for mentors?
It’s very much a partnership toward the goal.

The mentor should recommend a few best practices. For instance, they’ll have a sense the candidate is going to be haphazard in their studying approach. The mentor will say, “I really think you need to enroll in a structured course, and here are your options.”

I ask candidates when they’ve scheduled milestones and set up a contact schedule. I say, “I want to talk to you every week or month. When can you do this? What is going on in your private life that may interrupt this?” We are in contact more frequently toward the end of the process.

I ask candidates:

• How are you doing in your study?
• What problems are you having?
• Where are you in your plan for the panel presentation?

The mentor is there to support, and the more successful mentors take on the role of coach.

What should you do if the relationship goes off track?
The mentor and mentee have to want to be part of the relationship. If they get off track or don’t click immediately, the candidate should ask for a new mentor. Nobody’s going to have their feelings hurt.

Learn more about the APR