Recruiter's Glossary

Examples: Reputation Management • Social Listening • Message Pull-through

Sentiment Analysis

Term from Public Relations industry explained for recruiters

Sentiment Analysis is a method used to understand how people feel about a brand, product, or topic on social media and in news coverage. It's like taking the emotional temperature of what people are saying online. PR professionals use this to track whether comments and mentions are positive, negative, or neutral. For example, it helps companies know if customers are happy with a new product launch or if there's a growing PR crisis that needs attention. Some people also call this 'opinion mining' or 'emotion AI'. Many PR teams use special computer tools that automatically scan thousands of mentions and classify them by sentiment, rather than having to read each comment manually.

Examples in Resumes

Led social media monitoring projects using Sentiment Analysis to track brand reputation

Implemented Opinion Mining tools to measure campaign success across different platforms

Used Sentiment Analysis and Social Listening to identify and address potential PR crises

Created monthly reports based on Sentiment Analysis data to guide communication strategy

Typical job title: "PR Analytics Specialists"

Also try searching for:

Social Media Analyst Digital PR Specialist Communications Analyst Brand Monitoring Specialist Media Intelligence Analyst PR Research Specialist

Where to Find PR Analytics Specialists

Professional Organizations

Online Communities

Job Resources

Example Interview Questions

Senior Level Questions

Q: How would you handle a situation where sentiment analysis shows a sudden spike in negative mentions?

Expected Answer: A senior professional should discuss creating a crisis management plan, identifying the root cause, engaging with stakeholders, and developing both immediate and long-term response strategies. They should also mention how to use the data to prevent similar situations in the future.

Q: How do you determine ROI of PR campaigns using sentiment analysis?

Expected Answer: Should explain how to connect sentiment metrics to business goals, such as linking positive sentiment changes to sales increases, brand value, or customer retention. Should mention combining multiple data sources and creating meaningful reports for executives.

Mid Level Questions

Q: What metrics do you typically track in sentiment analysis?

Expected Answer: Should mention tracking positive/negative/neutral ratios, volume of mentions, key themes, influential sources, and sentiment trends over time. Should also discuss how these metrics inform PR strategy.

Q: How do you ensure your sentiment analysis is accurate?

Expected Answer: Should discuss methods for verifying automated results, handling sarcasm and context, using multiple tools for comparison, and the importance of human oversight in analysis.

Junior Level Questions

Q: What's the difference between positive, negative, and neutral sentiment?

Expected Answer: Should be able to provide clear examples of each type of sentiment and explain basic indicators that help classify mentions into these categories.

Q: What tools have you used for sentiment analysis?

Expected Answer: Should be familiar with common social media monitoring platforms and basic analytics tools, understanding how to generate and read basic sentiment reports.