New Professionals April 2009 Newsletter
A Message from PRSA New Professionals Chair Michele Aldrich
Get Value From Your Membership
New Pros Executive Committee Readies Communications Plan
Upcoming Events
Recent Event Recap
Member Spotlight
In the Scurry for Scarce Public Relations Jobs
We Want to Hear From You!
A Message from PRSA New Professionals Section Chair Michele Aldrich
With the start of spring upon us, as the saying goes, “April showers bring May flowers.” This holds true for each of us as well. As career-minded young public relations professionals, we need to let professional development programs and networking opportunities “shower” down upon us; thus, attaining the goal of “blooming” into public relations leaders and advancing the profession. I hope you will take this advice and participate in the many opportunities that PRSA New Professionals brings you this month and in months to come — a few of which are mentioned in this newsletter.
Get Value From Your Membership — Network!
Janet Krenn, Communications co-chair, PRSA New Professionals Section
If you joined New Pros to network and learn, but haven’t joined our social networking groups, then you are missing out on great opportunities. New Pros has three ways for you to connect with your peers online:
LinkedIn — Ask a seasoned professional for advice on our LinkedIn group. Many of you have questions about career planning. Maybe you want advice on how to transition from entry level to management. Maybe you want advice on how to build a portfolio. Submit your questions to our featured professionals and we’ll get them answered.
Facebook — Get and share news and updates on the New Pros Facebook group and find out what makes young professionals successful. It also is a great place to find public relations and marketing news, events and discussions.
e-Group — Ask your peers for advice or give another new professional help through the e-Group site. The e-Group site is a great resource for those looking for helpful hints, and it’s a great way to personally connect with other members without leaving town.
New Pros Executive Committee Readies the Section’s First Communications Plan — And This One is All About the Members
Mike Greenberg, Member Relations chair, PRSA New Professionals Section
New professionals know that successful public relations campaigns start with a plan, and the New Pros Executive Committee recently completed the Section’s first communication plan. The plan is focused on our most important audience — YOU, our members. We intend to keep you fully informed and engaged in New Pros activities through social networks, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, the New Pros e-Group and a blog (coming soon). Join in the discussions with your peers. You will find ideas for coping (and even surviving) this economy, tips for enhancing your performance and your career, lots of practical advice and even some venting. You’ll also learn about great learning opportunities offered through our webinars, teleseminars and in-person networking events we will co-host with local PRSA Chapters.
As critical as it is to maintain effective communications with our current members, reaching out to gain new members is just as vital to the success of the Section. Here, too, we will do what public relations pros do best — create relationships. For example, our plan includes:
Collaborating with PRSSA to promote the value of joining PRSA and the New Professionals Section to PRSSA Chapters (especially graduating seniors).
Marketing the value of New Professionals Section membership to current PRSA members.
Increasing awareness of New Professionals Section resources throughout PRSA, especially to Chapters that have established new professionals groups.
As you can tell, it’s a bold plan; one that the executive committee is confident will add value for our current members and enable us to grow the Section over the coming year.
Upcoming Events
PRSA New Professionals Section April Teleseminar
"Navigating the Terrain of Your First Professional Years: Generating Opportunity and Avoiding Common Mistakes"
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
3 p.m. EST
Diving headlong into a new career is challenging enough without the pitfalls of being known as the “newbie” on the block. Often, it's easy to feel pigeonholed by co-workers' assumptions about what you don’t know or can't do. At the same time, taking on more than you're prepared to handle can reinforce negative assumptions or limit your next opportunities. This session will help you learn how to overcome inexperience and to build a professional reputation that will position you well for the next step on your career ladder.
You will learn:
How to develop a three-year career plan to position you more quickly for the next job advancement.
Ways to develop your skill sets beyond your current job position.
Ways to have your voice heard in a competitive environment.
How to approach salary / compensation issues with a supervisor.
Issues to watch out for when interacting with challenging co-worker personalities.
Instructor:
A co-founder of PRSA's New Professionals Section, Mary Beth West, APR, manages a consulting firm near Knoxville, Tenn. She is a past PRSA national board member and served on the PRSSA national committee when she was a student at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville in the early 1990s.
For more information and to register, click here
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PRSA New York Chapter Career Forum
The Fashion Institute of Technology, New York City
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Are you a CEO or HR recruiter from a public relations or communications company? Are you a continuing education leader in a communications or related program? Then make sure your company or school registers to exhibit at PRSA-NY’s 2009 Career Forum!
Are you a college graduate or student applying for your first position or internship, a new professional or seasoned pro ready to make a move in the industry, or seeking information on continuing education? Then bring your resume and be prepared to meet representatives from top public relations and communications companies, and gather information on leading continuing education programs.
Special guest, Peter Shankman, entrepreneur, author, speaker, and networking extraordinaire, will keynote this year’s career forum. Peter is the founder and CEO of The Geek Factory, Inc., a boutique marketing and public relations strategy firm located in New York City, with clients worldwide. Most recently, Peter launched Help A Reporter Out, which connects journalists with sources using a social media platform.
Alan Cohen, a certified executive career and leadership coach and president of Acts of Balance Coaching, will be on hand to give attendees tips on how to make an impression at the forum. Alan works with public relations executives in the areas of career and professional development, helping them to better navigate the ever-changing landscape of their industry.
Photo credit: Rob Lang
About the PRSA-NY Career Forum
The yearly forum is hosted by PRSA-NY’s New Professionals Committee and aims to provide an opportunity for attendees to network and meet with top public relations and communications companies, as well as learn about continuing education programs. Last year, over 300 attendees from across the United States attended the forum — ranging from college students, recent graduates, new professionals and seasoned pros. Visit www.prsany.org for more information.
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PRSA Cincinnati Chapter “New Pro” AM Day
Thursday, April 23
College students will have an opportunity to shadow new and seasoned professionals from 2–5 p.m. There will be a networking hour with students and new and seasoned professionals at Margarita’s restaurant in Tower Place Mall (28 West Fourth Street, downtown) starting at 5 p.m.
Send an email to proamday@gmail.com if you are interested in hosting a student, or for more information.
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Join Bulldog Reporter in New York City, May 17-19, 2009
Media Relations Summit 2009
Crowne Plaza Hotel — Manhattan
Join hundreds of high-level colleagues at the largest — and most efficient — media relations conference in the communications business. In just two days, you’ll hear keynotes from legendary journalist Dan Rather, former MSNBC host and now CEO of Abrams Research Dan Abrams, as well as New York Times journalists Tara Parker Pope, Andrew Ross Sorkin and Saul Hansell. You’ll get inside pitching advice from journalists at TIME Magazine, Fortune, Dow Jones[d1] , Family Circle, Reuters, Details, NPR, Redbook, Popular Mechanics, Marketwatch.com, Forbes, Inc., Men's Vogue, Playboy and dozens more. Additionally, you can choose from 32 advanced public relations skills sessions with representatives from Kodak, Jet Blue, Chrysler, Intel, Southwest Airlines, Bankrate, Raytheon, Tesla Motors, Motorola, Chevron, Blockbuster, Clorox and scores more.
Click here for more information and to register.
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Recent Event Recap
PRSA New Professionals Section March Teleseminar
March 11, 2009
Sarah Siewert, Programming chair, PRSA New Professionals Section
Personal Branding expert Hajj Flemings gave the first PRSA New Professionals Section teleseminar on March 11 titled “Personal Branding 2.0.” During the presentation, he noted that public relations professionals should understand the importance of an online presence, and learn the skills to create quality content. Flemings provided creative ideas and specific resources to apply these skills to build and maintain a personal brand. If you missed the teleseminar, playback registration is available until May 1.
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PR Newswire’s Emerging Media Seminar Series
March 18, 2009
Alison Brooks, member-at-large, PRSA New Professionals Section
Michael Pranikoff, PR Newswire’s director of Emerging Media, spoke at the “PR Newswire Emerging Media Seminar Series” on March 18 in Baltimore, Md., at Henderson’s Wharf Inn. He discussed the current evolution of the public relations industry in regards to emerging media and the tools that are helping to change the landscape.
His seminar focused on how communicators can use the new technology that is driving emerging media by providing real world examples using these tools and ultimately giving the audience the information they need to incorporate those tools into their own communications programs.
Pranikoff discussed how to use social media sites, such as Twitter and Delicious. He reiterated how Twitter and other social media sites can be used by anyone who wants to exercise their voice, and the need for communicators to know how to react to this. He also explained how social media sites can be used to turn a negative public into a positive public. He noted that the three principles of communicating your message today are to make your content accessible, make your content easy to view and make your content easy to use.
The seminar proved applicable to new public relations professionals and those that are more experienced in social media. The audience left knowing more about social media and how to apply it to their own businesses. Some key takeaways included:
Social media usage is growing fast, but very few users actually create content.
The largest creators of online content are 12-23 year olds.
Facebook and MySpace account for more than 50,000,000 items published online every day. More than 250 million people are using these sites.
People trust their peers the most for new information, making it important for others to pick up your news release or information about your company on a social media site and spread it to others.
When using Twitter, visit search.twitter.com to conduct a search and find out who is talking about a specific topic.
Delicious.com, the social bookmarking service, allows you to bookmark information and sites online and allows you to share that information. By visiting the site delicious.com/url, you can search for any information on delicious.com. By posting your content onto delicious.com, you are making it more searchable and indexable.
Google Insights (www.google.com/insights/search) allows you to search for keywords on Google and see how often they are used. You can see how the slightest changes in words (digital camera vs. digital cameras) impact how often those words are used in searches. You also should try using keyword phrases instead of just using a keyword.
Member Spotlight
Each month, we will feature a member of the PRSA New Professionals Section! This month we introduce you to Autumn Strass:
Autumn Strass, associate specialist in Corporate Communications
The American College of Cardiology
Type(s) of work performed: Executive communications and advocacy communications support.
Specializations or areas of interest: Health care public relations, business communications and community relations.
Educational background: Public relations major and business minor at Penn State University
Hobbies: Traveling, reading, event planning and trying new things.
Community service and other activities: PRSA, Penn State Professional Women’s Network, working with the Francis Stevens School in NW Washington, D.C., on community service and education projects.
Would you like to be in a future Member Spotlight?
Send an email to the PRSA New Professionals Newsletter chair Alyson Campbell. Include a headshot and the areas highlighted above for consideration
In the Scurry for Scarce Public Relations Jobs, the “Grasshopper” Can Still Win the Race
Jennifer Parker, president, Parker PR, Inc.
Whether a newly minted graduate or someone cutting the first few years of teeth in the business, the blossoming public relations practitioner is undoubtedly smack-dab in the middle of an exceptional time in our nation’s economy. Let’s face it, even those of us with decades of experience are shaking on our surfboards while we continue to ride the current job tidal wave — wondering if we’ll be gliding safely to the sunny shores, or massively wipe out.
With the thought in mind that seasoned practitioners also are dusting off, sprucing up and mass-distributing their resumes, the young public relations professional may in fact believe there’s absolutely no chance in this lifetime his or her qualifications are ever, ever going to be considered for anything but the circular file. Rest assured though, by embracing the following tips, young public relatinos professionals may just have a unique advantage in landing — and keeping — some of the seemingly few-and-far-between jobs in today’s market.
Be Humble. This sounds simple, but can often be an increasing challenge even for those seasoned public relations professionals as they may feel they’ve “been there, done that.” Being humble also can be a challenge for the young practitioner, despite an absence of years of experience, as we’re all taught upon starting out, we can maximize our opportunities and show 110 percent of our worth (which I certainly don’t disagree with!). Admittedly, I recall once thinking my first few “big” work experiences, along with my education, had already taught me everything I could possibly ever need to know in moving forward in my career. No doubt my experiences and education certainly established a solid foundation that, to this day, I remain lucky to have had, but many moons later, I indeed continue to learn in and from my career all the time.
Humility also comes from being open to others’ experiences and advice — even if some of it comes with a bit of hot air. I keep a quote from Sarah Caldwell in my office that says, “Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can — there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.” I cannot even begin to say how many times this has rung true in my own career.
Work hard, stay positive. “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” These words from Thomas Edison undoubtedly resound with the state of affairs that is the current job market. The hard, fast truth is, no job is going to fall into your lap these days, nor should it really ever if it’s a job worth doing, or you’re an employee worth having in the long term. The young practitioner is greatly advantaged by bringing a breath of fresh, enthusiastic air to the job-seeking pool.
Expand your horizon. Evaluating your job parameters and how far you may be willing to explore outside of them is not an easy task. However, as someone newer to “the biz,” adopting the view that a career span is much longer than a job you had in what may have felt completely unrelated (i.e., that food service industry job to get through school) can shed light on some interesting employment stepping stones.
Try these horizon-stretching ideas on for size, trusting that a truly great place to work will embrace your authentic and constructive creativity in at least keeping a toe in the bumpy waters:
1. Take an internship (a.k.a. “one step back can mean two steps forward”). Some great, once-young and currently thriving practitioners I know have done this, and while challenging when holding a shiny new degree (and the student loans to go along with it), this is the bar-none way to learn, network and show your willingness to work in the industry. Consider the full scope of options — traditional agencies are always a great place to see many different aspects of public relations, though looking for something a bit outside your comfort zone/foundation of experience can allow you to explore even more avenues for a future job.
2. Consider other areas of marketing. I say this with many years of softening behind me now, as a formerly staunch public relations purist in my career youth. While I still undoubtedly hold the brightest torch for the practice of public relations, I have had many opportunities to see and appreciate its interconnectedness to other facets of marketing. That said, I authentically attest that gaining job experience in areas from market research to online media buying can really put you at an advantage as a potential public relations job candidate — and can be a very eye-opening experience in the meantime!
3. Consider “unusual” public relations opportunities. My company’s current industry focus can, in a way, be directly attributed to a career move I made long ago — into a job where my first assignment was to write a press release on a new kind of drill bit coating. Much comes in between then and now of course, but in summation, it’s an undeniable fact that considering options outside “the norm” can open doors you’d otherwise never have known existed. So be bold, be brave, and grasshopper…go get ‘em!
We Want to Hear from You!
The PRSA New Professionals Newsletter Committee welcomes content for its newsletters and monthly e-blasts. Consider submitting information about recent and upcoming events, career tips, feature spotlights (Chapter, member and mentor) and any other ideas. Send your questions and/or recommendations to the PRSA New Professionals Newsletter chair, Alyson Campbell. Thank you!
