Month: September 2010

Intro to series… Non-profit government PR by Kallie Bonnell

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Working at a non-profit (NFP) in the government space, especially in our current economy, is a daily exercise in doing more with less. Being creative and knowing how to leverage your product or service is very useful as budgets and state appropriation dollars continue to decrease. Creativity, thinking outside of the box, is an absolute must.

The daily work environment varies from organization to organization; but, in general, employees of NFPs are passionate about their work. The idea of a NFP, at its core, is not to turn a huge profit, but to provide a quality product/service, or successfully fill a need, while covering its budgetary costs. For this reason NFP salaries are typically on the low end, however truly enjoying and valuing your work, and non-monetary benefits, frequently found at NFPs, compensate for lower pay.

One of the major pluses of NFP work is that you can try your hand at almost anything. You might have to play squeaky wheel as the new pro in the office, but in my experience there is abundant opportunity to get a variety of PR, marketing, fund raising, and integrated communications experience. A wide skill set will make you very valuable employee to any NFP organization.

Finding a job in the NFP world is very possible. First, determine what you’re interested in. Next, identify NFPs in that industry and start researching. Try your local united way for a list of NFP organizations, or see if your city or state has a not-for-profit news website. Other avenues include your state employment websites. Check the internet for databases operated by your state, Indiana has, Indiana Career Connect, your state likely has something similar.

Kallie Bonnell is the Communications and Marketing Manager for a governmental body that provides technology solutions to higher education institutions. Kallie has worked in various public relations and marketing positions for the past five years.

your pr career…Building Your Skill Set to Get Your Dream Job by Andi Wilmes

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As a new professional, building your skill set is key to getting your dream position. But what’s frustrating is how long it can take, especially if you rely solely on your current position to provide you with the right opportunities and experiences to build your skills.

In my first position, I realized right away that my job description was only going to allow me to build my skills so far. So how do you gain the other experiences and skills needed for your dream position? Here are some suggestions:

Take classes: If you dream job requires you to have experience using certain software programs and technologies, or skills such as budget management, grant writing, etc., see if your local community center, college or technology institute offers classes. For example, my dream position requires proficiency in the Adobe Creative Suite, so to gain those skills, I started taking continuing education classes at a local community college, which were affordable and fit my work schedule.

Freelance: Freelancing is a great way to gain experience and build your skills (and in some cases earn a little bit of extra money!). For example, my dream job will likely require B2C social media experience. In my first position, my social media experience was exclusively focused on B2B companies. So to gain valuable experience promoting a consumer product online, I approached my local coffee shop and offered to develop their social media programs for free (and a coffee now and then).

Join an Organization: Community, social and professional organizations rely heavily on volunteers to organize and promote their programs and initiatives. If you’re looking to gain leadership, event planning, fundraising, etc.  experience, ask to become more active in the organization. For example, I wanted to gain experience as a blogger so I joined the PRSA New Pros and I’m now blogging for you fine folks! 🙂

FYI: The PRSA New Pros are looking to fill a number of key positions on its Executive Board for 2011 (information on the nomination process will be posted/emailed soon).  In the meantime, we are always looking for bloggers and individuals to help us manage our social networks. Contact me or Janet Krol if you’re interested in building your skills!!

Coach or Mentor: Many senior level positions require management and leadership experience. And what better way to obtain it than to coach of bunch of youngsters. The ability to get a group of individuals successfully focused on a goal and then achieving it, translates easily to the workplace.  Mentoring will also give you valuable experience cultivating the skill sets of others and will translate well when you’re directly responsible for motivating and managing a team in the workplace.

Andi Wilmes is the director of marketing and communications at Beringea, Michigan’s largest venture capital firm. She can be reached at andrea.wilmes@gmail.com.

The Diary of a New Professional in the Corporate World by Brandi Boatner

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You think you know, but you have no idea. This is the diary of a new PR professional working in the corporate world.

Working at the world’s largest technology company (Fortune #14) in New York is a dream come true. I’ve always been interested in pursing a career in corporate public relations and am so blessed to work in an industry I am very passionate about.

Currently, I am an external relations professional in Global Business Services at IBM recently hired in January 2010. IBM is the world’s largest technology company with more than 400,000 employees in over 170 countries that deliver the IBM brand experience daily to audiences both internal and external. My role and responsibilities includes working with IBM’s external audiences such as journalists, influencers, stakeholders, brand advocates and analysts. The IBM work environment is truly inspiring as I am surrounded by the best and most brilliant people in technology and communications.

My duties involve executing social media strategies for our C-suite study programs, promoting and supporting the IBM Institute for Business Value and thought leadership and generating awareness of the field of analytics. Although media relations is a part of my job duties, as a new hire (only 4 months on the job) I have not had the opportunity to pitch mainstream media but am confident I will within the next month.

Media relations is simply one portion of activities that is highly significant to PR especially within a corporation the size of IBM but there is also reputation management, employee communications, market and social insights as well as community and change management.

Practicing corporate public relations at such a large organization like IBM can be challenging because of the sheer size of the company. However, much to my surprise, no day is the same. As IBM celebrates its 100 year anniversary next year, our company and our brand constantly deals with external audiences. Moreover, it is also nice that IBM fully understands the importance and value of public relations to the organization and utilizes PR in all business functions.

Additionally, I feel my education and advance degree have prepared me well for a career in corporate PR because it gave me the skills to be a critical thinker and a real global view on the industry. Understanding communication theory has given me a wonderful roadmap as to why people behave the way they do. Additionally, marketing classes offered me great insights in to overall communication strategic planning.

I would encourage anyone who wishes to pursue a career in corporate PR with a mid-large size global firm to take some business classes in economics, general business and international marketing. In my graduate studies most of my electives were in international marketing. It also helps to learn a language.

In order to succeed in this particular field you must have great writing skills, language skills, editing skills, business acumen, the ability to think critically, and understand how a global integrated enterprise works.

My advice to PR graduates looking for jobs this year and next year is look into trendy up and coming practice areas like corporate social responsibility and social media jobs that focus on strategy. Also, use social media for your job search but have an integrated approach- not just use only one social media channel or tool. Remember, finding the job is not all about you (although we often think it is), it’s really about timing. When budgets, planning and the company has a dedicated space for the valuable assets you possess, they will let you know. In the meantime, do your homework and know timing is everything.

Brandi Boatner is an External Relations Professional at IBM and have 8+ years of experience in the PR industry.

FREE Event! Going Pro: Taking Your Social Media Skills to the Business Setting

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As new PR pros we are familiar and comfortable with using social media tools. But we also understand that it’s not all about knowing how to post a Facebook or Twitter update. How can we reach audiences in a way that delivers results, and proves the business value of social media? What’s the best way to authentically engage with customers, clients and key influencers?

During our free brown bag teleseminar next Friday, Sept. 10 at noon EST, we will explore how to effectively leverage our fluency in social media into online business communications.

Scott StrattenOur presenter Scott Stratten, or @unmarketing as his more than 60,000 Twitter followers know him, is a leading expert in viral, social, and authentic marketing which he calls “un-marketing.” His recent Tweet-a-thon raised more than $16,000 for child hunger, in less than 12 hours. One of his viral marketing movies was chosen by the Chicago Bears as their biggest motivator toward their Super Bowl run a few years ago, while another made their client more than $5 million in seven days. Scott has recently appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Mashable.com, USA Today, CNN.com and Fast Company.

In true social media fashion, Scott and I did a 140-character interview on Twitter to preview his upcoming presentation.

@ssiewert: How do you define “un-marketing” and how is it different from marketing in the traditional sense?

@unmarketing: UnMarketing is building relationships with your marketplace so when they have a need to buy, they choose you without hesitation

@ssiewert: What is social currency?

@unmarketing: It’s what you invest into a social media platform. Your time, knowledge, emotion. The more you give, the more you get

@ssiewert: How can young pros/Gen Y apply their years of personal experience online to achieve business objectives?

@unmarketing: You have the advantage, since you’re already online. Be yourself, have an opinion but also be humble. You don’t know everything yet 🙂

@ssiewert: What’s your #1 piece of advice for successfully engaging with audiences online?

@unmarketing: Consistent conversation presence. Meaning, it needs to be habitual and engaging. Not just speaking sporadically.

@ssiewert: What new SM trend or tool are you most excited about?

@unmarketing: To be honest, we need to look at how to do “now” better, instead of what’s next. Stop looking at bright shiny objects (I do this too much)

@ssiewert: Your new book, UnMarketing, releases soon. What inspired you to write it and what can we expect to learn?

@unmarketing: Years of frustration with hypocritical marketers, marketing the way they hate to be marketed to. This is the opposite 🙂

Next Friday grab your lunch, invite some peers to share your phone line and join us for an engaging open discussion. This session is free for New Professionals Section members and PRSSA members. Register now.