Author: PRSA New Pros

Why Mentorship Still Matters

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Many young professionals are not aware of the importance of mentorship to their career advancement. In fact, the concept of mentorship has been around since the concept of a workplace has existed, it’s just that it wasn’t always called that. Centuries ago, this practice was most commonly referred to as an apprenticeship. Apprentices learned to become goldsmiths, bakers, farmers and metal workers through this practice. They depended on the maturity, experience and wisdom of their teachers to gain the skills they needed to become masters of the trade themselves. It’s only in recent history that this method of learning has been called mentorship.

In today’s modern world, mentorship is just as important than ever, if not more. The reason for this is the complex, fast paced and sometimes overwhelming business world we live in. It’s almost impossible to build a solid career and advance in it without learning to apply business practices and recent technologies that would have baffled the mind as recently as a couple of decades ago.

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Mentorship not only benefits the protege, but the mentor as well. While the mentee learns valuable skills and techniques, the mentor can take note of the methods of training that have been proven to work just by observing the progress being made by his or her mentee. This mentor can then pass this on to other mentors, and if careful records are taken, newer and even more efficient methods of training can be established and passed on to other established and would-be mentors. This spells progress for both mentors and mentees.

How Mentorship Leads to Career Advancement. The benefits of mentorship to career advancement cannot be overstated (Click to Tweet!). Young professionals that receive mentoring advance in their careers much faster than those who don’t. There are good reasons for this.

Emotional & Psychological Support. Surely, it’s understandable that when young aspiring professionals enter into a field of expertise there can be stress and anxiety associated with it. When a mentor is available for guidance, the mentee can experience the inner stability of knowing he or she has someone to advise them during times of doubt, frustration and nervousness. When we as human beings are calm and focused, our creativity, perseverance and thinking processes are at their best.

Faster Learning Process. Young professionals that have mentors they can count on do not need to count solely on the knowledge they have learned while in college or other training facilities. They have at their disposal established professionals in their chosen field who have the experience and knowledge they need to quickly advance. This is not to say that the formal training they have received at institutions is not important, because it is. It’s just that nothing can compare with the real-world experiences their mentors already have. Those that have mentors are usually higher achievers, earn more promotions and see more frequent and higher salary increases than those who don’t.

Job Socialization. Although new professionals have been trained through formal educational institutions, internships and other educational involvements, they still have a lot to learn about the organization they are entering into. Having the basic skills to do their appointed job properly is not enough. They need to develop ways to adjust to and fit in with their new professional environment in order to thrive in it.

Importance of Choosing the Right Mentor. Clear communication is crucial for a mentee and mentor relationship to be successful. When a potential mentee considers a potential mentor, they should first make it clear what they hope to gain from this relationship. A clear set of goals should be clearly defined by the mentee. This will start the process of establishing the right mentor and mentee match. If it’s a good match, the mentor will have a lot to offer to help the mentee reach their career goals.

Erika KauffmanErika Kauffman is the General Manager & Executive Vice President at 5W Public Relations. With over a decade of experience in communications and management at 5W PR, Erika is an integral part of the firm’s leadership team and oversees a number of industry practices at the agency.

Three Reasons to Get a Graduate Degree in PR

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When I entered the field of public relations at the ripe old age of 22, I felt like a latecomer. I had just moved to Washington, D.C., for an internship in PR at a theater (as I thought I wanted to work at a theater, but did not know in what capacity) and quickly realized how exciting and creative PR could be. With no formal PR-focused education, I decided to take an introduction to PR class in a strategic public relations graduate program at The George Washington University, which turned out to be a great career decision.

PR is a field that doesn’t require post-graduate degrees, and professionals in the field have a variety of undergraduate majors and minors. A lot of schools do have PR undergraduate degrees, such as the Newhouse School at Syracuse, as well as PRSSA chapters. Many people, though, come to PR with a strong background in writing, speaking or community outreach and may be looking for more formalized training, which was exactly what I needed. Benefits from obtaining a master’s degree include:

Learning from classmates

Much of the knowledge I gained from attaining my master’s degree in PR came from speaking with my fellow classmates. In my introduction to PR class, filled mostly with part-time students with full-time jobs, I met people working as press secretaries for senators, account executives at PR firms, graduate interns in formal government postings, sole PR practitioners at non-profits and in a host of other positions. The class also included some less experienced people such as myself, but class conversations were more often carried by people with experience, and it was interesting to hear their thoughts. Though my classmates’ collective experience intimidated me, I appreciated being able to learn from the stories and ideas they shared.

Connecting to internship and networking opportunities

Experience is key in PR. Internships can help a new professional determine what kind of place at which he or she would like to work. (Agency? Non-profit? Government?) They can help a new pro get his or her foot in the door. Networking is also a good way to gain knowledge about the PR field in a specific area and meet people who can connect you to a job. Combining networking and the experience of obtaining a graduate degree is sure way to achieve success, and, in fact, networking and getting experience can be much easier to do through enrolling in a graduate program. Many companies may require internship candidates to be enrolled in a graduate program, such as government Student Career Experience Programs (SCEP), and university career centers often help connect students to internships or full-time positions. Graduate programs or university career centers often host helpful networking events as well, free to students. Take advantage of these if you enroll in a program.

Getting an edge on your resume

Toward the end of my graduate program, I began to look for a full-time PR position through the career center at which I worked. I found a position that required applicants to have either a certain number of years of experience (which I didn’t have) OR less years of experience and a master’s degree. Since I would had the degree, I was qualified…and got the job! In other situations, when your resume may look nearly the same as another candidate’s, but you have a master’s and the other candidate does not, you’ll come out on top.

The decision to get a master’s is a big one to make. Aside from assessing whether it will help you improve your job prospects, you’ll have to consider the cost–what program to choose (PR, communications, perhaps even an MBA), which schools to apply to, whether to go full-time or part-time and if you’ll be able to handle the work load. Try applying for a job at the school you decide to go to. After I started working full-time at GWU, my tuition costs were almost completely covered by the school. Whatever you end up deciding to do, make sure it’s something that will add to your career, that you’ll be learning new information that you didn’t know before and that you’ll enjoy the program. If you apply and get in, make sure to go out and have fun with your classmates—they’ll be your future colleagues!

Whitney GrayWhitney E. Gray, communications coordinator for CropLife America, an international trade association of agrobusiness companies. Hailing from the snowy state of New Hampshire, Gray has been working in Washington, D.C., since 2008. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in theater arts and American studies from Brandeis University and has a master’s degree in strategic public relations from The George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management. Gray once served as the PRSA New Professionals Section membership co-chair.