professional development teleseminar… Developing portfolios for your dream career (Jan. 13, 2010)

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The New Pros of PRSA’s 2010 resolution is to continue delivering professional development opportunities on topics that you’ve asked for. This time, we’ve invited Heather Huhman to lead next week’s teleseminar on portfolio development for your dream career. (Register and get more information for the teleseminar here.)

Heather Huhman, founder and president of Come Recommended, is passionate about helping new professionals and recent college graduates pursue their dream careers. Huhman is currently a daily entry-level careers columnist at Examiner.com, a career expert for the CAREEREALISM Twitter Advice Project, as well as a contributor to other professional development outlets.

We asked Heather to tell us a little about opportunities and challenges she sees for new professionals in 2010.

1. What are some opportunities and challenges that New Pros will face in the 2010 job market?

The job market in 2010 will be competitive. New Professionals will have to stand out over other candidates, and go above and beyond just having a normal resume. They will need to utilize technology to present the best aspects of themselves to potential employers.

2. What is a professional brand and why is it important?

A professional brand is a strategic way to stand out by presenting your work experience to potential employers. Having your own brand is important because in this competitive job market, it will hopefully aid in landing your dream job.

3. Why should a PR professional have a career portfolio?

A career portfolio is an important way to demonstrate your accomplishments and skills. It’s a way to show – rather than tell – potential employers what you have to offer. Through online tools such as VisualCV, you can share your hard work and market yourself before a job even opens up.

Along with a portfolio, connecting and networking with others will be essential. Seek out recruiters on Twitter and follow them. Contribute to their conversation and demonstrate your qualifications, and you may impress them.

4. What drives your passion for helping young professionals pursue their dream careers?

As the oldest child in my family, I did not have anyone to guide me through the trials and tribulations of developing my career. Now, as an experienced hiring manager and someone who has been in nearly every employment-related situation imaginable, I am serving as that much-needed guide for others.

I feel like I know and understand the needs of today’s employers and internship and entry-level job seekers. My expertise in this area led to my position as Examiner.com’s entry-level careers columnist in mid-2008. The daily, national column educates high school students through recent college graduates about how to find, land and succeed at internships and entry-level jobs.

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Heather Huhman will be instructing our New Pros of PRSA teleseminar, How to Position Yourself for your Dream Job on January 13, 2010 at 3pm EST. Get more information or register here.

career advice… The mistake I stopped making by Brian Camen

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When I graduated college, my resume  touted all I accomplished during my four years at Arizona State University. Three internships. Two relevant part-time jobs. President of my fraternity, and a good gpa. Sounds impressive, right? These kinds of accomplishments impressed a hiring manager and got me a job, but they meant very little once I started work.

We all make mistakes as first time full-time employees, but mine was a big mistake. I acted as if I knew everything.

Just because you had four or five internships, doesn’t mean you know everything about Public Relations. I’m happy to report that I stopped making that mistake quickly. My attitude quickly changed once I realized that pretending to know everything was the worst thing one can do.

Entry-level employees often are afraid to seem inexperienced so they pretend to know all the answers. The point of an entry-level position is to learn about the industry you work in, develop yourself as a full-time employee, and grow your skill set. Your boss isn’t expecting you to be perfect nor is your boss expecting you to manage yourself. If your boss wanted those traits in an employee, they would not have been seeking an entry-level employee.

As a new professional you will undoubtedly make mistakes (whether accidentally or on purpose). The key is to learn from those mistakes. Study what you did wrong and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Another key to your entry-level position is to master your entry-level tasks. Once those are accomplished, your boss will feel more comfortable giving you higher level tasks. Developing your skills takes time. You can always be a better writer, listener, and practitioner.

Your skill set isn’t going to develop overnight and no matter how many internships you have, you never stop learning in this industry because Public Relations is continually evolving.

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BRIAN CAMEN is a Public Relations Specialist at a top-ranked international b-school in Glendale, AZ. Read his blog The PR Practitioner (http://www.theprpractitioner.com). He can be reached at brian.camen@gmail.com or @BrianCamen

professional development event… What’s at PRSA International Conference for New Pros?

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PRSA International Conference is in less than one month! The event kicks off Saturday, November 7, and we want you to know that in the midst of advanced sessions there are several programs designed with New Pros in mind!

Ron Culp is Partner and Managing Director at Ketchum, and on Tuesday, November 10,  at Conference he’ll present at the New Pros sponsored session, “View From the Top: How Young Talent Can Stand Out”. Ron’s experience in communications spans journalism, media relations, corporate communications, government affairs, and agency management. His session at Conference will discuss

How do you keep your boss informed of your successes (without being obnoxious)? How do you get help from management in reaching your goals? Learn what senior leaders of the public relations profession recommend in order for young practitioners to succeed. Get recommendations from top agency and corporate leaders, and hear from young professionals who are progressing well in their public relations careers.

We caught up with Mr. Culp for some good ole Q&A, and here it is!  (We’ll post a list with more Conference  events for New Pros on our LinkedIN and Facebook pages too, so check them out.)

1. One idea you’ll address at the session is “How to keep your boss informed of successes without being obnoxious”. How do new and young professionals miss opportunities to gain recognition for their success?

Young professionals, especially at the entry level, walk a fine line between looking too ambitious and not appearing appropriately engaged. The pace of most workplaces doesn’t foster many opportunities for feedback at the moment work is performed. Sometimes a superficial “thank you” is all that anyone receives. After doing what they consider to be a good job on a major project, it is entirely appropriate to ask for feedback. In so doing, point out key findings that surfaced in the assignment and ask for the boss’ point of view. Don’t do all the talking in an effort to impress. We have a saying in the agency:  “When you’re talking, the client is judging; when they are talking, they’re buying.”

2. Another topic of discussion will be How to get help from management to reach goals. Do you think New Pros have a tendency to avoid engaging management to help them achieve their goals more so than do more seasoned pros?

Trust in and from your boss must be established before any attempt to become engaged in career goals discussion. I have found that most bosses that I trust and admired would start the conversation, not the other way around. Premature career goal discussions can send the wrong signals, especially if you haven’t established a track record of successfully completing a number of assignments. I normally recommend waiting for a year before such discussions. By then, you should have received some positive signals that provide signals that your boss is actively interested in your long-term success.

3. What information are you most excited about sharing during the event?

Former PRSSA national chair Kevin Saghy and I have interviewed nearly two dozen individuals to gain their perspectives on how young talent can stand out in corporate and agency PR jobs. I’m eager to share the points of view from 12 seasoned PR executives who run significant PR operations, and Kevin will compare their responses with feedback from a dozen of his Millennial colleagues who are now in the early stages of their careers.

5. How can NPs get the most out of their experience at International Conference?

Network.  Network.  Network.  You’re already ahead of the game of most of your peers by simply attending this conference.  Treat every person you meet with equal enthusiasm and interest.  I promise that someone you met here will emerge later in your professional life as a potential colleague, mentor, reference or boss.

professional development…Why do we blog by Courtney Vaught

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A good friend of mine sent me an article. Although my friend had no intention of giving me ideas for this blog post or motivation to start my own, she did. The article was called How to Network in a New City by Matt Cheuvront who writes the blog Life Without Pants. In the article, Matt wrote on the topic of blogging:

“Seriously, just do it. Don’t worry about defining yourself, don’t worry about establishing a niche from the get-go. Just write…and you’ll undoubtedly meet some amazing people (and might even make a few friends) along the way.”

According to The Future Buzz blog, 133 million blogs have been indexed by Technorati since 2002 and 77 percent of all one billion active Internet users read those blogs (Internet World Stats). Whether the just do it motto or the impressive stats motivate you, it’s safe to say that blogging is here to stay and it is certainly worth getting in the game if you’re not already in it.

I found a few considerations for blogging that are useful to blogger veterans and virgins alike. One consideration is the marketability a blog can create for you. While I am proud to say that there are many qualified fellow new PR professionals out there, it also means there is an extreme amount of competition for a very small job market. Blogs can help you stand out and differentiate yourself from the masses by greatly improving your ‘online resume’ as Matt Cheuvront puts it. Community building, networking expertise and product knowledge are just a few great talking points a successful blog can give you for an interview.

Another consideration in utilizing a blog is to post about your industry. Dan Schwabel, leading personal branding expert for Gen Y, says posting about your industry can show potential employers that you have the knowledge and understanding of your industry and will make them come to you.

While it is important to consider all of these aspects in your blog, make sure you remember that while a blog should reflect on your professionalism, readers really want personality and honesty, so don’t lose sight of that.

So, what considerations have you made with your blog? Please share your thoughts and blog links!

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COURTNEY VAUGHT is a member-at-large of PRSA New Professionals Section. You can reach her at vaughtc20@gmail.com or @CourtV. If you have more in-depth career questions for her dad, Jeff Vaught, you can reach him at jejucoal78@msn.com.

social media case study… Shark/Ray Videos “Reel” in Event Attention, Attendence by Janet Krenn

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A touch tank is the aquatic equivalent of a petting zoo, and an event like the opening of a new touch tank might not sound like front page news.

For McWane Science Center, the online video campaign, Shark and Ray, was featured on the front page of a local news website every week of the campaign. In the end, opening day became the Center’s third best attended, behind opening day and one other special event, and the Shark and Ray characters have gone on to help raise funds to support the newly installed touch tank.

So how did a couple of employees and a few professionals working pro bono do it?

Background

The McWane Science Center in Birmingham, Alabama, is museum that encourages hands-on activities. So a touch tank in that allows children and adults to interact with sharks and rays was a natural fit. More than just an additional display in the museum, the touch tank was an expansion. It required the not-for-profit to attract additional funding to support it while generating interest in the new attraction.

“Social media is the least expensive way to reach our audience, and that is why we were initially interested in exploring it,” says Chandler Harris, Director of Public Relations at McWane Science Center.

Shark and Ray Campaign

The Shark and Ray campaign began as a series of 7 web videos that were launched weekly leading up to the grand opening of the Shark and Ray Touch Tank.

“When creating the concept for Shark and Ray we knew we would be speaking to a younger audience,” says Jason Hill, from Provenance Digital Media who consulted with the McWane Center on the campaign. “But we still wanted to make the humor broad enough to appeal to parents as well.”

“I think for most of us, the most surprising aspect was the range of adults without children that became some of the biggest fans,” Hill adds.

Social Media Tools

To promote the Shark and Ray videos, the team turned to Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, but focused on their already large Facebook fan base of 2,700+ fans. Twitter was used to tweet updates from the characters. YouTube was used as an alternative video host to Facebook.

“All three complement one another, but serve distinct purposes. When combined, they are much more powerful then when used as a single channel of communication,” Marc Beaumont from Contenova Growth Advisory.

Behind the Scenes

Those who produce the Shark and Ray series notes that their success cam from building a strong team. Combating the notion that social media is so easy it could be done out of a basement, the McWane Center brought in several groups to work on the project. Consultants helped by conceptualizing and producing the video. McWane Center Staff maintained social media pages.

“It was a great example of how a group can work together,” said Jen West, Designer at the McWane Center and Project Manager of the Shark and Ray campaign.

Advice from the Team

What does the team think is important in having an online video social media campaign?

1. Talent and Technical Know-How

The Shark and Ray team were specialists. There were people who wrote; those who strategized; and those who were responsible for the editing and compression of video. Some worked on the look of the video, and others offered their voices for the characters.

2. Courage

Not only do you need to take risks, you need to know when to reign it in. As Marc Beaumont put it: “You have to have the courage to fight the impulses to make it into a high-end production.”

3. Resourcefulness

Jason Hill notes that the consultants who worked on Shark and Ray, as well as the local celebrities who participated in the clips all did so pro bono. “Don’t be afraid to ask for volunteers and to reach out into the community and encourage participation,” says Hill.

4. Flexibility

One of the benefits of working with social media is the ability to respond. By keeping your projects relatively simple, you can maintain flexibility. “Social media is created to resonate with people, and make it moldable,” says Jennifer West.

5. Brevity

Remember that successful online video is only a few minutes long. Chandler Harris says, “Keep it short and simple.”

The Team

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JANET KRENN is Communication Co-Chair of the New Professionals Section of PRSA. If you’re a member of the New Professionals Section, and you’d like to contribute to the New Pros’ blog, email her at janetqs(at)gmail dot com