new professionals

Adjusting to Office Life: “The Hunger Games” Edition

Lauren Gray Leave a comment

As young professionals we are awed by the strength and sharpness we see in Katniss Everdeen. Although the office may not exactly be a “kill or be killed” environment, there are plenty of lessons we can learn from our favorite heroine.

  1. Build Strong Alliances: Friendships at work can make the difference between happiness and burnout.  Social connections at work also boost productivity and passion in the workplace. It is important to build relationships with bosses and colleagues that will help you grow professionally. Build relationships with other departments and get to know as many people as possible. Much of Katniss’s success is due to the strong alliances she creates throughout the series.
  2. Always Be Prepared: Pushing yourself out of your comfort zone helps you to grow personally and professionally.  It is important to first gain credibility as a team player. Remember to keep yourself abreast of industry trends, continuously acquire new knowledge and accumulate evidence of all your hard work. Katniss was always prepared for what was ahead by remaining strategic and resourceful.
  3. Don’t Be Afraid to Make Sacrifices: Katniss volunteers to take the place of her younger sister and fearfully participates in the Hunger Games. Always remain as enthusiastic as possible, even when taking on many tasks or working with clients you may not yet understand. Taking on both small and large tasks with enthusiasm, staying at the office late when necessary and being mindful of deadlines are all important factors in establishing a stellar reputation with you supervisors and co-workers.
  4. Get Inspired From Your Desk: Staying motivated at work can be tough. Customizing your desk space can make a huge difference in keeping your energy and creativity up.  In the series, Katniss wears a  mockingjay pin to remind her of her friends and family at home. Display your own “mockingjay pin” in the form of a desk accessory. This can be a framed picture, inspirational or humorous desk calendar!
  5. Don’t Jump to Conclusions: It is important to gain the skills to lead, coordinate, and collaborate with others on work activities by always facilitating good communication. Don’t spend too much time analyzing the tone of an email or thinking about a coworker who seems unfriendly. In the workplace you will come across a lot of different management styles and personalities. Remember that some may find it difficult to express themselves and emails can be deceiving. Never be afraid to pick up the phone for better communication.

What are some of your tried and true tips for adjusting to office life as a new professional? “May the odds ever be in your favor!”

 

Magan Felitto is currently a freelance public relations professional, working with a major entertainment company in New York City. She graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology’s, Advertising & Marketing Communications program in Summer 2013 with four years of experience as Vice President of Chapter Development of her former PRSSA chapter and a plethora of internships under her belt. She is also a proud member of PRSA National, PRSA-New York, and PRSA New Professionals Section.  Ms. Felitto can be reached at MaganFelitto@gmail.com.

November Twitter Chat Highlights: How to Succeed as a New Pro

Heather Sliwinski Leave a comment

Thanks to everyone who participated in the November #NPPRSA Twitter chat to kick off PRSA New Professionals Week, discussing how to succeed in marketing and public relations as a new professional. We encourage everyone to get involved with PRSA New Professionals Week, November 11-15, and discover helpful resources, such as the free webinar, “What Your Boss Wants from You but Won’t Tell You” on November 11 at 3 p.m. ET.

 

Join us again on Twitter in December for the final #NPPRSA Twitter chat of 2013.

Review highlights of the chat below. What did you learn from the November chat? How can you show initiative as a new professional? What are some good ways to use resources wisely and find new ones? How can you stay involved within your community?

 

Lauren RosenbaumLauren Rosenbaum is the co-founder of Soversity, a public relations and digital marketing company. You can connect with her on Google+, LinkedIn or Twitter.

Coming Soon: New Professionals Week 2013

Heather Sliwinski Leave a comment

New Professionals WeekI love planning events for the New Professionals Section, especially when they involve a national week-long event celebrating young professionals! You can never have enough young professionals in your Chapter; after all, they are the future.

This year, during November 11-15, we will host our third annual New Professionals Week. This week was designed to celebrate young professionals, but also to help connect young PR pros with their local PRSA chapter.

Who’s invited? Everyone. We’re encouraging anyone who’s interested in this week to get involved! PRSA New Pros National Executive Committee will support your local event via guest blog posts and social media channels.

How can you get involved? To help plan events in your local Chapter, visit our website and download a fact sheet and an event registration form. This website will be the hub for all events held during New Pros Week. Once registration forms are submitted, you’ll be able to see a list of events on our website, promoting local events. If you are interested in contributing to our blog to promote your Chapter NPWeek event, contact blog co-chairs, Heather Sliwinski and Keri Cook.

We understand that not every Chapter may have a budget to host an event this year. For those of you who have tight budgets, here are a few budget friendly ways to participate:

  1. Host a private showing of a New Pros webinar. During New Pros Week, we feature a national webinar on a topic of interest for new pros. We anticipate the webinar will be held in the afternoon on Monday, Nov. 11. To host a private showing – invite local new pros to an office, bring a bag lunch and have a discussion after the presentation. The playback will also be available through PRSA’s on-demand service, and our guest speaker can be reached throughout the week for questions via Twitter.
  2. Host a New Pros-focused Chapter meeting. What topics are particularly interesting to young professionals? What issues are they concerned with during their first few years as a PR professional? Schedule a Chapter meeting during this week and cover one of these topic(s) and/or issue(s).
  3. Participate in New Pros week via our social networks and blog. Follow our hashtag #NPWeek to join the coast-to-coast virtual networking. You could even schedule a Twitter chat or tweet-up for new pros in your area to meet via social, and then take it off-line! We’re always looking for a fresh, new perspective on any aspect of PR for our blog: consider drafting a post about your Chapter’s local new pros group or your personal experience as a new pro.

It’s going to be great week of celebrating young professionals. If you have any questions about getting involved, please email me. 

Elizabeth GreenawayElizabeth Greenaway
PRSA New Professionals Chair

Inside Corporate Communications (for a PR Agency)

Heather Sliwinski Leave a comment

Keep Calm and Hire A PR AgencyAfter graduating college, I was torn between searching for jobs in-house or at an agency. I knew I wanted to work in corporate communications, but the advice I received from PR professionals, professors and classmates was to try the agency route first, since there are more entry-level opportunities. Given the economic climate and difficult job market, I took that advice, but through a twist of fate found myself in a role I never even knew existed: in-house corporate communications for a PR agency!

Every day is an adventure, and there are many new skills and lessons I’ve learned through my experience so far. There’s no such thing as a typical day, but my main tasks include supporting new business opportunities, helping teams craft industry award submissions, drafting internal and external communications materials, pitching trade media, event planning and managing website content and social media properties.

The best part about working in corporate communications for a PR agency is the ability to learn how both roles function. Everyday I watch my colleagues on the account side working hard to service clients while I’ve been able to support them through corporate communications. Even though we have different roles, many of our tasks are similar (e.g. research, media lists, event management) and as new PR professionals, we’ve all learned to master the art of multi-tasking and time management—key skills needed in PR!

So as you embark on (or even just consider) a career in corporate communications, here are three tips I’ve found to be helpful in this role:

  1.  Learn as much as possible about your organization and industry. Working in corporate communications, it is vital to know everything you can about the company: its products or services, its leaders, its mission, its employees, etc. Typically, the corporate communications team serves as a liaison between the organization and external audiences, with the head of the team taking on the role of company spokesperson. If reporters or potential clients contact our team looking for information on a campaign we ran in Paris, a global offering that just launched or a new client in New York, it’s our job to answer their questions or at least be able to refer them to someone who can help. Thus, the more you know about your company, the better equipped you’ll be to respond to inquiries. The best way to learn about what’s happening is to talk to your colleagues and find out what they’re working on, pay attention to emails and updates sent around the office and study the firm’s website, policies, case studies and credentials, anything that will provide background information to give you a deep understanding of your company’s business.
    The same goes for the industry. For example, in my role I need to know the ins and outs of what’s happening in public relations, the latest news from our competitors and new developments and trends that might impact our business. It’s important to become an expert in your field so you understand and can speak with accuracy and authority to internal and external audiences. As a bonus, you will be seen as a vital asset and go-to person for others within the company who may have questions on what you’ve learned!
  2. Develop excellent writing skills. Whatever tasks are thrown your way, it will most likely involve writing. From press releases to internal announcements to case studies, I spend most of my days writing and editing various communications materials. Being able to write well is one of the most important skills a PR professional should have (this is also applicable to other PR roles). Your writing will improve over time but definitely take advantage of every opportunity to practice. If a colleague needs an email or press release drafted, offer to take a stab at it. Once it’s finalized, ask to see the final version so you can compare it to your draft and see what changes were made. This will help you learn what you need to improve upon for next time.
  3. Network. Get to know as many people inside and outside the company as you can. Networking is an important tool we hear about time and time again, but it’s truly essential in the corporate communications role. Start building relationships from day one with your colleagues. I’ve been given the opportunity to support new business pitches, award submissions and media relations efforts across practices and across offices. With each project, I am introduced to someone new, and that person becomes a great resource for the future when a similar project or request arises. The same is true externally. I’ve built relationships with PR trade journalists in order gain visibility in the media. Most importantly, don’t just reach out to someone when you need something; show an interest in their job, and figure out how you can work together so you can both meet your goals.

Have you ever considered doing PR for a PR agency? What other questions would you ask?

 

Stephanie ManasStephanie Manas is a corporate communications specialist/senior account executive at Ogilvy Public Relations, providing business development and internal and external relations support to the global communications agency. Previously, she held positions in theatrical PR at Boneau/Bryan-Brown and book publicity at Penguin Group USA. Prior to that, Manas interned at FleishmanHillard, The Broadway League and 451 Marketing. She earned a bachelor’s degree in communication and economics from Boston University. Manas is the co-chair of the marketing committee for PRSA-NY. Feel free to connect with her on LinkedIn or Twitter. For more information on Manas, check out her recent Q&A in Syracuse University’s Newhouse PR blog.

Eight Questions to Ask Before Accepting an Internship

Heather Sliwinski Leave a comment

Once again internships are prominent in the news. Just last week, we learned from an article in the Atlantic that barely one-third of the U.S. Senate pay their interns. The White House also was recently chided about not paying interns.  Even the foundation of the COO of Facebook has finally and reluctantly relented and has announced that the foundation will begin paying interns.

I have written before about the internship on behalf of the Public Relations Society of America and have not changed my opinion one iota. Internships are legitimate work and should be compensated. PRSA is so adamant about the issue that it published an advisory nearly three years ago for its 30,000 members about internships. As noted in a past post  on internships, PRSA believes it is ethically improper to employ anyone who adds real value to a public relations agency or department without compensating them for their work – whether that compensation is monetary or in the form of educational credits. If billable work is being performed by an intern, he or she deserves some form of legal compensation.

There was a time many years ago when internships were employed by organizations to give back to society by offering summer employment to students in disciplines related to their academic studies. Later, the internship evolved to a way for organizations to solve interim staffing issues. On the candidate side, the internship was a way to get practical, real-world experience in the field that would supplement academic training. Somewhere along the way, internships started to be viewed as a volunteer function and organizations treated them as such.

Let’s be clear though what constitutes volunteerism. Helping a charitable organization tend to the needs of the underserved is volunteerism. Assisting an organization to sell books or some other product or service is not.

As young professionals, your goal is to secure a full-time professional position in public relations. Here are several metrics for evaluating the efficacy of internships after you have graduated.

  1. Is the internship a paid position? And is it well above minimum wage? This is a critical question for which the answer is simple. If it is not paid, steer clear.
  2. Is the compensation reasonable for the role? You should expect no less than $25 per hour, particularly if the job involves content creation, including writing releases, case studies, blogs, speeches, tweets, Facebook posts and yes, even questions for Quora or content for Pinterest.
  3. Is the internship/job a 40-hours-a-week gig and/or are you expected to put in inordinate time that is not compensated? Most jobs are reasonably 40 hours a week or at max 50 hours. Investigate if there is the opportunity for paid overtime or compensatory time.
  4. What is the probability that the internship will lead to a full-time position? Assuming you excel in the job, will the employer agree to put it in writing ahead of time? As Ronald Reagan once said, “trust but verify.” If a permanent position is not in the cards, make certain other conditions are sufficiently compelling to make the internship worth your time and labor.
  5. Is the organization a leader in its category, whether a non-profit, corporation, institution or agency? Your credibility, integrity and personal brand are all built on your associations. Make certain that the organization is a thought leader or at least “reputation safe.”
  6. Will the internship help to appreciably increase your skills, broaden your understanding of the field and augment your network and sphere of influence? These are all vital characteristics that should be inherent in your investment in the internship. If they don’t contribute, think hard and long before you accept.
  7. Can you use the content you create as part of your portfolio? Will you be able to take credit publicly for your intellectual labor and resulting product? It is wise to have some evidence that you can use to validate your accomplishments.
  8. Will your employer give you time for other pursuits, including volunteer work, professional affiliations and networking? Don’t be chained to your desk. Make sure there is adequate freedom to network, volunteer and attend to other professional endeavors.

If you decide to go the internship route while you job hunt, exercise caution in doing internships that do not help fulfill your career goals and strategy. What other red flags have you seen associated with internships? Have your internship experiences proved valuable in your professional growth?

 

Gerard CorbettGerard F. Corbett, APR, Fellow PRSA, is 2013 immediate past chair and CEO of the Public Relations Society of America; chair and CEO of Redphlag LLC, a Silicon Valley Strategic Communications Firm; and the PR Job Coach.  He can be reached at gerard.corbett@redphlag.com.