networking

PRSA New Pros Tweetchat – Promoting YOU: PR Tips for Networking, Landing a Job and Moving Up Recap

Diahnn Henderson Leave a comment
PRSA New Professionals Section hosted its first Tweetchat last week. Two experts shared advice on the art of self-promotion.

On Tuesday, October 25, PRSA New Professionals Section held it first tweetchat with Meryl Weinsaft Cooper and Jessica Kleiman, the authors of our July Summer Book Club selection, “Be Your Own Best Publicist: How to Use PR Techniques to Get Noticed, Get Hired and Get Rewarded at Work”. #NPchat participants gathered to hear Cooper and Kleiman shared great advice for networking and getting ahead in your PR career.

Boy were the tweets moving fast and furiously across our timeline. From the first question to the last, the chat provided valuable advice for recent graduates looking to kick start their career and new pros striving to get to the next level. We kicked the discussion off with best way to network as a new graduate. Here are a few tweets of advice from our authors:

If you weren’t able to stop by our #NPchat or want to access the transcript of the event, click here. The response to this event was positive, and we thank everyone who attended.

If you have topics you’d like to read about on our blog or discuss on a future Tweetchat, comment below, Tweet @PRSANewPros or share on our Facebook and LinkedIn pages. If you really want to get involved, fill out our volunteer interest form and be a part of our 2012 Executive Committee!

New Professionals Section Tweetchat—Promoting YOU: PR Tips for Networking, Landing a Job and Moving Up

Heather Sliwinski 1 Comment

Working in the public relations field, promoting our clients or organizations is the root of what we do. We leverage Twitter, blogs, networking and traditional media to garner the highest praise for our client. When it comes to promoting ourselves for a better position, a higher salary or maybe even our first job, new PR professionals may come up short since we’re used to working behind the scenes.

The PRSA New Professionals Section wants to answer those burning questions you have about how to network effectively, how to stand out in a saturated job candidate pool and how to continue progressing in your PR career. This Tuesday, October 25, the New Professionals Section will be hosting its first Tweetchat with the authors of our July Summer Book Club book, “Be Your Own Best Publicist: How to Use PR Techniques to Get Noticed, Get Hired and Get Rewarded at Work”. Jessica Kleiman and Meryl Weinsaft Cooper will be live Tweeting at 7:15 p.m. EST with the PRSA New Professionals Section.

How to Join the Conversation

We will be posing questions from the PRSA New Professionals Section handle, with Kleiman and Weinsaft Cooper providing insight from their handle. You can follow both @PRSANewPros and @BestPublicist on Twitter, or simply monitor the #npchat hashtag to see what the whole Twitterverse is saying.

Didn’t get a chance to read the book? No worries. Read Blog Co-Chair Diahnn Henderson’s discussion of the book to get a preview of the advice you’ll gain during the chat.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from two experts in PR, publicity and personal branding and make yourself indispensable to your current or future employer! Follow #npchat with the New Pros on Tuesday night!

Our featured participants:

Jessica Kleiman is currently VP-public relations for Hearst Magazines, one of the world’s largest publishers of monthly magazines. A graduate of University of Michigan with a BA in Communication, she started her career at a magazine publicity firm and then served as director of PR at The Knot, a wedding media company. In 2011, Kleiman was nominated as “Publicist of the Year” by PR News.  She lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and daughter and enjoys posting words she finds funny on Twitter, Facebook and her blog, Funny Word of the Day.

Meryl Weinsaft Cooper is a co-founder and principal of Allen/Cooper Enterprises, a marketing, exhibitions and events company with a focus on art and lifestyle brands.  Previously, as managing director  of the DeVries Public Relations‘ Home & Lifestyle division and as SVP-Partner at LaForce+Stevens, she led programs for a variety of hospitality and consumer brands including Veuve Clicquot, Belvedere Vodka, Pepperidge Farm, Samuel Adams Beer, New Amsterdam Gin and Ecco Domani Wines.  A graduate of Ithaca College’s Park School of Communications, her PR experience includes stints in art, music and entertainment, including time at the Screen Actors Guild’s New York office.  She lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and dog, and spends her spare time writing and producing films as well as seeking out the best culinary, travel and art experiences, which she documents in her blog, Searching for Jake Ryan.

Both authors are contributing bloggers on Forbes.com’s Work in Progress section.

Getting the Most Out of PRSA International Conference: 4 Tips for New Pros

Heather Sliwinski 1 Comment

So, you’ve registered for the PRSA 2011 International Conference. Now what? All you need to do is pack and relax, right? Well, maybe. This year’s conference is going to rock! Most likely, you’ll leave with a few business cards in hand and, most importantly, the tools and knowledge necessary to take your career to the next level. But, there is much work to be done.

Here are a few tips for new PR pros to help get the most out of conference:

  • Plan your schedule– the International Conference is jam packed with sessions, and it may be hard to choose which ones to attend. By planning ahead, you’ll be able to enjoy the conference more. Look for sessions that relate to your everyday job and ones that might challenge you. As a new PR pro, you may want to consider sessions like “How to Pitch to Overworked Journalists and Harried Bloggers and Come Out Unscathed” or “The Personal Branding Project – Crafting Your Identity.” Sessions like these will help hone your craft and position you to the right audiences, especially if you are looking for a job.
  • Network, network, network – so much of what we do is about creating and retaining relationships with key media and stakeholders. It’s only fitting that in order to excel in this field, we need to make connections with other professionals. You never know where your next job offer will come from, and you never know who might become your mentor. So, don’t be shy–introduce yourself to someone new at each session you attend! A must-attend networking event is the opening-night reception hosted by PRSA Orlando (shameless plug). The reception will be a great way to kick off the conference with other industry professionals from across the country. Other must-attend events include the PRSA Connections Networking Luncheon and the PRSA and Inside PR Tweetup by the lazy river. (Yes. You read that right. There is a lazy river at the hotel. Let’s do this!) 
  • Enjoy Orlando – conference isn’t all work and no play. There will be plenty of time to soak up some sun or venture off property to explore the other side to Orlando.
  • Follow up with your connections – be sure to send personal notes to all the connections you make at conference. You’ll want to keep in touch. In fact, when you get a business card from someone, write a note on the back of the card about what you talked about or where you met them to help jog your memory later.

So, pack your bags and trek on down to Orlando. The awesomeness that is the PRSA International Conference starts in a few short days. Who’s ready for some PR fun in the sun? 

Christina Morton is on the PRSA Orlando Regional Chapter Host Committee. She is an account executive specializing in social media for CBR Public Relations in Maitland, Fla.

Summer Book Club-July: Be Your Own Best Publicist Discussion

Diahnn Henderson 5 Comments

From the moment I read the title of the latest book club selection, “Be Your Own Best Publicist: How to Use PR Techniques to Get Noticed, Hired, and Rewarded at Work”, the human resources side of me was intrigued. Authors Jessica Kleiman and Meryl Weinsaft Cooper, offer a fresh perspective on marketing yourself by using basic PR skills to create and manage your professional reputation as you climb the corporate ladder.

Managing reputations of organizations is no different than managing our own reputation. You are representing yourself when you go into a job interview or pitch an idea, so why not put your PR experience and skills to work for you? Readjust your thinking, and view yourself as your client. How would you sell…you? The thought is a little scary, but Kleiman and Weinsaft share their tips and techniques to help you through the process. Below, I outline four of my personal takeaways from this book club selection:

Prepare Your Pitch

Spend some time thinking about your elevator pitch and perfect it. “Knowing how to communicate concisely and clearly will help you hook the interest of whomever you are pitching,” say Kleiman and Weinsaft. Concise is the key word—you want to be mindful of everyone’s time, especially someone who may hold the key to you future.

Craft Your Message

You’ve got their attention, now what? You landed an interview or that important meeting from your great pitch, so now it’s times to expand your message. Kleiman and Weinsaft say you should build out your pitch to a speech focusing on three key attributes or goals. As you create your message, keep in mind your target audience. Practice makes perfect–once you have finished creating your message, practice, practice, practice.

Build Your Network

With competition for job opportunities becoming tighter and tighter, sometimes knowing someone on the inside can help you get your foot in the door. As PR pros, we know the value of relationship building. Kleiman and Weinsaft stress, “the most important thing you can do is to build a rapport between yourself and those with whom you are looking to do business.” The title of Chapter Four says it all – It’s All About Who You Know (and Who Knows You). Build a network of trust by following-up periodically just to say hello. Avoid reaching out only when you need something.

Protect Your Personal Brand

Always put your best foot forward because you never know who is watching. You’ve worked hard to build your reputation so protect it. Kleiman and Weinsaft remind us that how we dress, how we speak and the people we choose to surround ourselves with can influence other’s perceptions of us. Social media makes it easy for us to share our personal thoughts online. Protect your online reputations by managing what you say and share online. “Before posting a comment, images or video, think like a publicist would about a client,” say Kleiman and Weinsaft. You should not only be monitoring what you say, you should also monitor what others are sharing about you as well. Again, think like a publicist, always be prepared for what could go wrong and have plan to correct what has gone wrong. 

I enjoyed reading this book, it satisfied my both the HR and PR side of me. There are many more PR tips and techniques Kleiman and Weinsaft share on self-promotion, including sections to create your own “Personal PR Action Plan”.

Let’s talk about the book…

  1. What will you do differently because of reading this book?
  2. Tell us some of your own personal tips on creating your personal brand.
  3. What are some of your favorite tips and techniques the author shared?
  4. Do you believe it’s important to integrate social media into your life? Why or Why not?
  5. What tools do you use to manage your online reputation?
  6. We all make mistakes—to err is to be human. Where have you tackled a crisis concerning your personal brand, and what did you learn from the experience?

Intro to Agency PR by Heather R. Huhman

Heather Sliwinski Leave a comment

Think you’re interested in working in agency PR? Here are a few questions you might want to ask yourself first:

Why would I want to work for a public relations agency?

Unlike in-house public relations professionals, those who work for PR agencies get to work with a variety of clients on a daily basis. You can easily become an expert in a variety of niches by working with different organizations. Some agencies even specialize in a specific niche, focusing their efforts on a certain type of client in a particular field or industry.

What’s a typical day like in agency PR?

No two days are alike when it comes to public relations, particularly if you’re juggling several accounts. Depending on the agency and type of clients, a typical day might consist of any combination of the following:

  • Participating in client meetings
  • Creating content such as press releases, blog posts and media pitches
  • Recording press mentions
  • Speaking with members of the media
  • Arranging interviews between journalists and clients
  • Researching to develop content, media lists or other documents
  • Sharing content via social media channels
  • Monitoring local and national media
  • Brainstorming new strategies and tactics
  • Organizing events and press conferences

What types of skills or attributes should I have if I want to work in agency PR?

In order to work with different types of clients in a fast-paced environment, you should be a quick learner. You also need to have superior communication skills – both written and verbal – in order to successfully get your client’s message across. Deadlines are often tight in public relations, so you should be able to work well under pressure. Obviously, based on the variety of tasks, you should also be good at multitasking as well.

What challenges should I expect?

Working with different clients can be challenging. Some clients trust your ideas, while others are more reluctant to let go of control of their organization’s messages. Similarly, some clients micromanage their PR efforts, while others let you run with your ideas. It can also be stressful and challenging to meet tight deadlines.

What skills should I learn that might not be taught in the classroom?

  • Social media: PR pros are now expected to be proficient in the different social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, among others. You should know how to use each platform and have a solid online presence on the platforms you participate in.
  • Content marketing: Blogging, e-newsletters, webinars, podcasts, whitepapers—these are all strategies that you might need to leverage on behalf of a client. You should understand what each is and have a basic understanding of the benefits of different content options.  
  • Writing for the Web: Blog posts, social releases and social media releases all have a different writing style than “traditional” content. Writing for the Web is much more to the point, and includes hyperlinks, images, video and other content along with it. Oh, and don’t forget about search engine optimization!

How can I break into a specific agency?

Intern at the organization. Internships are one of the top ways to land an entry-level job at a particular company. According to a recent survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), employers reported 39.1 percent of their entry-level hires came from their own internship programs. Not only does landing an intern position help you get a foot in the door, but it also helps you gain experience, skills and networking connections for the future.

Follow key employees on social media. Connect with folks who work at the company online. Engage in conversations and inquire about the organization. Express your interest in learning more about their role at the company. Once you’ve built a mutually beneficial relationship, you can set up an in-person meeting, informational interview or job shadow.

Network with your peers, colleagues and professors. Build your network before you start out your job search. You never know who your connections know—and how those connections could help you land a job in the future.

Heather HuhmanHeather R. Huhman is a career expert, experienced hiring manager and founder & president of Come Recommended, a content marketing and digital PR consultancy for organizations with products that target job seekers and/or employers. She is also the author of Lies, Damned Lies & Internships: The Truth About Getting from Classroom to Cubicle (2011), #ENTRYLEVELtweet: Taking Your Career from Classroom to Cubicle (2010), and writes career and recruiting advice for numerous outlets.