•    Organize ticket requests and event invitations for press
•    Disseminate information to media
•    Identify media opportunities for print, online, and broadcast (TV, radio)
•    Arrange space for filmmaker interviews
•    Track, compile, and record press and media
•    Generate press notes and/or media kits for press screenings
•    Manage press clippings
•    Manage DVD screener library, including duplication, check-out, and tracking

Qualifications
All potential candidates must demonstrate the ability to take initiative, show good judgment, and manage projects from beginning to end. They must be able to demonstrate (a) excellent writing, editing, and proofreading skills; (b) exceptional ability to manage details, multitask in a fast-paced environment, and meet deadlines; and (c) work effectively both independently and as part of a team.
References should speak to the applicant’s sense of camaraderie, integrity, professionalism, responsibility, and flexibility.

Members of the @SO_pr team at the Alice in Wonderland sneak preview.

I love working in marketing PR and I love working in an agency environment even more.  Now, one of the great perks of my job is being asked to speak with young PR students about our amazing industry and all the opportunity it provides.  Recently, I was asked to meet with students of the Humber PR program to share some of my experiences and insights into traditional PR and the emerging social media world which we are all fast-embracing.        

At the end of my session a Q&A followed and I was blown away by the students’ enthusiasm in learning more about agency life specifically.  Why agency? was the question of the day.       

My quick and emphatic answer – it’s NEVER, EVER dull!!      

We spoke at length about the exciting pace; the opportunity to constantly grow your skill-set; work on unique and memorable brand-building campaigns; and become a “pseudo-expert” in so many markets and categories.      

This speaking engagement has inspired me to share my thoughts on what it takes to make it in agency so young professionals have the necessary tools and information to make solid and successful choices for their PR career path.      

While I am certainly biased towards agency, it may not be for everyone.  So I encourage all students; those early in their career; and even those that have been in the marketing industry for a few years to really look deep within themselves to determine if agency is right for them.      

Ask yourself, are you…      

• A multi-tasker who works at a fast pace?
• Energized by ideas and learning?
• Challenge hungry?
• Results-oriented?
• A self-motivator?
• A true team player?
• Social?
• Innovative?

Do you possess…      

• A can-do attitude?
• An interest in knowledge of current media, events and pop culture?
• Attention to detail?
• Creativity?
• A belief that anything is possible?

So do you think you’ve got what it takes to make it in agency?  If so, check out my next blog which will offer some hints and tips on landing your dream internship in PR.  In the meantime, we’re interviewing interns so submit your résume and cover letter to shelleyowen@strategicobjectives.com.      

Michael Shipticki is vice president of Strategic Objectives, a leading Toronto-based PR firm focused on brand building Marketing Public Relations.

PR and Marketing internships with One Reel provide an opportunity to learn basic marketing and public relations skills including press relations, public information, branding, advertising, promotion, web‐based and grassroots marketing and PR.

 PR Marketing Intern (2): The interns in this position will procure press/publicity materials and research, write, and edit artist biographies and program descriptions. Their work will be used in publication on the Bumbershoot website, in press releases and in the Festival program. Interns will field media requests and coordinate fulfillment as well as establish a tracking system and archive for all press materials. They will learn hands‐on how to use artist press materials to help create buzz for One Reel’s events and assist in compiling data for future event marketing and media recaps.

 PR/Social Media Marketing Intern: The PR / Social Media Marketing internship includes opportunities to research and write content, conduct and post artist interviews (written or video), and post daily artist updates via weblinks and embedded content. Additionally, the intern will administer/expand the Festival’s profiles on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Flickr, YouTube, and other social and rich media sites, developing these virtual communities as a marketing and public relations tool to expand Bumbershoot’s audience.

 Street Marketing Intern: The Street Marketing intern will learn basic principles in grassroots marketing including branding, promotion, and project management as well as community relations skills. The right candidate will possess strong verbal and written communication skills, be in tune with youth‐oriented Puget Sound‐area events, and have the ability to inspire and lead a group of young volunteers and fellow interns.

 To see complete job descriptions for these internship listings, as well as other opportunities at One Reel, please visit: http://onereel.org/internships/

To apply for any of these positions, please send a cover letter, resume, and, if available, a link to a personal blog or social media page to mwilliams@onereel.org

• Organize ticket requests and event invitations for press
• Disseminate information to media
• Identify media opportunities for print, online, and broadcast (TV, radio)
• Arrange space for filmmaker interviews
• Track, compile, and record press and media
• Generate press notes and/or media kits for press screenings
• Manage press clippings
• Manage DVD screener library, including duplication, check-out, and tracking

Qualifications
All potential candidates must demonstrate the ability to take initiative, show good judgment, and manage projects from beginning to end. They must be able to demonstrate (a) excellent writing, editing, and proofreading skills; (b) exceptional ability to manage details, multitask in a fast-paced environment, and meet deadlines; and (c) work effectively both independently and as part of a team.

References should speak to the applicant’s sense of camaraderie, integrity, professionalism, responsibility, and flexibility.

Apply: kellybyke@siff.net Cover letter and resume

Yes, this all started back with a simple Tweet five months ago:

DannyCox anyone in Chicago work for Weber-Shandwick? Would really like to meet a few when I’m in the windy city, need some guidance.

After getting some great responses from a few members of Weber’s team, I maintained contact over the ensuing months: took an informational visit, sent friendly questions as a reminder that I’m alive, came back for my interview in December, had a nice chat with Adam Keats (the SVP responsible for their digital team) via phone, and now this.

It had been a little more than a month since I my interview, and thanks to the holidays I was stuck in the anxious waiting game. I now know how those girls in movies who check their phones constantly to see if they had missed the call from that cute guy at the bar (ala, He’s Just Not That Into You), as since the New Year I had been checking my email roughly 12 times per minute when I was near my computer. This led to great productivity as you can imagine.

So yesterday, sitting in my Political Leadership class, I felt my phone vibrate. I look down to my excitement to see a 312 area code (Chicago, duh) and literally jumped out of my seat and ran out the door. This may have been a slight distraction to the discussion about Robert Macnamara and the decisions that led to the quagmire in Vietnam, but I had to take this call! Unfortunately, I didn’t answer in time and was forced to call immediately back. The butterflies were flapping in my stomach, and my heart nearly sank to my feet as Erin Trier, the wonderful hiring manager who has helped shepherd me through the interview process, said “I’m sorry that it took so long for us to get back to you, and thank you for being patient. I want you to know that we were truly impressed with you during your time here…” Oh no. Here it comes. The old, ‘it’s not you it’s me’ spiel. ‘You’re great, we just don’t think it would be a good fit,’ or ‘We unfortunately just don’t have any spots open right now.’ IT’S ALL BEEN FOR NOTHING!

Fortunately my brain snapped back into reality in time to hear the words “…we would love to offer you the position of intern to start April 5th.” Wait. What? WHAT?! At this point an uncontrollable smile spread over my face and I quite literally had a movie-style jump-in-the-air heel kick and a fist pump of joy.

The lesson to take away from this is as follows: social media is the great equalizer, and it’s full uses are yet to come.

I never dreamed that one little tweet would lead me to this. In what everyone keeps saying is a terrible job market, I didn’t send out a single application or unsolicited resume and was hired for the first position for which I interviewed. Now my path wouldn’t work in any field, but if you’re looking to go into Public Relations, you’re doing yourself a great disservice by not jumping both feet first into the digital space. You’re going to need it. Windy City, here I come.

What are some ways that you’ve used social media? How did you make the connections that helped lead to your first position out of college?

I came across your website since having some serious issues at my current work place. It helps to let it out!

After graduating in July 2008, I had already prepared some work experience for the end of the month in a very prestigious and independent shop in the heart of Mayfair (family connections).

The first month flew by as I put all my effort into being delightful and eager, with the chance that my hard-work could land myself a job. I managed to part-succeed, gaining a great relationship with my two bosses. So much so, they wanted me their full time.

As time went on, my honeymoon with London started to take its toll and after 3 months of unpaid work I was exhausted, both mentally and physically. The money issue also became a big problem. My parents were funding me to live with the hope of great things and it took all my courage to ask for a little bit of help from my boss’s. It was November at this point and my parents were struggling. I asked whether I could have a little bit of money for travel expenses or to work three days a week to try and get a paid part-time job.

After what I believed to have been a successful chat, two days went by and no change was mentioned, only criticism for having a few days off. I was tempted to say it was my exhaustion working for them that made me ill but decided against it. Eventually I was told that as of the end of January, I would be on the pay roll but paid low. Not even minimum wage.

I’m still here and completely stuck as to what to do. I’ve poured five and a half months of unpaid work into the hope of a great career at the end of it. Although I’ll be getting paid at the end of this month, it’s not much and if anything my boss’s are getting more demanding. First day back from Christmas and already they want me in an extra hour early.

Initially, my break from posting came at the hands of the end of one of my final quarters at Ohio University. I may or may not have had to stay up for 37 hours straight to finish projects and prepare for exams. For all you naysayers who talk of the detriments to working under pressure, I would like to announce that the three courses that caused my self-induced insomnia all came back with a nice, big A on my grade report. In fact, after a solid showing this past quarter, my cumulative GPA has risen to honors status, with an even 3.5- enough for Cum Laude.

So immediately following the end of the quarter, I had to prepare for the LSAT that I decided to take simply to have the option to go to law school if I wanted. (I know, I’m kind of a nerd.) I’ll find out on January 4th for sure, but I feel like I did pretty alright on it.

Then, immediately following the LSAT, I left for Chicago for my interview with Weber Shandwick’s Chicago office. For those of you who have been around a while (hi Grandma K!), this is the interview that stemmed from my Tweet back in August. I was planning on writing about the experience, as I was also supposed to be meeting with Fleishman Hillard and Ketchum as well (via the fantastic Bryan Blaise and Kevin Saghy). However, that plan was soon put to rest by a hard drive failure in my laptop the first morning of my stay. I happened to be in town for the worst day of winter so far, and must say I was not impressed. After everything I had heard about Chicago winters, I was expecting to be unable to move, not walk up and down the city all day. Certainly it was cold (-15 with the wind chill), but with a jacket, a hat and gloves (that would later be unwillingly donated to someone else at a McDonald’s), I was right as rain.

For those of you wondering, the interview went really well. I feel comfortable saying that, as less than a week following the interview I was given the writing test, the next step in the interview process. Having returned the assessment (which was actually pretty fun, again- nerd), it’s now simply a waiting game.

As great as the trip was: seeing old friends, meeting new ones, discovering the rocket-shaped rainbow-colored street lamps of Boys’ Town; it wasn’t nearly as exciting as my trip back to Ohio. It was a hell of a lot more pleasant, but definitely not as exciting.

But that is a story for a post on its own. Suffice it to say, I’m back. And I may not be a PRospective Employee by Christmas. Now that would be enough to renew my faith in the jolly man in red. I’ve got the cookies in the oven big guy.

On December 11, 2009, I, Danny Cox, will complete my first interview with a Chicago agency. Which agency you ask? The same one that opened my eyes to the possibility of social media as the great equalizer, spanning great distances and formalities and granting the user nearly magical direct access with people who have the ability to make a difference: Weber Shandwick in Chicago.

A note: the greatest utility of social media is not necessarily its ability to connect you with the one person who has  the ability to make the difference in getting you an interview. Rather, its best function is in helping you build your own mini-network of those who have the insight, knowledge, and existing connections to put you in the right place at the right time. Without everyone else’s help along the way, I don’t think this would have ever come to be, and for that I am truly thankful. As I’ve learned over the past few weeks, the buzz-phrase of the young professional in Public Relations is to “Pay it forward.”

Just like Morpheus could only show Neo the door, if you use it well social media can only put your foot in it, you have to show up and show that you’re worthy of letting in. But it can get that foot in the door, no postage on a shoe necessary.

Have you used social media to advance your career? Any tips on how to nail the interview? What other tactics do you use when job-searching?

The basis for Ron and Kevin’s presentation was providing students with a look from both senior level PR professionals and junior pros who are making their mark in the industry. With information from both presenter’s friends and colleagues, the presentation provided great insight into how students can most effectively make an impression in the workplace.

The conversational style and witty back and forth of the presenters aside, it was the quotes from the (older) and (younger) horse’s mouths, as Kevin humorously categorized them, that packed the most punch.

When asked to provide an example of what young professionals can do to succeed, John Iwata of IBM replied, “They don’t confuse activity for results.” This answer really stuck with me. I feel like too many times young professionals feel the need to constantly be doing busywork, just to maintain the appearance of a good work ethic. Or it could be that you have a great work ethic and want to make the most of your time, but if the work you’re doing is contributing somehow to the end result, you’re not going to be seeing a promotion any time soon.

A particularly rewarding aspect of the presentation was the summarized verbal Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the rookie/veteran insights. For example, both groups were asked what young professionals should NOT do. The senior level management said that PR upstarts should not be credit-hogs, looking to bring more attention to themselves or their contributions to the project. Additionally, it was a consistent message that young professionals should not come in with their own, individual agendas.

“In a culture where teamwork is paramount, there’s really no room for self-promotion,” Nicole Merritt of Cox Communications said.

The young professionals, on the other hand, focused on removing the appearance of the sense of entitlement. It doesn’t matter if you’ve had 5 internships globally, when you start out in a new organization you have to pay your dues.

After the session, Kevin talked about an intern who worked with him that always had a positive attitude, no matter what task was given to her, which led to more responsibility and more enjoyable tasks later on.

For those PRospective employees out there, remember to convey a sense of being a team player who is ready and willing to work in your cover letters and interviews. Have you been a part of an intramural team in school? Done a lot of group work for an organization you’re involved with? focus on those attributes to frame yourself as a team player who’s not just focused on that next promotion. If you try too hard to be a social climber, you may notice your rocks slipping 0ut of your fingers.

Do you have any tips on how to succeed in the workplace? What have you seen that is/is not successful?

This is the first year I’ve been involved with PRSSA during my time at Ohio University, despite my heavy involvement in PR activities around campus. My absence from the organization was mostly the fault of my work schedule, which put me on the phones with alumni during the meeting time for half of my college career. Prior involvement excluded, I could not be more excited for my impending maiden voyage to our nation’s western-most state.

I’ll be taking my laptop along for the journey, and as long as the hotel has free wireless, I’ll be live-tweeting from my iPod touch (sweet, right?) during some of the workshops. Look for the Hash-tag #PRSSA09 to keep up.

Also, I’m excited to announce that I recently bought a Kodak Zx1 pocket HD video camera, and will be documenting the trip in moving pictures as well. With any luck, I’ll catch a speaker or two for an impromptu interview to share. And with that, I have to go pack!

I realize this may seem like a pretty simple observation, having someone within the organization advocate for you will improve your chances of getting that foot in the door for your interview. We’ve all heard the phrase, “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” so what’s your excuse for not knowing the people who have the ability to put you where you want to go? The best excuse is not having an excuse at all. We all know or have heard of somebody who’s uncle gave him or her a sweet gig right out of college, but unless you’re that lucky niece or nephew, you need a strategy. This edition is dedicated to those who are still in the halls of academia, but expect the follow-up for recent grads and other young professionals soon.

So as a student, how are you going to meet those people that can introduce you to your future employer? I’ve broken it down into an easy-to-follow step-by-step process for you.

1. Get Involved Early

Whatever it is that you’re interested in, find a club or an organization on campus that you can pursue that interest. If there is no club, find out what you need to start one: it’ll give you leadership experience, and put you in a great position to meet people who share your interests. Your colleagues and peers of today are going to be tomorrow’s leaders, so make a positive and lasting impression.

2. Introduce Yourself

When you go to the meetings, introduce yourself. Be friendly, polite, and always show a willingness to learn. If you actually participate in the meetings and make yourself known, those upperclassmen will remember you after they graduate. I can’t tell you how many stories here at Ohio University are tossed around about mentors hiring their former mentees from the Public Relations Student Society (PRSSA) once they get into the workforce.

3. USE SOCIAL MEDIA

I’ve already talked about using Twitter to expand your network, twice, but there are tons of social media outlets that can help connect you with the right people. If you’re inclined to write, join a blogging network like BrazenCareerist, create a profile on LinkedIn and join a few groups. Just like Sauron’s ring was forged to rule them all and in the darkness bind them, one principle above all rules the social media waves: PARTICIPATION. It’s not enough just to have an account on a site- read, comment, share, discuss. Let your voice be heard! Which leads us to number…

4. Speak Intelligently

If you’re reaching out to people who likely have busy schedules, it’s important to speak (or write) in a fashion that shows that you are more intelligent than a second grader. That’s not to say that you’re expected to be Tolstoy, just make sure that you are contributing something worthwhile to the conversation. Spelling and grammar rules do apply. Once you’ve found that person or persons that you’ve made a strong connection with, it’s very important to…

5. Stay in Touch

If you spark a great friendship with the hiring director at your dream job in November, but you’re not going to be graduating until the following June, it’s important to maintain that contact. Questions are a great way to keep touch: they give you a reason to reach out beyond, “Hey! Remember me? Well, I’m still here. Welp…see you later!” Additionally, questions show that you care about knowing more about the person or his or her organization.

So what are you waiting for? Go out there and shake some hands! How do you network? What ways do you stay in touch?

Today was the annual Fall Career Fair here at Ohio University, where employers come from across the state of Ohio to make connections and recruit fresh young minds. Sounds like a great opportunity for someone looking to burst into the PR field, right? Wrong. Which brings us to the Danny Cox Career Fair Tip o’ the Day #1:

1. Find out who’s going to be present at the event, before you leave the house.

Now, this may seem elementary, dear Watsons, but I’m afraid to tell you how many business-suit-clad students I talked to failed to do this very thing. The title of the event should have read, “Fall Career Fair (for Accountants, Sales Reps, and those looking to join the Military)”. That doesn’t have quite as nice of a ring to it though, does it? Everywhere I turned, it was accountants, sales, entry-level managerial (read: Target) positions. Where were the ad agencies? The PR firms? At least a non-profit? Well, there was a very helpful representative from the American Cancer Society, but that’s beside the point. Nothing could have prepared me for the nearly complete lack of relevant employers. Nothing, except for my Career Fair Tip o’ the Day #2:

2. Research the presenters who seem relevant to you.

How much can you really learn from a 50 word blurb on the Career Services Web site? Not as much as you can from the organizations Web site, or a quick trip down Google lane. Particularly in times of bad economy, Ford Myers tells us, it’s essential to be laser-focused on what it is you’re looking for. If you can do some leg-work beforehand, you can make a better impression and be more efficient with your time and questions. Unless, of course, you’re only there for my Career Fair Tip o’ the Day #3:

3. Use the opportunity to hone your “elevator pitch” and professional networking skills.

I’m really not planning on staying in Ohio upon graduation, and knowing that most representatives were there for Ohio positions, my hopes were not high that I was going to find that first employer today at the fair. However, I was able to go and speak with professional recruiters from some major companies (ever hear of a little jelly called Smucker’s?) and speak with them about their business, my experience and goals, and how the two could fit together. Which brings me to my final Career Fair Tip o’ the Day:

4. You get out what you put in, so keep an open mind and learn something.

As I said at the beginning of this post, I try to learn something from every experience life tosses my way. If you just walk around looking at posters and taking schwag, you’re probably not going to learn much. But if you take the time to talk with some representatives, you could find that there’s an industry you never thought of that’s perfect for your skill set and goals. Above all, you can never have too much experience speaking with people in a professional setting. Practice makes perfect, and the more times you talk about your skills and goals, the better you’ll be able to quickly and concisely communicate exactly what you want to.

I left the John Hancock building with a bit of a pep in my step. All the reading and tweeting and talking I’d done ealier in the summer felt like it actually meant something. I’d just taken a personal tour of what could be my employer next year.

With just a little more than an hour until my meeting with Weber Shandwick, I decided to drink in the sprawling metropolis I suddenly found myself a part of. While there are many things I loved about the city, above and beyond anything else that caught my fancy was my admiration for the people.

One of the first things I noticed about the people was the seemingly different attitude  in the drivers. Almost without fail, any time I was attempting to cross a street at odds with a turning motorist, I received a polite wave of the hand, ushering me through. Where was this magical place where people put others’ need to cross ahead of their own? Certainly not anywhere in Ohio that I’ve been. The second, and probably more telling, was the willingness of others to lend a hand. Rachel and I were asked not once, not twice, but three times for directions in the city. Not only were we proud that we blended in so well, we were also able to help as Chicagoans (or at least educated tourists) had given us the same advice the day before. And as sickeningly sweet as it is, one fellow even stopped to tell Rachel and I that we “just looked so beautiful and happy together.” This is a place I could stay for a while.

Two and half miles of wandering around the sprawling metropolis later, I arrived for my appointment with Weber Shandwick. Though I was not to complete any type of formal interview until later in the year, I couldn’t suppress the urge to walk the halls for myself. Erin Trier, a hiring director for Weber and one of my primary contacts, graciously accepted my request for a tour.

One thing that I found very impressive with Weber was the space. With the exception of the interns, employees of Weber Shandwick Chicago all have their own space. I’m not talking about a miniscule cubicle, I mean an office with a door and a name tag. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get a good feeling for the pace or overall office culture at either agency as it was a holiday weekend and many folks were out of town. That said, it was still awesome to get a preview of where I could be spending 40+ hours a week in less than a year.

I was able to meet briefly with fellow blogger and major resource, Sydeny Owen, a former intern and recent addition to the full-time Weber Shandwick staff, and also with Adam Keats, the Director Senior Vice President of Weber Chicago’s Digital team, and one of the first respondents to my original tweet several months back.

A piece of advice I have for anyone looking forward to a similar situation: have some questions prepared. In my case, I was a little star-struck while walking around and seeing that people actually get to do this kind of stuff for a living, and any questions I had flew right out of my head.

My tour with Weber was awesome and it’s definitely someplace I could see myself staying a while. If they’ll have me, that is. I’m excited to see how things shake down in the future as I get closer to the finish line of school and the starting line of my career.

It was a great day that led to a great night filled with- ice cream? But that, my friends, is for the next post.

Roughly 10 days ago, accompanied by my wonderfully supportive girlfriend Rachel, I embarked on Labor Day Weekend trip to Chicago. While the trip was for mostly personal reasons, I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to meet with some professionals while in the city in which I desperately hope to reside in half a year. Thanks to some great success utilizing Twitter to make some contacts, I arranged a few meetings during my stay in the Windy City.

My first meeting was at 8:00 AM the day after my 6.5 hour bus ride from Ohio. I was to be meeting with the phenomonally helpful Bryan Blaise, a Senior Account Executive at Fleishman-Hillard. I could write an entire post on Bryan and his inspirational story, but I’ll save that for another day. I will simply say that Bryan earned his position, Senior Account Executive, by age 24.

Not wanting to be late, for fear of making a poor first impression, I was up and out of the hotel by 7:15 AM. Well, nearly ready. I had forgotten to pack my toothbrush, and I’ll be damned if I was going to make a first impression with bad breath and nasty teeth. Fortunately, there was a Walgreens a block from my hotel where I was able to purchase a new toothbrush and some toothpaste. Unfortunately, my favorite brand of toothpaste was only packaged in a “Buy one, get a travel-size tube for free!” which ultimately led to me carrying not one, but TWO tubes of toohpaste and a toothbrush in my pockets for most of the day.

After finding a Starbucks bathroom down the street, I was able to brush my teeth and feel ready to go for the meeting. The only problem was, I didn’t remember the name of the cafewhere we were supposed to meet! I figured I would just ask on of the friendly locals, who would happily direct me toward the right place. Following several blocks of back-tracking and second-guessing, I finally remembered I had my iPod touch and was luckily able to find an unprotected connection on the street (thank you Linksys!).

Finally, I found the last email that Bryan and I had exchanged containing the name and address of our mysterious meeting place. Success! I walked confidently toward Tempo, eagerly awaiting my first meeting with a Chicago PR professional. I reached the restaurant, told them happily my table was for two, and proceeded to drink a cup of coffee as I waited. I had arrived nearly 15 minutes early, despite the misadventures that had immediately preceded my arrival.

My meeting with Bran was exactly what I was hoping for in this trip: I got to sit down across the breakfast table from someone who is living my dream and talk shop. I was able to ask any and every question that came to mind about FH, about Chicago, about the state of PR, very briefly about show tunes, anything! The splendid host he is, Bryan took me on a tour of Fleishman’s offices in the John Hancock building after breakfast, where I was introduced to anyone we passed as we continued to talk about my goals, my experience and the agency itself. All-in-all, it was an extremely friendly, welcoming environment in which I found myself very comfortable.

My day was not done, however, as I had another stop  on Danny Cox’s Chicago PR Tour 2009: Weber Shandwick.

I kept my part-time job as assistant manager at maurices in Roseburg and commuted Portland. I stayed with family in Beaverton for two to three nights each week while I worked at PPS. Let’s just say I-5 and I got to know each other very well over the summer (however, I still managed to get lost several times while navigating Portland). However, all of the driving was well worth the experience PPS gave me.

Some things I learned:

• That writing features can take a very long time, especially when you have ten people to contact and five of them are on vacation – or they just never call you back.
• The names and demographic information of each 80-plus PPS school. I acquired this knowledge by making each school its own charitable giving Web site (hosted by Nike and GlobalGiving).
• Kids say the darndest things. Example: I walk into fifth-grade classroom. Boy: “You’re hot.” OK….errr…thanks?
• Calling strangers eventually gets easier and less awkward.

Worst part about commuting: traffic (I'm a small-town girl).

I had never worked in an office setting before this internship, so I was worried about boredness and back pain. Although my back needed to get used to all the sitting, I was never bored at PPS. I really enjoyed the office atmosphere and everybody was so much fun to work with. Moreover, there were baked goods on an almost daily basis!

I was confident in my time-management skills before I began my internship; however, I’ve realized now that time can get even more difficult to manage when you have two jobs and make a three-hour commute twice a week. At PPS, I would have both large projects, as well as small projects assigned to me each day. It takes time-management and patience to juggle everything and still produce the best work. I feel that my experience at PPS gave me a great perspective on what is realistic to accomplish in day’s and week’s worth of work.

Public relations is not the sort of career that you can always leave at the office; in fact, for the most part, it follows you around like a puppy– a cute puppy, though.

However, 10 years later I am finding that life may be a little easier if I had applied that advice to other facets of my life. My threat is not drugs or scary men in vans, but opportunities.

With the insatiable thirst for life and experiences that I seem to have developed, I have a lot of difficulty passing up any opportunity that presents itself. Because of this, I have had to juggle as many as six or seven commitments at one time. Unfortunately, this apparent inability to say no does nothing to damper the necessity to succeed and excel in any and all endeavors that I become involved in. This inevitably leads to a decrease in my quality of life, as I find all of my time is consumed by running from one commitment to another.

I made a pledge to myself that I would not allow that to happen this, my senior and final year at Ohio University. I was going to stand resolute and do only one or two things, fully committing myself to those core interests. And though I meant every word I said, forces beyond my control were at work. As Scud in Blade 2 said, “No one goes cold turkey from the thirst in one night.”

Indeed, I’m a modern male Ado Annie when it comes to projects, internships, and helping out my friends. For Fall Quarter alone, I am already committed to, in no certain order, school, my job, my girlfriend, helping with one (maybe two) comedy TV shows, this blog, helping my cousin Rocko with his movie review site, my band, and the local chapter of PRSSA.

The sad thing is, this is actually less than I normally have on my plate. This is why I’m excited to move on to the next step and begin contributing to the workforce. I feel like I have conditioned myself for a fast-paced career where balancing multiple accounts is essential, and I can’t wait to see if I’m right.

The point I am trying to make goes back to my post on focus; if you can’t say no to new opportunities, it will make it near impossible to focus on those that truly matter to you. Find out which projects are most important to you and your goals, assess the ROI (return on investment) for your time, and drop the ones that aren’t progressing you towards your goals.

How do you choose what to say yes or no to? What methods do you have for professional triage? Isn’t there something to be said for exploring a wide variety of what life has to offer?

Lately, I’ve been reading a lot on my generation’s trait of ‘entightlement’ and its affect on how employers and marketers view and communicate with us. As an active member of the community (in that I am a Millenial and associate with mainly Millenials due to my current position of college student), I must say that these findings came as somewhat of a surprise to me.

I often forget that the people I hang out and work with here at Ohio University are not necessarily representative of the generalized population, which leads to me having a skewed idea of the behaviors and personality traits of my peers. The people who I consider my closest friends all seem to have an unquenchable thirst for life, experience, and opportunities. Just last night, I was discussing what this summer brought with my friend Andy Poland. Po-po (as I like to call him) spent the summer creating commercials for the Online Computer Library Center‘s PR campaign, Geek The Library. Andy and recent OU grad Jon Veleta spent their summer travelling across the country to find and tell the stories that can be found on Geek The Lirbary’s YouTube site. (I feel like I should also mention that these guys were the Directors of Photography for Trailerpark, the student-made feature-length film based on the book by best-selling author Russell Banks that I do PR for.)

These are the people that I spend time with who inspire me to aspire for more. And while I can’t speak to Andy or Jon’s sense of entitlement, I can guess that after the work they’ve already done, they will probably expect to be able to find good work. Knowing both of them, however, neither would be unwilling to put in the time and work necessary to earn their place.

Which brings me to my main question: if the stories are true, and the general population of the up-and-coming pool of prospective employees are narcissistic, attention-seeking self-promoters, does that help or hurt the chances of those of us who are outside that category?

Will being a young person be an automatic blemish that I and my more industrious peers will have to overcome to illustrate to potential employers our value? While we may be ambitious (and I will freely admit that I certainly am that), many of us are also willing to put in the time and effort necessary to get the job done. Will my efforts be ignored simply because I was born in 1988?

Or, will having the willingness to work and start at the bottom and working our way up distinguish those of us grounded enough to “know our place” from the masses? What about those who may not have the extended resume and experience, but just a willingness and desire to be a part of the team and contribute any and everything that they can?

I like to hope that in 7 monhts time when I’m positioned to enter the workforce, that it will be the latter.

In fact, I’ve spent much of my life thus far trying to sample a little of everything that life has to offer. Since coming to college, I’ve been a member of College Democrats, with whom I got to see then-Senator Obama at the 2007 winter DNC just before he announced his candidacy. (I also got to shake his hand on his way out of the building where he saw my Obama lapel pin and said to me, “Sorry we didn’t have any signs for ya’, I’ll make sure we do next time.”) I’ve been a member of Athens Video Works, where I spent two years as a sketch actor, a fake-news anchor, and a head-writer on the student-run sketch-comedy show, Fridays Live. During my time with The Lost Flamingo Company, Ohio University’s student-run theatre group, I’ve even donned fishnets and high-heels to take on Tim Curry’s Dr. Frank-n-furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

My point is this: all my life I have tried to be as competent in as many areas as possible. I kept thinking, “If I can take and edit photos, that’ll make me that much more valuable to an employer”. It helps that I really like taking pictures, but I kept coming back to the wide-net approach.

As I read and learn more about personal branding and managing your image, it seems to be a better approach to stay hyper-focused in one area. I’m not saying ignore the other interests; I’m a firm believer in being as diverse and broad in interest and ability as humanly possible. I am saying that there is validity to the adage “Jack of all trades, master of none”. Instead, you should aim to be a “Jack of most trades, master of one.”

You have to do a little soul-searching and find out what it is that you really want to do, and focus on that. Still experience everything you can, starting as soon as you can. But once you find that one thing, don’t let it go. Hold onto it and commit yourself to take the time necessary to truly excel.

Malcom Gladwell says in his book Outliers, it takes 10,000 hours in any given field to become an expert. That’s 2.7 hours a day, every day for 10 years. Better get started.

Which do you think is more important; the laser focus or the wide net? What is it that you focus on? How do you do your searching to find out what you want?

I realize that the original post came about 2 months ago- the equivialent of the stone age in web-time- but I think it’s still worth looking into. Why waste your time on online job postings and directories when the companies are trying to communicate directly? This is further support for why I feel so strongly on the importance of Tweeting For a Job (twice).

One thing I will say regarding the companies chosen: most seem to be missing the point. The operant word in the above paragraph is ‘trying’ to communicate. Upon some further investigation of many of the companies listed (I focused primarily on Chicago and New York postings, as that’s where I’m hoping to end up) several aren’t following a single person.

This shows that even companies trying to keep up with Social Media don’t get the point. It’s supposed to be social! We are not talking about one-way channels any longer. If  these companies were serious about utilizing social media to recruit the best and brightest, they would be on Twellow or other directories, targeting those with expressed interests/qualifications for their company.

Now, some may say that would be unnecessary in this economic state, with far more applicants than positions. However, imagine if a company truly had a grasp of social media and used it to effectively engage with its potential employees. What kind of wonders would that do for employer branding? Not to mention the potential to increase the pool of quality applicants for future positions.

Instead, they are using their Twitter accounts as a digital bulletin board for job postings, of which there are already countless services for.

Have you found any companies that are engaging with followers, current or future employees, and customers? What else can these companies do to improve their social media presence? How can we fuel these changes?

Recently I have been applying to a lot of internships. I came across a post from CareeRealism about what not to do when writing cover letters and resumes and think that it is very helpful.

Cover letters and resumes are the most important thing when applying for jobs or internships. They help you get your foot in the door. If you don’t have a well written cover letter or resume, you may not even have the chance to meet the internship coordinator or job seeker in person. CareeRealism discuses 3 don’ts when it comes to cover letters and resumes.

1. Don’t send out cover letters or resumes with typos or formatting errors. Have someone else proofread for you.
2. Don’t be self-absorbed or pretentious in your cover letter. The cover letter should be about the company. Show how your experience relates to them.
3. Don’t use a multi-page resume right out of college. You just don’t have that much experience. Keep it short and simple and only put the relevant experiences on it.

I think these tips are very useful and will help when applying for jobs and internships. Remember that your cover letter and resume are your foot in the door. They are the first step.

From my personal experience with resumes and cover letters and speaking with PR professionals I have added a few Do’s to CareeRealism’s list of Don’ts.

1. Make your resume scanable. Use headings to divide your resume into sections. Companies will get thousands of resumes for job and internship postings. Most likely they will only spend a few seconds reading your resume. Therefore, make sure it is easy to read.
2. Don’t use fancy fonts or formats when writing cover letters and resumes. Make them as easy to read as possible. The more professional they look the better.
3. Before writing your cover letter, research the company you are applying to. In your letter comment on their clients or perhaps a campaign they worked on and comment on this. As CareeRealism stated relate yourself to THEM.
4. If you are submitting a paper copy of your resume or cover letter, print it on a quality paper. Some people recommend an off-white paper, but as long as its a resume paper you should be fine.

I hope these hints help you when applying for jobs and internships. Good luck!