PR News

Blogging for Conference

2008-10-11T20:33:00.000-04:00

It seems hard to believe that we're a mere two weeks away from the PRSA 2008 International Conference here in my own backyard, Detroit. It promises to be an exciting few days packed with informative sessions and workshops. I hope many of my fellow PRSA New Professionals are going to be able to join us this year, and I hope to finally meet some of you in person.

For those of you who are going to be at Conference, I want to offer up an opportunity for you to blog here about your Conference experiences. For anyone who has been to a PRSA Conference, you know there are more sessions than one person can possibly attend, but if we can get some people to blog about it here, we can get a taste of more of them. So if you're interested in blogging during the Conference go ahead and let us know via the comments here, or by shooting me an e-mail.

Finally, don't forget that we're going to be hosting a PRSA New Professionals Affinity Group dinner during the Conference. We're privileged to be joined by John Edelman, who, as you may have guessed from his name, is from the global public relations agency, Edelman. More details about the dinner can be found here.

Who's the New Girl?

2008-08-25T18:53:00.007-04:00

"Show me an intern who never made a mistake, and I'll show you an intern who stayed an intern."

If someone hasn't already voiced this sentiment, then I'll take the credit for it. As a new intern at a small PR agency, I'm fortunate to have made my requisite Big Mistake. It was simple really, I printed something for a press kit on the wrong letterhead. But rather than calmly assess the mistake and set about the business of rectifying it, I had a little freak out moment. In earshot of an AAE. "Stop freaking out," she snapped. "We'll just print up some more letterhead, no big deal." That would have been my solution to the problem in about 5 minutes, after I had finished my mini-spaz. But evidently, my snafu didn't even warrant a full minute's hysterics.

What I took from the experience (and what's the point of making glaring mistakes if they don't come with bonus lessons?) was not to keep my mishaps a secret. But to keep calm and carry on. As an intern, I'm expected to futz up a few things. But as a professional, I'm expected to rationally assess the situation and reassure those around me that there's a resolution forthcoming or gain their assistance on how to go about correcting it. Disproportionate reactions inspire suspicion and mistrust. You don't want to be known as the girl or guy who gets knocked off track by every paper cut. I'm pleased to say, composure regained, I set about the task of fixing the letter head and the press kit got out without further incident. My chant of "OMG! OMG! OMG!" was perfectly acceptable--as long as it stayed in my head.

Toni V. Martin is a freelance journalist making the transition into full-time public relations. She is currently interning at a full service PR firm outside of Atlanta. She is originally from Detroit and has her degree in English from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. She can be reached at tonivpr@gmail.com

Some Advice on Job Hunting From One New Pro to Another: Setting a Salary Range

2008-07-14T22:17:00.010-04:00

Recently, I accepted a wonderful new position and gave notice to my previous employer. Everything went very well and I was asked to assist in the hiring process for my replacement. I prepared myself for the difficult task of sorting through resumes and agonizing over a hundred people with the perfect qualifications to fill my position. I was ready to carefully consider nuances in presentation and to weigh one person’s experience against another. As it turns out, the process was much easier than I had ever imagined.

At least 50% of the resumes were discarded almost immediately because of salary expectations. As for the other 25%, more on that later…

Advice Tidbit #1: How to Set a Salary Range
First of all, if they ask for your salary range, give it to them (after careful consideration of course). If you don’t, your resume could get passed over for others who are able to follow directions and have salaries in the company’s range. The way to successfully give a salary range is to consider both your own worth and the level assigned to the job by the hiring company. For instance, if the position is listed as an “entry level” position, you should have a clue as to their salary range based on other jobs in your area. If you are job-hunting in my area (Cleveland), you should know that a basic entry-level salary is much less than $50,000 -70,000. If the salary listed in your cover letter is more than $10,000 (or even $5,000) too high, your resume may be headed for the circular file. Here are some tips on the dreaded “please include your salary expectations” request:

• Just Do It – Sure you don’t want to take yourself out of the running by giving a salary that’s too high or too low, and it may be tempting to leave it off altogether. Stop and just do it. If the company asked for it and you don’t give it, it may look like you don’t/can’t follow directions.

• Always Give a Range – go from the lowest you would possibly accept to a little more than you would expect. If you give an appropriate range, you can always ask for more based on what you learned about the position in your interview.

• Never Lie (to the employer or yourself) – Don’t lowball them to get an interview for an entry-level position hoping that they will increase the salary for “the right” candidate (you). You’ll end up seeming dishonest if an offer is made. If the salary is too low for you, it’s not the right position anyway.

• Pay Attention to the Position Description – you know what your current job pays, and can look at the national averages on the PRSA website. If the position description says entry-level or junior – or director – you will have a good idea of a general range the company might expect to offer.

• Consider the Company – a small nonprofit will have a completely different salary range than a large corporation or a prestigious agency. Consider the size and prominence of a company when setting your salary range.

• Don’t Sell Yourself Short – If the title, responsibilities listed and company sound like they fit with a $50,000 salary, and you are qualified, then ask for it. If the company throws your resume to the side because your expectations are too high, the position is probably not worth pursuing.

• Be Flexible – Sometimes saying that you are flexible or that your salary is “negotiable” is a way to get a phone call even if you are out of their range. It doesn’t hurt to add it if, even after research, you don’t have a clue what the range might be.

Setting the perfect salary range for you and the company you are applying to is truly something of an art, but it’s an art worth mastering. Researching the company, reading the position description carefully and knowing the industry averages can not only help you set an appropriate salary, but can help you make the best decisions regarding your personal worth and avoid positions that don’t offer fair compensation for the level of experience and responsibilities. I hope to follow-up soon with another article based on my recent hiring experience, and in the meantime, best of luck job hunting!

Julie Cajigas is the president and owner of Inspired Copy & Communications, LLC, in Cleveland, Ohio. Inspired Copy & Communications, LLC provides freelance copywriting, ghostwriting and freelance public relations. She can be reached at Julie@InspiredFreelancer.com http://www.inspiredfreelancer.com.

Thoughts and Fears of a PR Newbie

2008-06-18T15:22:00.009-04:00

With only one official year under my belt, I am still asking myself the same questions I had the day I graduated. Am I good enough? What am I worth as a professional? What do I have to offer?

I would be willing to bet that many of you are asking yourselves the same questions. Maybe you took a job that is less than what you had expected or wanted, and are now feeling unchallenged and underappreciated. Or maybe you feel ready to move ahead in your career, but are having a hard time finding the right fit for you.

How exactly do you overcome these feelings of intimidation and, sometimes, anxiety?

Here are some things that I have found to be extremely helpful in strengthening the beginning of my career:

• Evaluate yourself on a regular basis.

What do you do? Do you like it? Have your projects been successful? What are some ways that you can improve? What would you like to be working on? How can you incorporate that into your daily tasks?

Ask yourself an insane amount of questions and answer them truthfully. You’ll be surprised what you’ll learn about yourself.

• Make every moment of your job count.

Yes, this is so very obvious, but so very important. There are times when my workload is extremely light… or nonexistent. This is when I really dig deep into my skill set and find ways to improve how I work.

Another thing you can do is look into your company's sales/marketing materials, press kits, and other documents and think of ways that you would update them. If you feel confident about your ideas, share them with your superiors (they’ll be surprised by your initiative).

• Do freelance work.

Besides looking great on a resume, freelancing is tons of fun and allows you to explore other talents that you don’t get to use in your full-time job.

Sometimes you’ll have to take several jobs with no compensation, so it’s important to find something that you enjoy doing or that you really care about.

• Volunteer.

Again, this looks good on a resume, and can also be a lot of fun and rewarding. Many organizations are looking for extra help in their public relations/communications efforts. If you feel passionate about an issue or organization, form relationships and offer to help whenever a need arises.

Doing these things will not only strengthen your professional skills and image, but it will teach you so much about yourself as an individual.

Have a few more tips that you’d like to share? Leave a comment and tell us about it!

About Paige Presley: With a public relations degree from Middle Tennessee State University and experience in both corporate and agency public relations, Paige now serves as a marketing assistant at Lightning 100, Nashville's favorite independent radio station. She is also the Chapter Development Committee Chair for the PRSA New Pros group.

When she's not at work, Paige enjoys taking on various freelance projects and volunteer activities with organizations like the American Red Cross and NashvillePAW magazine.

(This post can also be found here.)

It’s a Question of Ethics

2008-06-04T12:41:00.004-04:00

I was very happy to see PRSA finally respond to the recent controversy involving Scott McClellan--the former White House press secretary who just released his book that includes, among other controversial acknowledgments, his confessions about knowingly lying to the press corps on behalf of the president on more than one occasion.

First of all, with all the political mumbo-jumbo ongoing right now, my personal opinion is that once a liar always a liar. I'm not saying you can't change if you lied in the past, but I am saying that we don't have to believe you ever again. Think of it as the "fool me once" principle.

How can McClellan expect anyone to know he is telling the truth now, and not just trying to capitalize on the current animosity towards Bush and politicians in general? As a student of public relations (PR), he knows that playing on trends makes for a much more compelling story than if he launched his book a year after being asked to resign. Oh, did I just say he was (allegedly) asked to resign? If he was indeed asked to resign his credibility is even less than moot. But I digress.

His actions and those of other questionable PR professionals inspired me to write a little about the ethics of PR work, especially as it relates to Web 2.0.

Ethics in PR is even more important today given the ever changing landscape because of the Web. In a perfect world every PR practitioner would adhere to the PRSA Code of Ethics. The sad truth is, not everyone does.

Given that we live in a Web 2.0 world, here is an outline of what the top five most important aspects of the ethical code for PR practitioners, as I see them (with some verbiage taken from the PRSA Code of Ethics when appropriate):

Disclosure: Anytime a paid representative of a company comments on a chat room, blog or news article, they should be required to identify themselves as such. Not doing is misleading and dishonest.

Transparency: A companies integrity, honesty and credibility are built upon this principle. This does not mean all information is and/or should be made public, but being honest and forthright about information relevant to its publics should be encouraged and practiced.

Conflicts of Interest: Practitioners should always act in the best interest of the company they represent, and should act promptly to inform a company of any circumstances that "may appear to compromise good business judgment or create a conflict between personal and professional interests." Also, a professional should promptly disclose "any existing or potential conflict of interest to affected clients or organizations."

Confidentiality Agreements: Simply put, practitioners should "protect the privacy rights of clients, organizations and individuals by safeguarding confidential information" (and/or technology or ideas). Leaking information to the press or speaking with the press on the basis of anonymity without the permission of a company or client are breaches of this agreement. Though both appear to be common practice in today's world, they discredit an story (Just ask Jayson Blair) and assume that everyone has the right to know everything that is going on within a company or organization. Exceptions do apply, but should be treated as such.

Honesty: This one speaks for itself.

There are more I could add to the list, so I welcome any and all other ethics that may have been missed.

The sad thing about one person (or several people as McClellan is not the only one to ever lie for a client) acting unethically is that it gives a whole industry, and sometimes people, a black eye. Examples of this exist all around us from the supposed "thug" image that the NBA is trying to overcome; the supposed "criminal" image the NFL is trying to overcome; or the "steroid-induced-cheater" image baseball is trying to overcome.

These examples exist professionally as well, from Jayson Blair (media) to Arthur Andersen (accounting), or from Eliot Spitzer (politics) to Scott McClellan (public relations).

At the end of the day, ethics are an important aspect of every day for our clients, companies, governments and selves. Abraham Lincoln summed it up by saying: "I desire so to conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the end, when I come to lay down the reins of power, I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that friend shall be down inside me."

About Jonathan Bacon: Born and raised ‘north o’ the border’ in Toronto, Canada, Jonathan “Canadian” Bacon is an integral part of the Politis Communications team.

Bacon joined Politis Communications because of the opportunity to focus his communication skills in the technology marketplace. Prior to this focus on technology, his background was focused primarily on the health and lifestyle industry, although he worked on campaigns for clients from the real estate and government sectors as well. Bacon has been involved with communications campaigns for clients from many sectors including, non-profits, publicly traded companies and nationally recognized companies and brands including IHOP and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (during its 2006 visit to Logan, Utah).

While earning his degree in public relations from Brigham Young University (BYU), he served as the PRSSA chapter president. He and his wife Michelle have two sons and currently reside in Utah.

(This post can also be found at www.thebettyfactor.com)

Writing Tips for New PRos

2008-04-29T14:34:00.019-04:00

by Jim Haynes, APR, Fellow PRSA, jhaynes1102@sbcglobal.net

Make your copy clear and concise.
Write with the audience in mind.
Know your purpose:
* Inform/educate
* Motivate
* Entertain
Write short sentences.
Use active verbs.
Use simple words.
Get to the point quickly.
Check your facts.
Proof. Proof. Proof. (Spell checker results are not reliable. Check this: “Its letter perfect awl the weigh; my checker tolled me sew.”)
Know your audience.
* Write what they know and understand.

* Don’t assume that they know the meaning of acronyms and jargon.
* Use terms they use.
* Ask one of them to check your work.
If you use an abbreviation or acronym, explain it.
Use the style appropriate for the medium.
Use the styles prescribed by the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook for print media and the AP Broadcast News Handbook for broadcast media.
Play the hand you’re dealt
Be sure your writing advances the organization’s objectives.
Get the level of management’s approval that’s needed.

iWriting:

Write in “chunks”—headline, then a “brief” or lead, then text (More).
Understand that the user gets to decide how deep to read or scan.
Make each “chunk” useful.
iButtons and iLinks:
Limit each to 1-3 words.
Make them clear and precise.
Break your text into chunks.
Limit paragraphs to 2-3 short sentences.
Provide a link option for the full-text version.
Writing the effective iHeadline:
Make it short, and stand-alone.
Include both a subject and a verb.
Make the tense present or future.
Limit it to 10 words.

Finally: Let it rest!
Leave it overnight.
Take another look the next day.
You’ll probably find ways to improve it.

---

Mr Haynes is a partner and director for QuickSilver Interactive Group, Inc. of Dallas, and is a member of PRSA’s national Board of Directors. He has taught PR at four universities and served as assistant dean at The University of Texas at Austin. He also is the co-author of the textbook Public Relations Writing: Form & Style.

2008 PRSA New Pros Here to Serve You!

2008-04-23T19:52:00.002-04:00

Today is an exciting day for new professionals in the public relations field. We have more access to information and resources than ever before, we are more respected in our work places as young innovators and we are looked to as the next generation of leadership.

The PRSA New Professionals group is here to help you capitalize on all of these opportunities! In 2008 New Pros will offer you access to resources through our mentorship program and our professional development programming strides. We will help you to stay connected to your peers, your mentors and to your profession through e-blasts, newsletters, our website and teleseminars that are all customized to fit your needs. We will be by your side as you grow in your profession and in your career through assisting our existing local new professionals chapters and helping to create more across the nation.

There is a passionate and dedicated team of leaders ready to serve the new professional and the profession this year. Be sure to take advantage and harvest your opportunities!

PRSA 2008 International Conference in Detroit

2008-04-22T09:36:00.006-04:00

by Adam Denison, PRSA New Pros, Director-at-Large

At the risk of being accused of self-promotion here, I wanted to alert everyone to a post I wrote yesterday for PRSA's new blog, ComPRhension. My post is all about the great city of Detroit and things we have to offer for this year's International Conference.

But this post is not merely an effort to get everyone over to read my post, but rather a chance for me to find out more about your feelings about PRSA International Conferences. How many of you have attended either a PRSA or PRSSA International/National Conference? Are you going this year? If you have attended, when and where? What was most beneficial about attending? If you've never attended, what stops you from doing so?

My first conference was the PRSSA 2006 National Conference in Salt Lake City where I served on the planning committee. It was a wonderful opportunity for me to meet other PR students from around the country as well as get advice from many PR professionals. In fact, I actually got my current job at GM because of my attendance at the Conference! They were there recruiting interns and I was able to secure an interview with them. I wouldn't have had this chance had I not been at Conference.

I also attended portions of last year's PRSA Conference in Philadelphia. This time around I was a "professional" PR practitioner so I had frequent opportunities to network with many people from diverse backgrounds.

I'm a huge advocate for attending PRSA International Conferences, but I wanted to get your take. What do you think?

Back with blogging

2008-04-15T22:25:00.000-04:00

by Adam Denison, PRSA New Pros, Director-at-Large

Hi everyone! Welcome to the official PRSA New Professionals blog. We’ve had a bit of a hiatus here as we’ve made the transition from the 2007 executive committee to this year’s committee, but we’re back now.

My name is Adam Denison and I’m serving as this year’s director-at-large. I will be coordinating the content for this blog, so I would love to hear from all of you as to what topics you would like to see discussed here. Hey, maybe some of you might even be interested in writing up a post or two for the blog! Gotta build that portfolio, right?

There are a number of resources available for you to become more acquainted with what we do at New Pros, and how you can you get the most out of your membership. Some of the resources include:

* Quarterly New Pros newsletter
* Monthly e-mail blasts
* This blog
* New Pros Facebook group
* The PRSA New Pros Web site

Additionally we will also host a number of teleseminars directed solely at us, the new professionals in public relations. The PRSA New Professionals teleseminars will open a flood gate to industry news and announcements and access to what a new professional will need.

That’s it for this post. We look forward to hearing from you, so submit a comment here or get involved with the Facebook group. Till next time!

You Have An Attitude Problem!

2007-11-28T11:04:00.000-05:00

Has anyone ever told you that you have an attitude problem right to your face? What about behind your back?

According to a report done by 60 Minutes, "The "Millennials,” the generation born between 1980 and 1995, are today “taking over” corporate America with an attitude." Employers are talking and what they are saying about us isn't good. While we apparently run back to mommy and daddy's house we also have no problem demanding an answers that please us says this report. Some even feel that "You do have to speak to [the Millennials] a little bit like a therapist on television might speak to a patient…You can’t be harsh. You cannot tell them you’re disappointed in them. You can’t really ask them to live and breathe the company. Because they’re living and breathing themselves and that keeps them very busy.”

How many of us "Millennials" out there really feel this is true? I would classify myself as a go-getter, a multitasker and someone who is very respectful of the older generation whom I put effort into learning from. And, to boot, I would say that on most days I certainly do live and breathe the company I work at.

It's nice to know that all they can talk about it my bad attitude.

Read more of "their" opinions at: http://templewest.wordpress.com/2007/11/12/60-minutes-discovers-young-professionals/

It Is About Building Relationships

2007-10-31T16:27:00.000-04:00

There are many things in this New York Times article, "Young People Plug Into Politics" that raised my eyebrows and made me nod my head up and down but the one thing that touched me the most is the observation made by Barack Obama when he said "It is about building relationships." This is so true!
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/technology/tech-usa-politics-youth.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
As a young professional entering the workforce this life lesson was one of the first I learned. Building relationships with your boss, your vendors, your colleagues and your peers is one of the most important things you can do to further your career. It is also about building the right kind of relationships. You know what I mean here. I was never more surprised than I was when I observed the adults that I worked with acting like high school students.
The one thing Obama left out is that it is about building relationships with the right kind of people. Spend the time to get to know your mentors and your role models and spend even more time staying away from people who are nice to your face and nasty behind your back. A life lesson learned like this is worth getting a refresher course on every once in a while.

What Makes A City A Hub?

2007-10-17T18:31:00.000-04:00

There any many cities out there that are headquarters to recognizable companies, the home town of popular food chains and the hub of all the action. And, there are some cities out there who aren't known for any of this? So, what makes a city into a hub?
I believe that it is the energy, drive, passion and curiosity of a young professional that makes one city over another a hot spot for hubs and start ups. I think any city who is smart enough to engage their young professionals in community involvement and education is setting themselves up to reap the benefits of that fresh and young entrepreneurial spirit and poof! That city become a hub!
Okay, okay, I know it is not as simple as that. But, how young were Ben and Jerry before they became Ben and Jerry? How old was Nantucket Nectar Tom and his partner before that exploded? Now, these hometown cities can't get enough association with these companies. It can be easily summarized that it is the young professionals that play a large role in making a city a hub and thereby putting that city on the map. How is that for power of the age?

Enough of Social Media!

2007-10-10T12:28:00.000-04:00

I for one am sick and tired of reading article after article about social media and Web 2.0. Isn't there anything else to write about? I know! I know! Here I go with my article about the very same things I gripe about.

I see comments, articles, features and blogs about social media twice a day or even more. OK, I get it. This topic is timely and interesting (to some), obviously. However, as a long time user of the tools of social media myself I am tired of reading about how this "new revolution" is "the best thing to happen to PR" or "the worst tool for those silly young professionals who will never have the wisdom and knowledge of someone my own age" or even how hard it was to get signed up on Linked In for the first time user.

The only thing that keeps my eyes on those articles these days is to see who wrote the article, how old they are and what their opinions are. I bet you can guess which ends of the age spectrum are more for or against social media. So, because of this snooze fest I challenge people out there to write about something else for goodness sakes but if you must write about "the social media phenomenon" write about the possibilities and what social media can do for the PR profession, the Internet or bridging the gap between generations.

Brand Yourself

2007-09-26T13:22:00.000-04:00

Blogger, Penelope Trunk makes a valid point, you can only depend on yourself, in her blog, Three Steps To Building Your Brand.

Today young professionals are given more creative freedom, more responsibility and even more room for fast advancement but there is definitely not anything I would call job security. That is why it is important to build your own individual brand. I heard about this "personal brand building" in college but couldn't really grasp at its importance until now. Apparently I am not the only one who believes in this method of self-protection in the work force either.

Check out Penelope's blog and start building your brand today because you can't be guaranteed your job tomorrow.

http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/careerist/45655;_ylt=Ar79BaOJepkvwU87Oy0GImC7YWsA

Event at PRSA International Conference

2007-09-21T13:02:00.000-04:00

John Edelman and Mary Beth West want to talk to you!
There's only one month until the PRSA 2007 International Conference, “PR Evolution: Innovation. Collaboration. Influence”. The New Pro's group is hosting a Professional Development Dinner and, for the tiny fee of only $15, you'll get to hear from two of the most respected pros in the business on “Blazing Trails and Making Your Mark - How to Establish a National Reputation for You and Your Work”. Topics covered will include:
· Choosing appropriate projects to develop your career
· Negotiating your salary when you start a new job or come for an annual review
· Giving back to the profession – the value of volunteer work

Oh, yeah, and you'll get dinner to boot. The general public will pay a $25 fee.

The event takes place on Monday, October 22 at 6 p.m. at Portofino, located just two blocks from the conference hotel in Philadelphia. A registration form is attached and must be submitted by October 14. The conference takes place Oct. 20-23.
> NewProfessionalsRSVP_IntlConference.pdf
Mary Beth West is the founder of Mary Beth West Consulting and the youngest director ever elected to PRSA's national board. In 2004, she received the PRSA President's Citation for her work in co-founding PRSA's first national affinity group for new public relations professionals.

John Edelman, managing director of Global Human Resources, has more than 15 years of experience in HR, PR and community relations. The Global HR department is responsible for employee policies, compensation/benefits, recruitment, the employee relations, employee communication and training programs. John won a PRSA Silver Anvil in 2000 for Excellence in Internal Communication

Get Involved, Make A Difference

2007-09-19T14:51:00.000-04:00

If you haven't joined the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) it is high time. If you haven't joined the PRSA New Professionals Group what are you spending your time doing?
As young professionals we need to realize the value of involvement in our profession and in our communities. As we begin to step up and take the reigns of middle managers, leads and department heads it is imperative that we are also engaged and conscientious members of our communities. As leaders it is our responsibility and our duty to become involved and educated decision makers.
PRSA and other like organizations can provide a great place to begin.
This is my call to action to you. Right now figure out a way to get your name out there, get yourself in there and get your mind wrapped around what it means to give back the profession and to your community. One day your employees and your collegues will thank you for it.

Back to Networking

2007-08-29T16:03:00.000-04:00

As many young professionals have realized by now, networking is key! Networking can make or break that job interview, it can present new opportunities and open new doors and it can help you establish your reputation. Here is what every new networker needs to know:

3 Mistakes to Avoid When Introducing Yourself

Everyday circumstances — such as standing in line at a store, sharing an elevator with a stranger, or attending a social function — provide ample opportunities for real estate agents to make new contacts. But whether a casual conversational partner becomes a prospective client, a possible referral source, or a dead end hinges largely on the agent's response to one simple question: "So what do you do?" Here are three common mistakes in responding to that question:

1. Vague response.

2. Too much information.

3. Chatter endlessly.

What You Should Do Instead, when agents answer a question about their line of work, they should pose a question of their own — a question that will engage the other person's interest, Bailey says. For example, ask if the potential client understands how stressful and agitating a property transaction can be. After pausing to allow a yes-or-no reply, the agent can then briefly describe how she handles the details and paperwork and generally facilitates the process so that the customer's experience is as pleasant as possible. Not only will the agent engage the other party, but she will demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of the issues and problems associated with buying or selling a house, while also showing their concern for people in those situations.

To read the complete article visit: http://www.realtor.org/rmodaily.nsf/pages/News2007082402

Source: Realty Times, Maya Bailey (08/22/07)

Community Engagement Gets An A+

2007-08-22T16:41:00.000-04:00

As the future leaders of tomorrow young professionals should strive to become active and engaged citizens in their communities. Sound like something your boss might tell you? Well, your boss is right.
And it turns out that young professionals actually like to be engaged! Something your boss would probably say, "Go figure!" to. I run a group in Fort Collins, Colorado called Envision: Young Professionals. I believe this is not my first blog about this group. One of Envision's main goals is to bring community issues education to the young professionals. All they have to do is show up to my events to not only network with others but to take a step toward becoming an active citizen in the Fort Collins community. It is a lot like the fast food of community involvement.
This idea of delivering education and access to issues to young professionals got some raised eyebrows at first. We weren't sure if they would like that. A year and half later this is what makes Envision unique and draws in over 100 young professionals to each event. Young professionals can see the value of learning about their community. Not only is it fun but it is important to know the issues, talk about the issues and make good decisions come the the time the responsibility falls into our lap.
To learn more about Envision visit www.ColoradoEnvision.com

Get more accomplished with time management

2007-08-16T09:41:00.000-04:00

All of us wish that we could add just one more hour to the day in order to finish everything we need to do.

Unfortunately for us, time is constant. It doesn't change. It just IS. We can not add or subtract to it.

Basically, time can not be managed. But, proper time management is managing yourself in relation to time.

The first thing you need to do to manage your time and be more productive is to do a time audit. This is a simple tool in which you record how you currently spend your time. Once you find the unneccessary tasks that are filling your day, you can begin to adjust so you can be more effective and reach your goals.

Public Relations is a field full of deadlines. Just because you are extremely busy does not necessarily mean that you are being productive. Rather concentrate your efforts on results, not on being busy.

One of the biggest culprits that steal your time is procrastination. To beat procrastination, make a "to-do" list with the most important items listed first. We're all procrastinators at one time or another. But don't allow procrastination to consume your day.

Get a personal planner and write all your appointments, deadlines and even tasks. Breakdown large and overwhelming tasks into smaller jobs.

With these and other time management strategies, you can be a more efficient young professional allowing you to climb up the success ladder faster.

Managing an Intern When You Used to Be One Yourself

2007-08-14T15:01:00.001-04:00

Many young professionals probably began their careers in public relations as someones intern. In my case, I am an intern that got hired at the same company I interned with. Now, I have interns of my own. Ah, what a life circle.
While I now have three interns under my belt I battled sweaty palms the day my first intern showed up to work. How was I supposed to manage an intern when less than a year earlier I was an intern myself? What I have learned as part of my intern follies between now and then boil down to three simple rules.
#1: Treat the intern well but not too well. In other words, show your intern some tough love. Let their schedule be flexible to help them out with school and their lives but don't let them skip a day at work without pre-approving it. Take your intern out to lunch but don't let them take a long lunch break of their own. This will teach your interns to respect you, not walk all over you.
#2: Realize these are interns people! As much as I would like my intern to read my mind and act like a mini me so I can get back to my own work I know I have to spend time feeding them the details, checking in on their work and even their feelings. You also have to double check their work. They don't have the same drive, knowledge and passion that a staff member does so cater to this.
#3: Simply: give your interns as much freedom as they demonstrate that they deserve.
With these basic rules you can feel confident to lead your interns the same way your boss would, even if they are only 2 years younger than you are.

Changing Times

2007-08-07T14:58:00.000-04:00

I work for a company that recently went through a name change. The Arkansas Respiratory Health Association (my current employer) used to be the American Lung Association of Arkansas. We were an affiliate of the American Lung Association, which provided us with great name recognition in our community. In the interest of keeping more of our money in Arkansas and sending less of it to the Lung Association HQ in New York, our board voted to branch out on our own.

It has not been easy, but it has gone well. I attribute that to a good staff and a good board of directors. Reporters have been very interested in the story and have asked every question imaginable - and I've been grateful for each question. The coverage has been astoundingly positive, as has the reaction of our donors and those that we serve. Everyone seems to be excited that we are doing everything we can to support our local constituents.

Of course, because we are a non-profit, we have a small budget. It's not easy to promote our new name to the general public. We've used direct mailings, but have not had money yet for TV ads, radio ads, web ads... nothing. We received lots of good coverage because of the press conference we held when we announced the name change, but I know this doesn't translate into sustained name and product recognition.

Have you ever had to devise a major marketing plan on a shoestring budget? Where did you get the most bang for your buck? What would you do if your company suddenly took on a new identity?

The use of slang in a business setting

2007-08-02T15:50:00.000-04:00

Coming straight out of college or with only a few years of experience on our belts, new professionals are more accustomed to the dorm room or house party than a formal business meeting.

Fresh to the business world, we can sometimes get lost in the verbage around the business meeting table. Generally speaking, we should not use slang words in a formal business meeting. In an environment where we are still trying to prove ourselves as competent public relations practitioners, the use of slang can make you look unprofessional.

However, there are a few exceptions where I believe the use of slang can actually work to the young professionals' advantage. Seasoned professionals have the view of young professionals that we have fresh ideas, we are up to date with pop culture, and we are hip and cool.

I'm not saying go into your boss's office and say "What's up, Dog...What's happ'nin?" But in a case where creativity is of upmost value, I believe that slight slang couldn't hurt.

For example, I sat on a planning committee for a local fundraising walkwith seasoned professionals from various industries including bank vice presidents, prominent attorneys and philanthropists.

I was the youngest person on the committee by a good 15 years. While on the committee, I used slang all the time because we were trying to come up with creative and fun ways to get the word out about the walk.

For instance, when they would ask my opinion about a certain idea, rather than saying, "yes, that sounds good. Enthusiastically, I'd say, "yeah, that sounds straight." They loved my enthusiasm, my creativity, and spunkness.

In the end, we received more than 2,000 media impressions locally. When everything was completed and the walk raised more than $300,000, the committee members congratulated me and even wrote a letter to my boss about what a great job they thougth I did.

In conclusion, the use of slang is only acceptable in cases where creativity is essential. Always use your best judgment when using slang because used in an inappropriate situation, it could cost you your career.

What is Social Networking

2007-07-31T10:13:00.000-04:00

Check out Chris Pirillo's video explanation

Chris | Live Tech Support | Video Help | Add to iTunes

Budgeting 101

2007-07-25T18:23:00.001-04:00

While many fiscal years have come to a close and many others are thinking of setting up their 2008 budgets (or in my case, dreading it) it is time to also think about how to budget for the unexpected. With a somewhat unsteady economy and tight marketing budgets a good planner and PR pro needs to be sure to budget for the unexpected. How do you avoid nasty surprises? Create a solid budget from the beginning using one of two, solid budgeting techniques.
Zero based budgeting is a popular technique for a first-time budget/event/program. Zero based budgeting involves researching expected prices and costs and adding those together from the ground up. This technique may be more work up front but may also provide you with the most up to date information.
Incremental budgeting is a popular technique for a repeat program/event/strategy. Incremental budgeting simply increases the previous budget in both income and expenses to match the current market and economic situation.
Happy budgeting.

New Pros Launches Social Media Campaign

2007-07-25T14:09:00.000-04:00

Social media describes the online technologies and practices that people use to share content, opinions, insights, experiences, perspectives, and media itself. It can take many different forms, including text, images, audio and video.

Popular sites as MySpace, MyRagan, Facebook and LinkedIn use tools like message boards, forums, podcasts, bookmarks, communities, wikis, and blogs among other tools.

With 5,000 people signing on to MySpace per hour, the power of social media cannot be denied. We, as communications professionals can not ignore the 73 percent of adults who use the internet.

As social media becomes a driving force in the world of public relations, we have the great opportunity to bypass traditional marketing and advertising outlets by communicating directly with our audiences.

Currently, more than 51 percent of MySpace visitors are over the age of 35 and LinkedIn’s average user is approximately 40 years old. Social networking is not just for teens. We all have a stake in social media in order to provide our clients and organizations with better and innovative results.

The power of social media has even infiltrated the financial industry. Reuters is launching a version of MySpace for the Financial Services Industry, a subscriber-only social network for “fund managers, traders and analysts.”

This is why the New Professionals Affinity Group is making a presence in several social media sites. We are launching a social media campaign in order to serve our members better. Through Myspace, MyRagan, Facebook and LinkedIn, New Pros members can now share experiences, ask questions, network, share knowledge and get to know other new PR professionals around the country.

So many mediums, so little time

2007-07-12T15:49:00.000-04:00

With web 2.0 changing the landscape for the way advertisers, marketers, communications professionals, industry analysts and consumers interact on the web, and sites battling it out for the top spot it becomes harder and harder to determine where and if our brands should be represented on these sites. Most communications professionals participate in some form of social media- whether it be blogging, social networking sites, video sharing, social bookmarking, etc.- so we’ve probably all noticed a difference in the types of people each medium attracts. “Viewing American class divisions through Facebook and MySpace” by Danah Boyd infamously describes these differences. But regardless of the validity and taking into consideration of audience segmenting/targeting the question on which social media to engage brands in is still the same. Should marketers ignore what’s being said in the media and amongst analysts and solely use the mediums which their target audience already uses, or should we go for the medium that has the biggest audience? If you were pitching a print story, would you aim for “USA Today” or would you focus on the yachting magazine?

Getting Ahead Without Getting Fired

2007-07-11T13:46:00.000-04:00

Many young professionals have bright visions for their futures and these days I have run into a significant number of entrepreneurial-minded young professionals. I myself have also just officially begun my own business venture outside of my 8-5 job.
Since I have begun my side company I have learned many things and have experienced new situations. While this venture has been exhilarating for the most part I have also run into discomfort at work. My boss has taken a vested interest in any potential conflict of interest that my side venture may have with my position here after I presented my 5-midnight job (as I like to call it) to him.
While some may think I am lucky to have a boss who cares about this type of thing, my anxiety level has risen over the subject. I would never do anything to jeopardize my position here but I would like to be able to set up my future the way I want to do it. As a young professional in my first job out of college I am stuck in between a rock and a hard place. How do I get ahead with my own company without getting fired here?
I will have to wait to see what it shakes out to be here and ponder the principle of this situation for others in my position.

Criticizing Media Critisicm

2007-06-28T14:47:00.000-04:00

Paris Hilton’s release from jail is certainly non-news reporting, and most if not all major networks are guilty of covering it. Certainly plenty of news consumers are disgusted, and at least one news anchor has, purportedly, refused to cover the story, throwing a tantrum before MSNBC’s Morning Joe program and trying to burn the paper her copy was written on.

Some background on the offending anchor: Mika Brzezinski, a fairly accomplished television news anchor, having been the CBS News correspondent at Ground Zero, is now at NBC News and her role has recently been expanding. Which is what makes me think her hissy fit was staged to up her celebrity-anchor status.

If that’s the case, I simultaneously praise the network for its creativity and deft in pulling together a timely stunt and deplore it for its hypocrisy. Network news covers Paris Hilton for ratings; if MSNBC staged the stunt, it did so for the same reason. What could be more fake than news that’s staged in protest of other news?

[An update on this conspiracy theory of sorts: One of the brighter practitioners I know, Peter Shankman, noticed the incident and didn't smell a rat, so to speak, so maybe ... just maybe ... I'm terribly off base.]

And regardless of whether the incident was staged or not, how is it a good thing to have in-fightings among the producer/anchor teams that bring news forth to the masses? Brzezinski should be gunning for the producer’s seat if she wants to influence news coverage instead of read it.

Other network anchors have quipped before about outlets’ celebrity coverage, but, staged or not, Brzezinski’s incident is likely to introduce “protest journalism” into the lexicon. If this is an indication of how future news anchors will behave, then I think it’s worth calling out as a leap backwards in the credibility of television journalism.

Gen Yers

2007-06-15T07:18:00.000-04:00

Hey guys, it has been a little while since my last post. Conference season is in full swing and I'm on the road again. I received an email with this article and thought it was interesting and absolutely applicable to all of us. Enjoy!

Attracting the twentysomething worker (cont.)
By Nadira A. Hira, Fortune writer-reporter
May 15 2007: 3:10 PM EDT

Domestication
The creature in the wild: Johnny Cooper, assistant designer, J.C. Penney

Johnny Cooper has always wanted to be a fashion designer. At first that usually means picking out pins by day and waiting tables by night. So when an offer of real work came from J.C. Penney in Plano, Texas, he took it in a heartbeat. "What 23-year-old can say that they affect a quarter-billion-dollar business on a daily basis?" he asks.

Yes, he actually has affected it, helping to revamp the company's line of men's swimwear. Cooper also organized a major fundraiser for the company after proposing it in an e-mail to the president. "He responded," Cooper says, chuckling. "It took him a week, and it was a one-liner. But it was the most exciting thing to me."

Succeeding quickly does have its challenges: "I sometimes feel like if I'm given so much responsibility and excelling, why can't I have more and more? I have to say, 'Slow down, Johnny. Sure, you want to be design director, but you've only been here two years.'"

Post your thoughts on The Gig
No one joins a company hoping to do the same job forever. But these days even your neighborhood bartender or barista aspires to own the place someday. What's more, the ties that have bound members of this age group to jobs in the past - spouse, kids, mortgage - are today often little more than glimmers in their parents' eyes. So if getting Gen Yers to join a company is a challenge, getting them to stay is even harder.

The key is the same one their parents have used their whole lives - loving, encouraging and rewarding them. What that amounts to in corporate terms is a support network, work that challenges more than it bores, and feedback. "The loyalty of twentysomethings is really based on the relationships they have with those directly above them," says Dorsey, the "Reality Check" author. "There's a perception among management that those relationships shouldn't be too personal, but that's how we know they care about us."

Dorsey - who in true Gen Y style dropped out of college to write an earlier book, "Graduate to Your Perfect Job," without having either graduated or gotten a job - recommends starting small. Business cards are an easy way to make young employees feel valued. Letting them shadow older employees helps, as does inviting them to a management meeting now and then. And marking milestones is major, says Dorsey. No birthday should go uncelebrated, and the first day on the job should be unforgettable.

Dorsey recalls the time the president of an engineering firm called a new employee's mother and asked her to be there when her daughter started work Monday morning. "When her mom walked through the crowd, she was like, 'Oh, my God,' and her mom says to everyone, 'I took her to kindergarten, and now I'm here for her first day of work,'" Dorsey says. "The president took them on a tour of the company and explained to both of them why what new employees were doing was so important to the company. And the mom turns to her daughter and says, 'You are not allowed to quit this job. Real companies are not like this.'"

Skeptics would say Mom had a point. But the idea is simply to make big companies feel small, and even major corporations can do much of that work through mentoring. This no longer means creating a spreadsheet, matching people by gender, race or a shared love of baseball, and hoping for the best. At KPMG, says Jesal Asher, a director in the advisory practice, every junior staffer is expected to have a mentor, every manager a protégé, and those in the middle often have both. There's a Web site to facilitate the formal process, and social activities - happy hours, softball games, group lunches - are organized to encourage informal networking.

With the resources that companies like KPMG have, though, ice-cream socials are just the beginning. This summer KPMG will send 100 new hires to Madrid to train alongside new hires from other countries. The firm also gives employees time off to do community service. Steps like those have helped bring turnover down from 25 percent in 2002 to 18 percent last year, says KPMG's head of campus recruiting, Manny Fernandez.

"Gen Yers are able to do and learn so much more than I could at that stage," he says, "and they're not looking to have a career like I have, with just one company. So we've got to build tools that are not just about retention but about having people develop skills faster, so that they can take on larger opportunities."

While development is a long-term goal, it begins in the short term with harnessing Gen Yers' energy. "They're so vocal that you can almost take an associate to a meeting with the CEO," says Asher, "because something that comes out of her mouth is going to be actually outside the box, something that none of us have ever thought about."

And twentysomethings can thrive when given real responsibility. Mark Meussner, a former Ford manager, remembers one instance when, faced with a serious manufacturing problem and two young engineers begging for the chance to solve it, he took a chance on them. He gave them one more-experienced person as a counselor, and they made what he estimates was a $25 million impact by solving a problem that had proved intractable for a decade. The success spawned a slate of company-sponsored initiatives led by more-junior staffers. Says Meussner: "We need to use 100 percent of an employee - not just their backs and minds, but their innovation, enthusiasm, energy and fresh perspective."

It's 12:45 A.M., this story is due next week, and I'm hard at work. By that I mean I am sitting at a desk. In my house. Wearing yellow ducky slippers, track pants, and the royal-blue Tommy Hilfiger pullover that has been my thinking cap since I started writing papers in high school. Pondering my bookshelf - some Faulkner, Irving, Naipaul, Kerouac, Franzen and, of course, Dr. Seuss and A.A. Milne - for inspiration.

With "The Cosby Show" playing in the background, Google chats going with two friends, and text messages coming from my boyfriend, who's on assignment in Africa. When things really get going, I'll put on "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," which has kept me company through every major story of my writing career. In short, I'm ridiculous.

I know this will be alarming to read, particularly for my mother, who cares so much about my image that she began blow-drying my hair when I was 4. But it had to be written, because I've come to realize that the most significant characteristic of the Gen Y bird is that we are unapologetic. From how we look, to how spoiled we are, to what we want - even demand - of work, we do think we are special. And what ultimately makes us different is our willingness to talk about it, without much shame and with the expectation that somebody - our parents, our friends, our managers - will help us figure it all out.

That's why, in retrospect, when I started at Fortune in 2004, I asked then-editorial director John Huey what he thought the magazine needed and how I might contribute to that end. "I don't think you need to worry about that," he said, fixing me with an ever-so-slightly amused gaze. It seemed like a perfectly valid question at the time, but with all the hindsight that three years can offer, thinking about it makes me giddy - with embarrassment, but also a fair amount of awe. Who did I think I was? At 23, I had already had three jobs - one at a startup magazine that folded, a contract gig at the prestigious MTV News and a stint recruiting for Time Inc., which is why I was sitting with Huey in the first place. And Huey was just an office away from becoming top editor of the world's largest publishing empire. Unwise of me, to say the least.

But that's the beauty of Gen Y. Despite the initial smirk, Huey did go on to talk to me about the magazine, his own career, and what he expected of and hoped for me. And that 20-minute conversation set a tone of learning, self-evaluation and growth that I'm glad of now, especially as I've struggled to turn years of Gen Y news, research and hearsay - ranging from the worshipful to the condescending - into some sort of cohesive narrative.

It speaks to a confidence that's been building since our parents clapped at our first steps, right through the moment when - as so many new college graduates are doing now - we walked across the stage at universities throughout the country, straight into America's finest corporate foyers. If that makes us a bit cocky at times, it's forgivable, because I'm willing to bet that in coming years, all that questioning will lead us to some important answers. And in the meantime - sorry, Mom - I'll be out getting a tattoo.

Defining Our Many Roles

2007-06-13T14:57:00.000-04:00

Not long ago, an e-mail popped up in my in-box with the time, date and place of a staff retreat for my organization. Of all the cheesy office events that we can expect to encounter in our professional careers, I think one of the most groan-worthy is the staff retreat. Images of team-building exercises, power point presentations and sharing our visions for the organization flooded my mind. Would we have to do those games where people fall back into each other's arms to prove we trust our coworkers? I let my imagination run amok with one cornball possibility after another.

Soon after that e-mail arrived, my boss came back from a meeting and announced that each department had to prepare a presentation for the retreat that explained the three most important contributions made by its members. What began as a competitive endeavor to have the best presentation quickly proved itself to be a great way to actually tell people what we do. My department is comprised of three people, and together we make up the marketing and communications staff. As we planned our tongue-in-cheek video, we quickly realized that very few people know the difference between our three contributions: marketing, public relations and communications. In fact, we had to stop ourselves a few times to make sure we weren't confusing the three.

While the finer, educational details of our video may only stay in the minds of our coworkers for a limited time, the project was a great refresher for us. I think we all could benefit from taking a step back and actually thinking about the basic, specific functions our jobs entail.

(And in case you were wondering, the retreat was actually enjoyable. Our presentation was a favorite, too!)

Results Are All That Matter

2007-06-13T11:53:00.000-04:00

Since I began working for my company we have all happily participated in a "book club." We have gone through many great authors; Thomas Friedman, Jim Collins, Malcolm Gladwell and John Maxwell. To shake it up a bit we thought we would go for a book a bit outside of our box.
We are now moving through "It's Called Work for a Reason" by Larry Wignet. This guy is pretty abrasive and in your face. His claim to fame is that the only thing that matters in the work place is the results you produce. Wignet says both good and bad results are your own responsibility and that is all your boss cares about, so start producing.

As you may have guessed, this is a scary topic to discuss around the board room table with my bosses and leaves me wondering how my results are affected by outside factors and what that means for my job. Your media contact having a bad day and won't listen to your pitch? Your fault! Your major sponsor of your annual event go bankrupt and fall through for your event? Your fault!

According to this book your boss doesn't care which forces you have working against you. I guess it is time for us to get creative or get out.

Break Through to the “Other” Side

2007-06-13T10:27:00.000-04:00

In October 2006, I had the privilege of listening to Jim Lukaszewski. He talked about how the voice of communicators can be heard more clearly by management.

How do you prepare your pitches? Do you research what kind of stories the media outlet produces? Do you actually read, listen and/or watch several issues of that media outlet? If your answer was yes, then you have a greater shot at getting your story picked up.

The same approach should be used with your superiors. Find out what they like to read and watch. Then read the Wall Street Journal or watch Meet the Press. This will help you communicate better by making it easier to start the conversation. It will also produce more interaction with your superiors.

People are more honest and open with those that they know on a personal level. It is always better to communicate a message when you know all the facts. Having a good relationship with your superiors will not only get you the facts, but it will also get you noticed.

Your suggestions are more likely to be taken into consideration if your superior knows more than just your name. Interaction with others builds trust and respect. So start researching what your superior likes and start getting noticed!

Mentor on Demand

2007-06-01T09:54:00.000-04:00

We know how busy it is to be a new professional and not have the time to develop a mentor relationship through the New Pros Mentor Program, so we bring you our third installment of “Mentor on Demand!”

Our mentor match program is still available, but we hope you enjoy this opportunity for a quick Q&A that will be brought to you on behalf of the New Professionals Group.

This month’s “Mentor on Demand” is Shellyn S. Shoenthal, a public relations specialist with Jewish Family & Children’s Service in Pittsburgh, PA. Over the last three years Shellyn has provided public relations council and implemented public relations and marketing tactics to help increase cohesion among Jewish Family & Children’s Service staff and increase awareness and perception of the agency among current and potential clients, board members, community leaders and current and potential donors. Some of her efforts include media training staff, implementing public relations policy and procedures, media relations, branding and strategic marketing and public relations planning for all agency departments and supporting organizations. New Professionals Group (NPG): What made you decide to begin a career in public relations? Shellyn Shoenthal (SS): Although public relations was not my first career choice, it was definitely the right one for me to end up in. As the PR specialist at Jewish Family & Children's Service, I get the opportunity every day to strategically plan, communicate and market services that change individual lives and create regional impact.

NPG: What do you think are the top three skills a new PR pro needs to learn to be successful? SS: I don't know that I would narrow it to three specific skills. I would suggest becoming a sponge for information. No matter what industry you are doing PR for, PR professionals need to have their finger on the pulse of the industry they work in (or of their clients), current events and the most effective and latest communication tools and techniques that are being used.

NPG: Besides PRSA, which organizations, workshops, conferences, seminars do you recommend joining and attending to gain professional development and network?
SS: Regional young professional groups or non-profit volunteer opportunities such as becoming a member of a committee planning a fundraising event or campaign. Anything that will help keep you and your work visible to your peers, potential hiring managers and industry leaders.

NPG: What are the must haves and must knows for a new PR pro (anything from skill sets, technology, to knowledge)?
SS: Confidence and leadership. You need to feel confident and show leadership in every fiber of your work. You are an ambassador for your company, client or agency, so you need to be confident in what you are communicating, thus helping you to gain the trust of your audiences.

NPG: Would starting in a large agency setting versus a small firm would have any impact on my future for corporate communications? Is one more favorable than the other...is or is experience just important?
SS: I suggest showing leadership by taking on PR tasks while in school. Join PRSSA, write for the newspaper, volunteer in a communications role, plan events. Just be creative in finding ways to garner experience and employers will recognize that. I started out working in PR agencies and feel that it gave me the foundation and experience to be able lead the public relations and marketing efforts in my current non-profit position.

NPG: How long should a new pro stay at their first job?
SS: There is no black and white answer. The first years in PR can feel like an amusement ride, but because much of PR is done on a project-by-project basis, it is good to stay somewhere where you can see the lifecycle of a campaign, event or project of any kind.

About Shellyn Shoenthal: Before joining the non-profit industry, Shellyn worked for two Pittsburgh-based public relations and marketing communications agencies (Brabender Cox/Adams Marketing Group and Jack Horner Communications) where she managed accounts for clients such as Microsoft, GNC and Development Dimensions International.Shellyn is currently Renaissance Award Chair for PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) Pittsburgh, a public affairs volunteer for the American Red Cross Southwestern PA Chapter and provides public relations and fundraising counsel for the Leetsdale Fire Department among various other nonprofit endeavors.

Shellyn has a B.A. in Communications from Robert Morris University.

For more information about the PRSA New Pros Affinity Mentor Program or to submit a question for the next Mentor on Demand installment, please contact Katie Thomas, chair, at katie.crabtree@gmail.com.

Investing Smart for Young Professionals

2007-05-23T10:47:00.000-04:00

When I was handed my first paycheck at my first job my eyes opened wide and got huge! Wow! Look at all the money I had made in just two weeks! It was certainly more than I ever saw at a measly part time job in college. For the first few months of my career I spent my money away on all sorts of frivolous, impulse-buy items. I was having the time of my life thinking I was rolling in the dough.
Then, my boss offered to pay for a financial education class at a local community college. I decided to take him up on his offer, it was going to be free afterall.
I was surprised to find out that I was the youngest person in this "Finances 101" class and I was even more surprised at what I learned. Not only was I educated on how to read and invest in the stock market, taught the correct process for retirement planning and even estate planning but I was also taught the power of compounding interest. Compounding interest is an amazing thing, most especially during a little exercise that I find myself in the middle of while window shopping.
While standing outside of a store window drooling over a $100 sweater that I like I realize that capitalism can work for me or against me. For example, if I took my $100 and put it in a Roth IRA ,instead of into the cash register, and waited 30 years until I retire my interest on that $100 would compound. Say my investment saw an 8% return rate each year. If inflation is 3% then my money is still growing 5% a year in true terms.What does this mean in plain language?
100 x 1.05^30 = $432.
So, I remind myself: Spend $100 now and I am really spending $432 of my own "future" money. Most days this is enough to keep me outside of that store.

How Many Typos Can You Find?

2007-05-22T17:49:00.000-04:00

It seems that articles about the decline of printed media are becoming more prevalent these days. Newspapers are laying off staff to compensate for the lack of circulation, magazine jobs are even fewer and more unobtainable. I don't see these news sources dying out anytime soon, but I have to wonder about the cost of the small cutbacks that are being made while these publications downsize. More and more, I find myself noticing typos in various publications. These are usually minor errors - a misplaced comma, an extra "s" that created a plural word in place of a singular one - but they pop out, especially to those of us who took a load of journalism and English classes in undergrad. I have a hard time believing that the staff cutbacks at printed media outlets have not effected the quality of these publications in some way or another. Reporters are rushed to cover more stories, copy editors have to check a larger number of drafts and everyone is in a hurry.

From my standpoint in the public relations arena, I wonder how - and if - I can help those frenzied reporters so that when they write about my news and events, they get everything accurate. I also wonder if this is something that will continue as virtual media continues to grow and more traditional sources of information taper off. How many mistakes will have to be made before someone realizes something needs to be done? Will it become a question of quality and reputation over the bottom line?

Job Search Advice

2007-05-18T09:07:00.000-04:00

One of my former professors asked me to serve as a mentor for a group of seniors participating in an international advertising competition. And although I don't see myself as a "true" mentor, (mentor's are supposed to know just about everything and have like 10 years experience, right?) one of the students recently asked me for career advice. Now, even though I'm not 100% established in my career yet, I feel confident enough in advising the new grad that the two best things to do are network and not give up. Erin posted that great article on the time it takes to search for a job and I already forwarded that to the student. I also made sure to send links to the local PRSA chapter job boards and referred him to my fav job search site www.indeed.com, but what other advice can we give recent college grads in their quest to enter the pr/communications profession?

Your Hand Gestures May Make You the King of Snap Judgement Networking

2007-05-16T13:31:00.000-04:00

Anyone who has ever seen a hand gesture on the highway while driving will tell you how important hand gestures actually are. The same silent language that we all understand while behind the wheel of our cars also applies to networking situations.

In Malcolm Gladwell's book, Blink, he talks about the phenomenon of "snap judgements" otherwise known as first impressions. People may size you up in the first few moments that they spend with you so it is imperative that you are prepared to make a good impression.

There are many theories of what makes a successful network-er via provided perceptions such as the red power tie but many may not think of the key role that their hand gestures may play in snap judgement networking. I feel as though I have mastered some techniques in my own networking journey.

For starters, avoid looking at your watch, touching your face or fixing your hair. These grooming habits make you look nervous and uncomfortable. And, we all know that a good handshake is just as important as brushing your teeth in the morning. Kevin Ferrazzi, author of Never Eat Alone, suggest a pair of techniques that will make you stand out: The two-handed handshake which shows your enthusiasm and the quick grab of the elbow which draws people in. "The ability to extend your hand and pull people in is a powerful way to connect with someone," he says.

With your new found knowledge go network away! Just remember not to pull anyone over when you try your new techniques, just pull them in.

How Long Will It Take You To Find A Job?

2007-05-08T14:11:00.000-04:00

How long did you have to live in your old bedroom at your parents house before you found a job after graduation? Some of my smartest friends looked for over six months! Looks like more recent grads shouldn't have to wait it out that long.

May 07, 2007 edition of Christian Science Monitor - http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0507/p13s01-wmgn.html

Job prospects good for college grads in US
The hiring frenzy for graduating college students during the late 1990s has not returned, but it's getting close, analysts say.
By Tom A. Peter Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

As graduating college students move in with their parents or occupy a friend's couch while they search for jobs, hosts of these transients will be relieved to hear that by all measures it should be a relatively short job hunt.
A steadily improving job market indicates that most graduates will have little problem finding a job that will elevate them from the ranks of student to young professional.
Based on statistics from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), the future looks bright for college grads this year. At least 17.4 percent more jobs await the class of 2007 than last year's class. Even better, 26 of 29 undergraduate majors surveyed by NACE reported larger starting salary offers.
Among grads both new and old, a university degree seems to be a virtual employment guarantee. As of March, people with a bachelor's degree or higher experienced a 1.8 percent unemployment rate compared with a national average of 4.4 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
"It is a favorable market for the new college graduates," says Brett Good, district president for southern California and Arizona at Robert Half International, a staffing company.
The abundance of job opportunities reflects the continued improvement of the economy since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. While the market for entry-level positions has yet to match the hiring frenzies seen during the late 1990s, analysts say it's getting close. "Every year since 2002, things got a little bit better, and then there was a significant improvement in 2005-06, and we've continued to improve at a very solid level," says Richard White, director of career services at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J.
In addition, companies have begun taking steps to fill the impending void created when baby boomers, who account for 45 percent of the workforce, begin retiring. "It's getting enough coverage that organizations are taking it seriously and saying how do we work with what will become a very problematic supply-and-demand issue," says Mr. Good.
All of this means that it's a good time to be graduating from college. But for those with specialized degrees, it's an even better time. Starting salaries for business or technical majors have grown the most. Marketing graduates, for example, saw their average initial salary offer increase by 10.3 percent this year, according to NACE. Salaries offered to liberal arts grads on the other hand increased on average by only 1.3 percent in 2006.
Charlie Smith, a film major at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., says most of his friends with economics or business degrees have already lined up jobs for next year, while he and his friends in the liberal arts are still struggling to find something.
"Of everybody I know who has already graduated, there's nobody who hit the ground running," says Mr. Smith. "It's not because anybodies stupid or they don't have any talent. It's just impossible to hit the ground running unless you're an accountant."
Christopher Bayerle, an art history major at Birmingham Southern College in Alabama who graduates this spring, worries that only grads from top universities or with advanced degrees will stand out in today's job market. "Even if we have more jobs [in the US] each day, there are so many colleges in this country, and so many people are going to college," he says.
Still, there may be a number of opportunities for grads like Smith and Mr. Bayerle, as a number of employers see value in a broad range of studies. Of 150 senior executives recently surveyed by the staffing organization Accountemps, 21 percent said that to prepare for future business success they would study the liberal arts, up from 14 percent in 1996. Liberal arts came in second only to business administration, which gained 39 percent of the votes, but beat both accounting and law. "[The liberal arts] really stress critical thinking and analysis, which is a skill set that's important for a number of organizations," says Good.
Though many accounting and economics majors land jobs early, only 30 to 40 percent of students have secured a job by commencement, estimates Dr. White at Rutgers. But six months after graduation, at least 75 percent of graduates will have jobs and another 20 percent will have moved on to graduate school.
Regardless of a student's major, internships offer one surefire path to a job. Sixty-four percent of students who completed an internship said they received a full-time job offer from a company or organization where they interned, reports a 2006 survey by Vault Inc., a career counseling company.
Caitlin Watras, a senior at Boston College with a communications major, was just starting the application process when she got two separate job offers from companies where she'd interned.
She'd taken internships throughout her undergraduate career, hoping they would lead to a full-time position. "When I chose the places where I was going to intern, I was looking for a company that I could potentially go back to," she says.
In such a job-seeker's market, recruiters may begin offering more than just high salaries to attract new talent. "Recruiters have to be very aggressive," says Dianne Durkin, president and founder of Loyalty Factor LLC, a training and consulting firm in Portsmouth, N.H. "This group of college graduates has their choices. They can be picking and choosing what they want, and they know that."
As a result, firms are more willing to meet graduates on their terms by offering them jobs that emphasize learning and growth opportunities, such as job rotations within the company, flexible hours, and liberal vacation policies, says Mrs. Durkin.
"[These new grads] are willing to work hard, but they're willing to work on their terms," says Durkin. "Recruiters have to cater to this, because if they don't, [grads] will find somebody else who will take them."
Additionally, companies may start appealing to this group of grads' sense of social responsibility. "An important element of attracting and retaining talent is creating a workplace and a work culture that stands for something, that is engaged in the community," says John Challenger president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an outplacement firm in Chicago.
Among other things, he imagines companies will draw attention to their environmentally friendly polices to lure green-minded grads.

Can Social Networking Harm Our Careers?

2007-05-07T12:55:00.000-04:00

Just prior to graduation, I did a Google search for myself to see what would come up in the event a potential employer I was sending my resume to decided to do the same. Not only did I see my PRSSA involvement and a few articles I had written, I also found an article from a local independent paper that runs an annual haiku contest - in a fit of boredom and homework avoidance, my roommate and I submitted some haiku of our own, and much to our amusement, found our creative attempts published. There was nothing negative or incriminating about this, but it showed me just how much information can be gathered on a person based on just one page of Google search results.

This morning I saw a posting on CNN.com about a girl who got her teaching certificate and education degree taken away days before graduation on account of some content on her MySpace page. The story does not mention how her supervisors found the posting, but I think this is a great warning for us all to exercise a little caution when choosing our words and photos to share with the world.

Watch the video.

The Anatomy of Relocating

2007-05-03T10:34:00.000-04:00

As so many of my friends spread across the nation after college graduation and relocated to cities and towns to fit their careers, I stayed put. Still living in my college town, and very much enjoying it, sometimes the thought of taking the big relocation plunge makes me get goose bumps. How does one even begin to know where to relocate to?
I found this article just on that subject. Read on.

Let quality of life be your beacon
Make your move on quality of life
(Robert Spencer for the Boston Globe)
By Penelope Trunk November 12, 2006

Take the question of where to live seriously. Don't let inertia push you toward a big-name city, the place you grew up, or your old college haunt. Make a conscious decision to live somewhere that will improve your quality of life by really understanding what your core needs and interests are -- and will be.

Cities understand they are competing to attract vibrant, creative populations and are branding themselves accordingly. Young people get this. Many treat cities as a consumer product to be test-driven, like a new car. A white paper published by Next Generation Consulting concluded that because of an increasing shortage in skilled workers, Generation Y is saying, "I can find a job anywhere. It's more important to me to find a place where I fit in."
Rebecca Ryan, chief executive of Next Generation , puts it in nuts and bolts terms: "Where you live is more important than where you work because a mortgage and your kids' school are more long-term than the job you have."
So how do you choose where to live if everywhere is a possibility?
1. Learn what matters. Richard Florida, professor at George Mason University in Virginia and author of "The Rise of the Creative Class," summarized conclusions from a recent summit of the mavens of the economic development and the psychology of happiness: "Place is as important as having a job that challenges you, but not as important as relationships with family and friends."
Jane Ciccone, designer of the Jane Elizabeth jewelry line, got it. She says she and her husband, "fell in love with San Francisco, but our families were in Massachusetts. We could have stayed in San Francisco if we could have gotten some of my family to move there. But no one would move because of the cost of living." Now they live in Newburyport, and are expecting a child any day.
2. Leave room for career flexibility. You probably won't have the same career your whole life. If you move to a city where the culture or demographics reflect your values (think recycling rates, number of churches) and meets the needs of your nonwork interests (e.g. kayaking in the Pacific Northwest), then you are more likely to move among careers without having to relocate away from your interests or relationships.
Realize that a high cost of living directly affects what flexibility you have in your career. You severely limit your ability to drop in and out of the workforce and careers if you are raising kids and paying a mortgage in an expensive place.
3. Live where your income is at least as high as the median. If you're surrounded by people who have more money than you, you won't feel like you have enough. The relative amount of money is what matters, according to Daniel Khaneman, who won a Nobel Prize for applying psychology to economics.
4. Consider that more choice is not intrinsically more desirable. Do you really need to be able to choose from 20 takeout restaurants every night? Probably not. The same is true for private schools, and pet-friendly parks. More choices make us nervous about deciding and more likely to regret what we've ultimately settled on, according to Barry Schwartz, author of "The Paradox of Choices." You don't want life dictated to you, but you also don't want to spend your whole life deliberating what-ifs.
5. Don't relocate away from a spouse or significant other. The single biggest factor in our happiness, according to many studies, is our sex life. Daniel Blanchflower, professor of economics at Dartmouth College, has quantified it for us: "Going from sex once a month to sex once a week creates a big jump in happiness." Caveat for the adventurous: Sex needs to be with a single, consistent partner to confer big-time benefits.
6. Keep your commute short. There's a huge psychic cost to joining the suburban crawl. "You think you are moving out to the suburbs because it's better for your kids, but in some cities, you're never going to see your kids because you're always in your car," says Wendy Waters, founder of the blog All About Cities.
7. Seek diverse populations for a richer life. Bigger cities are often among the most homogenous. Ethnic diversity and racial differences now are not as pronounced as economic and educational differences. Diverse ideas are often based in diverse experience; however, housing costs are pushing out nearly everyone but the rich from the most popular cities.
Richard Florida says, "San Francisco is becoming an entirely homogenous place. This is true of entire regions and migration trends will make this worse. The creative revolution is creating a concentration of wealth worse than in the Industrial Revolution."
8. Make a decision to improve the world. "The key to solving this problem," says Florida, "is not to beat up Boston and San Francisco, but to make second-tier cities attractive."
In a large part, this is a government problem. Pay attention to cities such as Columbus, Ohio, where Mayor Michael Coleman has a vision for the city that intensely embraces diversity. Or Madison, Wis., where a capable network of investors is working with the government to promote local technology innovations.
You can find meaning in community by helping to promote diversity and creativity in a city such as these. You can help build new models for cities that make room for communities of people with diverse ideas and diverse income levels. The decision is a little like driving a hybrid car: We can't fix everything in the world. But we can live our life in sync with our values and with intention to make a difference.
Penelope Trunk writes the Brazen Careerist blog at blog.penelopetrunk.com
© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.

Can MySpace Influence the 2008 Presidential Race?

2007-04-26T10:21:00.000-04:00

MySpace Teams With Burnett On Presidential Reality Show
Thursday, Apr 26, 2007 6:00 AM ET
Media Post Publications

ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE MYSPACE and reality TV producer Mark Burnett are teaming for the early 2008 launch of a show to search for an independent presidential candidate. The political reality show "Independent" will award a $1 million cash prize to finance a run for the White House or can be given to a political action committee or political cause.
MySpace users and TV viewers will rate contestants' performances in an interactive "town hall" setting. Potential candidates will audition by video. Chosen contestants will set up MySpace profiles to serve as their campaign headquarters. No TV network has yet committed.

When do you know it's time to leave your job?

2007-04-25T15:59:00.000-04:00

I thought this article was interesting, and relevant to young professionals. How do you know when it's time to leave? Read on...

Wrong Job, Move On!
How do you know when it's time to leave your job? When you begin laughing at your supervisors.
by Susan Marie Groppi
At my last job, I knew the time had come to leave when I laughed out loud at my supervisor during a meeting. He'd called a few of us together to explain a new office initiative. "It's going to mean some changes for how we do things," he said, "but I think it can be very positive for us, very exciting."

I couldn't help it. I just started laughing. He had used those exact same words so often, usually to prepare us for some large-scale project in which our department did all of the work and another department got all of the credit. This time, everything just seemed so ridiculous - especially the fact that he really expected us to think this new project was positive and exciting, when experience so clearly showed that it would be neither. Something had to change. The department wasn't going to change and management was unlikely to depart, so it was clearly time for me to leave.

Not everyone lands in the right job right out of school. There must be people who find the jobs of their dreams straight after graduation -- I even know one or two of them - but they're the exceptions, not the rule. Most of us have to take a few tries, make a few mistakes, and figure it out bit by bit as we go along. A job that looks great may turn out different than advertised, and even a job that's right for you at first may no longer be ideal as you change and your life changes. The important thing is to recognize when you're in the wrong situation and find a way out of it.

One common sign that you and your job aren't well matched is when you just can't make it to work at any reasonable hour. Everyone is delayed sometimes; everyone has mornings when the alarm clock is the enemy. It's only a problem when it becomes a pattern when every morning you're finding, as one friend of mine did, an endless string of things to do rather than go to work. If you're vacuuming the living room, watching cartoons, baking cookies, waxing your car, or even staring at the walls just to avoid facing another morning at the office, you're clearly not in the right place.

Sometimes the problem is larger, though. What if you're not only in the wrong job, but the wrong line of work? It happens, more often than you might think. It's very easy upon graduation to take the path of least resistance, to accept the job you know you can do well rather than the one that challenges you. It's easy to misjudge your interests, or to need more time to find the path that's right for you.

So how do you know when you need a bigger change than just a new job? There are a few easy signs; if you have a particular interest outside of work that consistently holds your attention better than your job does, for instance. If you've had a string of bad employment experiences in your field, you're probably in the wrong field.

The best thing to do is to write a list of things you don't like in your current job. If they're mostly things that are likely to be different with a new employer (shorter commute, higher salary, different management structure), then you probably don't have a problem with the field that you're in. But if your list includes a lot of elements that aren't specific to your present job - if you want to be doing something more creative, for example - then you might need to start thinking about an entirely different track.

Keep in mind that it's okay to switch jobs - if you didn't know at twenty-one or twenty-two what you wanted to do with the rest of your life, that's fine. It's never too late to make a change. Whether you got it right on the first try (or second or third) isn't important; what's critical is that you find something that helps you triumph over the alarm clock most days because you can't wait to get to work.

Getting the Respect You Deserve

2007-04-18T14:54:00.000-04:00

A great author, Dr. John C. Maxwell, said to me in a recent interview, “Young people don’t always get respect, but leadership is not about titles or positions. People try to lead by position rather than lead by permission. Every day try to add value to people – don’t be so position conscious – add value and be authentic.”

This really made me think....this is so true! We don't get the respect we deserve! We are constantly being forced into proving our skills, knowledge, talents and capabilities to those around us from positions that are often below them. But, you know what? It is also true that as we all aspire to become leaders in our communities and professions that all we really should be expending our energy on is adding value to people.

Dr. Maxwell's "add value to people" advice holds true throughout his 30 books and countless public presentations and I believe that if this advice is closely followed the world will soon be full of well-respected young professional leaders.

Interpreting the news around us

2007-04-18T01:13:00.000-04:00

In the world of competing news organizations and competing journalists it never ceases to amaze me how many different angles can come out of one story.

I am not trying to make light of what happened in Virginia this week. My heart and feelings truly go out to anyone affected by the tragic events. Rather, it highlighted something I've been thinking of lately: do the media shape how we think or merely provide us with the news? In the quest to report on the story for a new angle they're readers will "stay tuned" too, reporters today appear to trying to do both.

My verdict is still up in the air, but you can be the judge based on the following headlines all covering the recent events at Virginia Tech:

Brandweek Article on Next Gen Marketers

2007-04-17T15:06:00.000-04:00

Marketers of the Next Generation
photo by Juliana Thomas April 16, 2007
Brandweek

NEW YORK -- Unless you've been hiding under the desk in your office, you've no doubt heard some of the ubiquitous talk that's been floating around lately about whether the Chief Marketing Officer—much like the Chief Information Officer of the last decade—is joining the endangered species list. The world of marketing, we are told again and again, has changed forever. Want to see if it’s true? Click HEREfor an eye-opening report.

On-the-Job Training: Confidence

2007-04-16T15:52:00.000-04:00

Last week, my third week at my new job, I found myself confronted with an emotion I haven't experienced in awhile: self-doubt.

Don't get me wrong, things are great. But at the beginning of last week, I learned something that made me question myself. I learned that my boss trusts and values my input and capabilities.

As a young professional embarking on her second job, this is new to me. I am not familiar with hearing someone call me an expert and tell me to do what I feel is necessary to perform my job. Apparently, part of my brain is stuck back in my internships and first job, where, more often than not, I had to get permission before putting a project into motion. Now I'm being told that I don't always have to ask, that I can move forward with my plans and ambitions.

Part of me is overjoyed about this. It is exactly what I was looking for, and knowing that I have support in executing my ideas is a great feeling. But another part of me is questioning my knowledge and capabilities. I'm finding myself wondering if I should ask more or less questions, and I worry about what will happen when something goes wrong or doesn't turn out as planned.

I have yet to receive a flash of understanding as to why I'm feeling like this, but I reached out to a friend and valued mentor because I felt the need to express my fears to someone who would understand. Her simple, yet oddly comforting response was that everyone asks questions and has to learn. I've been repeating that to myself these last few days, and I'm reminding myself that even though I finished my formal schooling almost two years ago, this is a field where I will always be learning new things, about myself and the industry. That's part of what drew me to it in the first place. I don't want to be overly confident in my behavior, but I certainly need to put the doubt away--it's not what got me here, and it certainly won't get me very far in the future.

Press Conferences in Virtual Worlds

2007-04-13T17:50:00.000-04:00

Most press conferences are pretty typical - a podium, spokesperson and the press all crammed into a room where reporters can ask question and gather information they need for their stories. I've attended a couple of press conferences and enjoyed them.

But no press conference can compare to the recent conference put on by Ross Mayfield of Social Text. I read about his press conference in a recent article by Cade Metz of PC Magazine.

According to Metz, the press conference took place inside World of Warcraft, and reporters were not allowed to ask the CEO without challenging his avatar character - a knight - to a duel.

Apparently at least 30 journalists participated in the medieval virtual press conference. As I read the story, I was floored. Forget sending creative media kits to journalists. Why not ask them to come duke it out with your CEO in Second Life or some other virtual world?

In all honestly, though, I am impressed with the creativity of public relations professionals. I doubt this type of tactic would work for many of us, but it points to the fact that we as new professionals should not be afraid to think outside the box and try new creative approaches.

I have found that many of the "rules" I was taught in school are not actually followed today by the press or by fellow journalists. I still believe we should follow best practices. But rather than getting hung up on following formulas to successful public relations, I think we need to leverage our individual talents and abilities to creatively connect with the media, our customers and investors.

Every Time the Wind Blows

2007-04-13T15:09:00.000-04:00

I currently serve as the treasurer on the board of directors of the Arkansas chapter of PRSA. It has been an eye-opening experience. The Arkansas chapter does its own billing for local dues since we incorporate the cost of lunch at our monthly meeting into the bill.

The second quarter statements just went out at the beginning of April. I was surprising to see how many people had changed jobs. Ten of our members had changed jobs since the last quarter. That accounts for eight percent of our membership. If that trend continues more than 30 percent of the membership will change jobs by the end of the year.

According to the National Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were more than 8 million job openings in professional and business services last year. Almost 63 percent of those job openings were caused by someone quitting their position. The other 37 percent was due to firing, layoff or the creation of a new position.

It will be interesting to see if this trend continues in my local chapter.

National Bureau of Labor Statistics Data
http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/servlet/SurveyOutputServlet;jsessionid=f030f5790100$3F$3E$7

Todays young professionals: the hottest upcoming generation

2007-04-11T10:35:00.000-04:00

For the past year and a half I have run a young professionals group, Envision: Young Professionals. This very successful program began when my bosses saw an entire audience of people ages 21 to 35 that weren't receiving the attention they deserved. Envision's main purpose is to educate young professionals in Northern Colorado about the latest hot topics and issues affecting them. This is done in a hip and trendy location once every other month and this experience comes with food and drink. The cost to attend these networking events with a twist is light on the young professionals pocket book as well. Since Envision's inception in December 2005 I have had the privilege to see a growing number of young professionals come to these events and give our topics the attention that they deserve to have from young professionals. I have also seen the community perk up and pay attention to the young professional generation and realize the power, intelligence and enthusiasm that young professionals have for the community. The young professionals have become more engaged in the future of the Northern Colorado community because they were given a forum that fit their lifestyles, needs and desires. And, in turn, the community have become more engaged in providing this forum for young professionals through Envision.
My prediction for the near future, through what I have seen with Envision, is that young professionals can expect to be caterered to in most respects, they quickly climb their career ladders and a heap of responsibility will be bestowed upon them as they are the hottest upcoming generation. I am glad that I have been able to be a part of this generational movement toward the future via Envision.
Check out more about Envision: Young Professionals at www.ColoradoEnvision.com

Becoming a better communicator in all aspects of our lives

2007-04-10T16:19:00.000-04:00

With the recent addition of my second son to my home, and the every day adventures with my 2-year-old son, I've recently been thinking a lot about how important it is to be an effective communicator is important in all aspects of my life. Here are five lessons about communicating I've recently learned from my two sons:

Pay attention to the proposed questions/problems as they will always help you give the desired and correct response (or at least get close to the correct response).
Learn to anticipate potential problems (or as we like to say: opportunities) coming down the road before it is in front of your nose. This will save you from crying babies and upset clients.
Don't ignore an issue (again, this could be stated as "opportunity) as its begins to grow. It's better to be proactive than reactive. (Fun little anecdotal story to back this point up: my son and his friend were both playing in the garden on Saturday. Then one of them sprinkled some dirt on the other. Harmless, right? Well, next came the chunks of dirt being thrown at each other. Next, she hits him with the shovel. His response, we'll call the climax (as we finally broke it up) was to hit her back... with the plastic wheelbarrow. It all seemed so innocent at first, but the total time before the chaos ensued was about 30 seconds.)
Learn to understand what is meant and not what is said. For our son, when he wants "milk" he is usually just hungry. How many clients could and should we apply this too?!
Apply patience when communicating about complex issues.

This is obviously not a comprehensive list, but the idea is there. We should be looking for opportunities to become better communicators in all aspects of our life. It will help us as we progress down the road of professionalism.

Blogging Guidelines?

2007-04-09T10:06:00.000-04:00

The New York Times has a very interesting article discussing universal guidelines for bloggers, which "would be voluntary, relying on the community to police itself ."

The guidelines would call for the banning of anonymous comments and the ability to delete "threatening or libelous comments without facing cries of censorship."

As communications professionals, I'm sure we can understand the value of guidelines and the ability to control messages posted to our blogs, but wouldn't this somewhat defeat the purpose of a blog? Shouldn't the blogosphere play by the golden rule? If you posted an anonymous comment on a blog, would you want the blog editor to delete it? Or, would you make a nasty un-called for comment on a blog if the company/individual didn't deserve it?

Read the entire article A Call for Manners in the World of Nasty Blogs

Stewardship

2007-04-05T16:16:00.000-04:00

Coming into the Public Relations profession, whether you are in an agency or an in-house department can be daunting. Everyone seems to know each other and establishing meaningful relationships can be difficult.

In my position, I travel to various conferences representing the Company. I come in contact with our clients and am responsible for establishing and maintaining those relationships. As a new professional, it is even more important to leave a lasting impression – and a positive one.

First and foremost, listen to what the individual has to say. Let them know that you are interested in them and they are worth your time. Make mental notes of your conversation and this will help you to differentiate them later. Ask questions – everyone loves to talk about something, so find out what excites them. This may be their children or grandchildren, this may be their job or even a unique hobby. Find some sort of common ground.

The process doesn’t stop once the conversation is over. Perhaps the most influential part of this process takes place once you return to the office. Take the time to send a hand-written note. In this day in age, this shows effort leaps and bounds above an e-mail. Refer to a specific topic you discussed with the individual to let them know you were paying attention and that you remember.

“People may not remember what you say or do, but they will always remember how you made them feel.” - Anonymous

APR for New Pros

2007-04-04T17:39:00.000-04:00

I recently went through the accreditation process to receive my APR. One of the resources I wished that I had has insight and advice from New Professionals who had successfully completed the exam with less than five years of experience that Nationals suggests. If you have gone through this process, please share your insight and thoughts. Here are just a few of the things I thought I would pass along. The test and entire process is definitely passable if you approach it the right way.

1-Honestly compare your background and experience to the knowledge, skills and abilities tested. A detailed list is available at www.praccreditation.org/becomeAPR/KSAs_Competencies.html. If you feel you have a lot of in-depth experience in these areas, you will probably be able to pass the test. The majority of the questions on the computer-based exam are situation-based. (“This happened, pick the most appropriate response.”) All responses could be correct, but you have to rely on your insight and experience to chose the best one. If you don’t have a lot of independent experience, it may be hard for you to select the correct answer. Also, you should be very familiar with creating a public relations plan. The Readiness Review requires to you submit a plan to three APR professionals in your area. You have to pass this portion before taking the computer-based test.
2-Take it seriously. The entire process is very intense and time-consuming. I began the classes in May 2006, submitted my application in August, went through the Readiness Review in October and sat for the test last week. You need that much time to absorb the information and make a study plan.
3-Find an APR mentor that is familiar with your work experience and background. My supervisor was a great mentor. She has her APR and knows exactly what I am capable of and my experience. The Accreditation Chair in Cincinnati was also a great resource and cheerleader. I did feel discouraged by a few people who did not think I would pass because I have three years of full-time experience. Don’t listen to them! Find those people you can rely on. If you think you can pass, then you will!
4-Sign up for the online study course through the UAB. It helps focus your studies and gets you familiar with the types of questions that may be asked on the exam.
5-Read the books. I read “Effective Public Relations” and found it to be helpful. Make sure you read the entire book, which ever one you read.

I’m sure there are more New Pros that have additional insight. If you are interested in just learning more about Accreditation in Public Relations, be sure to sign up for the next New Professionals teleseminar, “ABCs of APR” on Wednesday, May 16 at 3 p.m. A brief description is below:

Now that you have successfully entered the real world of public relations and begun what is sure to be a long and successful career, it may be time to revisit your professional goals. Achieving your APR (Accreditation in Public Relations) is a distinction many practitioners proudly carry. What can you be doing now to help you pursue accreditation in the future?

Join Bob and Deborah Saline as they review the skill sets every new professional should develop along the path to achieving APR status. Learn about the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) tested on the exam, and how to apply those in your career today to help you for tomorrow. Bob and Deborah will also share their experience with accreditation and involvement in helping others receive APR distinction.

Looking for pro-bono in your own backyard

2007-04-03T00:54:00.000-04:00

Sure, most of us don't have our very own backyard at this point in our career, but I'm sure you get the drift.

We are constantly being told to look for PR opportunities outside of our everyday career in order to supplement our ongoing education, as well as communicate to others that we are well-rounded individuals who have more to offer than a 50+ hour work week (see Devin's article below on how to get more out of life than work). Recently I learned that we don't need to travel very far to satisfy this expectation.

Twice in the past week I was able to use the skills and training received through work as a PR practitioner, and for both I didn't have to leave the comfort of my neighborhood.

The first opportunity came when my neighborhood home owners association (HOA) needed to defend its position at a city council meeting. Prior to the meeting, I met with a previously determined (and extremely articulate) neighbor who would be presenting our case to the council to discuss "talking points" that represent the position of the HOA in regards to the issue at hand. We discussed strategies for presenting our position as well as how to rally our neighbors to attend. Although our research prior to the meeting made it seem like defeat was imminent prior to the meeting, with the help of our preparation and presentation, as well as some simply applied PR tactics, we were able to win the support of the city council.

The second is one anyone can do, and was recently highlighted in a friends blog Russell Page: Give free tips when you have nothing to gain. I recently tested this theory, not for the first time, though it was with a renewed interest since having read his post. The result was having the media come and cover the return of a soldier to his family for the first time since leaving for Iraq one year ago. The story ran as one of the top stories (it was the third story: Pilot Returns Home).

The moral of the story: Opportunities to test your skills are all everywhere. We just need to stay alert and be ready to lend a hand.

How to meet reporters face 2 face

2007-04-02T16:03:00.000-04:00

In response to Abby's post:

Local PRSA chapters usually have events/programs that help PR professionals meet journalists. I'm a member of the PRSA Miami Chapter. Every month they host a "Lunch n' Learn", a program that focuses on one topic (Hispanic Communications; Leveraging Sponsorships; Meet the Editors, etc.), more often than not they focus on media. A panel of a few editors/reporters of dailies, community papers, TV, magazines, etc. meet with us during "lunch" time and give us information on the best ways to pitch them and what they look for. After the event, you can introduce yourself to the panelists and trade business cards. I went to an event last month that toured the Miami Herald. It was great! I was able to introduce myself face-2-face with a few reporters and editors and even managed to get my client included in a prominent business story. If your local PRSA chapter doesn't host events like these, feel free to email the president and request/suggest them.

As for advice that's non-PRSA related. My PR mentor and agency supervisor both suggest you invite the journalist to meet with you to discuss what they're looking for. This way you don't waste their time with irrelevant information and useless pitches. If you have more than one PR pro in your office you can invite them to come meet everyone. If it's just you, ask if you can meet for coffee or at their office. Just remember to specify that you want to meet them to find out what they need from PR pros in order to make their lives easier.

2007-04-02T15:23:00.000-04:00

As I embark on my second week in a new job, I am adjusting to different responsibilities and working to establish myself in my community. I have more media-related tasks to handle, something I didn't get much of in my last position. In a meeting with my boss this morning, we were discussing who my major contacts are and talking about which ones I need to meet in person vs. the ones who I can just call. While we both agreed that it would be fantastic to be able to meet the assignment editors at my local news stations, neither of us had a preferred way to do so. He mentioned a person he knew years ago who would stop by the stations with a few pizzas or a bag of sandwiches, offering these along with his introduction. Perhaps it's my journalism school background at work, but I thought that sounded kind of sleazy, and my boss agreed with me.

So I am shamelessly putting my request out for anyone reading this: how have you successfully bought yourself some time with television news reporters in the interest of cultivating a new relationship? I would love to hear some feedback on this--the success stories and the horror stories. I know there has to be some good information out there on this.

Leaked e-mail reveals good agency work

2007-04-02T07:17:00.000-04:00

The leaking of an e-mail chain about Wired magazine contributing editor Fred Vogelstein to Vogelstein has made for some interesting blogging and water-cooler talk since the snafu surfaced publicly on Wired’s blog last week. Microsoft’s PR agency inadvertently forwarded the confidential e-mail, which revealed the time and human capital some companies will invest in shaping a story.

Every other week, it seems, my Inbox is the recipient of an e-mail that wasn’t meant for me but was mistakenly sent by a friend or colleague. Instant-messaging users can easily fall victim to the same carelessness. The Microsoft leak, however, is noteworthy because it spawned a blog post by the reporter on one of the most oft-read blogs in techland (and a post by the offending agency’s president, and a separate post by another Wired editor).

What probably took most readers by surprise is the quality of work that the agency produced, as reflected in the e-mail chain. IMO, too many agencies are guilty of the “smile and dial” approach to media relations, where the practitioner sets up and moderates interviews but gives little [useful] what-to-say advice that demonstrates an understanding of what’s important to the client. Though its anyone’s guess as to how many billable hours were spent producing the material Vogelstein ultimately got his hands on, I think it shows some great senior-level messaging counsel on the agency’s end, and is exactly the type of work good agencies get paid to do.

But what can the practitioners in New Professionals learn from the incident? 1) Continue to be suspicious of that “Forward” button. Double-check addresses, etc. This is extraordinarily easy to screw up. 2) Know that some stories can be a slow burn. Notoriously tough-to-crack Wired took Microsoft’s agency six months. 3) After the reporter agrees to the interview, your work has not ended, it’s begun. Anticipate questions, and think about what talking points will be most interesting to the reporter.

Several small ironies: Microsoft’s Outlook e-mail program, with its predictive-text feature that automatically fills in an e-mail address based on the first few letters, is probably responsible for the leak. And, the mistakenly forwarded e-mail chain was concerning Vogelstein’s story on transparency. I’m not suggesting the incident was intentional, but it definitely enhanced Vogelstein’s article.

Can't we all just get along?

2007-03-30T14:42:00.000-04:00

As pr professionals we deal with media on a daily basis, so I'm sure we all have at least one incident of a journalist being unnecessarily rude and down right mean. For those of you that have more than one, don't feel bad. Apparently, it's pretty nasty in some news rooms.

Catfight Erupts in New York Times "Style" Section: To Staffers' Shock, Two Editors Take to Pushing and Shoving in Power Struggle
from Bulldog Reporter's Daily Dog "Media News"

The dustup between two female editors in The New York Times "Styles" department disrupted work on the Thursday and Sunday Styles sections—and section staffers were shocked to witness the catfight, the NY Daily News reports. Fashion editor Anita LeClerc was said to be the aggressor and her superior, deputy editor Mary Ann Giordano, the victim, sources say.

The two had exchanged words just moments before, allegedly over turf, and LeClerc began stomping around the office, muttering loudly to herself. But when Giordano, who recently shifted over from the Metro section, came over in a conciliatory way and tried to smooth things over, LeClerc made it physical, reports the Daily News' "Rush & Molloy" column.

"She shoved Mary Ann and pushed her, and Mary Ann said, 'Don't you touch me! Don't you touch me!'" says a source. "Mary Ann grabbed her wrists to try to stop her, and [LeClerc] just started flailing." Top editor Trip Gabriel grabbed LeClerc and dragged her into his office as Giordano followed.

"They were in there for a long time," reports a source. When they came out, Anita went back to her desk, but Mary Ann went out for a walk. She looked shaken." Many at The Times are baffled as to why no apparent disciplinary action has been taken against LeClerc, according to the Daily News column.

Is the grass always greener on the other side?

2007-03-30T01:51:00.000-04:00

I have just taken a job that I love. The people are great to work with, the benefits are great and the pay is decent. Why would I want to leave?

Jobs come open all the time in the PR world. Do you ever stop to think about why that job is open? This week someone approached me about taking another job that would pay a lot more than what I make now. After getting past the fact that I just started a new job, the ideal of making more money really started getting me excited.

I went through all the things that I could do with that money. New car, new clothes and of course pay of that dreaded student loan. Then I started to ask more questions. If the job that they are offering me is so great, why is it open? After talking with some people that work at this corporation, I learn that the management is not very good to work with and that makes most of the people there grouchy.

So I weighed my options. Do I stay at a job a love and make less money, or do I switch jobs and more than likely hate my job? I did not have to take long to make a decision. I am doing fine with the money that I am making now. I also came to the realization that some things just don’t have a price tag on them. My happiness is one of them. While the grass may look greener on the other side, it may just be spray painted dead grass.

The Danger of Young Workaholics

2007-03-27T23:55:00.000-04:00

What is it that drives us as new professionals to feel like we need to be workaholics just to be accepted into the profession? Why is it that we think we have to work a sizeable amount of overtime just to justify our time at our place of work?

Earlier today, I read an article by Erin White of the Wall Street Journal, who reported on the trend of growing workaholics in America. White noted the increased anxiety faced by young professionals when they try to approach their boss to take time off from work. The problem, of course, is that new professionals who do become workaholics often face an early burnout in their careers. I think there is another danger as well – developing the unrealistic expectation that everyone else should be workaholics.

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s vitally important that young professionals go above and beyond the expected work they are assigned. Working smarter can’t compensate for laziness. Hard work is a value that no one can argue. But why is it that someone is only a hard worker if they’ve worked enough hours of overtime to neglect the other important areas of life, such as health, family and personal sanity?

This is such a stirring issue to me because I am aware of friends in the profession who are burning out, who have a pessimistic view of public relations and the work associated with it. I’ve heard stories of friends who have worked almost 100 hours a week on a consistent basis just to meet regular everyday expectations of their superiors. And I clearly remember when I was told by an executive of a high profile agency in L.A. that I would be hard pressed to have a successful career in public relations and to be a good father at the same time.

To all of those who preach or listen to the workaholic doctrine, I want to shout out, “Stop. You don’t have to be this way to be successful.”

One of those tongue-in-cheek demotivational posters called incompetence reads, “When you earnestly believe you can compensate for a lack of skill by doubling your efforts, there's no end to what you can't do.” Although the poster makes me sad inside, it does reveal a certain amount of truth. Young professionals do not have to be workaholics to become skilled and talented. It’s much more effective for us as young professionals to focus on consistent improvement over time as well as a determination to constantly improve our use of time. If we don’t, we may prematurely give up on this fantastically helpful and powerful profession of public relations.

Get out what you put in

2007-03-27T13:50:00.000-04:00

"You get out what you put in." We have all heard this saying and rolled our eyes but nodded contently when we hear the most involved member of a club or organization prompting for our hand in the upcoming fundraiser, award banquet or community service project.

As a new professional, we have the opportunity to become involved in a variety of professional organizations and it is no small quest, take PRSA for example. If you are like me, there are only a few PRSA chapters throughout your state and my closest one meets nearly 2 1/2 hours away. This in itself can make meetings daunting, tack on being away from the office for a day and the dreadful act of having to make small talk without knowing a soul in the room.

I am blessed to be with a Company who has enabled me to become a member of several organizations in our community and throughout the nation (PRSA being one of them). I made the decision to put aside my preconceived notions of what these memberships would bring -- to dive in and see whats out there. It was this decision that brought me to the New Pros and this decision that has me blogging today.

It has been my finding that the formal meetings can be intimidating as a new professional because I feel like everyone else knows each other. It brings all the memories and insecurities of adolescence rushing back and lets face it, I doubt any of us want to go back there. Luckily, with modern technological advances, we have ample methods of communication these days without having to wander into the unknown.

E-mail! This has proven a wonderful way of getting in contact with other members and getting to know a few people within the group. Find out how the group conducts business and see if you can be involved in a conference call. I have sat in on many of them, even without having anything to contribute. They know you are there and will ask your opinon on subjects. I have met many people at our local meetings that remembered me from the conference calls. I was immediately "one of them" because I had been involved in something without ever having to set foot in the door.

The Networking Chain

2007-03-26T17:18:00.000-04:00

Whenever I meet other PRSA members, I like to ask them if they feel like their membership is valuable. Obviously our participation is valuable in the monetary sense, especially to New Pros like us, to whom a few hundred dollars a year can mean a significant difference in the monthly rent payments. But what I like to hear from people is what they actually get out of their membership. I usually get one of two responses: the person who thinks PRSA is a great way to learn about the field, network and volunteer; and the person who thinks it's really not much more than a glorified social circle.

I have been involved with this organization since I was a student at the University of New Mexico and for me, PRSA is not just a social outlet. Last September, I chose to leave my job in nonprofit communications in pursuit of...well, something else. That "something" was not completely defined, and my search took me out of my home state, through a brief stint freelancing at a small agency, and finally, to a new position that I couldn't be happier about. During the six months I was deciding what I wanted to do, I fell back on my PRSA connections. It wasn't always easy, but I volunteered at events, I e-mailed my contacts and I told them I needed help. Not only did I have an incredible amount of support, but I found my new job because one of those contacts alerted me to the opening.

While it's not always easy to give up our free time to man the auction tables at an awards banquet or to continually pitch ourselves to anyone who might know of a job opening, there are people in this organization who want to help. Period. They've all been where we are, and they want nothing more than to do for us what someone once did for them. Having received this support, I can't wait to one day pass it along to someone else. I guess that's how the networking chain stays strong.

Advertising Posing as PR: Why They Want to Be Like Us (and What to Do About It)

2007-03-26T09:52:00.000-04:00

This is a really good article. Too long to post here, but below is an intro with a link to the full article. Enjoy!

Advertising Posing as PR: Why They Want to Be Like Us (and What to Do About It)
By Matt Shaw, Vice President, Council of Public Relations Firms

It turns out that when advertising grows up it wants to be public relations.

There is mounting evidence that the public relations toolbox is being pilfered on a regular basis—and it's not necessarily being called public relations by the perpetrators.

Last year, more than half of our members reported facing competition from other marketing services firms, in everything from crisis work to blog creation to managing events.

On this matter, I heard a genuine cautionary tale from one of our members just the other day.

It involved an ad agency pitch for a large client, and his firm was given the rare opportunity to watch the pitches. Three ad agencies presented that day, and three agencies trotted out … you probably guessed it: buzz generation, publicity, influencer outreach, blogging, viral online activity; you name it, they did it. The "earned media"—what we might think of as the public relations part of the recommendations—took up the first half of one agency's presentation, before they even got to advertising creative.

This is a long way from the PR tactics occupying the last three slides of a 50-slide advertising capabilities presentation.

Read the rest here

Social Media

2007-03-23T01:02:00.000-04:00

Missing out on the social media boat could sink your ship fast!

According to Mashable Networking News, more than 500,000 new accounts are created on My Space every week. Sure some of those pages are not real people, but no newspaper or magazine can boast that many new subscribers a week.

Let’s be honest. How many times have we caught ourselves checking our My Space, Facebook or other social network while we are at work? Is it the same amount of time we use for reading the newspaper? That alone is a perfect example of the power social media has on the market.

Jupiter Research just completed a study on the significance of social media. Their study showed that 30 percent of frequent social networkers trust their peer’s opinions when making a major purchase decision, but only 10 percent trusted advertisements. That gives social media a three to one advantage over traditional advertisements.

Will social media maintain its strong attraction? I don’t know, but in the mean time I am not going to neglect its powerful influence.

Identifiers

2007-03-22T22:00:00.000-04:00

I belong to an advisory committee to my local NBC affiliate, which advises the station how it's covering and appealing to the Hispanic market. A couple of days back the station reported on a situation where a man abducted a child at gun point and tried to kill him. The man was later apprehended and the child was found alive. In their reporting of the story, they identified the man as a "22-year-old Mexican man."

Well this identifier made some folks mad. Some people began emailing the news station asking if identifying the man as a Mexican was really necessary. The station asked us how they should have handled it. Most of the committee, who are seasoned professionals in different industries and from different Hispanic backgrounds, agreed that the station could have said "a 22-year-old Mexican national or a 22-year-old man of Mexican descent."

In my opinion...it was relevant in this particular story to identify the man as a Mexican because there was a wide spread search for him since he abducted this child. Nevertheless, in any other context it would still be okay to have said a "Mexican man" because had they simply said a Hispanic man, the first question in my mind would be "what kind of Hispanic man...A Puerto Rican, a Cuban, a Dominican?"

Anglos are inarguably the majority here in the U.S. Therefore, had the story only said "A 22-year-old man," most people would automatically think it was a white man. In the same manner, they would identify a black.

Either direction that the station would have taken, I think that for the most part people want to complain about something. They want to point the finger at someone and say "you're wrong."

Basically, the news station didn't offend anyone. Those people took offense to it.

I'm Puerto Rican and personally unless they say "wetback or nigger," I'm not offended at all by news stations using modifiers. We live in a melting pot society, so these identifiers help me understand what or who the news is referring to.

Websites for free (or cheap!) stock photos

2007-03-22T12:11:00.000-04:00

If you're on a shoestring budget like my non-profit organization, you are always looking for Web sites that offer goodies for your publications and design efforts. I've listed a few below. Feel free to comment and leave more ideas!

Here are some good places to find cheap or free stock photos:
www.flickr.com
www.gettyimages.com
www.istockphoto.com
www.sxc.hu

If you're in the process of designing a Web site, these sites can help you choose colors and give you ideas on templates:
www.website-colors.com
www.colorschemer.com
www.templatemoster.com
www.colorpicker.com

Want to add more plugins for your Photoshop, such as brushes, frames and patterns?
Check out www.freephotoshop.com.

I hope these help you as much as they have helped me!

Eye Tracking and News Article Design

2007-03-21T09:02:00.000-04:00

Hello all. A colleague of mine sent the following article to me last week and I wanted to share with the rest of you. It was an eye-opener for me (no pun intended) due to the fact that I work in the highly technical field of engineering. I am constantly having to convince my clients that less is more. Engineers seem to want to include every technical detail on the page, whether it is a mailer, web site or brochure. Admittedly, I am sometimes tempted to go with their desires, after all, they have been with the Company much longer than I have. However, articles like these are the perfect opportunity to back up what we are saying.

There are many images that accompany this article so be sure to follow the link to get the full effect. Enjoy!

http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/070312ruel/

Eyetracking points the way to effective news article design
OJR's design experts review usability research and offer suggestions on how you can make your online articles better connect with readers.
By Laura Ruel and Nora Paul

When am I an adult in the "Real World?"

2007-03-16T21:26:00.000-04:00

It was the day of my 20th birthday and I remember thinking, I’m no longer in my teens. This makes me a full-grown adult so I better start acting like one now. Then, I realized that just because I am an adult or act like adult doesn’t mean “real adults” will treat me like one.

Over and over again we hear success stories of poor children who graduate with a college degree. But two years ago, I accomplished one of my biggest goals – being the first to graduate from college in my family, and not just any college but one of the most reputable schools in the nation, University of Florida.

My degree in tow, I head back home to West Palm Beach, FL to find a grown-up job. Now I’m a “real adult,” right? Think again.

A couple of months ago a gentleman, a “real adult,” who I sit with on an advisory committee to a local news station invited me to meet with him so he could “learn more about my company.” I’m probably the youngest person to sit on this committee that advises the news station how they are covering Hispanics on the news and issues that appeal to Hispanics in the area.

I knew even before the call ended that no one wants to randomly learn about anyone’s company unless there is some kind of benefit to them. However, I cordially accepted his invitation and we met the following week at my company’s office so I could school him on what the public relations firm I work for does.

It wasn’t long that he begins to tell me about a Hispanic festival he is planning and that he is looking for sponsors. This fine gentleman would like to know if the company I work for or any of our clients are interested in reaching the Hispanic market.

Prior to this request, this gentleman bad mouthed other companies for daring not to sponsor such a reputable event that would reach tens of thousands of Hispanics in Palm Beach County. Not only did he bad mouth other companies but he also bad mouthed other Hispanic professional organizations in the area for not joining him in his plight – whatever that might be, I’m still not sure.

Before our conversation ended my educational background comes up and I proudly let my very critical guest know that I graduated school two years ago. His unsurprising and critical response was “How’d you ever make it on the advisory committee to the news station?”

Not only did he offend me, but this gentleman undermined my professionalism, my ability to think clearly, and more importantly – Did he just call me a child?

I am a “real adult” now so I had control the child in me that wanted to yell at and kick this “seasoned professional” right in the middle of his shin.

So when does the transition occur that makes me a young professional worthy of respect?
I’ve talked to other young professionals who deal with the same issue of being looked at as children even though they are well into their late 20’s.

This is why groups such as New Pros of PRSA are so important to the professional development of young professionals and for the advancement of their careers. The programming that we offer is excellent and can make one look like an expert during discussions at the roundtable.

It’s time that we stop allowing these “real adults” treat us like children and show them what exactly it is we are capable of achieving.

As far as the gentleman - I kindly told him that just because I graduated school 20 years after he, didn’t mean I wasn’t capable of critical thinking and asserting my opinion in a professional form. Then I nicely escorted him to the door.

Mentoring Has Value for Both the Mentor and Mentee

2007-03-15T09:57:00.000-04:00

Being a mentor could boost your own career
Protégés aren't the only ones who benefit from mentoring programs, suggests an unusual new study by Sun Microsystems.

By Anne Fisher, Fortune senior writer

Dear Annie: I started a new job in human resources at a medium-sized company about six months ago, and one of the tasks I took on (because I had done it successfully elsewhere) was starting up a formal mentoring program here.

It's going all right so far, except for one thing. There are certain managers who I think would make terrific mentors but who are reluctant to sign on. They say they are too busy - and it's true they are swamped with work - but I'm trying to persuade them that the relatively small investment of time would be worth their while. Do you know of any evidence that mentoring benefits mentors as well as protégés? - Stumped in St. Louis

Dear Stumped: Funny you should ask. Triple Creek Associates (www.3creek.com), a Colorado-based firm that helps companies set up mentoring programs, recently sent me an intriguing study that suggests mentoring is just as beneficial - if not more so - to mentors as to those on the receiving end.

Obviously, Triple Creek has a vested interest in promoting mentoring, and the full report is available on the company's Web site. But the information comes from an unbiased source: the human-resources department at Sun Microsystems where, the report says, in-house researchers "conducted a multi-year study...to measure the quantifiable impact of mentoring programs. In fact, mentoring was selected as the test case because it was perceived as the hardest HR program to measure."

The results are intriguing, and may help persuade your reluctant managers to sign up. When Sun compared the career progress of about 1,000 employees over a five-year period, it turned out that both mentors and mentees were more than 20% more likely to have gotten a raise than people who didn't participate in the mentoring program at all. But here's the surprising part: 25% of mentees got a raise, while 28% of mentors did (vs. just 5% of managers who were not mentors).

And that's not all. Employees who received mentoring were promoted five times more often than people who didn't have mentors, but again the mentors fared even better: They were six times more likely to have been tapped for a bigger job.

Of course, in any company, people who step up and volunteer to be mentors tend to be the most energetic and engaged employees, so their chances for promotion may be better than average from the get-go. And some companies may value mentoring more than others, hence be more likely to reward mentors. Still, the Sun study does offer welcome evidence that it isn't only mentees who gain from these programs.

"Mentoring champions" - that would be you - "often feel they are imposing on mentors when they recruit them, as though they are asking them to sacrifice their time and opportunities for the advancement and benefit of others," the study notes. "This is just not true."

Sun's researchers recommend that you stop short of making outright promises to potential mentors about the likelihood that they'll gain from the experience in tangible ways - but you certainly can "boldly recruit mentors knowing that solid research indicates that recruiting them into a mentoring program increases their value to the company and improves their own chances for promotion." Does that help?

Articles on Job Hunting

2007-03-14T10:28:00.000-04:00

NEW: Job searching online just got easier!
Staff Writer, The Career News

LOS ANGELES, CA -- With a new service called MyJobHunter, you'll be searching all top career sites at once & applying to all matching jobs with one click. Just enter your search criteria, review the matching jobs and select the ones you want. Then, click a single button and you'll instantly apply to all selected jobs with your resume and cover letter - without having to log into each job site separately.

Click another button to automate the whole process! MyJobHunter remembers your search criteria, and automatically applies to new jobs matching your criteria -- every day. Review jobs in advance or put searching & applying on auto-pilot. The choice is yours.

You'll also get an application history report that makes follow-up a breeze! It shows the jobs you were applied to, full job descriptions and application dates. You can even add personal notes to each job! This service is proven to reduce hours of job searching and resume submitting to just minutes. Simply upload your resume, enter your job search criteria and let MyJobHunter take it from there. To learn more follow this link.

Liar, liar, pants on fire... (common resume lies)
Abridged: Forbes.com

NEW YORK, NY -- From foolish fibs to full-on fraud, lying on your resume is one of the most common ways that people stretch the truth. The percentage of people who lie to potential employers is substantial, says Sunny Bates, CEO of New York-based executive recruitment firm. She estimates that 40% of all resumes aren't altogether above board.

One of the most common resume lies involves playing with dates to hide employment gaps. Bogus college degree claims are also prevalent, even though it's one of the easiest items to check. Another widespread set of tall tales is embellishment of experience and accomplishments. Some job hunters will say they were paid a higher salary at a previous job to get more money. That's why companies and recruiters are now more commonly asking for a recent pay stub or tax return. Imagine talking your way out of that.

As a matter of fact, almost 40% of human resources professionals surveyed last year by the Society for Human Resource Management reported increased time spent checking references. So think twice before you ship off your next half-baked job application. Even if your moral compass doesn't keep you from deceit, the fact that human resources is on to the game should. Just remember, whenever you tell the truth, you don't have to remember what you said.

Get your resume to 1.5 million employers now
Staff Writer, The Career News

LOS ANGELES, CA - There are several lists of career websites available on the internet or through a search engine. And while it may take some time, posting your resume on as many top sites as possible will really maximize your exposure and job opportunities.

If you want the benefit of maximum exposure, but don't want to spend 60 hours researching and filling out website forms, consider letting a service like Resume Rabbit do the work for you. With this service, you fill out one easy form and in about 5 minutes you'll be posted on 75 top career sites like Monster, CareerBuilder, Hot Jobs, Net-Temps, Job.com Dice and more. A comprehensive list of all the sites they post to is on their home page.

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Get recruiters to call you with great jobs
Abridged Fortune.com

NEW YORK, NY -- What's the best way to get headhunters to call you the next time a terrific new opportunity crosses their desk? It helps to always take - and return - their calls. Headhunters remember people who make their own jobs easier.

"There is a lot of quid pro quo in our business," says Dale Winston, CEO of Manhattan-based executive recruiters Battalia Winston International. "We keep people in mind who have helped us find good candidates in the past, and we like to reciprocate that help."

Translation: Even if you aren't the right person for the job a headhunter is trying to fill at any given moment, you may be the right person for the next one. So take those phone calls, and see if you can't come up with the names of a couple of good prospects, or at least be willing to try.

Job Openings

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Deveney Communication (internship)
MPRI (job)
IQ Solutions, Inc (internship)
Wisconsin Alumni Association (job)
Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks (job) AARP Massachusetts (internship) K. Hovnanian Homes (job) Ketchum Public Relations (internship) SiboneyUSA Bilingual (internship) ZRG, Inc. (job) Purdue University - Information Technology at Purdue (job) IQ Solutions, Inc (job) IQ Solutions, Inc (job) Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks (internship) PRSSA (job) The Limited Brands (internship) Rainbow Media - AMC, IFC, WE tv (job)

For additional information on any of the positions listed above please visit: http://www.prssa.org/jobcentermembersite/

Welcome

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Welcome to the PRSA New Pros Affinity Group Blog! In our pursuit of career satisfaction and goal of changing the world one communication at a time, we've decided to help promote the industry that we all know and love. We encourage PRSA members and non-members alike to contribute and post their comments. This blog will provide information and input on advertising, communications, marketing, public relations and more. In addition, please feel free to post job openings in and around your area. Career tips, and anything else that matters to you is also welcomed on this blog.