Archive for the Professional Advice Category
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January, schmanuary. The real “new” year for those of us who are students and teachers is September. So as we all gear up to head back to the classroom, it’s time to set some new (school) year resolutions. SWOT Yourself Take an objective view – well, as objective as possible – about your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Strengths and weaknesses are internal. Strengths: What are you good at? What kinds of activities are a natural fit for you? Weaknesses: What areas are more difficult for you to master? I’m not going to say “what can you improve on?” because that’s not always an effective use of your time. But are there specific skills that you need to add to your repertoire? Particularly tactics or skills that you want to learn? I highly recommend a book called StrengthFinder 2.0. Take a little online quiz and get back your top 5 strengths.... Continue Reading
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As the adviser for Allen Hall Public Relations, I spend a minority of my time teaching specific public relations skills. A minority would be an overstatement. It’s a sliver, a fraction… not much at all. So what do I spend most of my time doing? Mentoring and coaching students on how to be effective leaders, counselors and teammates. Every year we tweak and morph, change and adapt, looking for the key to creating strong foundations, building communications skills and prepping these young professionals to be strong leaders. Every year it seems we don’t quite make it… AHPR members are always awesome. ALWAYS. But I usually feel like there was more I could do. This year, I invited Corinne McElroy from Edge of Change to facilitate a workshop focused on the StrengthsFinder 2.0 book and assessment. I had the pleasure of being part of a workshop Corinne led earlier this year... Continue Reading
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I had the opportunity to chat with the staff of the Oregon Daily Emerald about how they can use social media for themselves and the publication.I borrowed liberally from a recent Mashable article, adjusted, modified and expanded it to provide a handful of tips for student journalists. I would preface all of these with the recommendation to sit down and spend a little time setting some personal and professional goals for yourself. Think about what you want to be known for and what you want people to remember about you. Knowing your goals will help you make intentional decisions about where to spend your time and energy when it comes to social media activities. Consider it a personal mission statement. Promote your content Use your social media network to promote your content. Post your articles/blogs on twitter, your links to YouTube videos on your Facebook page. As long as you’re... Continue Reading
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A colleague recently encouraged me to share some of the not-so-glam parts of owning my own business (trust me, most of it is non-glam). Starting a business was never my plan and happened very much on accident. It’s taken more than seven years for me to find any degree of “success.” Most entrepreneurs struggle. It’s hard work. So what would I share with undergrads considering entrepreneurship about lessons I’ve learned? Five Hardest Things: No set schedule. No, it’s not 9 – 5, it’s more like 24/7. 50, 60, even 70 hour work weeks aren’t uncommon. You do what you have to do to get the work done. With your own biz, all-nighters are not relegated to the fond memories of college. The “buck” (but not the decisions) stops here. I’m responsible for the success or failure of a campaign or initiative, but don’t always get to make the decisions that... Continue Reading
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The real world doesn’t have very many rules. There’s a lot of stuff you have to figure out all on your own and you have to love (or learn to love) jumping… and falling. Glenn Cole of 72 and Sunny gave the commencement address this year for the School of Journalism and Communication and this idea was his main point. Not being afraid of failure will allow you to stretch yourself far beyond you ever thought was possible. It’s not comfortable. In fact sometimes it downright sucks. Because you will fail and sometimes you’ll fail spectacularly. But overcoming that failure is really the only way to know, and appreciate, success. Learn to learn from failure because everything will not go smoothly. Chill out! You can’t learn without making mistakes. And making mistakes doesn’t mean you’re not smart, talented, creative, etc. In fact, quite the opposite. Build a good relationship with... Continue Reading
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In late September when classes get underway at the University of Oregon, the academic year is full of promise. The possibilities of each course, and each student, seems limitless. I’m organized, focused and excited to try to new things, share new ideas and train the best PR PRos in the business. By the middle of June, I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus. A 9-month-long bus. Rather than bounding into each week’s classes, what I feel is closer to “clawing.” I don’t love my students any less (well, most of them…), but the weight of the entire year can feel pretty heavy by week 10 of Spring Term. In academia, the breaks are clear. In June, I am gazing lovingly into the beautiful stream of four months of summer break. Glorious, glorious summer break. But whether you’re in academia or the “real world,” I’ve learned it’s important to... Continue Reading
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I was asked not too long ago to talk about building blocks for success… and specifically what my building blocks have been for my success. Odd, I thought. I don’t really think of myself as “successful.” I love my work, I adore my family and I’m pretty darn happy. But for me, I guess because I’m still in a growth phase of my career, I’d just never slapped the success label on any part of my life. But request made me think… mostly because once I’d said yes I’d certainly have to come up with something to fill 30 or 45 minutes on this topic. So I got a little existential and pondered, How did I get here? For the purposes of my presentation and discussion, I defined three “building blocks”: the intangibles, the skills and the glue. The Intangibles What are your values? I identify three that have been... Continue Reading
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This is a guest post from Jamie Szwiec, a PR colleague I connected with on Twitter. More about Jamie at the bottom of the post. I can remember when I went client-side and my boss gave me the task of personally monitoring the news, daily, through Google news alerts and RSS feeds. Something along the lines of … “Spend an hour a day, first thing. I’m not talking about those third-party monitors that charge an arm and a leg. Do it diligently, for competitive analysis, tracking trends and sharing ideas with the team. Most importantly, media relations.” The internal dialogue in my head was along the lines of … “Dude, you’ve gotta be kidding me. Fine, I’m client-side and don’t have to worry about the lingering 0.25’s and billing my time now.” At first, it was daunting. More than a dozen Google alerts to sift through every morning followed by... Continue Reading
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Connecting with people in your industry is as easy as creating a LinkedIn profile and using it as a live resume. Treat LinkedIn as the “suit & tie” social network and put forward your most professional self. Your profile should be kept up-to-date and polished regularly. A LinkedIn profile, as you’ll see, is a great way to build your network & a place to send prospective employers to get info about you and your experience. So how do you get started? First step is to sign up & complete your profile: Use your complete name Fill in your title (Public Relations student at the University of Oregon is ok… but what about Intern at XYZ Company or Account Executive at Student PR Firm?). You can have more than one title & then choose the one you want as your headline. My profile includes significant volunteer experience in my title alongside... Continue Reading
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The PR major in the SOJC is a professionally-focused one. Most students who go into PR understand the importance of perceptions. Or at least they should. And, naturally, our students are concerned with professionalism. Lately, however, I’m beginning to think some are too concerned. Or their emphasis is misplaced. I’m not sure which. But I think it’s worth exploring. Maybe we’ll start with what I think professionalism is not: About (just) what you’re wearing. Your appearance is important, don’t get me wrong. It affects that way you feel about yourself and certainly influences first impressions, but style without substance quickly fades. Rigid or doctrinaire. I hear students admonish each other for not being professional or gossip behind someone’s back about some terrible unprofessional misdeed (first of all, judge not, lest ye be judged…). It’s as if professionalism is the new religion for students. Lack of personalization. Where are YOU in... Continue Reading
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