Archive for the Professional Advice Category
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My mentor has been an important part of my professional life and, over the years, a trusted friend, confidante and adviser in many aspects of my life. She’s given me opportunities to earn experience in areas of public relations that I might not otherwise have had and is always ready with advice if I ask. If I don’t need advice, she’ll just listen. We met when I volunteered for a nonprofit organization as an undergrad where she was serving as the communications director. We had a chance to work together on maybe a project or two before she left. I continued to volunteer for the organization and frequently asked my mentor for her advice on projects. It wasn’t long before she asked me to help her with a client project – doing some basic media relations work. That was 8 years ago. I am not exaggerating when I say that... Continue Reading
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This morning I left a comment on a blog that I’ve been reading for a long time, but never commented on. That made me think that I should really leave more comments on blogs. I love it when people comment on my blog … one thought led to another and here’s a list of my “social” resolutions (I’ll spare you the “eat better” and “exercise more” resolutions). Leave more comments on blogs. I read hundreds of posts a week, it should be easy to leave a few comments, right? I always want my comment to be valuable and add something to the conversation. For me, that means just taking a few minutes to pause and think about my response… chances are I have something to say. Cool Cat Teacher has some good tips for commenting. On a similar thread, initiate more conversations on Twitter. People are smart and I don’t... Continue Reading
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I’ve often remarked on the speech affectation of undergrads in my classes. With “likes,” “ums,” “kind ofs” and “you knows” peppering their speech along with this almost valley girl-esque speak pattern. In more than one case, I’ve thought that those students with particularly distracting speech patterns would be taken so much more seriously if they, as the comedian in this video says, would just speak with authority. Not sure if you have these speech patterns? Or what to do about it? Some tips: Rowan Manahan suggests tape recording yourself in natural speech and listening for the cues: kind of, like, sort of, you know and the myriad of fillers that sneak into our conversations. A Real Simple article about identifying and correcting eight common speech problems offers tips about everything from interrupting to correcting speech tics. Fast Company also has a article that’s a bit old, but still has great... Continue Reading
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The very ground on which we stand in public relations is shifting. Like tectonic plates colliding miles under the surface, these changes are shaking up the industry. The PRos of the future will need to have different skills and use more traditional skills in new ways. These changes are creating new opportunities for smart, creative thinkers. John Bell at Ogilvy’s 360 Digital Influence Team offers 13 skills that will be required for PR professionals to succeed in the future. His PR Brain for 2009 looks different than the PR brain looked even seven years ago when I finished my undergrad degree. You can read John’s post, but the point of his skills that I take away are that you have to be quick, responsive (not reactive) and creative. You also must know how to think in terms of measurement, ROI and be able to talk business. Katie Paine offers six... Continue Reading
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I know I do. I was lucky enough to catch the episode The Giant Pool of Money on This American Life a while back when it first aired. That helped. A lot. I’ve found some other resources that you might find helpful. This is important stuff. Take a couple of hours and educate yourself. This American Life The Giant Pool of Money: A special program about the housing crisis produced in a special collaboration with NPR News. We explain it all to you. What does the housing crisis have to do with the turmoil on Wall Street? Why did banks make half-million dollar loans to people without jobs or income? And why is everyone talking so much about the 1930s? It all comes back to the Giant Pool of Money. Another Frightening Show About the Economy: Alex Blumberg and NPR’s Adam Davidson—the two guys who reported our Giant Pool of... Continue Reading
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Corinne Weisberger of St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas designs a mean presentation. Content is outstanding and definitely worth a look (or two or three), but hello? the design is gor-geous! I have design envy. Enjoy! Blogging & Managing your Personal Brand View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: commenting identity)... Permalink
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Busy students and young professionals have to wear a bunch of hats: student, PRSSA member, student-run firm associate, intern, part-time employee, sorority or fraternity leader, son or daughter, friend and the list goes on. Multi-tasking is hard. It’s easy to get spread too thin and not do a great job on any one thing. You’ll find lots of tips on productivity all over the Internets. Some of my favorite sites are Zen Habits, Dumb Little Man, 43 Folders and Freelance Switch. I’ve pulled some of my favorite tips from these sites (and my own experience as a master multi-tasker) to share with you. To start, generally multi-tasking is bad. It takes precious time to shift from task to task (I’ve heard it takes 20 minutes to refocus after an interruption). Minimizing interruptions and creating time and space for each task separately – to the best of your ability – is... Continue Reading
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Searching for a job or internship? Part of the process is tapping your contacts and supporters for references. Whether it’s a formal reference or an informal introduction, your references can be a crucial factor in your successful search. I’ve talked about this before, but a recent incident brought it back to my attention and it’s certainly worth another post. Your personal & professional references do need some care and feeding to ensure that they are able to help you in the best way possible. Some tips: Ask your prospective references if they are willing to speak to potential employers on your behalf. I have received calls about a student and had no idea that I was listed as a reference. Awkward! Provide your reference with a copy of your CV or resume. If you anticipate that your reference will be called, give him or her the heads up. For me,... Continue Reading
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I made a very difficult call today. I withdrew my name from consideration in a search for a job that seemed, on paper, to be the perfect fit for me. But let me back up a minute. About six months ago, I decided to pursue life outside of academia and go back to the “real” world. I began to wrap up client projects, complete contracts and stopped doing business development in anticipation of discontinuing my consulting work. I told my department chair and even talked to a lot of my students about it. A lot of things led to this decision. The frustration of balancing school, consulting and mommyhood mounted and I decided that I couldn’t keep it up and keep my sanity. A couple of difficult clients (one that decided they didn’t want to pay their bill) helped push me over the edge. I’ve applied for probably a dozen... Continue Reading
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[this post originally appeared on my agency's blog. As I phase that blog out, there are a few posts worth reposting, this is one.] If you’re representing or working for an organization that is serious about being “green,” sustainable, eco-friendly, community-oriented or… [fill in the blank], remember that actions speak louder than words. In a recent survey by Cone, a cause marketing firm in Boston, more than 2/3 of American consumers consider a company’s business practices when making purchasing decisions. BusinessWeek’s David Kelly pens the “Brand New Day” column online. His analysis of the Cone survey is that people just want to be aware of what companies and organizations support. The New York Times just took on the issue of “Greenwashing,” and showed how “third party endorsements” are being more necessary to validate a company’s claims of “greenness.” Of course, you cannot just “say” you support a cause or you’re... Continue Reading
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