There are numerous places to search for jobs in any field, but where is the best place to search for internships/jobs in PR? This is a question I asked myself again and again once I started my search.
The Internet, of course the most popular, provides many resources for any PR student. When I met with an advisor in the career services office he signed me up for a database through Auburn’s Web site. It allows you to search for potential jobs in specific areas or around the entire country. The database not only gives you a job description, it gives you the organization’s contact information. This can be useful if your planning to target specific individuals within the organization.
What about networking? This has become more popular than the Internet. As an intern at the Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce, I learned that networking can be valuable to any organization. The chamber sponsored a networking event called Coffee and Cards for local businesses. Representatives from businesses exchanged business cards over coffee. This is a great idea, especially for small or start-up businesses. 
One of our classmates also started a blog for Auburn PR graduates, called PR Grads. The blog allows everyone to stay in touch after graduation. This could be a great way in the future to learn about leads to PR jobs or inform others about jobs they may want to research.
During an interview this past week, an e-mail marketing program was brought to my attention. The program is myemma and after being introduced I discovered that it would be the perfect communication tool for non-profit organizations. My emma allows organizations to send out newsletters through e-mail. My interviewer showed me examples of non-profit organizations using this program.
She explained how it was great for non-profits to use because it is easy to use. After signing a couple organizations up for this program, she said she has had few questions and complaints. One of the organizations was a large church. The church was able to send out their newsletter every week to their choice of audience. A great feature of the program is that it allows the user to create profiles for each audience. For example, the church had a audience profile for all of its members, another for staff members and another for youth groups. This way when the church wants to send the newsletter to a specific audience it only takes a click of the mouse.
Another great feature of this program is that it allows the user to track their audiences. It not only tells the user how many people opened the e-mail, but who opened it, when it was opened and if that person clicked on anything within the newsletter. This saves non-profits money and allows them to change their marketing accordingly.
After reading Scott MacDonald’s post PR Girls and PR Boys on Foward Blog, I kept asking myself why are there more female PR practioners? Scott listed some beliefts why there are more women:
- Women are better communicators than men.
- Public relations pays better than other female dominated fields.
- The school system tends to push girls towards reading/writing and boys towards math. In other words, girls learn the core skill set needed for public relations at a younger age than boys.
- Women find public relations to be more welcoming than other business disciplines.
The question is, are any of these beliefs true? I believe that two of these beliefs may be true. This semester I am taking a Human Development and Family Studies class at Auburn and we are currently learning about the differences of males and females. According to statistics, women are better at communicating than males. For many women communication is natural, not to say it is not for men, but this may be why there are more female PR practitioners.
I also believe that schools may have an affect on women entering the PR industry. In elementary school I remember being told that girls are good at writing/reading and boys are good at math/science. If this happens in many schools it could affect both girls and boys reasons for choosing their careers later in life.
This is a question that many companies and organizations may ask when first learning about blogs. Although it may seem like a new and exciting communication tool, could it be damaging to some organization’s reputation? If members or faculty or a particular organization are not familiar with the Internet, will it be easy for someone to teach them? Will it actually help the organization?
While working on a PR campaign for a local non-profit organization, I mentioned it previously in my blog, our group asked ourselves the same questions. Some of the faculty are not familiar with the Internet and were a little worried when we mentioned the idea of a blog. We made sure to tell them that it would be easy to use.
After giving out surveys, we discovered that some of the public would not use a Web site to find information about the organization. We had to ask ourselves, would a blog actually be helpful in this situation. While searching the archives on Marcomblog I found an informative post by Josh Hallett on this topic.
My friend from Illinois, who is a communications major at ISU, is currently visiting me and informed me about exciting event that she attended at ISU. Several of her friends are public relations majors at ISU and are members of the PRSSA.
The ISU planned an event to raise money for their PRSSA chapter. The event was called Classy On the Runway. In order to organize the event they recruited local students to model. Clothes from the stores in the local mall were used, including Target and Express. They also had local performers, including the ISU dance team and a winner of the ISU idol event.
This event is just one of few events that the ISU chapter does every year. They are in charge of planning and organizing many of the events that take place on ISU’s campus. The members even planned an event when the Cubs came to visit ISU.
I believe that this is a great example of public relations students getting experience organizing and planning events. The students were able to use their skills learned in the classroom and prepare for their future careers in the PR world.
This semester in our PR campaigns class we have been given the opportunity to plan and organize a PR campaign for a local non-profit organization. Throughout this experience so far, I have discovered that a PR campaign takes extensive planning, organization and team-work.
The first step we took was to meet with the executive director of the organization and discuss the organization’s history and potential goals for the PR campaign. Although it has been in the community for many years, its publics are unfamiliar with its services, thus we have discussed developing a stronger identity.
The organization provides several different programs, including a program that many members of its public are completely unfamiliar. The name of the organization is also lengthy, making it difficult for the public to remember and distinguish it from competitors. To help solve this problem, we have discussed shortening the name and possibly making the logo more eye-catching.
Another idea for creating recognition within this organizations public is to redesign its current brochures. All of its programs are included in one brochure, thus making it visually and mentally confusing. We decided that it might be more beneficial to create a brochure for each specific program. The current brochure also lacks color and pictures. To give the new brochures a more personal touch we suggested adding pictures of members of the organizations and personal stories from current customers.
After meeting with the organization, we discovered that they were interested in updating and reorganizing their current Web site. Their current Web site has many of the basics of a Web site, but needs some changes. Our group suggested that the organization also include a blog on their new Web site. Members of the board, directors and employees can blog about current activities and events happening within the organization.
A couple weeks ago our teacher, Robert French, showed us a great way to share stories. The site is an article ranking community called Marcom Meme. It was created as a project for Robert’s public relations classes. Visitors can post stories or make reference to articles that they have read. This particular site is focused entirely on Public Relations. Along with posting a story, visitors can rank each article or story. The top ranked article moves to the top of the page, thus attracting visitor’s attention.
This is great way for us as students to not only share great stories with others, but also have a place to read great stories. Sometimes you might read something particularly interesting and want to tell others. Marcom Meme also allows visitors to search specific topics. If you are looking for a particular topic, you can simply type in a keyword and search for possible stories.I’ve found that it’s a great place to learn what is going on in the public relations world. It also provides a number of great articles about advice for public relations professionals and students.
After searching the internet, it is obvious that many organizations are using these ranking communities. For example, many websites allow visitors to rank movies. Other websites let visitors rank photographs. Public relations professionals can use tools like these to determine how an audience perceives a product or event. Although there has to be a way to get the audience to the website, it could be a quicker way to evaluate a pr campaign. Surveys can provide useful and efficient information, but ranking communities may attract more participants and provide faster results.
I thought that this story in Newsweek, Five Do’s and Don’ts If You’re After That Oscar, was interesting. The author Sean Smith discusses five strategies that actresses and actors should and shouldn’t do when campaigning for an Oscar. I think some of these strategies are important in any PR campaign.
The first “do” that Smith mentions is selling your story. Actors and actresses have to not only have good acting skills, but also know how to sell themselves. I think that this is one of the most important aspects in any PR campaign. To ensure that the campaign is a success, PR professionals need to create a theme that fits their organization. At the same time, the theme has to be unique enough to catch the attention of the target audience.
Smith also talks about how actors and actresses should not peak too early. To get the votes for the Oscar they need to get the attention of the voters at the right time. Timing is imperative in all PR campaigns. If an event or press release is not sent out at the correct time it could damage the entire campaign. For example, if a press release is not sent in advance it may not be newsworthy by the time it is posted online or printed. It’s also important that a campaign maintains momentum until the end. If a campaign does not keep reemphasizing its theme, it may fail to reach its target audience.
Another point that Smith emphasizes is “Shyness is for losers”. To get an Oscar many actors and actresses can’t be nervous or shy about showing their faces. They need to promote their movie and their selves at many events. I thought this was particularly interesting because this is also a vital aspect to any PR campaign. In order for a campaign to be noticed, a PR professional/organization must not be afraid of promoting themselves. As long as the organization stays honest and open with its communication throughout the campaign, it could be beneficial to plan many events and send out numerous press releases.
After hearing about the creation of Facebook, I decided to join. Everyone at Auburn was joining and it seemed like a great way to keep in touch with friends. For someone who has moved around a lot I thought it would be great way to find old friends through this new communication tool. As Facebook gets more features like the “newsfeedâ, and employers begin looking at potential employees pages, it is hard to decide whether Facebook is really worth joining.
The newsfeed feature on Facebook has made it easier for someone to know what you’re doing every minute. Although there are features that can keep your postings off newsfeed, it still reduces your privacy. Another feature that is becoming more popular is the posting of picture albums. This sounds like a great idea, uploading your pictures so all your friends can see what you did this weekend. What I don’t think I realized, and many other students realize is that our friends are not the only people looking at these pictures.
There are also numerous stories about students and recent graduates not getting jobs because of their Facebook pages. During my internship this summer, our advisor told us that we were not allowed to put any indication of where we were interning on our Facebook pages. She also told us about an organization who decided not to hire about 15 students because of their Facebook pages alone. Although Facebook is a fun way to communicate with friends, it reminds us how important it is to present ourselves professionally.
As graduation gets closer, all of my classmates and I are deciding what path we want to take in the PR world. With all of the numerous options available, it is hard to decide what direction to take at first. We will leave Auburn University with a great education, but must also learn how to apply our education in our chosen career.
Luckily, in Auburn’s PR program we are given the opportunity to do an internship. I think that this is a great way to not only get experience, but also decide if that particular type of PR job would be right for you. It is hard to determine how something will be without experiencing it first hand.
After completing two internships with nonprofit organizations, I decided that I want to work for a nonprofit. Without having this opportunity I don’t believe I would have an idea of what I wanted to do after graduating. Although interns are not given as many responsibilities as they would once they were employed, they can still see how the organization is run day to day. Interns can also get a chance to see on average how much time commitment the job will require.
When I graduate in August, I know I will be leaving Auburn with a great education, but I am still nervous about starting work in the PR world. The classes I have been taking the last couple of semesters are teaching me skills that I will need, however, I will still have to learn how to apply those skills effectively in my career.
I believe that one way to truly learn how to apply these skills is to take advantage of internship opportunities and getting involved around campus. Although internships give students a better sense of their future career, there are many ways to get experience. Many students get involved and take leaderships roles in honor societies, student government and other organizations around the community. These experiences along with a great education can help students decide what path they want to take and how to apply their skills in this career.
