Category: Advice

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Six Tips for Finding an Internship

A common issue among public relations majors is landing an internship. Although seeking out a public relations internship can be intimidating, especially if you have little to no experience, it is possible. Here are some quick tips to get you started.

  1. Use job search tools daily. Although checking the career center website every once in a while is a step in the right direction, checking frequently gives you a much better chance of finding the right position for you. Plus, while many internships have deadlines, it never hurts to apply early. If you happen to be right for the job, they may hire you before the deadline has even arrived.
  2. Think outside of the career center. While the SOJC does a fantastic job providing internship and job opportunities to students, these opportunities tend to be much more competitive because every journalism student has access to them. In addition to checking the career center’s website regularly, check out indeed.com (that is how I found my first internship) or Monster.com. If you are a dues-paying PRSSA member, check out the job and internship database available for PRSSA members! A smaller pool of applicants means better chances of getting hired.
  3. Reach out to non-profits. Although these are not always the most glamorous jobs, there are so many opportunities to help out organizations that really need assistance. Plus, working at a non-profit is a great way to develop a wide variety of PR-related skills.
  4. Keep your social media presence clean. This is crucial. You do not want to miss out on a great opportunity because you posted too many photos from Halloween on your social profiles. Be yourself and show that you have interests other than PR, but always air on the side of caution.
  5. Cross your t’s and dot your i’s. When sending out resumes and cover letters, check for misspellings, typos and formatting issues. Keep cover letters as brief as possible and resumes to one page. If you’re not quite sure how to write a killer cover letter or a stand-out resume, be sure to attend PRSSA’s Winter Workshop series next term — we will have an entire night dedicated to this very subject.
  6. Do not give up. It is easy to get discouraged when getting turned down, but there are many more opportunities ahead of you. Although you may not have the right experience for a particular job that does not mean that you are not well suited to another position.

With strategic searching and persistence, you will have an internship in no time.

AmeleaBioPhotoAmelea Renshaw is the 2013-2014 University of Oregon PRSSA operations director. She is currently a junior double majoring in advertising and public relations. You can contact Amelea at amelea@uoregon.edu and follow her on Twitter at @amelearenshaw.

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How to Brand Yourself

Why does branding matter?
As public relations students, we are aware of the importance of company branding but often overlook our own personal brand. This post will explore personal branding, discuss value proposition and key publics, and how to market your brand.

Determine your brand
SWOT Analysis: A personal SWOT analysis can help you determine your capabilities and interests, which will help you figure out where you should be heading professionally.

  • What are your strengths? Your strengths can include your skills or certifications do.
  • What are your weaknesses? What tasks do you avoid doing or what do you struggle with?
  • What opportunities have you been presented with? Is there a void you could be filling at the office? Could you use your network as a resource to find new opportunities?
  • What obstacles stand in the way of your goals and what competition are you facing?

Identify your value proposition
Value proposition identifies who you are. What image do you want people to associate with you? Use your SWOT analysis to help you identify what makes you unique. Here are a few questions to ask yourself to help determine your value proposition:

  • What are your goals and what do you have to offer?
  • How will you promote these goals and strengths?
  • Can you incorporate storytelling into your proposition?
  • Does your value proposition capture your personality?

Once you have identified your value proposition, think about how to translate that into a 60-second, a 30-second and a 10-second elevator pitch to tell potential employers.

Have a targeted approach
You need to be strategic with your brand and identify your target audience. Consider factors like:

  • Who should you target to get the job you want? What do you have to do to get the attention of that demographic?
  • What keywords should you use to attract the attentions of those in the industry you are pursuing?
  • What kind of business are you looking for (boutique/start-up; SMB; Fortune 500)? What company culture do you want?
  • What can you contribute to this industry?

Market yourself
Social media profiles are a great way to get your name out there and to connect with others. Do not try to be on every social media platform because you cannot devote enough time and effort to each account.

  • Choose two to four social media platforms that are relevant to you and your chosen industry. Be strategic about what platforms you choose and use them regularly.
  • Focus on building relationships. Reach out to other users because your connections will help you succeed in the professional world.
  • Emphasize storytelling and consistency. It is easier for others to relate to stories, so talk about your life and your experiences.

Remember
Branding yourself is a continuous process. Everything that you do reflects on your personal brand. Think about how your online interactions reflect on your brand.

How do you market yourself online? Please tell us about your personal branding efforts in the comments below.

Photo Credit: Oliver Beattie

DSC_0517Kaitlyn is the PRSSA External Relations Project Manager for the 2012-2013 school year. She is a senior studying public relations at the University of Oregon. You connect with Kaitlyn at kchock@uoregon.edu or on Twitter @thtwhtkatiesaid.

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The Importance of Networking

Networking is an important career tool, but it’s one that some undergraduates overlook. According to a 2011 survey from Adecco Staffing US, 29 percent of recent college graduates wished they had better prepared for the job market by spending more time networking while in college. Networking is a time-consuming endeavor, but it can increase your chances of employment, connect you with experts in your field, and open up new opportunities. Here are four tips to help you network effectively:

1. Make yourself visible. You can’t network from behind your computer screen. Email and social media are great ways to maintain relationships, but don’t underestimate the value of face-to-face contact. Set yourself apart from the constant barrage of emails and tweets.

2. Cultivate real relationships.  Meaningful relationships require a lot of energy. You need to invest time and build a rapport with your contacts before you can ask for a favor or referral. Learn about them, try to find common areas of interest, and, most importantly, remember that relationships need to be mutually beneficial. Successful networkers give as much as they receive.

3. Diversify your network. Networking is about more than employment opportunities and collecting business cards, so develop a variety of relationships. Through networking you can build a reputation in your industry, find a mentor, learn about workshops and seminars, and meet new people with similar goals. Professional organizations, peer groups, and online networks are a wonderful source of information, support, and advice.

4. Maintain your network. Your network will require maintenance, which means you need to be proactive about reaching out. You can do this in a variety of ways, but here are a few ideas to get you started: send thank-you notes, extend invitations to industry events, share relevant articles, or arrange meetings.

Networking can help you grow within your industry and give you a competitive edge after you graduate, so start developing professional relationships now. PRSSA and the SOJC provide opportunities to network throughout the year. How have networking events had an impact on your career? Share your experiences in the comments below.

LoveallChloe Loveall is a writer, an artist, and a slave to the creative process. After spending two years traversing the globe, she has temporarily settled down to study journalism and advertising at the University of Oregon. Follow her on Twitter at @ChloeLoveall.

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The Importance of Reading PR Blogs

As a young public relations professional, it’s important to stay current on everything happening in the industry. Reading PR blogs will aid you in this goal and teach you many invaluable tools along the way. You will:

  1. Learn from the experiences of other professionals and peers in the industry.
  2. Be informed on new techniques and theories.
  3. Track PR’s changing landscape.
  4. Find inspiration for your own future.

When it comes to PR blogs there are so many to choose from, so you may wonder how to limit the scope. Find PR blogs that focus on what you’re passionate about. Search for PR blogs that write it a voice you connect with, such as humor or numbers. Here’s a list of top rated PR blogs to get you started:

  • PR-Squared
  • Spin Sucks
  • Brain Solis
  • PRDaily
  • Danny Brown

Once you’ve found PR blogs that speak to you, it’s important to read blogs in your daily routine. Maybe you’ll read while you’re drinking your morning cup of coffee or during your awkward 20-minute break between classes. If you stay informed on PR news it will only add to the knowledge you can bring to a future internship or job.

Use apps and programs that organize all the sites on one page to make blog reading easier! Bloglovin’ is a great site to keep track of the blogs you follow and let you know when new posts have been added.

The PR world is full of knowledge that you can access at any stage in your career. Take advantage of PR blogs and tap into the insights that surround you.

Ruby Hillcraig, external relations committee member, is a senior at the University of Oregon studying public relations. Ruby hopes to pursue a career in fashion and beauty PR when she graduates in spring 2014. You can reach Ruby at rubyh@uoregon.edu.

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How to Prepare for Open-Ended Interview Questions

Preparation is key when it comes to job interviews; however, interview questions are often open-ended, which can be intimidating and seem difficult to prepare for. These questions are challenging, but they also show who you are and how you think.

Tell me about yourself. Instead of reciting what’s on your résumé, surprise your interviewer with something they don’t already know about you. This is your opportunity to show who you are and what makes you unique – your passions, hobbies, and personal experiences. Your interviewer is probably talking to numerous candidates with the necessary qualifications, so use this time to differentiate yourself from your peers.

Tell me about your previous position. Your interviewer wants to know if you were a reliable, trustworthy, and capable employee. Even if you hated your previous position, focus on the positive aspects like what you learned, goals you accomplished, or challenges you overcame. Remember, your interviewer already has your résumé, so use this time to delve deeper. Previous projects and tasks are an excellent way to demonstrate that you are hardworking and capable of delivering results.

Do you have any questions? This is probably the most important interview question. By asking questions you can demonstrate your passion, curiosity, and thoughtfulness. On the other hand, if you don’t ask questions you are communicating to your interviewer that you aren’t invested in the company. You should research the company before your interview so that your questions are meaningful and specific. Here are six questions you can tailor to your interview needs:

  • Who would make the ideal candidate for this position?
  • What do you love about working for the company?
  • How can I contribute to the company’s goals beyond the job description?
  • What are the biggest challenges of this position and how can I overcome those challenges?
  • What is your vision for where the company will be in one year? Where would I fit into that vision?
  • What can I do to add value and to help the company succeed?

At the end of the day, companies hire people and not résumés. Use these tough questions to engage with your interviewer, showcase your strengths, and leave a lasting impression. What tough interview questions have you faced and how did you handle them?

Photo Credit: Renee Bertrand via Compfight cc

LoveallChloe Loveall is a writer, an artist, and a slave to the creative process. After spending two years traversing the globe, she has temporarily settled down to study journalism and advertising at the University of Oregon. Follow her on Twitter at @ChloeLoveall.

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Welcome Back, UO PRSSA!

photoTo our current members, alumni and friends, welcome back to another school year with University of Oregon PRSSA! I am honored and excited to serve as president this year, and help UO PRSSA continue to grow. Over the summer, I’ve watched our executive board build plans for one amazing year complete with opportunities to connect with industry professionals, develop your professional skills, expand your resume, and get involved with a nationally recognized network of PR professionals. Here are just a few ways to take advantage of all PRSSA has to offer this year:

Get involved by joining a committee. Chapter committees assist in all areas of UO PRSSA, from planning events, promotion and fundraising. It’s an awesome way to connect with other members and expand your resume. This year, we’re excited to introduce committee leadership positions and a new Campus Collaboration for even more opportunities to get involved. Learn more about Chapter committees at our first Chapter meeting this year!

Join us for agency tours and networking events. Each term UO PRSSA hosts tours with some of the biggest PR agencies in the nation. This year, we’re heading to Portland, Seattle, and other major cities to get a taste of life in the industry. If you prefer to stick closer to home, we also host regular networking events and mixers with Oregon’s PRSA chapters and other local professionals.

Take advantage of job listings and scholarships. Your PRSSA membership earns you access to an amazing database of jobs and internships (http://www.prssa.org/career/prsa_jobcenter/). Only PRSSA and PRSA members have access to these listings, so it’s a great way to uncover opportunities! PRSSA also offers scholarships and awards each year exclusively for members (http://www.prssa.org/career/prsa_jobcenter/).

Learn from guest speakers and workshops. Our bi-weekly Chapter meetings aren’t just routine announcements. We host a variety of PR industry professionals throughout the year! Come get your questions answered and make a connection! We’re also excited to continue our annual PRofessional Development Workshop series this year to help tune up your resume, prefect your cover letter and build your portfolio.

 If you’ve ever thought about joining PRSSA, this is the time to do so. I’d like to invite everyone to attend our first Chapter meeting on October 9 at 6 PM in Allen 141! We hope to see you there and show you all that PRSSA has to offer. Questions? Shoot us an email at prssa@jcomm.uoregon.edu!

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Callie Gisler is the 2013-2014 University of Oregon PRSSA chapter president. She is currently a senior in the SOJC, pursuing a double major in public relations and magazine journalism. Follow her on Twitter at @CallieGisler.

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Six Steps to a Better LinkedIn Profile

Your LinkedIn profile is like a digital resume, making it an important tool for any budding PR professional. While it might seem intimating at first, LinkedIn isn’t as difficult as you think. The more complete your page is, the more attention it gets. An unfinished profile is unprofessional and unwelcoming, so follow these steps and get set up:

Include a professional photo. This means that you should not be cropped out of any picture, regardless of how good you look in it. Your shoulders should be covered, no cleavage should be showing and the background should be plain. Please avoid any party pictures. If you do not have a professional headshot, grab a friend and a business professional top and take a picture in front of a plain wall.

Use your full name. You want people to be able to find you. Use your compete name, fill in your title and include your last three positions. If you use your Twitter professionally, include a link to it and if you have a professional blog include that link as well.

Claim your custom URL. You can do this by editing your contact information. You want to take out all the numbers at the end of your URL and only have your name.

Write your summary. Do not reiterate everything that you say in your profile. Think of this as your value proposition—who are you, what are your goals and what do you have to offer? Keep your summary short and concise; it should not be longer than a paragraph.

When describing your work experience, use bullets and be precise. Precision is the key theme. Employers think of LinkedIn as more dynamic than a resume so try to paint a picture but in few words as necessary. Your bullets should not be longer than a line. Professor Bill Sherman recommends that your LinkedIn be even more concise than your resume. So, don’t simply copy and paste. If this makes you uncomfortable, you can always use slideshare to share your resume on your profile.

Include relevant volunteer experiences on your profile. This does not mean you should include every volunteer experience that you have had but be sure to include positions were you played a prominent role (regularly over a period of time).  According to a LinkedIn Survey, over 70 percent of hiring managers said they considered volunteer work as legitimate work experience. Volunteering and community service has social capital. The chances that you volunteered for a similar charity, as a potential employer is very high. But do not put volunteer experience on here just to fill your profile; everything on your LinkedIn is fair game for a potential employer to ask in an interview. You do not want to embellish on your profile because it will come back to haunt you later.

Use these tips to complete your LinkedIn profile and stay tuned for future posts to learn about maximizing your LinkedIn experience. If you have any tips that you felt were not covered in this article, please post them below.

Photo Credit: TheSeafarer via Compfight cc

Post by Kaitlyn Chock, PRSSA member and project manager for the 2012-2013 school year. You can contact Kaitlyn at kchock@uoregon.edu.

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Five ways to succeed as an intern

Paid or unpaid, navigating the role of intern for the first time can be a challenge for anyone. Internship experience is an important part of building your resume as a student. Here are some of our favorite tips for being successful in an internship role:

1. Dress Professionally. Be sure to dress appropriately and modestly at your internship. Be wary of cleavage and be sure your skirt is at least knee length. Your office is not the place to showcase your eccentric personal style. “Inappropriate dress will hurt your quest for professional respect,” said Lorra Brown (PR Daily). Take a look around you, get a feel for the office dress code, and look to model that.

2. Understand Your Manager’s Expectations. Your managers do not expect you to know how to do everything. They do, however, expect you to be able to follow directions. Bring paper and a pen to meetings so that you can write detailed notes when your manager is speaking. Don’t hesitate to ask questions; you want to leave the meeting with a clear understanding of how to complete any given task. Be sure to brainstorm ideas before reaching out to your supervisor so you come prepared and with a possible solution to the problem you are trying to address.

3. Learn to Take Criticism. At some point in your internship you will receive criticism. Your supervisors criticize your work for your benefit as well as the organizations. If you aren’t receiving any feedback, just ask; constructive criticism is key to improvement.

4. Act as an Employee. Although you are an intern, you should conduct yourself with the dignity and integrity of an employee. “Employers frequently criticize interns for lacking problem-solving abilities or their unwillingness to be proactive in generating ideas,” Lorra Brown (PR Daily)  Keep yourself busy even when you don’t have a project to work on, ask others if they need help, and bring creative ideas to meetings.

5. Be an Advocate for Your Goals. Be clear with your manager about your expectations for the internship. If you begin the internship with the intention of gaining a certain skill, or creating a particular portfolio piece, communicate that with your manager. If they don’t know what your expectations are, you may end up performing a greater number of mundane office tasks. Your goals are an important priority, however, you are in charge of achieving them!

Photo Credit: Bill Dimmick via Compfight cc

Post by Katie Keene, PRSSA member for the 2012-2013 school year. You can contact Katie through our blog editor: cgisler@uoregon.edu.

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Starting an internship? Make sure to measure.

The secret to a standout resume is to measure your results, and you’ll need to plan ahead to do this. Here are the steps to follow:

1.    Identify the ultimate goal of your efforts. Why are you about to engage in this public relations endeavor? What is the purpose?

2.    Set objectives. Your objectives are how you measure whether you’ve achieved your goal, so each objective must be measurable. To set objectives, you’ll want to find out what your past performance was. You want to do better than last time, but you don’t want to set objectives that are tough to reach. Make sure to set your objectives with your manager.

Ideally, you’ll have access to the organization’s prior performance, so you can report the difference you have made (e.g., increased museum memberships by 5 percent).

If you cannot get information about the organization’s prior performance, you can at least report on your resume whether you met your objectives, and you can potentially report that you exceeded your objectives by a particular percentage (e.g., exceeded attendance objective by 20 percent).

If you will manage your organization’s social media, make sure to use tools to measure your organization’s performance before you take the helm. You can find these tools through an Internet search for “[name of tool] measurement.”

Some of my favorite measurement tools are Edelman’s TweetLevel and BlogLevel, Statigram, and PinPuff. There are plenty of other good tools, as well. Facebook has built-in metrics you can use through Facebook Insights, which you can access as soon as you’re an account administrator. Make sure to record the “before” scores, so you can measure the percentage of improvement at the end of your internship. You might also take some screenshots of the before and after measurements, which would be good visual illustrations for the professional portfolio you’ll prepare during J454.

Another important online tool is bitly, which you can use to measure the number of times people have clicked on a link you share.

3.    Measure your results. To figure out the percentage change between your performance and the prior performance, follow this simple formula:

A. Subtraction: Your performance – prior performance = X
B. Division: X divided by the prior performance

Then move your decimal to the right by two numbers, and you have your percentage change.

If you’re interested in reading more about measurement, subscribe to Katie Paine’s blog, check out one of her books from the library, or do both. Best wishes with your summer internship!

Photo Credit: MarcelGermain via Compfight cc

Guest post by Professor Tiffany Gallicano,  public relations faculty member for the UO School of Journalism and Communication. Visit her blog The PR Post.

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Being a young professional in Eugene: Small market career start

You know the “six degrees of separation” theory? In Eugene, I think everyone is three-degrees apart, at most. The connectedness of a small market has some advantages and some disadvantages, depending on how you look at it and what you’re looking for.

Pros of working in a small market

In the world of agency PR, a small market has some major pluses:

  • You can learn who the movers and shakers are in the community relatively quickly. These may be your clients, colleagues of your clients, or friends and family of your clients.
  • You’ll build relationships with local media after the first few stories you coordinate for clients. You’ll figure out what stories certain reporters are interested in and how to pitch to them.
  • Starting out, you will likely earn more responsibility and autonomy than at a larger agency in a big market. You may even be able to communicate directly with clients.
  • You’ll probably be working for a small firm that provides training and support from upper management. Co-workers will become kin to family.
  • You could potentially have a five-minute bike “commute” to and from work. No traffic. Rush hour? Never. It’s more like mosey minutes.

Cons of working in a small market

I can think of two drawbacks of working in Eugene. But with time and learning, I’ve overcome them, so that may null my findings:

  • The “young professionals” community leaves a bit to be desired. Eugene is great if you’re a college student, you’re raising a family or you’re retired. After graduating from UO and getting hired in Eugene, none of those applied to me, so I had to do some digging to figure out my new identity and place in the community.

I found a few organizations that offered professional and personal connections in my playing field – the Eugene Chamber of Commerce’s Young Professionals Network and the Eugene Active 20-30 Club. The former hosts monthly networking events and the latter is a community service organization. By participating in both, I now have many new friends and see familiar faces at almost any community event.

I would imagine, however, that a larger city offers a more thriving young professional scene. Even co-workers could be of similar age and interests as recent grads.

  • There are no opportunities to work with multi-national companies with multi-million dollar marketing budgets (or at least none that I’ve stumbled upon). While Eugene is home to some manufacturing companies and industries that distribute to or operate in other parts of the nation and world, you won’t find as many as in, say, San Francisco.

But, in my opinion, here’s the catch: You might be working on accounts like Apple, Subway or L’Oreal, but you could be on the fifth or sixth rung of the ladder – a place where upper management may not remember your name and you’ll rarely get to talk with a client face to face.

Small markets take the win

My “Pros” and “Cons” list shows five-to-two. That’s a win for small markets.

From my perspective, starting your career in a small market is the perfect training ground to develop skills and experience you’ll need if and when you decide to launch into a larger market. But I’m biased because I haven’t experienced professional life elsewhere.

Eugene is indeed a small world after all. But it’s made a big impact on my personal and professional growth.

-1 Guest post by Lindsey Kate McCarthy, Account Executive at CAWOOD. You can contact Lindsey through our blog editor at cgisler@uoregon.edu.