Archive for Tips and Tricks
PR Job Seekers: Be Creative!
Posted by: | CommentsGuest Post by Jerid Gunter
Watch Jerid in the news here.
Job hunting. No doubt, there are several emotions that come with the idea of hunting for a new job, and there are many of us who are aboard the job hunting roller coaster. When I graduated from Western Kentucky University with my BA in public relations back in May 2009, I moved back home to the Kansas City area and was quite hopeful for the opportunities that surely awaited me. Admittedly, I was quite delusional to the fact of how bad the economy was at the time of my graduation. One year later, with an internship and volunteering experience under my belt, I was still at the starting gate with my job hunt. I became completely open to relocating, and I submitted countless resumes and applications to various jobs across the country. The feelings of hope and excitement gave way to anxiety and frustration.
While I was delusional as a fresh college grad, I wasn’t delusional to the fact that my resume wasn’t turning heads. There’s no question that unemployed PR pros with five to 10 years experience are at the front of the line for any open position. I had to come up with something creative. So, with the “trained mind” of a PR practitioner, I tried to get my creative wheels turning. What could I do to stand out from the pack?
Part of the job of a public relations practitioner is to create or raise awareness, whether it’s for an event, organization or individual. In my case, I was looking to raise awareness about myself. I can’t quite tell you how I came up with this idea, but after watching a YouTube video of a creative way a job seeker received attention it must have created a spark for me. I decided I was going to stand on the corner of one of the busiest street corners in Kansas City, wearing a sandwich boy sign and carrying copies of my resume. After much thought of the message for my sign, I came up with: “This college grad can’t get experience without an opportunity. Hire me! jeridgunter@gmail.com.” In addition, I created a group page on Facebook (“Jerid’s Job Hunt Extravaganza!”), inviting all of my friends and sharing my crazy idea with them.
While I thought this was a good start, it certainly wouldn’t be a full-blown PR campaign without a little media attention. While I wasn’t sure if I’d really be considered newsworthy, I went ahead and e-mailed all four major news networks in Kansas City, explaining my situation and what I was planning to do. I told them exactly when and where to find me. One station contacted me via Twitter at about 4 AM the day of my event, telling me they’d possibly come by and cover my story. Sure enough, they contacted me while I was at my post, and did a live shot on the morning news, as well as a taped segment that aired during one of the evening newscasts. If that wasn’t enough, I had another station call me right after my interview with the first station, asking if they could cover my story. Of course, I welcomed the coverage. Yet again, I was featured on the evening news on that station as well.
After my day with the media, I thought I was a shoe-in for a great job. I just thought it was a matter of a couple of days before I’d have a handful of interviews and a couple of job offers on the table. The operative word: thought. The job offers didn’t come. Since my street sign escapade, I’ve had one job interview (not even PR related) and wasn’t awarded the position. I posted the online versions of my news stories on my Facebook profile and group page, as well as on my Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. I got all kinds of praise and encouraging words from friends and people I didn’t even know. While it’s been fun reading all of the comments, I’m still just working my part-time job at a little coffee shop that everyone’s heard of.
Why do I share my seemingly failed attempts of finding a job? It’s not an attempt to throw a pity party for myself. I know I’m one of countless other job-seekers. It’s also not an attempt to discourage you in your job hunt, quite the contrary. I’m certain that my street sign story is going to help me land a job in some form or fashion. Whether the video catches the right eye of a potential employer, or it’s an experience I can refer to during a job interview, it will be a tool I can use to distance myself from other job candidates. I share my story to encourage you to BE CREATIVE. Do something that makes you stand out…just don’t get yourself into trouble doing so.
Organizing a Job Hunt with Social Media Tools: Part Three
Posted by: | CommentsThe final installment of my series on organizing a job hunt with social media tools focuses on LinkedIn. Most of you are probably already on this social networking site (if not, you should be!), but here are a few tips to make the most of it.
Organizing a Job Hunt with Social Media Tools: Part Two
Posted by: | CommentsPart two of my series on ButtonedUp.com gives a few tips and tricks for organizing a job hunt using Twitter. The full article is here, I hope you find it helpful!
Organizing a Job Hunt with Social Media Tools: Part One
Posted by: | CommentsWe’ve talked in the past about using social media to help you find a job, but I’d like to share some additional tips for using social media tools to stay organized during a job hunt. I recently had the opportunity to contribute a three-part series on this topic to Buttoned Up, a website dedicated to helping people get organized. Part one focuses on using an aggregation dashboard like Netvibes.com to keep all of your online tools, frequently searched job boards and RSS feeds organized in one place. Feel free to check it out here!
Inside Look: How Recruiters Utilize Social Media
Posted by: | CommentsIn the next few weeks, we’ll be talking some more about ways that you can use social media to find and land a job. But first, I thought it would be helpful to get some insights into how the PR industry is using social media as a recruitment tool. My colleague Lauren Begley wrote a post for the PepperDigital blog with some guidelines for hiring managers to use social media as a recruiting platform. Take a look at what she has to say, and keep these points in mind when engaging in social media communications:
As Twitter has quadrupled in size and Facebook now rivals the population of the world’s third largest country, social media has forever changed our personal and professional communication practices. While it is often thought of as a tool for a PR or communications department within a corporation, there are other uses that divisions like human resources can exercise.
Recruitment, for example, offers a great opportunity for an HR team to delve into the social media space. Just as a job applicant develops a cover letter and resume touting their best qualities, HR managers can build a strong social media platform to showcase the company’s corporate culture in order to attract top talent. At Peppercom, for example, our intern coordinator Alicia Wells manages a blog all about entry level positions in public relations. This platform provides those outside of our company with a look into our corporate culture and professional values, as well as useful information for the job hunting process. If you too are in this position, here are a few best practices to consider.
1) Listen: In today’s current job climate, prospective employees are turning to the Web to identify job opportunities and highlight their qualifications. Before you launch a social media campaign, it is important to survey the conversations already taking place so you can find the social media tools that are most resonating with the top candidates. To do this, determine the kind of information they are seeking about your corporate culture and job functions. Take notice, specifically, of where they are communications online. By identifying these patterns, you’ll be able to create a social media campaign that will appeal to the type of candidates for which you are looking.
2) Start the Conversation: Once you have a handle on the social media platforms the top talent is comfortable using, you will be able to recognize the means by which you should engage your audience. For example, if participants within your field are active on Twitter, you might consider launching a corporate account to disseminate job information and answer questions in real-time.
3) Let Your Stars Shine: Whether a company provides a platform for its employees or not, most are regularly using digital communication channels on a regular basis. Identify those employees who are already social media savvy and bring them in to help shape the corporate presence online. Providing current employees with the opportunity to become the online voice of your company, will enable authenticity to shine through and offer potential job applicants a glimpse into employee life at your company.
Worth Noting: Aol Find a Job
Posted by: | CommentsI’m pretty sure I haven’t been on AOL since 1999, but today I stumbled across “Aol Find a Job” and thought it was worth sharing. The site is mainly a job database, but also offers articles with advice for job hunting, employment news and trends, personal development, and more. The most helpful section is the Job Seeker Toolkit, which even has a special section for recent grads. I’d encourage you to check it out for tips on building a resume, interviewing, networking and career searching.
PRSSA- A good investment for your future
Posted by: | CommentsGuest Post by Stacey Davidson
As a public relations student in college, it is difficult to differentiate yourself in a flooded job market. There are too many candidates and too few positions. One way I have found to differentiate myself was to be involved with PRSSA, the Public Relations Student Society of America. In conjunction with PRSA, the largest professional public relations association in the world, PRSSA helps students to gain real world experience, leadership and networking opportunities outside of the classroom. At the University of Florida each month we learn about interview skills, industry trends, resume writing and more from professionals in the industry. These speakers help us to transfer what we learn in the classroom to our internships and future jobs.
In addition to monthly meetings and speakers, PRSSA also provides opportunities like its annual conference in November. PRSSA annual conference is held alongside PRSA national conference to allow for increased networking and professional development opportunities for both students and practitioners. At this conference, I was able to learn about multiple facets of PR from the industry’s leaders, such as media relations from the media trainer and media relations director for the United States Army, and non-profit public relations from the VP of communications for United Way.
This conference provides a unique opportunity to do more than listen to a lecture. For five days I was immersed in an amazing learning environment where I could ask questions and build my professional network in addition to hearing from presenters. After leaving the conference, I was armed with business cards, e-mail addresses and phone numbers from agencies and practitioners located all around the country. I was ready to take on the world and the job search.
One of the most important factors when applying for a job is make yourself more than just a resume. Many of the people I met at the conference were active recruiters and account executives at companies where I desire to work. To them, I am now a face, a person, no longer just a resume. When I begin seriously applying for jobs in the spring, I know that our relationships will be integral in landing interviews and eventually jobs.
