Finding Job Openings

Here at UGA we have a great resource for part-time and on-campus jobs called DawgTrak. Finding an agency PR job was a totally different story. As I have mentioned, I found out about most of the positions I applied for through the connections I made at PRSA RealWorld. I also found it very helpful to visit the Web sites of the agencies I was particularly interested in. It is by no means an efficient way of finding open positions, but almost every site had contact information for an internship position

Also, I joined the UGA PRSSA this year which I found very helpful. PRSSA often finds out about internship opportunities that are not posted anywhere else. I also found the PRSA Georgia Internship Directory to be helpful and even got an interview for a full-time position based on their job listings.

Those of us who are just now entering the PR world are very lucky because the industry is booming! I found it very difficult to find an internship last year at this time, but the opportunities seemed to fall into my lap this year. The blog Forward has some great links to job posting sites and career advice for PR newbies.

Passionate about PR

One thing I have discovered after all of my interviews is that PR firms are looking for employees who have what they call "passion." I love PR, I love the work, the people, the way the job changes everyday based on the varying needs of the client, but am I passionate about the job?

Honestly, I think passion is a strong word to use for college graduates. I truly enjoy public relations, but am still undecided on exactly which area of PR I will find the most enjoyable, such as healthcare, technology, consumer or hospitality clients. This is one of the reasons I am starting my career in an agency where I can work with numerous businesses of any type. I want to find my passion.

When I do get into the field, I want to work for clients whose products and mission I believe in so that I can be passionate about my work and about representing the company. In his blog, Kevin Dugan links to an article I found very interesting because it talks about how passion is necessary to be great in PR, because passion is what sells your ideas to journalists.

Questions for the Interviewer

As I mentioned in my last post, it is very important to be prepared with a list of questions to ask the interviewer at the end of any interview. It is important to know the company's Web site, you would not want to ask a question that can be easily answered online. However, asking for clarification of an issue or a topic you noticed online can be an easy way to show you did your homework.

General Questions:
Can you tell me a little bit about the culture of your agency?
How does the agency work to maintain a work/life balance?
What do you like most about working here?
What do you like most about working for a small/large agency?
How does working for an independent/nonindependent PR agency affect your work?

About the Position:
What is the strongest aspect of this internship/position?
What are some of the accounts I could be working on?
How many people work in the department?

After the Interview:
What is the next step?
If given a job offer, what would be my start date?

Topics of personal interest to you:
As a Spanish major, I am interested in the possibility of working with the Hispanic community. Will this option be available to me here?
I noticed your company worked with (client's name), what was unique about this client? What made you decide to go the route you did on their campaign?

These questions provide a starting point. There are several books, such as Ron Fry's "101 Smart Questions to Ask on your Interview," and blogs available to expand on the subject.

Real World 2007

Networking, networking, networking. One of the first things you hear when you begin taking classes in public relations is the importance of, what else, relationships. After attending PRSA's Real World 2007 on February 16 at the Loudermilk Center in downtown Atlanta, I found out that my professors and career counselors really knew what they were talking about!

Prior to attending the conference, I created a simple business card with my contact information and a picture. I then attached the business cards to my resumes so that after the long day, potential employers could put a face with a name. Since my post-graduation goal is to work in the competitive field of agency PR, I made it a point to speak with every agency who attended the Career Expo at the end of the day. Companies included, Edelman, Kleber & Associates, Jackson Spalding, Hope-Beckham, communications21, Williams Mills Agency and more. After the conference I sent a thank you e-mail to every person I spoke with and requested an informational interview.

So far, I have had two informational interviews, been invited to an open house for an agency internship program and had a phone interview with another large agency, all based on the contacts I made at Real World. I would recommend that any aspiring PR professional attend PRSA events. And, don't forget the importance of networking!

The Illusive "Foot-in-the-Door"

They say the key to finding a good PR job lies in who you know and where you've interned. I'm still working on the who you know part and I hope that my internships will prove to be useful in helping me to find my dream job.

My first internship was with Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, a non-profit organization based here in Athens dedicated to providing educational reading materials to students who are blind, dyslexic or otherwise unable to read in a traditional manner. While I enjoyed the experience, the internship was little more than administrative work. My major PR effort included drafting letters and compiling a database of media outlets and legislators in the state. During my internship, I was also able to have a feature story on a RFB&D success story published in the Athens Parent Magazine and in the Northeast Georgian newspaper.

Last summer I interned with the Retail Solutions Division of NCR Corporation in Duluth, Ga. This internship was very different than the first because I was able to gain experience in corporate PR and I was given a much higher level of responsibility. I researched and developed a crisis communications plan for the Georgia division of the organization, which I was shocked to discover did not previously exist. My most important project was writing the NCR RealPartner Newsletter which goes out to all of the NCR partners around the world. This involved writing several pieces from our division of NCR and also editing (um, translating) pieces from retail solutions branches in Asia and Europe. It really was a great experience for me.

One thing I have learned from both of my internships is that you get what you put into it, seriously. I had to prove to NCR that I was independent and that I could handle large projects with a low level of support, but now I have a potential job with the company.

I can't believe I'm graduating...

I am a public relations and Spanish major at the University of Georgia in Athens. For my public relations campaigns class, the capstone course for the major, we have been asked to write a blog. Since I am graduating this May, I'll be using this blog to share my job-searching adventures and to let you in on everything I learn along the way.

Although I am nervous about finding a job, especially finding the right job, I could not be more excited about working in public relations. I started college as a broadcast news major, but became frustrated with the virtually non-existent job security and the likelihood of having to move all over the country to keep up. After deciding to change my major, I had a great deal of trouble choosing a replacement. My mom had always suggested that I go in to public relations, but at that point, I was unsure about what public relations really entailed. After doing some research, I realized that PR was the exact major I had been looking for.

My dream is to work in a PR agency in Atlanta, but with some strong competition and no prior agency experience, I definitely have my work cut out for me.