 By Emily Glatt
Heather Harder, Account Executive, Prosek Partners Brian Price, Digital Marketing Manager, Starwood Retail Partners Nick Lucido, Senior Accountant Supervisor, Krispr Communication Moderator: Jessica Noonan, Group Manager, Weber Shandwick Have you ever wondered where the PR degree can take you? What is it like outside of college in the "big bad world?” At PRSSA National Conference, four professionals sat down and gave all the attendees insight on what it’s like after college and where a PR degree can take you. Also, they gave advice on how to manage in the world and how to step out of the bubble of college. The entire session was about making our own agenda and allowed students to go up and ask questions to the professionals. How do you network to find a job? Brian Price, Digital Marketing Manager for Starwood Retail Partners, suggested to always follow up on your networks and possibly try to network through your network. By getting them to introduce you to other people in the field, you have more networking opportunities. How do you find a job that you love? Heather Harder, an account executive at Prosek Partners, gave advice to always try new experiences and opportunities. She had talked about a personal experience when she had gone to a non-profit agency and how she was not excited about it. However, she learned from that experience that she actually loved non-profit. She also learned that starting small and building up a reputation can go a long way into getting those bigger corporate jobs. Heather stated that you should be inspired and never stop dreaming big. By always being inspired and willing to better yourself, you can make those changes. She said, "Don't be afraid to admit that what you want is not what you have--- make the change." Never be okay with settling and always try and try to be happy with your career. Never feel discouraged if you are not immediately in that place, but rather work hard to get to where you want. How has your experience in PRSSA helped you after graduation? All four professionals had talked about how PRSSA has really helped that move ahead in the world and how it has helped them get internships and networking experience. Nick talked about how you should always take advantage of that membership. Use it as a tool to get the one up in a very competitive world. He says that PRSSA can help you get any job by contacting other PRSSA members or alumni and getting internships through that. How do you go from a small school in Ohio to a big city like New York, LA, Chicago etc.? First the professionals said that big cities mean big agencies and to be ready for competition and rejection. However, they said it was very doable to move to a new city right out of college. The tips they gave to make it better was:
Do you need a master's degree? Nick Lucido had reassured all our fears when he said NO YOU DO NOT NEED A MASTERS DEGREE IN PR. He talks about how employers look more for experience rather than how many years you’ve gone to school. However, he did suggest that if you are financially capable and feel that graduate school is your calling, then go for it. Though, to get a first job, you will not need more than a bachelor's degree. He also went on to say that maybe when you are done with your first job then you can go back, but it is not expected of you. Do you have advice for job interviews and moving into the business world? The pros said that you should always try to talk about the things you learned from an old job and not about what you did. They also suggested to never say anything negative in a job interview. You don't need to tell them about the secrets and the "behind the scenes" of a program that you were a part of. When should I start looking for internships or jobs? Brian Price said to look for jobs right before the summer and, if you are graduating, right before graduation. He meant that you should be doing so a month ahead of time. He says this is the most beneficial because those are hiring right away. If you try to get a job too early, you may not be hired because the company or agency is looking for someone who can work immediately . They also said only to send out three applications to places because you do not want to be overbooked. You really should focus on your one main job that you want; to give all your time and energy to ensure you can get it. The pros also advise to never be scared to apply for a job because of the experience requirements. They quoted the old saying of "It is quality over quantity". However, they did bring up the harsh reality that you will not always get the job and try to not get to discouraged about a job you didn't get. This is because many companies may be asking for a job that requires you to have loads of experience and some are much more strict about this than others. You can still go for it, but be ready for any answer. Their final tip was to always seek out mentors and mentees because someday a mentor will help you in more ways then you know. They can help with your resume or they can go as far as helping you get a job. Also, you should try to have multiple mentors to get multiple pieces of advice and insight. This many insights can only help you. Another thing they encouraged was for you to become a mentor to younger people especially when you have left college and gone to a new job. Teach others the things your mentors taught you and help them. When asked where to find a mentor, they said they could do it through PRSSA and PRSA. In PRSA, they have a mentor program. They also talk about how anyone signed up for that is more than willing to help PRSSA members get to where they want. Do you have any final thoughts or advice?
Emily Glatt is a freshman public relations major at Kent State. Contact her at [email protected].
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 By Daniel Henderson
For anyone, from either side of the aisle that is interested in politics and anyone who wants a part in shaping the future political messages of candidates for office, this was the session to be at. Anne Hathaway, the CEO and Founder of Hathaway strategies, a grassroots public affairs campaign, along with Jane Jankowski, also from Hathaway Strategies, presented on the keys to success for political campaigning and rules to live by if working in politics. Both have impressive and lengthy resumes, that frankly are worthy of their own blog post, and can be seen on the PRSSA National Conference website. The session started with the audience giving their views on recent quotes from the presidential campaign and whether the lines are good or bad for the candidate. They then moved on to their views on how political PR has been turned on its head. The current election cycle, the news cycle shrinking every day, social media, use of surrogates and grassroots support have changed how political PR pros do their job. It expands messaging opportunities but makes controlling the message in the media harder than it once was. Their “Keys to Success,” included: Know why you’re running, tell the truth, be accurate, pay attention to timing, know when to be disciplined, know when you can have a little fun and know when to say nothing. Some endearing words from the speakers to remember: “Don’t bring me a problem unless you’re also coming with a solution” -Jane Jankowski “[Surrogates] are a very smart, very calculated way to get the message out. It’s a choir instead of a soloist.” –Anne Hathaway “The words ‘no comment’ are still saying something” –Anne Hathaway Daniel Henderson is a senior public relations major and is PRSSA Kent's treasurer. Contact him at [email protected].  Gabrielle Woodard
Hearing from the founder of Nebo, Brian Easter, about the importance of internal communications was thought provoking. Nebo is an agency based out of Atlanta, Georgia and focuses on the good things their company can do along with the importance of employees feeling important. Easter says that Nebo is a “human-centered” agency and focuses on the stories within their clients. The session focused heavily on how agencies can transform marketing campaigns into problem-solving campaigns and how to reach the true needs of the audience. Nebo is an amazing agency. They put together a campaign to raise money for a nearby no-kill animal shelter. They even threw a party for the dogs where they went to play with the dogs and brought them toys. Easter says “we spend most of our waking life at work,” why shouldn’t we enjoy it? Easter’s presentation included examples about how the best campaigns only briefly mention the product, and present them in an unexpected way. One example was a Coke ad that used a coke machine to connect people in Pakistan and India. This ad supported Easter’s reoccurring theme that when it all comes down to it, we are all people. Easter even spoke about a time that his agency fired a client because they were draining his employees, making them no longer excited to come to work. “Everything is easier if you care about your employees,” said Easter while he encouraged the students in the room to ask companies about their culture while interviewing. Gabrielle Woodard is a senior public relations major and is PRSSA Kent's immediate past president. Contact her at [email protected].  By Meghan McDonald
The session “Get Your Head in the Game” focused on sports PR and was presented by Andrea Farmer, Associate Director of Strategic Initiatives at NCAA. She began her presentation with what the NCAA thinks is the most important goal, to make sure everything you do as an organization leads back to your vision, mission and principles. I believe that this is part of what makes the NCAA such a successful organization, being focused on the college athletes themselves. She continued the presentation with breaking down the different communications departments within the company and what each department is responsible for. Despite there being different departments, all of the decisions taken throughout the company are data driven. Media/web analytics, public perception surveys, focus groups and relationship surveys are all used in decision making. All strategies are based off of this data. So be sure to pay attention during your research classes because an ability to read and interpret data is incredibly useful! One of the main concerns of the NCAA is public perception. Due to the fact that it is such a large, widely-known organization, there are many misconceptions about the company. The main concept that the NCAA wants people to recognize is that 90% of their revenue comes from the television rights from March Madness. Then, the 90% of their revenue goes back out to conferences to fund their sports programs, especially for the less popular or less televised college sports that wouldn’t have as much funding. Overall, I really enjoyed the presentation and I learned so much about sports PR and the NCAA as an organization. I now understand how large of a role research plays in the process of creating strategies and tactics. Nothing can even be started until the research has been taken and interpreted. Andrea Farmer was a great presenter and a wonderful spokesperson for NCAA. Meghan McDonald is a junior public relations major and is PRSSA Kent's secretary. Contact her at [email protected].  By Alexia Castillo
Students gathered in for a session to listen to Myra Borshoff, APR and founder of Borfshoff, and Jen Dial, Global communications manager of Eli Lilly and Company. Borshoff does public relations work and advertising for clients. Eli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical company that is headquartered in downtown Indianapolis. Myra has worked with the Indianapolis Colts, St. Francis Hospital and Eli Lilly and Company. She began her career by starting up her own agency in 1984, representing a law firm in Indianapolis. She spoke about a client that pushed her into wanting to get into crisis communications. Myra said, “One day I received a phone call at 6 a.m. about one of the senior partners at a law firm being killed by a male prostitute. I felt challenged and was interested in that type of communication by how unexpected all this can be.” Myra’s definition of a crisis is when it disrupts the organization to the extent that does not allow them to proceed through their normal work duties. It is something that keeps the CEO awake at night. Her advice on what to do in a crisis as a PR professional: Stay calm, do not get caught up in drama and get the facts. It is vital to do search for the company if there have been any other incidents in which they have been previously involved and make sure there is an official spokesperson that is prepared to be transparent while speaking to the media. Myra said, “Don’t try to divert attention to someone else in crisis, approach the issue with a statement immediately, otherwise it will backfire and another story will pop up.” When talking about employees, she said you, as the insider, are expected to know what’s going on at all times. You need to have an offside destination for the media to come depending on how severe the crisis is. Jen Dial has had a different take on crisis communication. She said when it comes to dealing with patients and the media, you need to keep patients privacy in mind when sharing their status, but also needing to be quick to address the public. Jen said, “The first time you say no comment to the media, the media will stick around longer.” It is important to determine when the appropriate time to say nothing, saying something doesn’t always correct the problem efficiently. Jen has three A’s she lives by in regards to crisis communication: Acknowledge the problem right away, apologize to the public and take action. The way one reacts to a crisis is important because the spokesperson is speaking on behalf of an organization and company. Dial and Borshoff served as mentors for PR students during this session on how to react when a crisis hits. Alexia Castillo is a junior communication studies major at Kent State. Contact her at [email protected]. |
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