I had the pleasure of attending and serving on a career panel at the PRSA/PRSSA Pro-Am Day in St. Louis last week. (New PRSA president/CEO Gary McCormick was the luncheon speaker, but that’s for a future post here on BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas.)
In this post I’d like to share some of the advice that was provided in the “Diary of Young 
Professionals” session. Allison Hughes, Lara Golike, Tanya Kath and Phillip Cleveland served as panelists and answered questions from the Missouri and southern Illinois PRSSA members in attendance.
When asked for advice about entering the job market, the panel offered these points:
- Don’t go in with a sense of entitlement. You’ll be “knocked down a peg” and only set yourself up for disappointment.
- Not everyone works with clients immediately. While you should have a writing portfolio, you are still the “low man on the totem pole.”
- With entry-level positions, you may have to jump through the hoops and prove yourself until acknowledged as a professional. It can be a long road, but you must keep on until accepted.
- In corporate PR there can be as many as ten approvals and red lines before something is given the go-ahead.
- Not every office is like “Devil Wears Prada!”
As far as advice about job searching and what skills should be highlighted, the panel offered this guidance:
- Digital PR is a must. Agencies want to hire those that already have these skills.
- Be sure Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages are “clean.” With Facebook, you can set privacy filters, but keep in mind that nothing is truly private on the web.
- As far as skills to be highlighted, do NOT say you are a “people person.”
- Include group projects (not just individual) as this demonstrates team work.
- Showcase achievements rather than activities.
- Be prepared for an on-the-spot writing test.
- When interviewing, ask lots of questions before accepting a position so you know what you’re getting into.
- Early in your career (or even when doing internships) – diversify. Even if you know what area you want to go into, don’t pigeon-hole your experience.
Finally, panelists were asked about some the things they wish they’d learned more about in school, to which they responded:
- AP Style (there’s even an app for that now!)
- Social Media
- Reading industry magazines and newsletters as well as thought-leaders blogs.
If your local PRSA, IABC, AMA or other group has a Pro-Am event, I’d encourage you to participate in any way that you are able. What additional advice would you offer these about-to-be young PR pros?
online survey of 1,000 millennial women, ranging in age from 22-35, who are employed full-time in the United States. (In the U.S., women will soon comprise half the workforce and Millennials are now one-third of the working population.)
the “This is how we do things around here” context in which the culture of these communities operate. This is potentially why individuals are hesitant to join or participate once they do. The tech savvy twenty-something generation, who was in college during the evolution of Facebook, mastered the art of netiquette early on and practically wrote the book on what we do and don’t do on these sites.
