Posts Tagged ‘networking’


Top BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas Posts in 2011 – Numbers 20 to 11

Thursday, December 29th, 2011

iStock_000010469879XSmallAs 2011 winds to a close, no year would be complete without a wrap-up list of some kind. In that spirit, we are counting down the 20 Top BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas posts in 2011. In today’s post we will be highlighting numbers 20 to 11.

Did your favorite Fresh Ideas posts make the list? Be sure to leave a comment and let us know.

20. The Art of Storytelling

19. PRSSA National Conference Speed Networking PR Student Questions

18. How to Speak C-Suite

17. Disappearing Act: 10 Brands That May Not Be Around in 2012

16. The New York Women in Communications 2011 Matrix Awards

15. When a Hashtag Leads to Help: PR Tips from #BlueKey

14. Zappos, 24/7 Customer Service in the Internet Age

13. Oscar’s Social Media Fever

12. Snooki’s Appearance at Rutgers – Good PR or Poor Reputation Management?

11. Poll Results: Should PR Interns Pitch the Media?

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Posted in Advertising/Marketing, BurrellesLuce, Client Services, Industry Events, Media Industry, Public Relations, Social Media | 1 Comment »

PRSSA National Conference: Speed Networking & PR Student Questions

Friday, October 21st, 2011

PRSSA_NC_250_160The speed networking session at PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America) National Conference was chock-full of driven, ambitious PR students who will soon be looking to become the next generation of communications professionals. I thought I’d share my experience, and solicit feedback, with the @BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas readers.

How to Craft a Proper Résumé
The predominant question of the day was about the length of their résumés. I responded that if a student is active in PRSSA, works for a student-run firm, and is actively interning, then the résumé could justifiably go beyond one page. However, from what I gather, most large PR agencies, as well as communications professors, advise all students to restrict their résumés to one page without exception – going so far as saying students/candidates will not make the grade and/or the résumé would not get reviewed! 

Subsequently, I advised that they stick to the one-pager, but to note there are samples available, and to be sure to have a portfolio of their work ready to take on an interview. However, I still believe that outside of class and the top tier agencies it is okay to go to a second page if the experience warrants doing so.

Timing Your Job Search
Another question I heard frequently was how soon to begin the job search, to which I snarkily responded, “You haven’t begun yet?” 

Seriously, I advised that they should already be thinking about where they want to go (geographically), whether they want to work for an agency, a corporation or a non-profit, and to begin researching and networking accordingly. For example, in St. Louis (where I’m a PRSA member), there is PRSA, IABC (International Association of Business Communicators) and CSPRC (Community Service Public Relations Council).

Depending on where the student has decided their path will be, they should be networking with the appropriate organization by attending mixers and/or luncheons and getting involved. Or, if they’re not staying in the same geographic market, find those people on Twitter and begin connecting and building relationships.  And, if they are already seniors—especially those that graduate in December—if they haven’t already started this process, then they are behind the eight ball!

There were lots more questions, but these seemed to be the most prevalent. What advice would you give for new and existing PR professionals on the job hunt? Or what questions do you have if you’re looking to start or continue your career in communications?

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Posted in Career Advice, Industry Events, Media Outreach, Media Relations, Public Relations | 2 Comments »

Personal Connections: Key to Professional Success

Monday, November 22nd, 2010

Last week, Valerie Simon interviewed me for her BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas post, “Maximizing the Value of an Event.” In advance of #PRStudChat Twitter chat, where I was one of the special guests, I got to offer a few tips for enhancing your networking experience at industry events.

On the subject of networking, I’d like to dive in a little further….

My husband is currently looking for a job, so he has had to ramp-up his networking. It seems he’s not alone. Often at networking events, you will find a lot of job seekers. But, why wait until you need to network? Why not do it all the time? This way, when the need arises, you are already connected with many people who can help you. You can use networking to help you find mentors, collaborators, partners, and future colleagues. Remember, if you help someone, they are more willing to help you.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Lauren Lawson-Zilai, media relations manager, Goodwill Industries International. In the video below, she describes the many ways she has used networking to help her professionally.

There are many places you can network with other professionals—

  • Professional organization events
  • Conferences
  • Tweetups
  • Award events
  • Meals out with other professionals
  • Happy hour events
  • Places you volunteer

Once you’re there, here are a few tips:

  • Mingle often and don’t spend too much time with any one person or group of people.
  • Bring cards and be sure to ask for cards from the people you meet.
  • Write notes on the back of the card (if culturally appropriate) about the people you meet.
  • Follow-up! Keep the connection going by sending them a note and inviting them to connect with you via LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Plaxo or another social media channel. (Note: you can connect your LinkedIn and Plaxo accounts, so you don’t have to send two invites.)

The same night as the #PRStudChat, I attended a Washington Women in Public Relations (WWPR) Speed Networking event, where I had a chance to meet several people in a short period of time. The next day, I had several emails from attendees about volunteering and working together. I was really impressed with the great follow-up!

Do you have any advice for other readers? What helps you expand your network?

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Posted in Career Advice, Industry Events, Public Relations, Social Media | 1 Comment »

Maximizing the Value of an Event

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

Valerie Simon

Tomorrow, November 18, at 9pm eastern, my BurrellesLuce colleague, Debbie Friez, will be joining the #PRStudChat (PR Student Chat) community on Twitter as part of a special panel of experts who will be discussing events for professionals. Whether she is attending events on behalf of BurrellesLuce or helping to lead them as President of Washington Women in PR (WWPR), Debbie has an innate understanding of how to maximize the value of an event.

Debbie notes that social media offers many opportunities to create awareness and generate enthusiasm for events. “With Debbie Friez_8141WWPR, we try to post information and teasers on the event across many social media platforms, like Facebook fan pages, Facebook events, LinkedIn groups, LinkedIn events, and Twitter,” she shares. “If the speaker(s) have a Twitter handle, we like to promote it and our hashtag #WWPR. And, we encourage live tweeting from the event. We have found several free calendars on the Internet, which we use to promote our events.”

For students, and seasoned media relations and marketing professionals, alike, Debbie offers valuable advice — “In Washington, DC, networking is big, but not always taught in school.” She suggests that attendees looking to maximize learning and relationship building at events:

  1. Make a goal to meet X number of people at each event you attend. And, try to spend only two to five minutes talking to a new person before you move on to meet more new people.
  2. You should always carry business cards, even if you are in school, to help people remember you. After the event, send them a personal note and invite them to connect with you on LinkedIn or other social media.”

Have you found industry events to be an effective means of building new business relationships? What best practices would you recommend? What challenges have you encountered? Please share your thoughts with me and the readers of Fresh Ideas.Valerie-Simon-photo

I hope you’ll join Debbie (dfriez) and I (ValerieSimon) Thursday evening for what is certain to be a dynamic conversation that helps bridge the gap between academia and the public relations profession. If you are new to Twitter chats, be sure and download Using Twitter Chat for PR Success available for free in the BurrellesLuce Resource Library.

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Posted in Career Advice, Industry Events, Public Relations, Social Media | 1 Comment »

PRSA 2010 Counselors Academy: JR Hipple, Hipple & Co., Interviewed by Johna Burke, BurrellesLuce

Monday, September 20th, 2010

Transcript -

JOHNA BURKE: Hello, everyone, this is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce, and I’m here at the PRSA Counselors Academy with J.R..

J.R., will you please introduce yourself?

J.R. HIPPLE: Hi, I’m J.R. Hipple with Hipple and Company Reputation Management in Atlanta, Georgia. 

BURKE: And, J.R., you’re also the chair of the programming in the event here this year. Think it’s very safe to say you’ve done a fantastic job based on the response and feedback that I’ve heard at all of my sessions and end tables.

But, you know, what goes into planning a session, especially when you’re looking for your peers to be able to plan something that’s going to be meaningful and effective for them? How did you determine what the agenda would be and how you were going to drive that agenda?

HIPPLE: Well, there’s three things that we really try to focus on at the Counselors Academy conference, and that is profit, performance and people. And it’s basically around the management of the business of public relations, particularly public relations, independent public relations consulting firms. It’s the professional development and the skills that we need as practitioners, and then it’s the interaction that we have with our–with our members and the networking that’s really one of the things that distinguishes Counselors Academy from, I think, any public relations group in the country.

BURKE: I would absolutely agree with you, and you choose fantastic locations. J.R., where can people find you online and in social media?

HIPPLE: Social media is @jrhipple, and online is hippleco.com.

BURKE: Great. Thank you so much, J.R..

HIPPLE: Thanks, Johna.

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Posted in Career Advice, Industry Events, Online Video, Public Relations | 1 Comment »

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