What’s A Girl to Do?!
Agency, not for profit, corporate and government. All are possible places for a communications graduate to work. I have toyed with each option throughout the school year. Each has it’s pros and cons- pay, benefits, hours, corporate culture, etc. I have realized through a lot of reasearch and thought that it is truly a personal decision. Although I sought guidance and advice from my peers, teachers, family and PR professionals I have realized that ultimately I am the only one who really knows what sort of environment I will flourish in. I have decided that I am going to begin my career at an agency. I have attended a number of information sessions and spoken to various professionals in this particular field. I feel that beginning in an agency I will have the opportunity to get my feet wet in all aspects of public relations. I will learn as I go and I hope to be challenged and taught each step of the way.Since making this decision I feel as though a large weight has been lifted off my shoulders. However, I am starting to feel the pressure and strain of the internship hunt. It is field placement season at Centennial and all Corp Comm and PR students are searching, with the aid of our teachers, for a position in the PR field of their choice. Graduates and teachers often remind us that our internships will not make or break our careers. While I do not doubt that this statement is true I cannot help but feel stressed and overwhelmed that a bad decision at this stage could negatively affect my future in PR. How is everyone else feeling? Am I alone with my anxiety? Cheers,Aly 
Christine Smith replied:
Good you’ve found your focus of interest. That’s a great place to begin. I often tell students who agonize about whether they’ve made the right choice: your internship is just eight weeks out of your life. It really won’t “make or break you.”
The experience will, however, help you decide if you’ve made the right decision about your sector. Or, in some cases, others (like your supervisor and colleagues) help you come to some kind of career conclusion on whether you are suited to your original sector.
January 28, 2008 at 6:12 pm. Permalink.
kraven132 replied:
You’re definitely not alone Aly – I’ve been having an internal freakout as of late too. I’m pretty sure I want to work in not-for-profit, and probably something that has to do with health, whether it’s a professional association, hospital or charitable foundation. However, I’m terrified that not going the agency route will leave me bereft of opportunity in the long run.
I know myself well enough to know that if I’m not happy, I won’t do good work, and I think agency would stress me out way too much – but will that leave me less happy later? Who knows??
January 30, 2008 at 12:17 am. Permalink.
apaget replied:
Aly, you are definitely not alone. It is an especially daunting decision for individuals like us, who have been full time students for the majority of our lives. Not only do we have to find a sector and position that suits our individual preferences, for most of us this internship will be our first “real” job in our field. Personally, I think that alone is scary enough. One way that we are fortunate though is that we have a great support system of peers and advisors to share advice and experiences with. I know that communicating with each other during this stressful time will make these decisions easier for us.
January 30, 2008 at 2:49 am. Permalink.
Karin Archer replied:
Aly, if I had to pick one person in the class who knows what she wants, it’s you. I remember from the first weeks of school when we had already begun discussion on field placement, you were only saying agency. I agree that there is a lot of anxiety in the air, but looking at the graduates before us, everyone finds themselves somewhere and if it’s not where you want to be, then you easily move on.
I am excited to hear if all these myths we’ve heard about the various sectors of PR are true or not.
January 30, 2008 at 3:18 am. Permalink.
Wilson replied:
I have been working for some 40 years and I only had a job for one year. The worse year in my working life. I was born to free lance and this means I have had to be inventive and imaginative. I have always come up with ways that allowed me to keep moving ahead with my carreer. When I was 35 I moved from producing radio documentaries to television. Now what channel was going to hire a person with no experience. So I pulled my resources together hired a TV cameraman with his own equipment and went looking for guerrilla groups who would allow me to document their fight. I filmed with the Red Brigade in Italy, the Basque separatists in Spain, the Polisario Front in the Sahara, the Sandinistas in Nicaragua. My documentaries were objective and impartial, investigative journalism. I was there to record history and many channels around the world bought my films. See what I mean when I say I had to be creative. Today I produce documentaries which examine the impact of globalization on your life. My last series was broadcast in 45 countries.
http://www.msd-global.com
February 1, 2008 at 12:39 pm. Permalink.
Wilson replied:
The more visibility a nonprofit has, the more grant dollars it will attract and the more community support it will win. How does a nonprofit’s public-relations person meet this challenge?
Step One – Communicate – above all else – both internally and externally. Make sure your “internal” public – those in the nonprofit – see the benefits of hiring a PR person when typically the budget is shoestring.
Step Two – Make sure everyone in the organization understands the organization’s mission statement – and that a large part of your job is to help bring that mission statement to life in the community.
Step Three – Write your plan. This is one of the most important jobs you can do as a PR person in the nonprofit world. Once you have your plan written, give copies of it to everyone in the organization, including your board of directors.
Step Four – Prepare your media kit and collateral materials. When you plan is ready to be executed, you will be ready with the press releases, fact sheet, collateral piece on your organization and any other reading material that will allow any lay person to understand your mission.
Step Five – Generate your media and community lists. Investigate your local media; get to know the media contact people. Send them a letter introducing yourself and ask for a one-on-one meeting. Investigate the high-profile community leaders and do the same with them. The more you know these people, the better stories you will get written about your organization.
Step Six – Gather your group of volunteers for your organization’s speakers and tours program. Remember the name of the game is visibility. This is so much more easily accomplished when you have representatives of your organization, usually staff members, helping you get the word out. Make sure the people who sign up are comfortable in unfamiliar speaking settings and could handle a speaking engagement or tour at a moment’s notice.
Step Seven – Introduce yourself to your board of directors. Write them a letter with your credentials and let them know of your plan and your PR mission and – most important – enlist their help.
Step Eight – Outline your methods of internal and external communications tools: e.g., newsletters, Web site, public service announcements (PSAs) in print, radio and television. This should lead you right back to your plan.
Step Nine – Measure your success. Give yourself a reasonable timeline to see if all of your efforts have paid off. Pay attention especially to the most apparent results – things like increased grant monies and donations – that are a result of your work.
February 12, 2008 at 1:39 pm. Permalink.