Students :: Networking and Job Fair Tips for Success

Students are heavily involved in job fairs and interviews at this time of the year.

Seeking that internship or job can be an intimidating experience. So, why not study up on those important networking tips.

From a webitpr.com realwire release for forum3, an event on October 10 -11 at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London, we find 11 great tips. Oh, sure. I won’t get to go, but their pre-conference release helps share tips that can make the conference a successful experience.

This, to me, highlights how releases are not just for traditional publications anymore. Sure, there may be some pickup in some traditional MSM pubs, but this seems primarily targeted to blogs, email newsletters and other niche publications.

Now, the one question I have about the release is why Debbie Hockham’s photo is included.  Perhaps if I were from the UK or involved with forum3, I’d know.  But she is not mentioned anywhere in the release - except for the identifying caption, and there it just says Debbie Hockham … nothing else.  For the record, Debbie Hockham is forum3’s director.  Yep, I looked it up.

So, here’s another tip.  Don’t send out a release that requires the recipient to do their own research.  ;o)  Just a thought.

Oh, and while we’re at it … the title of the email for that release?  ”

LBi Netrank announces new Account Manager

Hmm?  Seems they had a glitch this morning at realwire.

I wish I could attend, actually. It sounds like a great event. “It attracts 15,000 visitors from the full spectrum of the not-for-profit sector including 150 top charities such as Cancer Research UK, Big Issue, NSPCC, National Trust, RSPB, Disability Now, and the RSPCA.”

Hope you folks have fun over there. Now, here are the tips:

A snapshot of the top 11 tips:
1. Be prepared – Ask yourself what you want to get out of the event, who you want to meet and which not-for-profit organisation you’d like to learn more about. Check out that all-important exhibitor list.
2. Plan your intro – Can you introduce yourself in 60 seconds without sounding like you’re reading from a script? The beginning of a conversation is when you make the most important impression but also when you are most nervous. Rehearse this part well.
3. The small print – bring a CV and make sure it’s not last years; but yesterday’s. If you have business cards, bring them – and use them.
4. Bag the information – You will be offered a mountain of information at all the stands and it’s heavy and hard to carry without a bag. Also, bring a pen and notepad so you can write down that vital mobile phone number from a prospect.
5. Dress the part – Know your audience. A suit and tie might be too conservative but it’s unlikely anyone will respect you if you turn up in battered jeans, mucky t-shirt and muddy trainers.
6. Be yourself – real networking is about being genuine and authentic. forum3 is a wide and diverse meeting place and there are opportunities for a great variety of people with a range of skills.
7. Ask questions – this is when you find out information that could help you change your life. It’s an opportunity to make a judgement on the prospective employers and voluntary organisers too.
8. Sing about your achievements – in a crowded venue you need to stand out. When asked about your job or skills talk about what you’ve achieved not just what the tasks were.
9. Who you talk to – it’s not just the people on the stands that have something to teach you: everyone at forum3 has a shared interest in not-for-profit.
10. Cover the ground – make sure you don’t get stuck in one place and miss opportunities around the corner: maximise your time.
11. Follow up – prepare time the next day or week to follow up with the people you met. Exhibitors will talk to hundreds of people during the event, so you may need to remind them how keen you are.

Wonder why we do local reporting in class activities? Look at CNN … if it’s good enough for them …

OK, I’ll admit. This is a little bit of a personal rant. I don’t do this much, but I’m kinda fed up - just a wee bit - so, I’m venting. :o)

Local news reported in a social network / emerging digital media kinda way.

When I first thought of this for classes, some time ago, I’ll admit to having that image of Al Franken’s SNL faux coverage of politics flashing through my mind. But, today it really is possible and provides students with realistic and valuable experience.

As we embark on our class activities at The Loveliest Village, students may wonder why we’ll be doing all this local reporting using lil’ cameras, laptops and social media / social network software platforms to publish.

Well, if it is good enough for CNN, it’s good enough for us, right?

Now, imagine using the skills my students develop in these exercises and then share those stories, videos, photos and more with news outlets online and print.  Hey, they are seeking content. Get the drift? This is how we all may be doing a good portion of media relations in the future.

Actually, forget the future.  I had students doing it today.  This summer they pitched and delivered stories, video and photos.  This semester they are collaborating with multiple news outlets to place stories they will create for class.  Yep, it is not just what they post in The Loveliest Village.  These news outlets have actually sought us out for content.  No kidding.

So, students will create content much the same as CNN is now doing.  Pretty cool, huh.  ;o)  And people said I was nuts.  Sorry, couldn’t resist.

Well, some people said I was crazy.  Didn’t know what I was talking about. Why show students how to do this?  Hmm?  If it is good enough for CNN, I guess it’s good enough for us. :o)

According to that PRWeek article, at CNN journalists “…will report for broadcast and digital mediums with lightweight kits, including wi-fi-enabled laptops, cameras, and editing tools.”

So now, our students will be able to understand how major media works - the new way.  They’ll be sharing the content that reporters are looking for in this new world.  Not only ‘are’ we way ahead.  We’ve ‘been’ way ahead, for some time.  Update: And, by the way, it isn’t just major media.  Local … local … media has sought us out to create content for their sites.  Hello?

What CNN is now doing is what we’ve been talking about and doing for a long time now.  :o)  Just sharin’ …. just sayin’.

/rant

PitchEngine :: Social Media Release Building Tool

Jason Kintzler created a new site devoted to the building and distribution of social media releases (SMR). It is private now, in the Alpha development stage, but he shared access to the site with all the members of PROpenMic. Many thanks, Jason.

I imagine he’s slowly adding to his alpha testing group. Who knows how many have looked at it so far, but with the PROpenMic membership and his own group at MediaPitch / PitchEngine, Jason now has almost 2,000 people to poke and prod the site in an effort to help tweak and and share suggestions.

Jason describes PitchEngine, in part, as follows: Read more

Sprout Builder :: Student Multimedia News Packages for Submission to Online News Sites

Always looking for new ways to create news releases for newspaper Web sites, I had a little epiphany regarding Sprout Builder and multimedia news packages for submission to news outlets.

Mindy McAdams’ book has me intrigued. I’ve been going through it in preparation for including it in this fall’s PR Style & Design course. It is a great book. Her site, flash journalism, even offers class tutorials. Visit her blog, too. Read more

Allison Wetherbee on Fox 6 in B’ham :: Absolutely Alabama :: Another Reason I Go On and On About Camp ASCCA

I think that anyone who ever meets Allison Wetherbee comes away with a clear realization … she is a terrific person. Having her return to Camp ASCCA, as the director of public relations, may go down as one of the brightest decisions ever made for camp. I think this video proves that.

Allison was recently interviewed by Fred Hunter, Fox6 News in Birmingham, for their Absolutely Alabama series.

Allison shares how camp helped her over the years, trying anything new that she had her heart set upon doing. Since being a camper, Allison has gone on to earn a masters degree in counseling and served for almost 13 years in practice, before returning to Camp ASCCA.

I have to admit, I got a little tear thinking about Allison as a camper and now - the ASCCA PR director. It is a sweet story. She is the spokesperson for camp, and does a terrific job.

Watch the video now. (Click image below for a popup.) I have to say, Fred and the videographer/editor do terrific work. A great video. Thank you Fox6!

Now do you understand why I can’t help but talk about Camp ASCCA?

PR Edu Thoughts on Past, Present and Future

In preparation for the coming semester, I’ve found myself thinking back and then looking forward.

My interests here are primarily on evaluating where people are, what positive aspects they may have gained from our classroom projects, and - how we can make them even more valuable and entertaining. Yep, that’s right. I said entertaining. You see, I believe students will dive in with greater fervor if they feel it is fun and they can see a true payoff at the end.

So, where are they now?   Read more

Online Delivery of Broadcast Ready Video :: Alabama’s Governor and AU Grad

For some time I’ve wondered about the possibility of pitching broadcast quality video to local stations via the web. Oh, I know it is done. But, that’s for large corporations or PR firms, for example. With the growth of online newsrooms and the reach of broadband access today, I’ve wondered if it is more viable today. And, more importantly, even doable for medium to small PR efforts.

I believe the answer is now a resounding Yes!

I realize this example is from a Governor’s Office, but the technology required to accomplish it - and the ease of doing it - now proves, to me, that this is doable for others to begin considering video delivery to TV stations.

A camera capable of producing this video is now available for approximately $1,000 and the rest of the requirements - like hosting - are now available for as little as $25 per month. So, why not try it?

Here’s the latest example I’ve learned of, from a former student.

Most recently the Alabama Governor’s Office has offered up two videos and had pickup from state TV stations.

• Alabama Homeland Security Director Discusses State Efforts Before Congressional Committee
• Governor Riley Opens State Motor Pool’s E-85 Pump

Why do I mention this now? Well, it is being done by a former student, Todd Stacy. How cool.

Todd has been providing a password protected FTP download for the stations, and some have been taking him up on the offer. The downloads are not all that big. Certainly the file sizes are several gigabytes, but that has not stopped stations from taking the release and using it.

I think this is much more likely for the future than we think it is. I believe that Alabama, through Todd’s efforts, is way ahead of other states in doing this. Can anyone tell me of other such efforts?

Congrats to Todd for the great work, by the way. We love to tell you about our graduates!

Great PR Internship Available - Immediately :: EBSCO Industries

Sheri Thompson, of EBSCO Industries, writes to inform us of an unexpected internship opening. It is for this summer and they would like to fill it ASAP. Starting date is late May.

According to Sheri, “The candidate who originally accepted the position as a graduate intern position has since obtained permanent full-time employment, so our position is open again at a very late date.”

Hey, sometimes these things happen. But, it offers a great opportunity for one enterprising and industrious student. Hmm?  Does that describe you?

And … it is a paid internship. Experience and dollars. Could you possibly ask for more?  EBSCO is truly a global corporation and well-worth considering for an internship.

So, if you are interested … Read more

Media Relations and Public Relations in the Age of the Blog :: UMR Crisis Management

Andrew Careaga (bio), UMR manager of public relations, has an excellent post about dealing with blogs, media relations, dittoheads and - oh, those glorious phone calls you can receive from the public. Visit his blog, higher ed marketing, for the post - UMR, the media and the war on error.

Andrew, away at a conference, receives word that his university, the University of Missouri–Rolla (UMR), is in the throes of a crisis. “A graduate student from India was charged Wednesday with several felonies after a bomb and anthrax threat at the University of Missouri-Rolla shut down the campus for a day.” (Source: News-Leader.com) The student’s threat turned out to be a hoax.

See video below. A 6:53 news report from local TV station, KY3. Rana Basheer, interviewed for the story, posted the video at YouTube to capture his 15 seconds of fame. His part starts at about 5:00.

Andrew and his staff find themselves dealing with local and national media. I imagine they even had international inquiries. But, they also have to deal with the world of citizen journalists and gawkers. Check the Google News and Technorati blog coverage on missouri rolla terror that ensued. He also had to deal with little green footballs, of the CBS and Reuters news fraud exposure incidents. It was the readers of little green footballs that likely were his biggest headache. You’ll see.

I don’t want to spoil it for you, so go read Andrew’s post. He answers the question we all get so often, “why I love this job so much.”

Suffice to say, this is a perfect example of the inane realities we all must now face in this world of citizen journalism and infopinions - a little be of factual information and a whole lot of personal opinions.

We feel your pain, Andrew. Great post and congratulations to you and your staff for dealing, so well, with this crisis communication event.

Blogs, Press Releases, and Farmers in Appalachian Valleys

This is the meme that won’t die. I was going to stay away from it, until I received a comment from Stowe Boyd yesterday. His comment was so long that my response (I feel) deserves a post, rather than a simple reply. The funny thing is, today I received an email from a former student (Sarah) who opened her eNewsletter from Lawrence Ragan Communications today and saw my name at the top of Shel Hotz’ post about the post in question. Kinda cool. Oh, and “Hey, Sarah!”

If you aren’t confused, re: Farmers in Appalachian Valleys, then I’ll appreciate your help - ’cause I am confused. You see, I have never written about Appalachain Valley farmers and press releases (have I?), but apparently Stowe Boyd thinks I did.

The title of this post is but part of a comment left by Stowe Boyd on the post, Blogs are Soma to So Many. At least he liked the metaphor - sort of. His comment is in blockquotes below. I respond.

Stowe Boyd: I think the metaphor is pretty, but misleading. You could make the case that anything that any group advocates is like Soma. I don’t buy it. Blogging is not like taking an anti-depressant. It is (at a physical level) a collection of tools for web publilshing, and (at the societal level) a social medium through which we gain understanding of the world. Not a drug.

Actually, my intention re: the use of the metaphor is as follows.

The assertion that blogging will right the wrongs of poor corporate and organizational communication with stakeholders gives blog enthusiasts solace. Enthusiasts hope and believe that social media’s conversational form will bring relief to the distress of poor customer service and customer relationship marketing / management. So, it is the idea of a blog revolution that serves as your soma. You embrace it as something that will make society and corporations, for instance, co-exist in harmony. And, you seem to expect us to get in line - quick.

I agree that blogging is a medium, but I’m a little surprised that you used that term. Isn’t “place” or “space” the blog-speak appropriate term, along with “people” instead of audience? I wouldn’t want you to be drummed out of the Blog Thought Leaders Club. (See David Weinberger’s JOHO the blog, your own reference to Doc Searls, Dan Gillmor’s The Former Audience Joins the Party, and Jay Rosen’s The People Formerly Know as the Audience.)

Those enthusiasts are, after all, creating waffle words or jargon. (See Milton Friedman.) But, wasn’t this supposed to be the movement that did away with required appropriate norms of speech and definitions. Isn’t it the movement that frees all to speak in their own voice? The implication being, if you don’t subscribe to the dogma, “you don’t get it.” I think Stowe Boyd used that phrase.

Stowe Boyd: Your argument boils down to the fact that established mechanisms of PR have been baked into law and other conventions, and therefore blogging — which wasn’t foreseen when those where codified — shouldn’t be used in place of old timey ideas like press releases distributed by newswire services. I have suggested that we could work collectively to get these conventions, or laws, if necessary, changed.

No, my argument is two-fold. But, yes … we can work to change the old laws. However, it will take a lot of time. Read more

The Social Media News Release and News Room are Heuristic :: Help Us

This post is about the good ideas that have been generated re: PR, social media, news releases and more. What my students desire is to see how journalists are reacting to all of these new ideas. Media relations is, after all, a large part of many PR practices. We have yet to see any significant research (actually, no research at all) as to whether the new approaches will work. So help us, please.

An heuristic effort is one that “encourages a person to learn, discover, understand, or solve problems on his or her own, as by experimenting, evaluating possible answers or solutions, or by trial and error: a heuristic teaching method.” We need your help in pursuing research on the issues of hreleases and social media newsrooms.

What we are seeing in the hrelease, social media press release and social media news room efforts are experiential learning activities. It is collaboration. It is the essence of what this interactive conversational media represents. Just read the conversations it has generated.

I love these learning and experimental efforts. I’m often confused, even saddened, by the way they are so quickly written off by observers. To me, blogging and wikis and all of the interactive online dialogs are the best part of the WWW. In fact, the best part of blogging to me has been the wide variety of ideas and opinions it opens up to students. That is why I’m so happy that so many PR practitioners are choosing to blog.

So, whether we are talking about Todd Defren at PR Squared and his Social Media Newsroom Template or his “Social Media Press Release” Template; or, Chris Heuer’s Idea Engine and Brian Solis at PR 2.0 - Silicon Valley and all of the people involved in the Social Media Club … it is all one big collaboration.

Comments and input from those like Brian Oberkirch about “The Case for hRelease” and Tom Foremski’s rant on the press release and attempts to change it are all equally important.

Phil Gomes, Rick Murray and Ming Lee at Edelman have given us StoryCrafter and Shannon Whitley has given us PRX Builder.

Everyone is learning. I don’t think any of the participants in the collaborations actually purports to have all the answers. Now, my students want in on the action in a little deeper inspection of all these ideas.

What is the one of the important things that is missing? The research to see how journalists will react to these new ‘animals’ like the hrelease, newsroom and social media in the PR/Journalist symbiotic relationship, overall. My students have done research on social media adoption by newspapers. Now, this semester, they are embarking on research to see how journalists react to these new approaches.

Anyone want to participate? Want to help us, please?

Leave a comment and we can hook you up with the student group that is doing the research. Anyone that may provide contacts and introductions to national journalists in the top 50 newspapers, for instance, will likely help the students achieve a more successful survey effort.  In their previous efforts, it was easier to get through to the 51-100 top markets.

My hope is that three different research teams will focus on three different groups of journalists. Those are:

• local journalists in a regional area, like Alabama, or any other state,
• national journalists in the top 50 newspapers,
• one specific trade group or market segment - to be determined.

What are your thoughts? This way we’ll have an idea of the viability in a large section of PR that seems to go unnoticed in these discussions - local PR practitioners and journalists. We’ll also address national media. The trade group, or market, can be anyone’s choice - as long as we can get to a significant respondent pool.

Wouldn’t it be nice to see if these people actually find benefits in all these new tools or approaches?  How about gathering their input as to ways the approaches might be improved to increase acceptance and adoption by journalists. Or, we might just find that they aren’t desired at all. Who knows … until we ask.

I’m just testing to see if merely posting this in a blog will bring in participants, by the way. We’re going forward with it regardless. But, we’d love to have help and guidance. Thanks.

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