vox-popPRcareers

LinkedIn now has more than over 60 million members, and Twitter is growing every day. However, which one is more useful for graduates in PR?

David Russell, a University of Nottingham graduate says: “I think LinkedIn is a good way of connecting to other professionals that you have worked with or done business with but Twitter is certainly more useful for wider PR purposes and for contacting people you do not have a prior connection with.”

Among graduates interested in working in PR, a trend has emerged on Twitter where graduates are creating accounts highlighting their desire to break into PR. Graduates who have done this include Sophie Coughlan and Alejandra Paz.

David, from Tunbridge Wells, says: “I started applying for jobs and work experience in PR in January 2009 but it is only in the last 3 months that I have been fully aware of how much I want to work in this industry. At the moment, I work as a press assistant in a music communications agency and spend a large part of my free time applying for jobs and researching potential employers.”

As graduates like David have set up Twitter accounts to promote their skills in PR, Twitter is no longer a buzz word in graduate recruiting or graduate careers. It has been integrated in how graduates look the bricks to lay down their career path.

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Guest Post Written By Keri Hudson. For more see www.bohemedigital.co.uk | @keritweet

Gaining experience at PR Agencies can add a massive boost to your CV when it comes to applying for jobs. The competition for Internships can be very tough, so it’s crucial to make sure you stand out from the rest of the crowd. Developing your Online Personal Branding is a brilliant way to make sure you market yourself to the world as successfully as possible. Here’s some simple tips to help you get noticed.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Fair Pay, Fair Play

Like journalism, PR agencies do take students and recent graduates for work experience placements. Most work placements in PR are unpaid. Keri Hudson, 20, from London has done work experience in PR before. Keri says: “I think when you do a substantial piece of work whilst on work experience, you should be paid for what you do. However if you’re just shadowing staff for a week, and getting bits of experience over a wide range of activities then you shouldn’t be paid, as you’re not really producing anything of value to the company.”

Establishing what produces revenue for a company is where the lines blur on wages in work experience. If a PR intern helps to write a proposal that lands an agency a massive retainer, but the intern remains unpaid, can that be seen as exploitation? Read the rest of this entry »

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Alex Try, co-founder of Interns Anonymous, gives his four tips to vox-popPRcareers for interns to make the most of of their unpaid placements:

1. “Think about what you want to get out of it, write a list of all the skills you want to develop and any particular tasks that you want to do.”
2. “Once you have got all you want from the experience, leave. You have no obligation to stay. Don’t become a slave.”
3. “If you are just looking for administrative experience then you are probably better off temping- your bank balance and your self esteem will suffer less.”
4. “Consider alternatives such as volunteering, which is more flexible and allows you to do paid work as well. And consider setting something up on your own: a blog, a clubnight, a temporary art gallery….be creative!”

For more on the campaign for better standards for interns, visit Interns Anonymous.

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Abigael Sullivan is the editor of Wedding Venues & Services magazine. Catering to the bridal market, the magazine takes the stress out of finding the right venue for the big day.

Abigael tells vox-popPRcareers the tips fashion PRs need when pitching to the wedding market:

1. Good images on email and quick, informative responses.

2. We often receive press releases that aren’t relevant for the bridal market.

3. Qualify, qualify: do you know the magazine you are calling, their readership etc. It saves everyone time, effort, patience and energy. No need to speak to an editor to get that info, call and quality with whoever answers the phone or an editorial assistant.

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Internal communications is an area of PR that ambitious graduates can break into with the right skills. This article lets you know what qualities you need for this sector. Read the rest of this entry »

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7 social media tips for graduate PRs

Twitter users tweet 50 million times a day

In this article, Linda VandeVrede, a PR veteran of more than 25 years, lets graduates wanting to break into PR know the 7 tips they need to decipher social media:

1) Embrace Twitter
“Although statistics have shown that twitter is more heavily used by older. PR practitioners, recent graduates should familiarize themselves with it. It can be a very strong tool as part of their arsenal for employers or clients.”

2) Participate Now
“I have seen twitter used very successfully by restaurant and retail establishments, as well as large namebrand companies to engage in conversations with their customers and to promote specials and events. The conversation about your company or client will go on whether or not you participate in twitter, so you might as well listen in and then head off any negative conversation as soon as you can.”

3) Strike a Balance
“It’s important on twitter to keep a good ratio between connecting and promoting. A good rule of thumb might be to have only one promotional tweet for every 7-10 tweets, for example.”

4) Start Talking
“The focus really should be on initiating conversations. That is how you build followers on twitter. @dunkindonuts is an example of a good ratio. They will promote specials and contests, but they also re-tweet comments from some of their followers about favorite donuts or other donut related information.”

5) To Facebook or throw the book at FB?

“I’m a bit ambivalent about Facebook as a component for social media PR for companies. For individuals, I think it is a terrific way to connect. The problem with Facebook is that the fan pages have become so prolific that many users are tuning out. I have seen some organizations like Foodiesareus use them successfully and engage with their fans, but many of the pages are too promotional.”

“I am still in the process of working on the fan page for my book, Press Releases are not a PR Strategy, to establish it as a discussion forum rather than a static ad. In a lot of ways, I see a blog/website as being a better place for interactive discussions than Facebook. Twitter can link back to the blog/website, although no doubt some companies integrate all three successfully.”

6) Pick a few tools
“If I were a recent PR graduate, I would focus on these 3:

• LinkedIn – for professional contacts
• Facebook – for personal contacts
• Twitter – to listen in on conversations and engage conversations, and link followers back to a blog/website

7) Location, Location, Location
“I would keep a close eye on developments in the mobile social media tools, such as FourSquare or Gowalla. These applications were popular at the recent SXSW event in Austin, and there has been a lot of discussion around the pros and cons of location-based social media.”

You can follow Linda on Twitter (@LindaVandeVrede) or on the Valley PR Blog.

[Image credits: source 1 and source 2]

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