Ekaterina Aleksandrova is one of the brightest stars of graduates in PR. Ekaterina was the mind behind the Wanted: Super Intern competition, hosted by London Metropolitan University. The premise of the competition was PR students would compete for an internships at PR agencies. It was a brilliant success. In this feature, Ekaterina,who in her spare time loves salsa, explains what inspired her to create the competition and the intricacies of organising a PR event.

From Lysva to London:

I am originally from the little town of Lysva in Russia. Having graduated from the Nizhny Novgorod state Linguistic University with an MA in PR and an MA in translation and interpreting, I went to the North Wales, to work in customer service for a year under the international student exchange programme. I then settled in the UK and moved to London in 2007.

At the moment, I am working as a personal assistant for 2 directors and a team of architects in an architectural firm studying on an MA in Communications Management at the London Metropolitan University and doing a PR internship in the press office of my employer. Yesterday I submitted my last work in this semester and will now focus on my dissertation on how cross-cultural differences affect communications between businesses in Russia and the UK. This is a very exciting project as my primary research involves one-to-one interviews with 16 of our London and Moscow clients and I expect this to be extremely beneficial to the business.

The inspiration for the internship competition:

Being a Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) student representative means maintaining communications between CIPR and the students, keeping students informed about conferences, breakfast talks, seminars, meetings with PR practitioners, parties and other events arranged or promoted by CIPR and keep CIPR abreast of any feedback from the students. Every year, the CIPR run awards for the best CIPR student representative. The criteria for becoming one (there are about 20-30 student reps annually) are media coverage, involvement in any industry activities that would promote your profile, participation in CIPR panel meetings etc. One of the key requirements was to organize an event.

With a limited budget of £50, it was quite difficult to find something which would be of interest to both the students and the PROs. Usually students invite PR practitioners to talk about their field of work – financial PR, digital PR, social media and PR etc.

My main personal objective was to make it interesting to the students. the first idea I had was a job fair but I realised that with some of the students lacking any work experience it would be difficult to attract potential employers, so went for an internship idea in the end. The project developed as I went along. Initially it was meant to be just an internship contest but it turned out to be a competition event for all the parties (from photographers and graphic designer to the venue and even a music band although the last part has not materialised as the idea only occurred to me a week before the event which was too late (more details in my updated blog) although I must admit that I had found a band who was willing to perform for free but their reply came on the day after the event.

The challenges of the event:

Challenges are everywhere. The event itself has been a great challenge especially when one of the PR agencies did not turn up on the day and I had to activate my contingency plan. Being new to the PR industry is a massive challenge as you have to build and maintain contacts form zero and it does take time and effort. Sales part of PR is what I like the least. I hate being targeted myself and therefore do not like doing it to others but it is a key component in PR, so I had to change my perspective. In my revised opinion sales are not trying to sell what people don’t need but trying to find all potential benefits it brings to them and being able to know when to stop.

The effect of the competition’s success:

I must admit the PROs were all overwhelmed. All of them offered help in finding work for me personally, but since at this time I am busy writing my dissertation, I will not be able to look into this in more detail until I graduate in September. Another indicator of their satisfaction with the event is the fact that they have all made more internship offers than just one. The same with the Communicate magazine who offered a free admission to the next five of their conferences to all the three winners instead of the planed one.

The university themselves have been more than pleased: they have asked me to start conducting this event annually. The project has won the Sliver Award at the London Met Student Achievement Awards. The ceremony is held today at the Islington Town Hall at 17.30 and I am really excited about attending it! I have also made use of my Russian language and translated the press release into Russian and had it published in two PR-related publications in Russia.

Ekaterina’s PR future:

I am mainly interested in corporate, consumer, public affairs. To be honest, I haven’t yet had a chance to promote myself until the event as studying and working full time prevent me from active search and selfmarketing but being a CIPR student rep has done a great job for me. I have attended a great number of key events and met so many interesting people. The CIPR student representative event has been my biggest marketing point so far. it has given me the opportunity to find, be beneficial to and make use of excellent PR practitioners and other people on all levels. Being able to deal with every single stage of event planning and execution has been an extraordinary and challenging experience. I won’t lie if I say that this has been my first time I have been exposed to PR in such a high context.

You can follow Ekaterina on Twitter @SuperInternPR. You can also read Ekaterina’s thoughts on what lessons she has learned from the event on her blog here.

Image credit: Ekaterina Aleksandrova.

Decoding the hierarchies at work can be difficult if you don’t have the right tools. vox-popPRcareers asked Karen Winterhalter, a PR expert with 25 years experience, for her tips on how graduates can decode the workplace in PR.

With experience at Burson-Marsteller EMEA to name a few ,Karen Winterhalter is now the managing director of Start Up PR, an agency for small business clients.

The importance of team chemistry at work:

Team chemistry is absolutely critical. Despite doing media or PR degrees most new graduates are totally out of their depth, so it is important that they develop rapport with the existing team as quickly as possible, so they have someone to turn to for help and advice. Interview decisions are often made on personality and attitude rather than skills, as we can teach you the skills. Most new graduates will be given a buddy to help them through their first couple of weeks in the job.

The work dress code trends in PR today:

A lot depends on the type of PR you are doing and the actual agency. Those specialising in Public Affairs and Corporate tend to dress more formal than a consumer agency. The days where we all went to work in suits has long passed but you still need to be smart, especially if a client is coming in. Aiming for a smart casual look pretty much hits the mark as you are giving off signals that you are in a professional yet creative position.

Responsibility graduates can have as account executives:

Again a lot depends on the individual graduate. As we are a small company, they get to experience more or less everything. There is always going to be some basic admin work on client accounts. We like to get graduates to develop their writing skills as quickly as possible and also understand about event management. After a graduate has been with us for 6 months we like to give them a client project for them to develop themselves so we can see if they can put what they have learnt into action.

What skills graduates need to impress MDs:

For me it is all about attitude. Lots of graduates and account executives whom I have worked with have gone on to have very successful careers. If a graduate is willing to learn then I am happy to spend my time mentoring them. I also expect them to demonstrate that they are a team player by participating in activities and also joining in brainstorms and client discussions.

Why graduates in PR should be tough:

PR is not a glamorous profession, it is exceptionally hard work and you have to be behind the scenes all the time, allowing your client to take the credit. You also have to be a tough nut to take all the rejection from the media and pitches you lose.

Thanks to Karen Winterhalter for being interviewed. You can follow Karen on Twitter on @StartUpPR.

[Image credit: Karen Winterhalter]

Lauren Rich is not like many other PRs. She launched her New York PR agency, RICHPR, straight out of university. In this article, Lauren tells vox-popPRcareers the experiences she had that shaped her career as an entrepreneur in PR.

On what inspired Lauren to start the agency:

Having held a job from a young age (14), I suppose I was bit by the entrepreneurial bug early. I grew up very independent and as a result have always considered myself very career-driven and inspired by those who take the lead. After taking countless internships all throughout school (New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology), I started working with two clients of my own during my last semester. As graduation approached, I decided to take the plunge and officially launch my own business.

Hurdles and obstacles that PR entrepreneurs face:

As a newbie on the PR scene and with limited contacts, the biggest hurdle was working that first year to establish RICHPR and get my name out there. Starting from scratch can leave anyone at a disadvantage, but what I had working in my favor were my drive, perseverance, and a truly amazing support network of friends and colleagues to help me grow.

Why experience is important:

Even though I started my own agency right out of college, I did have 3+ years of hands-on internships under my belt. So, yes. I would definitely recommend those interested in PR, whether they’re current students, recent grads, or seeking a career change, get some experience before going it on your own. Not only will you gain valuable experience and contacts, but you’ll know if PR is the right industry for you. All said, I am a believer you can do anything you put your mind to. If you want it bad enough, you’ll make it happen.

Achieving a work/life balance:

Make time for yourself, and don’t feel guilty about it! Finding that balance between work and personal life is still something I work on daily. I try my best to put a cap on my work day, no later than 8pm, and always give myself at least 1 weekend day to not do ANY work. Most Saturdays I won’t even open my MacBook. Because it is easy to burnout it is so important to set aside that personal time to relax, recharge and remotivate.

How to find your first clients:

Most of my initial clients came via word of mouth, but I also checked job sites like Craigslist every day for opportunities. And of course, networking, networking, networking!

How to overcome loneliness, a common feeling for many entrepreneurs:

I was lucky that I had (and still have!) an amazing support network of friends, mentors and other entrepreneurs to converse and share ideas with. While yes, it is true when you’re not an entrepreneur you can never fully understand what it’s like to start (let alone run) your own business, I think the important thing is to surround yourself with good people who will motivate and inspire you, regardless of occupation.

The career highlight of RICHPR:

The highlight of my career is that it’s still going! When I launched RICHPR over 3 years ago I had no idea if it would last even a few months, let alone 3+ years. While there have of course been standout press hits, exciting clients, etc, the fact that I’m still here and growing is more than I could ask for.

You can follow Lauren on Twitter @LaurenRICHPR and check our her agency’s website here.