This year’s executive board election was neck-and-neck. The results were very close with a record number of members running for positions. As a graduating executive board member, it was exciting to see our chapter grow this year and bring in new talent for next year.
Congratulations to our new executive team!
President — Genevieve Krier (2008-2009 Communication Director, Spring 2008 Vice President)
Vice President — Megan McIntyre (2008-2009 Newsletter Editor)
Firm Directors — Paul Spooner (Spring 2009 Firm member) and Tina Larson (Fall 2008 co-Firm Director)
Communication Director — Natalie Dubs (Spring 2009 co-Firm Director)
Public Relations Director — Brittney Wichtendahl
Newsletter editor — Danette Kapler
Secretary — Shannon Kane (Spring 2009 Public Relations Director)
Finance Director — Kelsey Thortsen
Social Media and Web Editor — Kelly Trettin (Spring 2009 Relay For Life Account Executive, Firm Committee)
Marketing Director — Hannah Lee
We are still looking to fill the Historian/Alumni Relations position. If interested, please contact Tegan Zimmerman with your intent to run. We will hold elections at meeting on Wednesday, April 29.
There were many wonderful candidates and only so many positions to fill. There are still plenty of ways you can get involved if you didn’t get the position you wanted. Volunteer on our various committees, write for our newsletter or blog, or propose an idea to an exec member. We are always looking for new ideas and ways to grow as a chapter.
On Saturday, March 28, the University of Iowa PRSSA firm participated in the Special Olympics Polar Plunge. The tagline, “freezin’ for a reason!” rang true: it was cold. The last few weeks of March had been surprisingly warm for Iowa standards, yet the one day we decided to jump in the Coralville lake, it was snowy and cold. Despite my disdain for cold weather, I can say we all had a great time. Our team costume theme was 80’s and special kudos to Sarah Washler, Allie Howarth and Paul Spooner who demonstrated the most team spirit!
From top left: Allie Howarth, Stephanie Block, Sarah Washler, Paul Spooner, Megan McIntyre, Caroline Jones, Natalie Dubs, Natalie's roommate
PRSSA is proud to have helped Special Olympics Iowa raise more than $33,000 in donations that went to help fund the Special Olympics competition in Iowa City. This is an event I hope our Firm continues to remain actively involved with.
On Friday April 10, more than 20 of UI’s PRSSA members descended upon Chicago for a day of invaluable learning and guidance from some of the PR industry’s top agencies. Although we are lucky to gain useful insight from an industry professional every other Wednesday evening at our regular meetings, the experience of actually visiting an office and being able to chat with the person to whom we may be applying for a job someday is an exceptional opportunity. The following advice is composed of notes I jotted down while listening to professionals at Fleishman-Hillard and Ketchum.
At Fleishman-Hillard, Account Supervisor Kate Murphy, one of the University of Iowa’s own, shared five tips for getting in the door:
1) Know your competition—think about the other candidates who will be applying for the same job as you and find a way to stand out from the crowd.
2) Highlight transferrable skills—writing, researching, media experience. If you’ve done it, make sure your potential employer knows that you have a strong knowledge of these highly versatile skills.
3) Demonstrate hands-on experience—again, if you’ve had experience that will be useful in your new job, don’t be shy about letting your future employer know.
4) PROOFREAD—all application materials should be proofread; get a second, and even a third, opinion.
5) Be prepared to present yourself in person— do plenty of research on the organization beforehand and when you show up for an interview be enthusiastic, curious, and prepared to ask informed questions.
Later in the day, PRSSA paid a visit to Ketchum. As anyone who has ever applied for a job knows, organizational skills are key. The insight of Account Supervisor Abby Berg-Hammond taught PRSSA that while anyone can say they are organized, here is how you can show it:
1) After you’ve landed your interview, confirm the date and time for it anywhere from one week to two days ahead of time.
2) Arrive early for your interview.
3) Be sure to bring professional copies of your resume, portfolio and any other application materials. If possible, bring a copy of these materials that you can leave with the organization; otherwise, kindly explain that you need to take it with you.
4) Send a thoughtful follow-up note after your interview.
Follow the above tips and you may be well on your way to landing that dream job or internship!
Twitter is a great tool for connecting with friends and others about topics of interest. Needless to say, Twitter is becoming more and more integrated into our lives and the media.
While Twitter is terrific, it is important to remember that what you post is public- don’t tweet inappropriate things, especially about your employers.
Check out this article from MSNBC.com- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29796962/
While it is awesome living a more digital lifestyle than our parents, don’t let it come back to haunt you.
I know not everyone in the world reads blogs, but if you plan to pursue a career in public relations, better step up your game. I came across this very exhaustive list of blogs from odwyerpr.com. I’m sure they don’t have every public relations blog under the sun, but you could get your feet wet exploring these resources.
Remember that one meeting where I went on a rant about setting up Twitter, LinkedIn and PROpenMic accounts and Google reader to save time and keep up with blogs (also Joel Johnson discussed this too)? There is a method to my madness because this will come in handy to you someday. A former co-worker of mine told me the other day he was hired at a job that he LOVES because he had sent his now boss a Twitter message after his interview.
For those of you who missed last week’s meeting, here is the presentation Panchero’s Social Media Manager Joel Johnson shared with us as well as the Common Craft video Social Media in Plain English.
March 3, 2009 at 6:09 pm
· Filed under Uncategorized
We all have a picture in our head of what our dream job would be. We gain the experience, make the necessary contacts and send out the resumes, yet before landing the dream job you have to pass one final test: the interview. On February 20, 2009 at the PRSSA Chicago Regional Conference the Employer Liaison of Devry University, Lea Pupillo, shared some important interviewing tips to nail your next interview.
Before making the all important handshake with the interviewer, there are some important steps of preparation. In an interview you have to be able to summarize yourself in a very short amont of time. In order to prepare, Pupillo suggested creating your “elevator pitch”. In a thirty second time frame you want to summarize your professional life, education and passion in a way that will differentiate you from the rest of your competition. Even though this may seem like a daunting task, if you can show a strong level of confidence and enthusiasm you have succeeded in one of the most important parts of an interview. By breaking down the interview into four sections including: attitude, image and appearance, communication and job qualifications, your attitude ranks highest in importance at 40%. It is followed by image and communication at 25% and job qualifications at 10%. This is not to say that job qualifications and your image our not important, but to stress how important attitude is. Even with a confident attitude, an interview can take a lot of twists and turns. To avoid getting caught off guard with abstract questions, Pupillo gave some helpful tips.
One of the most infamous abstract questions in an interview is, “If you were an animal, what would you be?” While this seems like a pointless question to obtain a job, what employers are really trying to discover is your ability to problem solve. Pupillo explained, “While you may think a lion would be a great answer, it can also make you look to aggressive and even if a cute litte kitten is your favorite animal, it is not what an employer wants to hear”. If you are completely at a loss, Pupillo suggests using the owl due to the fact that they are wise and observant.
Finally, make sure you research and understand the position and company you are applying for. The more you know the better off you will be. When the time comes for you to ask your own questions, ask some. The more interest you show in the company the more interest they will show in you. Once the research and preparation is done the only thing left to do is relax and take every experience as an opportunity to learn more.
By: Diana Kelter
The “Taste of Chicago PR” regional activity was a great learning experience for our chapter as a whole. This kind of exposure allows our members to grow and refine key skills needed to be successful. So first of all, Congrats to everyone who attended! I hope you had an amazing time, as I know I did!
The very first thing I noticed upon arrival was how organized this event was. It is always a great feeling to walk into an unknown environment and have a good handle on what your day will consist of. Throughout the day we listened to speakers and got to do some hands on networking. In public relations networking is the most important skill to have! You most learn how to promote yourself before you will be successful at promoting others! This can be done through face-to-face interactions, as we experienced through a networking game and from the career and internship fair, or through social medias, as with Twitter. Just remember to get your name out there!
We also participated in three workshops that featured interviewing skills, resume refining and how to put together a great portfolio. These are all very important in order to get your foot in the door for that one perfect job! I think the best advice to give would be to put in it as much as you want out of it. Time and preparation really show!
Overall this was a very beneficial experience! Hopefully I have inspired others to get involved and participate in a regional conference also. I really can’t stress enough how fun and helpful this activity was!
When beginning your job or internship search in the field of public relations, the amount of options may seem to be extremely overwhelming. There are so many different types of companies and organizations that specialize in PR, including corporations, agencies, and nonprofits. With the endless amount of possibilities in PR, it may be difficult to figure out which direction you want to take when it comes to your career. However, Cheryl Procter-Rogers of A Step Ahead PR spoke to members at the PRSSA Regional Conference in Chicago this past weekend, and we came away with some great advice.
According to Procter-Rogers, when starting a career in PR it is important to think about what you are passionate about, and then apply it to your career. For example, if you truly enjoy meeting new people, then you should look into a career in PR where you can plan social opportunities. It is also important to learn about different organizations within the industry that cater to your specific passion(s), and ultimately seek out an organization that is a good fit for your personality.
In addition, Procter-Rogers advised us to seek out a mentor who will set a positive example. A mentor does not have to be someone involved with PR; just someone whom we admire and look up to and can help us develop qualities that will help us succeed in the workplace. The final words of advice we learned from this noteworthy woman: In the field of public relations, there are no limits. Just remember: it is up to YOU to make the most out of new opportunities.
The Regional PRSSA Conference held in Chicago this year was a great success. They called it ” Taste of Chicago PR” and it was held in the heart of the city at the DePaul campus. This event was hosted by both Valparaiso University and DePaul University.
The day started off with a greeting and a keynote speaker. The woman who spoke entered the room with an air of confidence and experience making everyone pay full attention. Her name is Cheryl Procter-Rogers, and she has an impressive history within the PR field. Currently she owns her own PR firm, A Step Ahead Public Relations. With more than 29 years experience within the field, she also served as the president of PRSA in 2006.
After briefly telling us about her history, she thought it was most important to help shape our future. This is where she went into the personality characteristics someone would need when working in the public relations field. She was honest, up front, and dead on in the things she considers important in future PR professionals.
1) Make good judgements
2) Have strong written and verbal communication skills
3) Have strong negotiation skills
4) Enhance your listening skills
5) Exude personal confidence
6) Work well under pressure
7) Have the ability to embrace diversity and be sensitive to it
8) Have a commitment to lifelong learning
Practicing and improving upon each of these skills makes her confident that we will grow into experienced and professional PR experts in the future. Her story and tips were truely inspiring to the conference participants, knowing that with hard work and dedication, we can all achieve many successes in our future. She left us with a quote to not only live by but to work by, “one is limited only by ones imagination.”
