Diversity PR: For diverse campaigns, your team has to be diverse and your client must see the money

A couple of days ago I attended CIPR’s seminar on cross cultural PR and diversity. The presentation (which you can find below) was given by two very knowledgeable PR professionals Silvia Cambié from Chanda Communications and Bieneosa Ebite from Bright Star PR. I quite liked a quote Silvia had on one her first slides:

“The business secret of the future will be about including and inspiring people who in the past we thought did not belong.” Annette Verschuren, President and CEO, The Home Depot,
Canada & Asia … Continue Reading

Interviews, Interviews, Interviews…

I recently flew from LA to San Francisco for several interviews, and today I would like to share with you my experience. For several weeks I had been planning this trip. Because I have a busy schedule, I was able to go out of town only for one day. I wanted to make it as efficient as possible and that’s why I scheduled four interviews for that one day. It took a lot of planning and figuring out in what order I should schedule the interviews, but after weeks of phone calls, emails and preparations I was ready to go to SF.

Because I don’t want to hurt my chances and because I don’t think it would be appropriate, I will not say what companies I interviewed with. Some of the interviews were for actual positions, but some of them were only informational. As you might already know from your own experience, public relations agencies tend to hire just weeks before they need to fill a position, and that’s why I arranged a meeting even with companies that do not currently have any openings. I wanted to make sure that once they have a position available, they will think of me.

Most of the interviews were structured similarly: I met with someone from HR and with several people with various titles. Most interviews lasted between 1-2 hours. Here are some of the most frequent questions I encountered:

• Why do you want to work for us?
• Why are you interested in public relations?
• Why do you want to work in San Francisco?
• What achievement are you most proud of?
• Do you have any questions for me?
• What do you like about your current internship?
• What are some of the clients you have worked on?
• What are you looking for in a company?
• What industries are you interested in the most and why?

Once I was asked for a salary range.
As you can see, most of the questions were asking me why I did something or why I am interested in something. Companies want to know the reasoning behind your decisions.

Some companies required a phone interview prior to my visit in SF and some asked me for a second round of interviews over the phone.

What helped me:

• Bringing multiple copies of my resume
• Having references and writing samples with me
• Researching the company prior to the interview (Google, Holmes Report, PR Week, etc.)
• Looking up the interviewer on Google and LinkedIn
• Sending out thank you cards after the interview
• Keeping notes for future reference
• Planning everything in advance
• Opening multiple doors (What I mean by this is not to rely purely on the standard way of applying, but reaching to people from the company in other ways. For example I already knew some people from the company or from other offices from PRSA events and other speaking opportunities, I contacted one of the employees through Second Life, and I wrote an email to the GM of a company. I believe that the more doors you can open, the better chance you have in getting hired.)

Please share with me and others your experience with the interview process.

Looking for Jobs Out-of-State

My friend recently told me about some problems she encountered looking for a job in another state. She told me that recruiters often exclude her resume because she has her local phone number on it. I guess recruiters feel that it would be too difficult to interview or hire someone out-of-state, and they probably don’t want to go through the hassle for an entry-level job. Since my friend told me about it, I have heard the same story from several other people, and I think I have a solution.

Recently I read an article in the New York Times about a new service called Grand Central. It is a service that allows you to have one number for your cell phone, home phone, office, etc. When someone calls you on your Grand Central number, all your registered phones will be ringing. Why am I talking about it? Because you can pick your area code and have your calls forwarded. Therefore, if you are looking for a job in New York, you can get a New York area code and have it forwarded to any number in the U.S. It is not the intended use of this service, but it works. And the best part: It is free.

Agency Business Report is Now Available

PR Week on Monday released the 2007 Agency Business Report (ABR). It is available for download in PDF on PR Week’s Web site. It is a great resource if you are looking for an internship or a job. It offers detailed descriptions of major public relations agencies and a ranking of nearly 200 PR firms.

Landing a great job – Tips for Success

A colleague of mine, Alan Weatherbee, Director of Recruitment at the Constituency Management Group, sent me these tips on how to successfully navigate through the interview process and land a great job. He allowed me to share these with you. Alan is responsible for hiring for the West Coast offices of three public relations agencies: GolinHarris, Rogers & Cowan and Weber Shandwick.

• Narrow job search down by company, not necessarily by jobs posted. Make a list of top 10-15 companies you’d like to work for and attack!
• Call in to find out the Recruiter or HR representative’s name and direct contact information
• Research the company. Not just looking at the website but use your network to get the low down on the particular agency, its clients, and the major players
• Present yourself well by proof reading your submission, have another set of eyes review your resume, and always write an enthusiastic, flattering cover letter.
• In your cover letter, make sure to reference specific accomplishments the company has had and how they relate to you and your desire/experience. This shows you have done your research.
• Be prompt and flexible.
• Email address should not be ridiculous, resume doc should be saved as your name.doc, voice mails should be extremely professional and succinct – no ringtones and no casual message.

Resume tips: if entry level, highlight relevant coursework. Make your resume chronological, except if entry level, make a “relevant experience” section and section for “additional work experience”. Create a tailored “Objective” for every submission. Refresh your resume so it is up to the minute—many candidates have told me about small changes to their resume in the interview and that is frustrating. Keep the format simple and easy to ready with no more than 2 fonts. Bulleted resumes are easier to read than paragraphs. Include job title and dates (specific dates are preferred- if you put 2004-2005 we know you didn’t work there a full year). List clients and programs you worked on- this can be relevant.

• Have a reference sheet ready to go. Make your reference list strategically.
• Have a presentation of work samples.
• Make great eye contact and answer any question thoughtfully, no matter how mundane. Speaking of questions, always have at least one question to ask at the end of the interview.
• In the interview, try to make a personal connection or leave the interviewer with one or two commonalities- a person you both know, a mutual interest, if you went to the same school, are from the same state, etc. That way, you will not be forgotten and you have good fodder for feedback/follow-up emails.
• Write thank you notes- emails are acceptable.
• Don’t be afraid to follow up but careful not to stalk or harass. If you interview and don’t hear anything back from a company, politely follow up and ask for feedback. Don’t go over the edge if you didn’t get the job, the contact you made will be invaluable for your future employment so be courteous and professional- leave a great impression (Recruiters sometime switch to different firms or represent more than one firm and many of us know each other).
• Be willing and ready to discuss current salary and salary expectation openly and honestly. Don’t say “but I am flexible” unless you really mean it. Do some research prior to the interview to find out what that type of position is currently paying in the market.
• Be careful not to over negotiate on the main points of an offer. Be upfront about what you desire out of title and salary.
• Ask benefits questions so that you are able to make a completely informed decision when contemplating an offer.
• Don’t ask for too much time to decide. Typically 48 hours should be plenty of time to make a firm decision.
• Ask about protocol after accepting an offer and whether you need to reach out to anyone within the firm.
• Ask if there is any preparation you can do before starting.
• Keep the contact in mind to refer other talented people you know. The way to a recruiter’s heart is by referring people to him/her.
• Throughout the process, either way, be positive and be honest.

And here are some additional tips for a succesful job interview from Mitch Schneider at Marketwire: Ten Tips for a Successful Job Interview. My favorite is number 10: And do not, I repeat, do not give me a hug after our interview (though I can understand why it’s tempting… I’m quite warm and fuzzy). I know Mitch, happens to me all the time too! )