Lindsay Olson

Making Pro Bono PR Projects Successful

Giving and receiving can both be pretty good!

Many of us in PR work, or have worked, pro bono, which is an abbreviated form of the Latin term pro bono publico that means "for the public good."  (When I looked up that definition, I also learned that the American Bar Association recommends that lawyers in the United States contribute at least fifty hours of pro bono service per year.)  While not mandatory in PR, pro bono work presents terrific career opportunities.

There are a lot of reasons to take on a pro bono PR assignment, such as:

• Supporting a pet cause
• Gaining professional experience
• Balancing other work assignments and/or enjoying a change of pace
• Networking and making connections
• Exploring a new field
• Giving back

It sounds pretty rosy and pro bono projects certainly can be.  But I′ve also talked to folks on the receiving end and heard about "good intentions gone wrong" or, if not completely wrong, just not ideal.  Consider the non-profit whose board member included the head of a national PR firm.  His agency provided PR counsel pro bono to the non-profit and its internal team on an ongoing basis.  That meant that the pro bono team varied according to agency member availability and the agency applied many of its standard PR campaign practices even when they weren′t the best fit for the non-profit′s target audience.  The pro bono recipients are grateful for the PR work they receive but ideally would have liked to have more of a say in the efforts and tactics.  At other times, pro bono PR relationships don′t work because the non-profit can′t support the donor — it may not have any internal staff or resources to keep momentum going.  And, in a frustrating example for both sides, sometimes the pro bono assignment goes south because of a lack of clear expectations.

I don′t think these examples are the norm, however; I only mention them to illustrate the importance of having a clear understanding of project scope when you take on a pro bono PR project.  Spend time understanding what type of PR assignment is needed, what the timeframe will be, who the supporting players are (and whether training them could be the most beneficial contribution you make) and what type of outcome is expected.  Careful planning and good communication in the beginning will make your pro bono PR experience a positive one.

Alison Kenney an independent PR practitioner with more than 15 years of PR consulting experience.  She is based on Boston′s North Shore and has worked with organizations in the technology, professional services and consumer industries. She writes a bi-monthly PR column on LindsayOlson.com. Learn more her here.

Photo credit: Gin Soak

5 Ways to Find Your Dream Job

This is a guest post by Nikki Ruth

Did you know?

Audrey Hepburn wanted to become a ballerina. She was considered too tall and was advised not to continue.

Tom Cruise joined a seminary to become a priest. He was also a paperboy for the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Before Cameron Diaz made her acting debut in The Mask she toured the world as a model.Walt

Disney drove an ambulance for the Red Cross during World War I.

Johnny Depp worked as an over-the-phone pen salesman before he became an actor.

Celebrity careers rarely happen overnight and chances are your first job will not be your dream job, but one of many as you work your way to the top. It is possible to get your dream job. Here′s how.

1. Learn about yourself

Take time to do a self-assessment of your values and how you like to work. What′s most important to you? What do you want out of life and how do you want to be remembered? Then get specific. If you say you′re a good communicator, do you like talking informally to small groups of people or do you like making formal presentations? Now brainstorm around these findings and think about the different roles or activities you can use these skills in.

2. Do your research

Once you know the kind of career you′re looking for, start talking to people who have jobs in the industry you′re considering and find out what it′s really like. Ask them what they love and hate about their job. You might find that after these conversations, more careers will be crossed off your list and others might emerge.

3. Find a mentor

Find a mentor who has already succeeded at what you want to do and ask them how they achieved their dream job. A strong relationship with a mentor who is higher up in your company can open a lot of doors for you. You′ll learn a lot about the company and about the jobs you might want to get in the future. You'll also have an ally who will be willing recommend you when you do decide to apply for a new opportunity.

4. Create an action plan

An action plan should contain S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time framed) objectives and actions and resources. Plot a path between your current position and the dream. This might involve some training or you might need to get out of what you′re doing so that you can work in a job that is more connected with your dream? If you keep getting rejected from your dream job, you are not ready yet and might need to take a "˜stepping stone′ job before you can move onto the next level.

5. Speak to a career coach

Seek the sound advice of a career professional to help you get closer to landing the job of your dreams. Career coaches can help you plan a change of direction, get your career off the ground with job hunting tactics, identify your career options, provide recommendations for your career development and might have an "˜in′ that helps you through the door!

I hope you found my tips useful.

Guest post by Nikki Ruth, CV Writer and founder of My CV and Me. Nikki provides cv writing and career skills workshops services. Follow her on Twitter @mycvandme

My Five Favorite Uses for Twitter in PR

Here are my five favorite uses for Twitter:

1. Spend too much time browsing the tweets, retweets and links shared by the hundreds of PR pros I follow

2. Get breaking news updates from tweets of news services/media I follow

3. Spend too much time browsing links to blogs on a wide variety of political, cultural and personal interests topics and opinions (this feels something like scanning magazines in the grocery check out line)

4. Spend too much time on a mental break browsing the tweets of celebrities, professional comedians and other off-beat characters whose tweets I follow

5. Participate in chats

These are probably all pretty self-explanatory (and obviously time-consuming) ways to use Twitter, except for possibly the last one: participating in Twitter chats.

Recently a few colleagues have given me "the look" when I mention how great I think Twitter chats are.  I think some people have the impression that Twitter chats are an even more intense version of Twitter, with lots of chatter.  But participating in an organized Twitter chat is different from regular tweeting that references a specific hashtag.  In fact, the chats are usually highly organized.  The ones I′ve participated in all have a moderator, and sometimes a special guest (e.g. an expert on the chat′s current topic).  Questions or topics are determined ahead of time (you can submit questions via the moderator) and then controlled by the moderator.  Shonali Burke explains Twitter chats and what makes one good in her excellent blog.

If you work in PR and are active on Twitter I highly recommend looking into these chats:

#journchat, created by @prsarahevans takes place every Monday at 8 pm ET and explores the impact of online communications and new media with 200+ journalists, bloggers and PR professionals participating each week.

#soloPR, which was created by @kellyecrane as a way for Solo PR pros to share tips, stories and insight on PR and working independently. It′s held Wednesdays at 1 pm ET.

#measurePR, recently started by @shonali and held bi-weekly on Tuesdays from 12-1 pm ET

#PRStudChat, a monthly Twitter chat moderated by @dbreakenridge and host @valeriesimon that is designed to bring together PR students (that′s where the "stud" comes in), professionals, and educators for conversation about PR, as well as learning, networking and developing mentoring relationships.

#pr20chat, a discussion of where PR is heading, led by @bethharte, @jgoldsborough and @prtini, on Wednesdays at 7 pm CT

You can find other chats on TweetChat or through this spreadsheet that Robert Swanwick created.

Alison Kenney an independent PR practitioner with more than 15 years of PR consulting experience.  She is based on Boston′s North Shore and has worked with organizations in the technology, professional services and consumer industries. She writes a bi-monthly PR column on LindsayOlson.com. Learn more her here.

Photo credit: Kentigerm

SXSW Interactive!

I'm attending SXSW Interactive until Wednesday. If you are in Austin, come say hi!

Hope to see you there.

Cover Letter Awesomeness

I got a cover letter from a candidate a few days ago that stood out from the rest. It's definitely share-worthy and a format that everyone should consider for their cover letter.

Most of the cover letters that I see tend to be bland and not written for the specific posting in mind. This cover letter was an exception.

To protect the identity of the candidate, I've edited the specific details and only posted a portion of it.

When I'm conducting a search, I don't generally post a detailed description online for a million reasons I'm not going to explain right now. The point is that this candidate took the tiny bit of information that she knew about the job  and matched her experience with exactly what we needed in her cover letter. With a specific job description, an applicant could get even more specific.

I didn't post the rest of the letter, but the candidate follows with: a paragraph about her other relevant experience that may not be as obvious in her resume, a statement about what she is known for by others (soft skills/personality) and a short list of places to find out more information about her and her recommendations (LinkedIn, etc.).

What I liked

• The cover letter was specifically addressed to me, not a "To Whom It May Concern" or a "Dear Recruiter".
• The Your Requirements, My Qualifications matching. This tells me that she has given some thought to the job and she is not lazily sending resumes for just any job. I feel confident that if I were to present her to a client she could give good examples of her previous experience and how those will help solve their void. It also makes it extremely easy to see how she fits my client's requirement before I even get to the resume. Remember, your job is to generate enough interest to get a call. Make it easy for the reader.
• A paragraph detailing additional experience relating to the job that may not be as obvious in her resume.
• A sentence about her soft-skills. Often this translates into cover letter "fluff", but keeping it at one, strong sentence is sufficient.
• A LinkedIn address for quick access to recommendations and additional information.
• A strong close.

She also sent the cover letter the body of her email rather than a separate attachment. I'm not the only person who, if given the choice to open a resume or a cover letter in attachments, will go straight to the resume. Since her cover letter already spelled out why I should consider her and was part of her email, my next step is to look at her resume and make the call.

I Work in PR and My Family Has No Idea What I Do

I work in PR and my family has no idea what I do.

I′ve heard my parents accurately describe the company or clients I work for but they have a hard time articulating what I actually do for these organizations.

I used to joke about this when I started my career.  I was working for a high-tech PR agency and the trade jargon was difficult for even those in the know to follow.  It cracked me up to imagine my mom telling her friends that her daughter "announced the beta of version 8.0 of a front office software platform. She′s drafting the briefing books now for some desk-side media one-on-ones"¦"

The problem is that I can′t explain what I do either!  Fortunately I′m not alone.  Nearly 2,500 folks have proclaimed on Facebook that explaining what we do is tough for us PR people.

I can′t tell you how many holiday gatherings I′ve been to where different relatives have asked me if I′m still writing for the paper.  (I did have a college internship at a newspaper nearly 20 years ago.)  More often than not, I just say yes.

My elementary school aged kids are genuinely interested in learning what I do, and I′ve taken pains to explain my job accurately to them.  The jury is still out on how successful my explanations are, though.  I overheard my daughter′s friend say that her mom drew the picture in a particular magazine (the friend′s mother works for an ad agency) and my daughter replied that her mom knew the person who made the magazine.  Our conversations are similar to the one David Moye had with his daughter when she asked "Daddy what′s PR?" although they sometimes take a hysterical turn after we discuss how manipulative the media can be.

Usually I adapt my job description based on how interested the person I′m talking to seems to be and the types of questions they′re asking.  I don′t think I′ve ever described my job the same way.  When asked what I do for a living sometimes I talk about the purpose of my job, e.g. shaping a brand, influencing demand, generating leads, and sometimes I talk about the actual activities I did that day, e.g. writing a press release, calling the media, tweeting.   Of course, everyone tries to understand my work in terms they can relate to and sometimes the conversations end with "so could you help my Uncle Rick with PR for his auto body shop?"

I′m still looking for some new answers to give my mom.  How do you describe your work in PR?

Photo credit: Helgasms!

Alison Kenney an independent PR practitioner with more than 15 years of PR consulting experience.  She is based on Boston′s North Shore and has worked with organizations in the technology, professional services and consumer industries. She writes a bi-monthly PR column on LindsayOlson.com. Learn more her here.