My column on MediaBistro’s PRNewser is up.
Here’s an excerpt:
Rejection is one of those things that is going to happen during any job search. You might get lucky and find your dream job on the first interview, but at some point in your career, a job rejection will find its way to slap you in the face.
People don’t get the job for a plenty of reasons – being under or over-qualified, the internal candidate that “pops-up” last minute, job specification changes, etc. You realize that many of the reasons are beyond your control. And then comes the job you are passed up for, the one when everything seemed to point to you until you got the rejection call.
Read the rest of the article and the tips about how to get feedback on PRNewser: From the Recruiter’s Desk: They Didn’t Hire Me, But Why? How To Get Feedback During Your Job Hunt
This is a guest post by Alison Kenney.
Working a part-time schedule is attractive for many reasons and PR is an industry that lends itself to flexible schedules. Or is it?
On the plus side:
Part-time can equate to freelance status in PR which can be more lucrative than salaried work – although non-salaried workers don’t receive benefits through their employer, they typically charge an hourly rate or project fee that equates to more money per hour than what their salaried counterparts earn. See my previous blog and the reader comments about tips for solo PR practitioners if you’re curious about how to make a freelance career work.
Working part-time can be a good way for older workers to ease out of demanding schedules and prepare for retirement — staying employed, even part-time, enables older workers to continue to accumulate savings (through income and employer contributions) and to postpone paying retirement expenses (like contributions to health insurance). A recent report from the Employment Benefit Research Institute says that part-time employment is a growing trend among older workers.
Some parts of PR work can be done anytime, anywhere – non-urgent PR work, such as building a media list or editorial calendar or writing executive bios or materials for a web site, don’t necessarily need to get done during certain hours of the day.
Technology makes it easy to stay connected and accessible – as long as you have access to the internet and a phone you can probably accomplish 90 percent of the PR work you need to do. Skype and other video conferencing tools have made it even easier and more acceptable for people to work remotely. Why is this important? First, more people working remotely blurs the lines around work schedules which makes working part-time more acceptable, i.e. it becomes lumped in with other flexible work arrangements. Second, it’s often assumed that if you work a part-time schedule you’ll be able to check in after-hours and be accessible if something urgent comes up and technology makes this possible.
On the negative side:
The opportunistic nature of PR makes it hard to predict that your job can be accomplished during a set time of day – many PR duties are deadline driven or arise suddenly – such as responding to a competitor’s news, handling communication during a crisis and responding to a reporter who is on deadline – and therefore require PR staff who are available around the clock, or at least during traditional office hours.
PR is a service-driven practice – PR is often perceived as a service business. If you work at an agency, you service external clients. Even if you work in-house you are servicing other functions of the company, such as supporting the sales team, collaborating with HR and furthering the executive management team’s agenda. Depending on their needs and expectations for your services, these clients may not want to accommodate your part-time schedule.
It can be difficult to land a part-time position – As Lindsay can attest, most career positions are not recruiting part-time candidates. I would hazard a guess that many part-time PR employees negotiated their hours after working full-time for that employer and building up a positive track record. That’s not to say that part-time jobs don’t exist or aren’t advertised – but they are outnumbered by full-time opportunities.
What do you think? Is PR the right field for workers who want part-time hours?
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 about Alison Kenney.
This is a guest post by Alison Kenney.
I’ve heard Foursquare referred to as the hottest new marketing tool. But personally, I’m not a huge fan. In fact, according to this Fast Company article, I’m in the apathy stage. I just don’t feel the need to compete for badges and mayorships — and not enough contacts in my personal network use it to make it a useful communication tool. However, I am intrigued by its marketing and PR potential.
Here’s why Foursquare matters to marketers:
Your audience is game. This CNN story on Foursquare creator Dennis Crowley illustrates the appeal of Foursquare to a certain type of consumer — someone such as Crowley — who enjoys playing virtual contests, or someone who loves the challenge of new e-games. Foursquare can be a new way to connect with your target audience or even a way to reach a new audience.
Foursquare can reinforce your brand loyalty. Retailers like Starbucks and Dominos (in the UK) are testing Foursquare as a way to identify enthusiastic customers by rewarding them with coupons and discounts based on the number of times they “check in” using Foursquare.
Mobile and geo-location technologies are the future. According to Yankee Group president and author of the book, “Anywhere: How Global Connectivity Is Revolutionizing the Way We Do Business.’’ Emily Nagle Green says that Google’s decision to put mobile first in their business is a telling indicator. Yahoo! also seems to be throwing its hat into the geo-location ring with its recent purchase of Kropol. A recent report from Juniperstates that all mobile location-based services may contribute a total revenue of $12.7 billion by 2014.
Location-based services are a natural fit for tourism and travel related brands. More than ever people are turning to the Web to plan their travel itineraries, find recommendations and map their trips. Foursquare can be a fun way to engage travelers and tourists during the process. The city of Chicago’s tourism office is encouraging people to recreate a scene from the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off using Foursquare. The state of Pennsylvania is leveraging social media to promote tourism too and has created special Foursquare badges just for Pennsylvania sites and uses Foursquare to provide tips for visiting Pennsylvania destinations.
Content generators now have another medium to reach their audience. The NY Times has aggregated its content for a new free iPhone app for visitors to Manhattan and Brooklyn and also offers integration with Foursquare for convenient check ins, i.e. convenient links to NY Times content.
Event marketers use Foursquare to drive participation. In addition to allowing users to know who is nearby or attending the same event, Foursquare can help event marketers increase participation. Last week fashion designer Cynthia Rowley launched the Cynthia Rowley Bridesmaids collection with the help of Foursquare and gave attendees at its launch unveiling a special gift if they checked in on Foursquare. (Visitors who check in at the store Lovely Bride during the week after the launch also receive 15% off their bridesmaid dress order.)
Whether Foursquare is here to stay, or not, smart marketers and PR pros are considering location-based social media as part of their integrated marketing plan. Are you?
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 about Alison Kenney.
Several times in the past few months during a recruiting calls I’ve been asked if I would offer a referral fee. By no means is this new. Back in my recruiting hard-to-find semiconductor engineers days, this question came up all the time. And still, every time, without fail, I hang up the phone a bit more annoyed than the last time.
I question the person’s professionalism. I feel bad that the referral might not have the opportunity to hear about a career changing opportunity because his friend wants to make some cash off his name. And then I wonder if the referrer did get a recruiter to pay him for a referral if he would ever tell his friend he only recommended him for the job because he got some cash out of it. It just feels dirty.
I don’t ask the doctor, the design firm, the accountant, the babysitter, or any other professional service provider to slip me a cash bonus when I refer someone to them. I’m not their hired sales agent. I make a referral because the service provider has earned my confidence and my friend trusts that I have his best interest in mind.
I know that plenty of recruiters out there pay referral fees and that the business model works for them. I also know in 13 years of agency recruiting, I have never paid out a referral fee and a majority of our placements are candidates who have been referred to us directly or indirectly.
Maybe I’m missing something completely…
This blog is to share my recruiting experiences and discuss thoughts on the job market, PR industry and technology.
Alison Kenney is an independent PR practitioner with more than 15 years of PR consulting experience.
