Here’s an excerpt of my post this week on US News & World Report’s On Careers:
The job market is picking up. Companies are hiring and candidates aren’t as nervous to consider working for a new employer. The fear of being the “last one in, first one to go” is slowly diminishing as employers are aggressively seeking to fill new positions.
Before running to the altar with a new employer for promises of a higher salary or better job title, it’s important to make sure it’s a feasible long-term career opportunity. The most regrettable job decisions can be avoided by asking probing questions throughout the interview process.
Read it here –> 11 Ways to Size Up a Prospective Employer
This is a post by guest columnist, Alison Kenney.
Barbara Ehrenreich continues to challenge the status quo in her newest book, Bright-Sided: How Positive Thinking is Undermining America. In it she questions the very American trait of putting faith in the power of positive thinking. I’ve been a fan of Ehrenreich’s contrary viewpoint and ideological commitment since reading her bestseller Nickel & Dimed and wanted to see what she had to say in this book. The PR person in me was curious too – I mean what’s wrong with putting a positive spin on things?
It turns out, a lot is wrong with that approach.
In the first chapter, Ehrenreich uses her experience with breast cancer to advocate for questioning received wisdom and digging deeper for answers. She writes about her feelings of anger at being diagnosed with cancer, and simultaneously feeling that it is unacceptable to express that anger. She writes about the “pink ribbon” effect and the widely-repeated notion that breast cancer patients have received a gift, i.e. the cancer gives them a chance to see clearly and fully appreciate their lives, and also the belief among patients that a positive attitude will help them combat their disease, something that can’t be proven scientifically.
Ehrenreich also makes the argument that blind optimism prevents us from making the best decisions. If we focus on the positive, we may do so at the peril of ignoring potential threats and dangers and thereby taking precautions to avoid them. As she points out, “a chief of state does not want to hear a general in the field say that he hopes to win tomorrow’s battle or that he’s visualizing victory; he or she wants one whose plans include the possibility that things may go very badly, and fall-back positions in case they do.”
Ehrenreich’s book is interesting and nuanced; while a positive attitude can be a “good thing,” it shouldn’t trump all other perspectives. The lessons for PR professionals are:
Don’t be self-absorbed –The pursuit of happiness (or PR success) can lead to tunnel vision where we ignore real news and only focus on our self and our personal goals. By acknowledging competitors, preparing for hard questions and using that knowledge to strengthen your position, PR professionals can uncover new opportunities and prepare for market advantage.
Challenge authority — Ehrenreich recommends, “recruiting the observations of other” but cautions readers to avoid “groupthink,” i.e. the adoption and perpetuation of a false belief by a closed group of people despite mounting evidence against the false belief. Ehrenreich’s examples of groupthink gone wrong include the increased use of motivational speakers by corporations in order to pump up workforces demoralized by layoffs and convince both those let go and those remaining that their attitude, and not the relentless pursuit of corporate profit, was responsible for their plight. Ehrenreich also explores how certain Christian “prosperity” churches have gotten into the act, convincing their parishioners that God wants them to be rich and will help them get that way if they just show a little faith by giving money to the church. Her comments on how many of the devout poor were convinced the predatory mortgages they were being offered a few years back were a gift from God were particularly poignant. According to Ehrenreich the focus on individual power over destiny works against genuine social change in which people band together to make a real difference. While it can be tough for marketers to go against the grain, PR can be a very effective way to promote well-considered alternatives to popular trends.
Don’t be afraid to “go negative” –PR campaigns that point out negative aspects of your competitors can be risky – there’s a chance the effort will backfire and earn your competition a sympathy vote, but if your message is one that touches a real concern your audience holds, “going negative” can earn you respect as a voice of reason. For instance, this video from green cleaning product maker Method highlights the negative effects of using chemical cleaners, such as those from rivals like SC Johnson’s Scrubbing Bubbles product. It’s also pretty funny.
The practice of public relations is an exercise in promoting ideas – positive or not. Ehrenreich’s book adds a lesson in balance – learning to realistically assess both positive and negative outcomes to our choices — to the mix.
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. You can find her at www.kprcommunications.com. Learn more about Alison Kenney.
On last week’s US News & World Report On Careers post, I wrote about how recruiters work. Adjusting your expectations and knowing exactly what we can and can’t do will save you a lot of time and frustration as a job seeker.
Read it on On Careers: What Job Recruiters Can and Can’t Do for You
This is a guest post from Hearing Direct.
Hearing loss, especially age related hearing loss is a common condition which affects many job seekers. There are couple of strategies which will help to better manage the situation and to improve job interview chances.
Strategies to tackle phone interviews:
1. Ask for a written interview instead – employers will often conduct a telephone interview to short list suitable candidates for a face to face interview. If you have difficulty with telephone interviews due to hearing loss, you should be open about your hearing loss and request a written interview by email. Employers have an obligation to make reasonable adjustments.
2. Use a telephone aid – there are plenty of devices which can amplify sound to a level which will allow you to hear the other person on the line. These are called ALDs (or assistive listening devices) and for a job interview by telephone, an external amplifier or extra loud phone will do the job. You may also find it useful to conduct the interview in a quiet room where you can focus on listening to the interviewer rather than background noises.
3. Conduct a mock interview – if you haven’t had a telephone interview for a while or you are looking to try a new telephone amplifier, a mock interview is often the answer. The interviewer can be a friend or family member and will ensure you are ready for the real deal.
Strategies to tackle face to face interviews:
3. Position yourself accordingly – if you find yourself in a job interview and find it hard to hear the other person, consider these strategies. Move closer and position yourself so that you are facing the interviewer. Ensure that the room is well lit and you can see the interviewer clearly. Watch
the speaker’s face, lips and gestures for clues as to what’s being said.
4. Fill in words – don’t strain to hear every word. People with normal hearing miss words during an interview as well and ‘fill in’ the missing words and understand the concept from the other sentences. You should adopt the same strategy.
5. Use a hearing aid – hearing aids are small micro-engineered computers which can amplify external sound to a suitable level. In recent years, hearing healthcare professionals have seen large changes, not just in what hearing devices can do, but how they are worn. These changes
can be attributed to a reduction in the size of components, increased durability and cosmetic concerns on the part of the wearer. In most cases, the hearing aid will not be visible so any concerns of cosmetic appearance are unjustifiable.
Job Interview mistakes to avoid:
Hearing loss is a common condition and you should disclose your condition to the interviewer to avoid unexpected concerns and misconceptions. Employers have a responsibility to make reasonable adjustments for interviews and employees. People who suffer from hearing loss without disclosing their condition or without taking steps to improve the situation might be seen as difficult to work with by their co-workers or by their managers.
Article by hearing aids seller, Hearing Direct. If you wish to find out more about hearing loss you
can read our guide to hearing and hearing loss.
I always feel like a jerk telling people to send a thank-you note, but I know if I don’t, it might not happen. In this week’s US News & World Report post, I wrote about why a thank-you note is such an important part of the interview process. Don’t skip it, ever (even if you aren’t interested in the position!).
This is a post by guest columnist, Alison Kenney.
We could talk for hours about the effect the Internet has had on public relations (how it has altered our media targets, changed our communication channels and the frequency of our communications, distorted our perception of what constitutes news, etc.), but one area that has been impacted greatly but hasn’t been talked about as much is the art of headline writing. Yes, PR pros write a lot of headlines — from the obvious, like press release headlines, to the more subtle, but equally important, like email subject lines. Blog posts, bylined articles, pitch letters, marketing brochures, tradeshow booth signs and even 140 character “headlines” on Twitter are also a big part of our work.
One major way the Internet has affected headline writing is with search engine optimization (SEO). Using the right keywords in a headline will make that piece easier for search engines to find, thus giving it more visibility on the web. But how do we balance the need to attract search engines with the need to attract human readers? CopyBlogger offers some great advice on using specific, niche keywords to attract both in this post in its Magnetic Headlines blog series.
Speaking of keywords, my friend Norman Birnbach thinks the use of the word ‘kill’ by copywriters over at Newsweek is, ahem, overkill in recent headlines.
As someone who has worked primarily in B2B public relations, where the emphasis in headline writing is on being factual and concise, I’ve struggled with writing more creative and attention-grabbing headlines. What worked for one audience, say a B2B technology firm, won’t fly with a different audience in the consumer retail industry. It’s important to know your audience before trying to write your headline.
Whatever audience you’re writing for, your headline should make an intriguing promise but also be credible so that readers will want to read more. For example, shifting a question that is important to your audience (“How do I write a good headline?”), into a strong statement (“How to write effective headlines”) will offer readers an intriguing reason to read the rest of the article. Adding more specific information (“Five Easy Changes to Make Your Headlines More Attractive to Customers”) gives the reader more information about what will be revealed in the rest of the text to know whether they want to continue reading.
Another tip from CopyBlogger is to study headlines that have been proven to work and to learn how they work. Brian Clark wrote on CopyBlogger that “if you understand how headlines work, you don’t need to try to write a homerun headline for every blog post. But you will end up writing snappier headlines off the top of your head, even for the more day-to-day mundane posts.”
Direct advertising headlines are great examples to learn from. They work if they get people to open their wallet and make a purchase. Along these lines, Dylan Boyd offers these guidelines for writing better email marketing subject lines:
- Don’t be afraid to get creative and experiment with length and characters
- If you want to grow a mature email program, spend considerable time and energy testing a variety of offers
- Avoid using your sender name as a repetitive part of the subject line, and personalize only where it makes sense
Headline writing is an important part of business writing and critical to getting your full message across. What are your tips for writing eye-catching headlines?
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. You can find her at www.kprcommunications.com. Learn more about Alison Kenney.
In this week’s post on U.S. News & World Report, I covered how to rock your phone interview. More than likely, you’ll be asked to phone interview at some point in a job search and it’s often the first step in any process. It’s also the step where qualified job seekers can quickly blow their chances to make it in front of the hiring team. The few simple, but important tips can be found here. Add your comments!
I have some exciting news to share! I’m now a weekly contributor for the Outside Voices: On Careers blog for US News & World Report. It’ll run every Thursday.
This week I wrote about keeping your resume current. You don’t have to be actively engaged in a job search to have a resume prepared. In fact, if you don’t have one on hand, it could lead to many lost opportunities. See the post on US News for some helpful tips.
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.
