This is a guest post by PR columnist, Alison Kenney.
I found this post by Arik Hanson on whether PR folks should share their political viewpoints on Facebook fascinating for two reasons. First, Arik questions whether a lack of discretion, i.e. not keeping your political views to yourself, could be bad for business. Secondly, he makes the question specific to the PR profession.
To Arik’s first point, about whether a lack of discretion can hurt business, some folks will say, “if people don’t like who I am or what I believe in, then they don’t have to work with me” and stress the importance of being true to yourself. They have a point. And it can be fun to work with people who have strong identities. You certainly always know where things stand.
As for those of us who have opinions but try not to come across as overly opinionated, though, I also agree with Arik’s point that if he “doesn’t do it face-to-face (i.e. argue about politics), then why would I do it on social media.” In other words, being professional and showing discretion about discussing controversial topics are important qualities at all times, perhaps even more so when our personal and professional lives intersect on social media like Facebook.
In Arik’s blog post, he makes the case specific to working in PR because of the service nature of the business. Whether you work as an independent consultant, part of an agency team or in a corporate department, you serve a client who is entrusting their reputation and brand to your professional expertise.
As Arik says, “I think working in a service-based industry has everything to do with it. Especially for me, as a solo. When people work with me, I think they’re buying “me” as much as they’re buying my skills/abilities. So, if I were to share my political views online (and they could see that), that might factor in. Sure, that information might help, in some cases, but I tend to think it would hurt me more than it would help. And, generally, I don’t want to give people more reasons NOT to hire me–I want to give them more reasons TO hire me. So, maybe I’m in a unique position–could be–but that’s my stance.”
I’d go even further and say that the nature of working in PR requires discretion.
Our work is all about selecting which stories to tell and which notes to hit with precisely which audiences. We filter through confidential information and groom spokespeople. We study viewer habits and Google Analytics to understand our audience’s preferences so we can give them what they want.
Think about the celebrity publicists who balance their clients’ desire for exposure with their need to control the image that’s being promoted. Sometimes the challenge in balancing this work becomes apparent once the publicist’s discretion slips and they reveal unflattering information about their former clients.
To get back to Arik Hanson’s point, social media gaffes can crack the discussion wide open by demonstrating what happens when PR professionals forgets their allegiances online.
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.
Guest post: Sam Peters
Today’s economy has hit many people in a hard way. Some people have lost their jobs, while others have simply discovered that they need to make more money to make ends meet. The job market has definitely suffered over the last few years. Now, even though jobs are returning, it is harder than ever to land gainful employment. Even if you have years of experience in your field, if you don’t have a degree you could find it very difficult to find a job.
Luckily, there is something you can do about it. There are many options available for busy adults needing to continue their education. Whether you want to attend full time to get a job quickly, or part time to keep the job you have, there are options available for you. It doesn’t matter how old you are, or where you are at in your career. If you want to advance in your chosen field or change careers entirely, it is never too late.
The first step in continuing your education is to determine how you are going to pay for it.
Thankfully, there are many programs available for a solution to this problem. If you have low income or no income, you may be able to qualify for a Pell Grant from the federal government to pay for part or all of your tuition.
In addition, you should be able to qualify for needs based student loans that are low interest to cover the rest of your tuition as well as books and supplies necessary for completing courses. Some student loans do not accumulate interest until you are out of school, and all student loans do not become payable until you are out of school for six months.
The next step is to find a school that you want to attend. There are online schools, traditional schools, and those schools that incorporate both methods into their degree programs. Which schooling method you choose will depend on your individual ability to learn, how you learn best, and what you have time for.
If you are working a full time job, it may be in your best interests to find an online college that offers the degree program you want to earn. This way you can do your work on your own time schedule. You can get a fair idea of colleges available and their degree programs by visiting sites like The College Network.
Once you have chosen a school and made financial arrangements, you can go about the process of transferring any college credit you have to your new degree program. This could cut down the amount of time it takes to earn your degree. In addition, many colleges offer the option to earn college credit for experience.
For example, if you have ten years of experience in marketing, you could take an exam that covers everything in a basic marketing course to get college credit for your experience. This can also greatly cut down on the work you have to do to earn a degree.
Sam Peters is a blogger who enjoys writing about career development.
A guest post by PR columnist, Alison Kenney.
If someone told you that you’re “being political” or coming across as a real “politician,” you’d probably be offended. But I will argue that being politically savvy, i.e. having the ability to influence others to accomplish your goals, will serve you well in a career in PR.
The 10 most important political skills crucial to working in PR are the abilities to:
- Re-frame a situation — You won’t get far – unless your goal is to annoy the most people possible – without being able to see things from more than one perspective. In PR speak, this means being able to customize a message or story for specific individual audiences.
- Back up your story – Your story will be stronger and more convincing if you can back it up with evidence and proof points, such as customer testimonials, facts and statistics, research from opinion polls or surveys, third-party validation from awards, rankings or expert endorsements, etc.
- Convince your audience that you are credible – It’s not enough to have a great story if no one will listen to you tell it. Experienced spokespeople have titled credentials like speaker, author, successful entrepreneur or businessperson, but inexperienced spokespeople can demonstrate their authority by creating their own video examples, articulating new approaches and building followers online.
- Stay prepared – No, you don’t have to be paranoid and constantly prepping for a crisis (though that can be useful too), but savvy PR pros need to understand their industry, the players, what’s going on and what macro events can impact industry dynamics.
- Know your opponent – Whether your PR career is centered on working with causes, people or products, it’s important to understand the competitive landscape and what sets your work apart.
- Build a strong network – Strong PR professionals have good, up-to-date working networks of people to call, including the media, with whom they can work with to get things done and communicate messages.
- Manage people – Each day, PR staff interact with people at many levels, from their own bosses and the teams they supervise to the people at multiple levels within their client organizations and also those working in various ways in the media and other external audiences. Good managers are able to communicate effectively with all levels in an organization, and give the right message/tone to the right audience at the right time.
- Appear sincere – Someone with really strong political skills won’t appear to have any such skills at all. Character traits like being genuine, authentic, straightforward and effective are all associated with being politically savvy and leaders who are not politically skilled come off as manipulative or self-serving.
- “Practice influence” – I didn’t invent this phrase, but I like it. It means showing good judgment about when to assert yourself. For example, while you may be powerful within some groups and could easily throw your weight around to get what you want, that isn’t always the politically expedient way to go.
- Create change – Many of us get by in PR by being great at executing the first nine of these skills, but the most expert among us understand how to create effective PR programs that “move the dial” to achieve desired changes in audience behaviors.
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.
Women, it turns out, have different definitions of what it means to succeed. Citi and LinkedIn recently put out a study that looks at women’s goals as they relate to careers and relationships. And while you might expect that marriage and children would factor pretty heavily into “having it all” for women, 36% of those surveyed said that marriage wasn’t a factor, and 26% said having children wasn’t part of the equation for success.
Rather than marriage and kids, the women studied put more weight into having a healthy relationship (married or otherwise) as well as being financially secure as part of their journey to success. These were the main points women assessed to determine their success:
- Having a strong, loving relationship (96%)
- Financial security (85%)
- Raising healthy and happy kids (73%)
- An enjoyable job where they feel valued (64%)
And good news: a full 96% believe they can achieve everything they want both personally and professionally. It’s nice to see that women are confident about their futures. It goes to show that we’re no longer daunted by our gender or education level when it comes to achieving our dreams.
Does Age Matter?
Something I found interesting in this study was how the answers differed depending on how old the women were. Women under 35 were twice as likely to identify climbing the corporate ladder to the top with their definition of having it all, while women over 35 looked to owning a business as their goal. I wonder what those 35+ers would have answered had they taken this survey 10 or 20 years prior.
Helping You Have It All
If you’re like the majority of the women that were surveyed, you’re working toward having it all yourself. How about a little help?
Citi and LinkedIn want to help you achieve your own goals, and to that end, they have provided me with 8-month LinkedIn Premium Memberships to giveaway to five lucky winners.
LinkedIn Premium Memberships offer tons more features than the standard membership, like:
- Allow you to contact people outside your network
- Add personal notes to your profile
- InMail (LinkedIn’s email system)
- Priority customer service
Essentially, the Premium Membership helps you connect more easily to other professionals through the social networking site, which can aid you in finding a new job, getting a promotion, or identifying new vendor relationships.
How to Win
To enter the giveaway, leave a comment stating what “having it all” means to you. Share your vision with us for a chance to win. Make sure you leave me with a way to contact you if you win!
You can also get an extra entry by joining the Connect LinkedIn group. After joining it, come back to this post and leave another comment saying you joined.
This giveaway is open until Monday, October 22, 2012 . Winners will be selected at random and contacted on October 23, 2012.
Work/Life Balance and “having it all” are big topics these days. We’re in a constant struggle to figure out how to work and have a life. Entrepreneurs can’t get away from their businesses, and employees are too busy working their way up and meeting the jobs demands. Setting some good habits early in your career will help you tremendously down the road.
This is When Your Mold Sets
If you are working your first job, you begin the process of forming habits you’ll keep (and maybe try to break) for the rest of your work life. So if you dive in to work, racking up 60+ hour workweeks with little breathing room for yourself now, you’ll find it difficult to step back for a breather down the road. And if your boss sees you operating on all cylinders, anything less may make her think you’re slacking. Your job may require you to be around during certain hours – focus during that time. Scheduling your work activities may give you the focus you need to get your job done in a reasonable amount of time.
Make Friends Outside of Work
While it’s certainly easiest to bond with the people you work with after hours, it might not be the best thing for you to disconnect. You’ll find yourself complaining about your boss or going into detail about a project when you could be unwinding, thinking about life besides work. It’s fine to have friends at work, but strive to balance them with friends who work elsewhere, and who don’t work in your industry. You’ll find other things to talk about, and you can leave work in the office.
Find Hobbies
Even if you’re passionate about your new job, it’s important to find other activities to fill your life. Take up a sport, read a book, travel…whatever piques your interest. But having interests outside of work can help you feel steady and not so stressed when things get tough on the job. Be Less Available Smart phones, social networks, and laptops make us more available than ever before. We’ve gotten into all sorts of terribly annoying habits (in my opinion): eating while checking email, Facebooking while in the bathroom, and texting while in catching up over coffee. Stop sending and responding to unimportant emails while on your own time. This helps set parameters early on with your boss and coworkers.
Get It Off Your Chest…Then Move On
It’s only natural that you want to come home and vent about your day to your partner or friends. And it’s fine to do so, but get it out and then forget about it. Harping on your work day can turn off those around you, and it won’t serve you well either.
Why You Should Care
You’ll spend the majority of your life working, so the better you can balance what’s happening in your job and what you do in your personal downtime, the happier you’ll be in the long run. One of the most common issue I hear about from people who want to make a change or important factors in considering a new company has to do with their work/life priorities.
For some more interesting resources on work-life balance, check out some of our previous posts.
My US News & World Report post: 9 Tips for Work-Life Balance
Alison Kenney’s Finding Work Life Balance in PR
This is a guest post by Sam Peters.
In an uncertain economy, people are looking for employment in fields that are stable. They need careers rather than temporary jobs. They desire jobs that pay a living wage so that they can afford homes, cars and other things that are needed and wanted. However, to qualify for that type of employment requires an education.
Fortunately, the Internet offers many courses for people who want to begin or advance in their present careers. Many opportunities are available, and you should consider preparing for a career that you believe will be rewarding and enjoyable throughout life. Every person has a desire to serve in a meaningful service that is suited to his personality and talent, and he or she can prepare for it in less than a year.
Advantages of Becoming a Pharmacy Technician
Pharmacy technicians are employed by drugstores, nursing homes, hospitals and government. Qualified technicians enjoy job security and receive periodic pay increases. Since technicians work in pharmacies, their working conditions are among the best.
Although there are exceptions, starting salaries are about $30,000 a year. This salary range qualifies as a living wage in an uncertain economy. Since prescription drugs are essential to the nation’s health, pharmacy technicians should remain among the most stable careers.
How Do You Become a Certified Pharmacy Technician?
The basic requirements are a high school diploma and passing the Pharmacy Technician Certification Examination. There are other requirements involving character and ethical standards, but the major task is passing the certification exam.
Where Do You Get the Training?
The most convenient way to get your certification is through a Pharmacy Technician Certification Online Course. You may find classes for adults who are full-time employees, or you may choose a class that treats you as a full-time student. In either case, online classes will let you progress at your own pace.
Since the objective of any training is to prepare you to pass the certification examination, you should select the course on the basis of its curriculum. To do this, you can search the Internet for sample examinations. Compare the content of the examination with the course requirements of the online school. Try to determine the intensity of the content of the examination with the intensity of the curriculum.
You should also notice if the schools offers externships. Externships offer practice in what class theory has taught, and the material learned is made practical.
Pharmacy technician certification is a career with job security that offers a good income. Passing the certification examination is the only requirement, and a good online school can prepare you for the examination in less than a year. You should choose the school that will best prepare you for the examination by comparing course content, externships and other technology.
However, you should constantly review the sample tests so that you know what knowledge those in the profession consider important.
Sam Peters is a blogger who enjoys writing about career development.
This is a guest post by Alison Kenney.
Lately fact checkers have been making news, not just editing it. Between journalistic mistakes and plagiaries and politicians’ false claims, it’s been a busy season for editorial staff and professional fact checking organizations.
So what can we learn from the cries of “foul” in the name of truthiness?
First of all, did you know that fact-checking is controversial? As Andrew Beaujon writes for Poynter Online, conservative critics call news organizations’ fact-checking efforts a cover for expressing their liberal biases. And Neil Newhouse, who heads the Romney campaign, was quoted as saying, “Fact checkers come to this with their own sets of thoughts and beliefs, and we’re not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact checkers.”
It’s hard to resist the chance to spread your message, (even if you know it’s false). As this article in The Week points out, “After George H.W. Bush tarred Walter Mondale’s campaign with a damaging but made-up quote in a 1984 debate, Bush’s press secretary was blunt: “You can say anything you want during a debate, and 80 million people hear it”; when newspapers point out the lies, “So what?” he said. “Maybe 200 people read it, or 2,000, or 20,000.”
However, social media is changing the notion that corrections won’t be seen and heard by many. As Gerard Bush writes in this Huffington Post article, social media channels lit up with comments poking at the truth and intent behind recent political statements. And, as Matthew Ingram points out on GigaOM, while social media channels may be good for spreading rumors, they’ve also become reliable spots for crowd-sourced fact checking.
There’s fact-checking and then there’s interpreting. In her interview with Rep. Peter King (R-NY), Soledad O’Brien challenges the notion that President Obama led an “apology tour.” O’Brien points to transcripts of Obama’s foreign speeches and King acknowledges at the end of the interview that Obama’s actions were interpreted as apologizing for past foreign policies despite his never actually apologizing.
A picture is worth a thousand words. Speakers may take more risks with their statements in audio and video speeches than they would in written editorials. Not only is the format looser and faster, but what is said is not the only thing the audience is capturing. How the speech is delivered and how the speaker looks while speaking also contribute to the audience’s impression.
Consider your spokesperson. Many viewers agree that Bill Clinton hit a home run with his speech at the DNC, but consider if the same talk had been given by someone else. Who else could have delivered a point-by-policy-point rebuttal speech, talked for half an hour longer than planned and sounded credible and authoritative throughout?
It’s important to back up your statements, especially if you’re introducing a new concept. Just take a look at some of the most commonly used phrases in press releases: “industry leading,” “unique,” “innovative,” and even “new.” They’re so common and so widely used that we may not stop to think about whether they are legitimate.
Your story is bigger than you are. So you’ve presented your story and checked it for accuracy, but have you thought about what’s not in your story? Chances are your audience will. Skepticism reigns and audiences crave context. Alternative views allow them to see your message within the bigger picture.
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.
Companies want to hire applicants who demonstrate superior social skills and network contacts, especially in business, marketing and sales. Social networks allow people to network effectively within their industry and leverage media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to complement their efforts to find better jobs. The best social media efforts enhance job searches, but applicants still need to follow traditional job-search methods to increase their chances of finding suitable job openings.
The social media allow applicants to study potential employers, connect with current and former employees, and learn about company brands. People can find out the details about organizations that companies prefer to keep hidden. Former employees often see things quite differently than corporate media outlets describe. Job seekers can find out whether they really fit the company’s profile before committing to time-consuming application processes or jobs that hold little promise for the future.
Strategy for leveraging the social media includes approaching all social media posting and interacting in a professional way, staying focused on the goals job seekers want to achieve. People seeking to make career changes should first polish their resumes and change their social media profiles to match that information. This technique does not involve exaggeration or lying, but simply exercising discretion to include only those interests that companies would perceive as benefits. For example, if a company has a conservative reputation, then job seekers should avoid listing personal information that suggests liberal leanings.
Networking with other professionals within an industry helps develop contacts for employment and personal references, and job seekers can strengthen their reputations as experts in their given fields. Most dynamic organizations use social media for marketing and research, so people who take part in the networks with strong media presences show potential employers that candidates care about their images and have essential media savvy they could use in their jobs if hired.
Remember that serious recruiters also use the social media to investigate potential employees, so job seekers should avoid posting information that could prove embarrassing or compromising. Bullhorn Reach recruiting techniques offer software that helps employers find and recruit talent, and careful companies can monitor their employees’ social activity, personal brand choices, and other online activity. Strong social media presences in certain industries could lead to companies recruiting job seekers, so applicants should always keep their social activity within the bounds of good taste.
Social media research allows applicants to create focused, relevant resumes and cover letters that highlight the qualifications particular companies are seeking. Savvy job seekers cannot afford to ignore the important influence social media have on modern business.
This is a guest post from Sam Peters, a blogger who enjoys writing about career development.
Over on the Paradigm Staffing blog, I interviewed two tech PR agencies about their strategies for employee retention. From Employee Stock Purchase options and cherry picked office spaces where everyone has parking, to non-negotiable, must-have reviews and cash paid Trivia days, two leading technology PR agencies talk about their ideas on how to keep talent. Read it here: How PR Agencies Retain Employees in a Competitive Job Market
You dream of landing the perfect job at a public relations agency, working with the most interesting clients in the industry and getting them all sorts of public recognition. I’m always amazed at how some PR pros are brilliant at their jobs, but when it comes to selling themselves in a job interview, they crumble. Where did that confident, over-achieving, media rockstar go? Apply some media relations 101 rules on your job search will help pitch yourself as the perfect fit for your next job.
- Do Your Homework. It gets tiring sending cover letter after cover letter. You’ll be tempted to just use a template and be done with it. But spending just a little time digging into the company you want to work for will pay off. For starters, it’s impressive because you have already set yourself apart from 90% of the applications the company receives. Unfortunately, most people try to shortcut the job search. Making a tiny mention in your cover letter that shows you’ve read through the company’s website, blog, or recent news can show the hiring manager that you put thought into your letter, and that you really are interested in working for this company.
- Know Who You’re Pitching. Sometimes those “Dear Hiring Manager” generic openings are unavoidable, but if you do a little research (see #1), you may be able to get the name of the person who’s interviewing for the role you want. Look on the company’s site, and call if you need to in order to get this information.
- Customize Your Pitch. Both your cover letter and your resume should be tweaked slightly for each PR job you apply for. One might look for industry-specific experience, while another may want someone with a wider depth of experience. Play to what they’re looking for, and highlight your skills to match. If you are agency-side, a quick blurb about each client you represent helps set the tone and show how you are the security software PR expert they are looking for. Don’t make the reader think too much to connect the dots.
- Hesitate Before Sending an Attachment. Not everyone wants attachments. Read through the job description carefully to see whether it mentions how the hiring manager would prefer to receive resumes. If you have an online link to your resume, include it in the cover letter.
- Proofread! Nothing looks sloppier than grammatical errors in your resume or cover letter. Everyone in the world must know this rule by now. Yet I’d say at least half of the applications I receive have some glaring issue. Go over each carefully, and ask a friend to do so as well, to ensure its perfection. Then, just like with a PR pitch, follow up. Give it a few days once you’ve submitted your application, and then check in to see when the hiring manager expects to make a decision.
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.
