This is a post by PR columnist, Alison Kenney.

Working in PR can be stressful. [Case in point: once again, PR made the ‘most stressful jobs’ list.] As PR professionals, we are providing a service to our clients or managers, and like other service providers, our work must cater to these clients. PR work is also opportunistic – meaning we have to stay on our toes, since opportunities can arise at any time.  The folks at MediaBistro’s PRNewser have five more reasons why PR is so darn stressful.

Sometimes the work we do is for a great cause – or our work gives us great satisfaction. However, most PR professionals (like other working professionals) seek “balance” between their work in public relations and other parts of their lives. How do we balance this stressful work with other demands and interests in our lives? Here are several approaches:

Forget the word “balance” – Really, it’s unrealistic to literally balance your time and spend an equal number of hours at work and at personal activities. Instead, experts at WorkLifeBalance.com advocate focusing on achievement and enjoyment. Their definition of Work-Life balance is “meaningful daily achievement and enjoyment in each of the four life quadrants: work, family, friends and self.” Is this attainable? In an online interview, author Aliza Sherman said, “Stop using the word ‘balance.’ My co-author Danielle Smith and I like to say that ‘balance is a mythical bar that we hold over our own heads, and just when we think we’re getting close, someone moves that bar.’” Sherman prefers the word ‘juggle’ and says, “As moms with businesses, we juggle. We can’t be at 100% as a mom or as a business owner at the same time. We have to give ourselves a break, forgive ourselves for not being ‘perfect.’ It isn’t about balance, it isn’t about perfection, it is about doing our best and having the conversations at home to create the system that works for us.”

Just Do It – Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg made headlines (again) when she revealed that she leaves the office at 5:30 pm every day. We know PR is stressful (see above) and it can be tough to carve out personal time when the phone is ringing, but it’s also easier to do if you set a routine and make your schedule a habit.

Listen to your inner Buddha – Lori Deschene who blogs at Tiny Buddha offers these 6 tips for creating work/life balance so that we allow ourselves “sufficient time to create [our dreams] – while also allowing space for relaxation, spontaneity, connection, and the simple act of being.”

Take care of yourself – Exercise can help eliminate the negative effects of stress. It’s also a great way to clear your head for better decision-making. Although it can be tough to get started and/or to make time for regular exercise, investing in your health is truly the most important reason.

Learn from others – Is there someone you know who epitomizes work/life balance and seems to “have it all”? If so, take that person out for a coffee and ask them how they do it. Find a work/life balance mentor and build your own support network in the process.

Set boundaries – We’re really talking about time here, and how we spend our daily 24 hours. In order to reap the most achievement and enjoyment from those hours, we have to learn to say no to some things so that we can focus on and prioritize other activities.

Evaluate your work life balance – Measurement is a favorite topic in PR. Like some PR campaign objectives, our work/life balance goals can be tough to measure. Start by charting your accomplishments; don’t just look at what’s left on your to-do list – be sure to note the successes.

Any other tips for balance PR work with the rest of life?

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.

It’s a circular argument: you need experience to get the job, yet you can’t get experience without the job! But these days, it’s perfectly possible to take your portfolio of work into your own hands. Content creation is abound, and if you’re not taking the incentive to gain experience on your own terms, you will be less likely to get hired for the job you want.

1. Write a Blog
It literally takes minutes to set up a blog and start writing. And since blogs are a great way to demonstrate not only your writing skills, but also your ideas, employers can get a great sense of you as a person and employee by reading your blog.

You don’t need to be the industry’s most-read blogger. It’s not your popularity that really even matters. Simply written good content on professional and industry topics and sharing the link in your job application can help hiring managers could give you an edge.

What to write about:

• Your take on your industry
• Opinion pieces on industry news
• Link to other industry blogs and comment on the topics

2. Press Releases
For PR professionals, the press release is the quintessential tool for the trade. But if you only wrote a couple of releases in college for your Comm class, you might feel like you don’t have an adequate hand on writing them.

Reach out to charities and nonprofits and let them know you’re looking to build your portfolio. Offer your services (free of charge) to write press releases for their news. It’s more impressive when you’ve got releases that are found online, so collect links to your press releases for your virtual portfolio.

3. Case Studies
Case studies are a great way to show you’re paying attention to how your industry helps companies. Create a case study from anywhere you’ve worked, interned, volunteered, or attended (school) that demonstrates areas you want to work in. For example, maybe you interned at a PR firm, though you didn’t get to dabble much in the publicity side. You could still create a case study about a client (leave names out of it) who saw an increase in visibility, thanks to the firm’s efforts.

4. Articles
There are literally hundreds — if not thousands — of magazines, newspapers and websites clamoring for content. Sometimes they can’t afford to pay, so they’re perfect for you as a beginner to pitch an article. Get to know the audience, and try for one that has a focus in the industry you want to work in. Come up with a unique story idea and sell it to the editor. Then keep the link or physical cutout for your portfolio.

Whether you write these samples for yourself, volunteer at a nonprofit or intern at a company, they’re a great way to show a potential employer that you take initiative to overcome that circle of no-experience-no-job.

Photo credit: Kunal Patel

This is a post by PR columnist, Alison Kenney.

I’ll admit it’s been a long time since I was an intern, but frequently I talk to PR students who are starting their careers and the topic invariably comes up. In fact, these days it’s just about unheard of to work in PR without first having at least one internship. Internships provide real-world experience that can help candidates stand out in PR job interviews and help interns build their professional network.

Since internships are so common now, there are a lot more formal processes in place for them too — particularly at big PR agencies. For instance, if you’re planning on applying for an internship for the summer, you need to get to work now. Most agencies start accepting applications right after winter break, and by May they’ve selected and signed on their interns for the summer. A typical agency internship lasts 8 weeks, after which most interns either: a) go back to school; b) are offered a full-time position at the agency; or c) look for another internship or job.

One trend I’ve noticed is that more recent college graduates are applying for internships rather than full-time entry-level positions – even if they’ve already built up PR experience with other internships during college. I think that reasons for this trend could include:

• The perception that the only way to be hired for an entry-level job at a big agency is to first work there as an intern.
• Students who want to work in a new city, i.e. not the one their college is located in, feel that they need to make new connections in that area.
• Studying PR in school exposes students to a broad range of practices and some still aren’t sure what they want to focus on in their careers by the time they graduate. Internships are a way to get practical experience that will also help them narrow or select their career path.
• The economy is still in poor condition and the PR job market is still tight so new graduates are scaling back their expectations and aiming for intern-level positions instead of entry-level jobs

The economy may also have had a hand in the increase in unpaid internships in recent years. Some industries, such as the music and film industries, rely on unpaid interns and can offer valuable experience or connections in lieu of pay. While some unpaid internships can be categorized as educational and may even qualify the intern for school credit, if the work is menial it violates federal law not to pay the intern and several states are cracking down on this practice.

Legal or not, unpaid internships exist. Kent State University professor Bill Sledzik offers this summary of the pros and cons of both paid and unpaid internships.

Lauren Berger, founder of InternQueen.com, has had positive experiences with her unpaid internships at organizations such as MTV, Fox, BWR Public Relations and NBC. She says, “Unpaid internships can be the best experiences of your life. They were the best experiences of my life. They should be just as valuable as paid opportunities. Remember, unpaid internships should be only 12-15 hours per week. You can manage a part-time job, internship and school at the same time.”

She also comments on virtual internships, “Virtual internships can be amazing opportunities as well. A virtual internship means you work from home instead of from an actual office. Normally, virtual interns communicate with employees via Skype, texting, phone and email. Try to look for a virtual internship with structured hours.”

Want to weigh in on your intern experience?

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.

This is a post by PR columnist, Alison Kenney.

On a special web page devoted to ethics, PRSA has this to say,

“The practice of public relations can present unique and challenging ethical issues. At the same time, protecting integrity and the public trust are fundamental to the profession’s role and reputation. Bottom line, successful public relations hinges on the ethics of its practitioners.”

With that in mind, consider these situations:

PR professional and former Boston Globe editor Doug Bailey recently wrote an expose for Boston Magazine on working as the Boston Red Sox’s PR resource that revealed several behind-the-scenes and not-so-flattering vignettes about team members and owners. When questioned if he had abused one of PRSA’s recommendations that PR professionals should “safeguard the confidences and privacy rights of clients and employees,” Bailey responded, “A fair question. But there must be a statute of limitations plus these are cocktail party stories.”

When I first heard that Nancy Assuncao, the PR representative for Paula Deen, had talked to the New York Post about why, in good conscious, she could no longer serve as Deen’s representative, I was disturbed by her airing her work-related dirty laundry so publicly. In taking an ethical stand, Assuncao seemed to violate the PRSA ethical code guideline, to “Act in the best interest of clients or employers.” I won’t argue with the questionable strategy and timing Deen displayed in announcing her diabetes and subsequent endorsement of the diabetes drug from Novo Nordisk. If Assuncao knew about Deen’s diabetes (which some sources say Deen knew about for the past three years) and continued to promote Deen’s unhealthy style of cooking, then she was violating the PRSA code guideline, “Decline representation of clients requiring actions contrary to the Code.”

Personally I think parody tweeters can be funny and entertaining, but when do they cross the line? Did the actions of @BPGlobalPR on Twitter violate PRSA’s transparency code of ethics? Usually it’s when they’re unmasked and found to be a competitor of the person or brand being skewered -  for instance it was revealed that a senior advisor for Senator Scott Brown (R, MA) was sending disparaging tweets under the handle @CrazyKhazei (Alan Khazei was Brown’s Democratic rival) and he was called out for those actions by PRSA.

Last month Elizabeth Filkin released a report on her investigation of the relationships between Britain’s Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World. Among her findings came recommendations for PR professionals not to flirt with the media. Hmm…uh…now you’ve got me. PRSA certainly doesn’t disagree with Filkin’s advice…

What do you think? Are there shades of gray when it comes to PR ethics?

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.

Want to know reporters’ pet peeves about working with PR people?

No?

Me neither!

But attend any panel session that includes members of the media and the question ALWAYS comes up.

At first the reporter will get a look on his or her face like, “oh, wow, where do I begin?” Then they’ll start off answering the question in a nice way, “well, it’s helpful if the PR person who is contacting me has a relationship with me, or has maybe even read my work and can reference that in the pitch.” But then they get warmed up and watch out! Soon you’ll all be chuckling over the crazy things PR people do when they are pitching stories.

Why do we do this to ourselves?

Most reporters don’t start out spouting off about how annoying PR people are (notice I said “most”) – it’s the PR people who ask them this question. I suppose we ask it because we have an inner desire to do better, or maybe it’s to ingratiate ourselves to the media. I also suppose it’s a PR rite of passage of sorts in which every junior PR person must be exposed to hearing first-hand the rantings of the “other side” and have their blinders removed, so to speak.

But it seems to me that the answers are always astoundingly basic and are only exposing the mistakes of moronic individuals or of a few bad apples.

The two annoyances that come up most frequently when the media is asked this question have to do with follow up calls (either calling when reporters are on deadline or following up excessively) and receiving pitches that are completely off the mark. So do your homework, folks, and understand who you’re pitching and their position with the media outlet, as well as how they work, including their deadlines.

Are we that masochistic?

Are PR pros using their voyeuristic gene to focus on all the bad examples in the industry? How else to explain the popular and authoritative Bad Pitch Blog? Or the site’s efforts, as well as Gawker’s, to “improve the PR industry through ridicule”?  Or the viral path that PR screw-ups have taken recently, such as when a BrandLink VP failed miserably in pitching the Bloggess?

It’s gotten to the point that the industry has started debating the value of publicly outing bad pitches, like Arik Hanson does in his post, Are We Helping or Hurting by Blogging About PR Flameouts?

This doesn’t happen in other industries

Can you imagine a group of lawyers asking a judge about what courtroom behavior is the most vexing? Or scientists asking the FDA for tips on speeding up drug approvals?

Of course there’s a difference between “peeving” someone and royally mucking up a brand’s reputation. In any industry, the latter could cost you your job. But, in our industry, the consensus seems to be that there’s value in talking about what not to do.

Do you agree? Disagree?

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.

It’s that time of year…when families gather for the holidays lots of things can happen. Those of us in the PR profession have more than likely experienced at least a couple awkward conversations about our work with family members who don’t quite understand PR. Since I’ve already blogged about my family’s inability to understand what it means when I say I work in PR, I’ll focus this blog on the other awkward work-related conversation that inevitably comes up at this time of year: what happens when family members, or friends, ask for your PR help.

Now, don’t get me wrong — I know we all have family and friends who we’d do anything for, and many of us have benefited from the help and advice of family members. Yet sometimes these situations can get sticky.

Take, for example, situations like these:

• A family member is excited to work with you and promises to pay you for your time and expertise…but they have no idea what the cost of your service will be.
• A relative outlines an “opportunity” or “project” that you would never consider taking on if it came from someone who was not a family member.
• Friends dangle in-kind payback that is not at all enticing to you: “I’ll introduce you to all my poker buddies entrepreneur friends so they can call you when they need advertising PR advice.”
• No matter how expert you are, or how respected you are in your industry, when your great Aunt Ruth or your older brother need you, they know how to reach you and they know your personal soft spots and what to say to get you to do their bidding.
• You’re asked to get on board and help with publicity for a product or company that doesn’t exist yet. Maybe it’s more fun to talk about publicity than other business infrastructure issues, but these prospects are nowhere near the RFP stage. They don’t need PR right now; they need to find a manufacturer first.
• After you take on a project with an old friend (even though you knew better) and it ended up going way over the anticipated scope of work, they have the nerve to criticize the (pro bono) work you did. For years to come, they will continue to mutter about your inability to get them results.
• And the #1, most common request from friends and family: asking for your PR help for a product or company in an industry that is not related in any way to the career experience you’ve built over the years.
• Remember, there’s a big difference between doing business with your friends and becoming friends with the people you work with.

If you have any remaining doubt, I leave you with this funny org chart that can help you decide whether it makes sense to work with a family member: http://shouldiworkforfree.com/

.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.

If you’re starting your PR career search, you may be torn between wanting to work at a public relations agency or work in-house at a company. There are perks and drawbacks to both. Let’s dive in.

Working In-house
The nice thing about working in-house is that you get to really know a single industry. This gives you the chance to develop relationships internally with executive management and gain a deep understanding of a company, rather than flitting from field to field, the way you might at an agency.

You’ll likely work with people in different departments, like marketing, sales, finance and HR, which can expose you to a lot of types of people and roles. You may also find more opportunity to gain experience in other aspects of communications and perhaps move into a very specialized communications role, such as employee communications, or switch departments completely. In an in-house PR role, you might feel you’ve got more vested in the company, and will want to help the brand succeed through your efforts.

On the other hand, depending on the size of your department and the support your company gets from any outside agencies, you may be pigeon-holed in your job with very specific duties and may never have the opportunity to dabble in events or many of the activities given to the agency, and that won’t help you appear well-rounded on your resume. And knowing everything there is to know about laser manufacturing might not be what you want out of life, so focusing on a single industry might not be what you’re looking for.

There’s a shine that comes from working at a PR agency, and it’s one you won’t feel working in a cubicle for an engineering company or healthcare facility. If you want excitement, diversity, and a non-stop, ever-changing environment, a private company might not live up to the challenge.

Working for a PR Agency
On the opposite side of the coin is the PR agency. One benefit is that an agency is an excellent training ground, and you will learn a variety of public relations skills that will be valuable wherever you go in the future. Plus, working with multiple clients gives you experience in a variety of industries. You can figure out which ones you like best. You’ll more than likely report into separate supervisors on each account, so you’ll have the opportunity to deal with different work styles and multiple managers’ expectations.

That shine I mentioned? It’s all yours. Depending on your industry speciality and clients, you might work with celebrities, attend galas or movie premieres, and get the chance to try out new products working for an agency.

Already thinking about your next career move? You’ll meet many people within an agency environment, extending your professional network, which will come in handy in the future.

On the converse, working with so many industries could give you only superficial knowledge of each, without any real depth that can help form your PR career or be considered a specialist in a chosen industry. You’ll have to work your way through the agency structure, starting at the bottom before you’ll have a chance to manage clients and get involved in the strategic work. Expect to work long hours and have plenty of stress working at an agency. You might not be able to work on what you want all the time, depending on your clients’ needs and changes with new (or lost) business.

Some people are more cut out for working in-house for a company, while others thrive in the high pressure of an agency. Where do you fall?

Photo credit: Richard Alan

Investor Relations
Public companies have investor relations departments. Usually, these departments are a subset of corporate communications or report into the CFO. Earnings releases, earnings forecasts, annual and quarterly reports and press announcements all fall under the IR department. You will likely be involved in setting up roadshows, where company executives talk to analysts about the health of their company and its stock, conference calls, where executives discuss quarterly earnings, and press announcements.

While you may not need an MBA to work in investor relations, a solid understanding of stocks and finance will help you tremendously. Communication skills and the ability to work hard under pressure, in a regulated environment and with tight deadlines are a must.

Look for jobs in this field if…you enjoy talking finances, mergers and acquisitions, and options.

Corporate Communications
Every company needs someone to write both internal and external communications, including letters, emails, memos, newsletters and promotional material. These days, a Communications Specialist may even handle social media communications. The goal in this niche is to keep all company communications consistent and professional.

You tend to see most openings with larger organizations and companies that need more centralized communications and messaging. In this role, you may be responsible for not only drafting the messaging mentioned above, but also writing press releases and arranging speaking engagements and press conferences.

Most hiring managers look for candidates with 4-year degrees in a communications field, like PR, communications, marketing, or journalism, as well as heavy writing experience. Being creative, fast on your feet and a good decision maker will help you score the job as well.

Look for jobs in this field if…you love writing and working for a large organization.

Community Relations
Creating community awareness of your employer would be your role in the Community Relations niche of PR. Corporations, non-profits, and governmental agencies employ Community Relations Specialists. Building strong relationships with individuals, other business and organizations, the Chamber of Commerce, local media, and government officials is key for this role to generate community awareness.

You may be required to organize community events and develop community outreach programs, in addition to creating buzz about them. You may organize volunteer programs and other community activities that increase employee involvement in the local community and assist with the planning and decision-making for the organization’s charitable contributions in the community.

A degree in PR or Communications is helpful when applying for jobs in Community Relations, public speaking and a solid grasp of social media.

Look for jobs in this field if…you love interacting with people and planning events.

This is a post by PR columnist, Alison Kenney.

What is going on? When did P.R. start meaning “please refrain”?

I mean, I’m used to hearing grouchy editors rag on P.R. tactics during their keynote speeches. I smile politely and wait to hear their advice on how best to pitch them if I really want to get coverage for my clients.

But what used to be a low background din has become a maelstrom of ill-will towards the P.R. profession.

The latest influential personality to rant against P.R. people is Forrester’s Josh Bernoff, whose biggest beef is the unsolicited emails he receives

Yes, Bernoff could ignore or delete those emails, but most likely he’s bothered by their persistence and is trying to do something about it. Apparently, just unsubscribing doesn’t always cut it, and sometimes there is no unsubscribe feature (such as on a press release). Which led me to wonder how P.R. firms get around the CAN-SPAM act? (Bernoff counters via Twitter that “It’s not clear that PR emails are covered by FTC. Plus, their CAN SPAM enforcement is weak. This is an ethical issue, not legal.”)

It also led me to wonder why unsolicited email is so offensive from P.R. people. I receive hundreds of unsolicited emails too — from sales people at a range of different firms. But I don’t post rants on each individual sender the way these folks do:

• Wired Magazine Editor in Chief Chris Anderson who started a trend in 2007 when he published a list of PR firms he was blocking from his email inbox:
• Michael Arrington who is legendary in his scathing disdain for P.R. and calls out P.R. people on an individual basis, e.g. Timothy Johnson and Lois Whitman
• Numerous bloggers posted about poor Beth Brody’s experience in promoting her client’s new book via email
• Gina Trapani has list of P.R. firms who spammed her and tips for using filters to block these folks from your own email
• And, of course, there’s Bad Pitch Blog which offers a snarky take on the inner workings of P.R. and frequently mocks those who use P.R. unskillfully.

So what do we do? Many folks chastise their comrades and take the “hey, we’re better than that” attitude. Some use it as a chance to kiss up to the cranky reporters with a “thanks for pointing that out.” PRSA tries to stay above the fray; it’s response to Josh Bernoff’s post “sounds like it was written by a P.R. professional” according to Bernoff (via Twitter).

What do you think? Is P.R. in need of some good P.R. for itself? If so, how is P.R. doing well and what are we doing right? Let’s start that conversation for a change.

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.

Post by PR columnist, Alison Kenney

More than ever before, PR is being chartered with generating our own content and not just shaping media content. As Fleishman-Hillard SVP Brad Mays says, “You are the Media.”  This emphasis on content has created a need for more content generators, and in some cases, the hiring of “corporate reporters.”

I asked Lindsay if this was indeed a hot trend. She says that although her firm hasn’t received searches that are specifically for corporate reporters, she has heard of many PR departments that are hiring writers and many of the communications directors searches she has going on are very focused on finding someone with strong content creation skills. HooJobs has had several content focused positions recently, including a content manager position.

Writing has always been a big part of the PR role and reporters have long been scaling the wall and joining the PR ranks. But I’m not talking about bringing journalistic skill sets to the PR field…I’m curious about whether the notion of hiring your own corporate reporter will take off.

I’ve found several interesting examples:

• Last Spring, Eloqua hired Jesse Noyes, a former reporter for the Boston Herald and Boston Business Journal, as a corporate reporter. Eloqua intends Noyes to create content that will inform, educate and entertain those in Eloqua’s market.
• The LA Kings made Rich Hammond, who has covered the Kings for the past decade and previously wrote for the Los Angeles Daily News, its in-house reporter, in order to, in his words, provide “better, more comprehensive Kings coverage than ever before.”
• In 2008, Miller Brewing Co. hired a corporate reporter, James Arndorfer, to write Brew Blog, which was intended to be less of a corporate blog and more of a news-oriented source of fresh content.  Brew Blog shut down less than six months later, but not until Arndorfer famously (well, famously in the sense that it was reported in the Wall Street Journal) broke the news that Anheuser Busch would be announcing a new brew – before A-B or the trade press had a chance to report the story.
• Cisco retains an A-List stable of freelance writers, including Bill Bulkely, Elizabeth Corcoran, Jason Deign, John Dodge and Marc Gunther, to write and report for its news@cisco page.
• In addition to the value that journalists bring to the PR department, there are all sorts of implications and opportunities for missteps when hiring a corporate reporter. Exhibit A: Chevron hired a reporter to tell its side of a story on rain forest contamination and pre-empt an expose on 60 Minutes.

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.

Image credit: sskennel