I recently attended a Young Professional's Network event in Chicago. The workshop focused on helping young professionals display proper professional conduct in the workplace.
A large segment of the worksphop dealt with the recent phenomenon of social networking sites and their effect on the workplace. The speaker, Sarah Laggos of DePaul University, noted that companies are increasingly paying attention to social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Survey results revealed at the workshop showed that almost all young professionals use at least one of these sites, with many using multiple ones. Clearly they play an important role in both the social and professional lives of young professionals. But do these sites have a downside to them?
Ms. Laggos made a point of advising the audience at the workshop to be careful in using social networking sites. Before hiring a candidate, many companies search them out on the internet to get a better picture of exactly who they may be hiring. Pictures, friends, and status updates are all thoroughly searched.
During the workshop, an audience member from Ketchum PR Firm noted how his company had been in damage control after a top executive made some less than flattering comments about the city of Memphis on his twitter account. A simple status update caused negative publicity for the entire company.
Social networking sites have great social and professional benefits, but can also hurt young professionals if they have loads of objectionable material on them. So before you start sending out resumes, do yourself a favor remove those pictures of you partying it up at a local DeKalb hotspot.
-Tim Michigan
Monday, February 23, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
DePaul/Valparaiso Regional Activity
DePaul and Valparaiso Universities hosted a PRSSA regional activity in Chicago on Friday, February 20th. The regional activity consisted of a keynote speaker, three workshops, a job/internship fair specifically for PR, a panel of guest speakers and a social at Dave and Busters.
Five students from NIU's chapter traveled to Chicago for the day to attend. We actually, like the over-achievers we are, were the first to arrive at 8:15 am. Once everybody was there at 10 am, we went off to the large auditorium and Cheryl Procter-Rogers presented her keynote address.
Cheryl Procter-Rogers was the past president of PRSA and is a senior consultant at A Step Ahead Public Relations. She spoke to PRSSA members about building credibility, expanding out networks and finding a mentor (Three VERY important things for students to learn about).
Next we went into three different professional development workshops; resume building and critiquing, interviewing skills and building a portfolio. All three of the workshops were hosted by members of a PR firm or group, which was extremely beneficial to those who attended because we were able to receive insider tips on the correct ways of building a resume, interviewing skills and portfolio how-to's.
We were able to have about an hour and a half lunch break and then moved onto the PR job and internship fair. There were over 20 different companies represented at the fair including Edelman, Fleishman-Hillard, Inc., Golin Harris, Ketchum, The San Jose Group, Weber Shandwick, SET Magazine, etc.
Once the internship and job fair was finished, we able went upstairs to have dinner (with the best salad ever!) and then went back into the auditorium to listen to the "Taste of PR" Panel. The panel consisted of Dave Prichard at Corn Products International, Lauren Peterson with Principal (a PR and marketing company), Brooke Gabbert, Public Relations Manager at Six Flags Great America, Delores Robinson, Assistant Director of Public Relations at MPEA (where Scott Winterroth works), Jeff Borchardt with ADS Fundraising and Kelly Jo Golson with Advocate Health Care. They were able to give everyone insight and valuable tips for going into this job market after graduation.
Lastly, the social was at Dave and Buster's in Chicago and we were one of the only schools that showed up! It was a good opportunity however, because we were able to network with some of the younger professionals in the PR industry and the national committee for PRSSA.
The regional activity was well worth the money spent and long hours down in the city. We were able to network, network, network, gain some insider tips of resumes, interviewing and portfolios and also were able to communicate and hand in our resumes with PR firms downtown.
-Michele Westergaard
Five students from NIU's chapter traveled to Chicago for the day to attend. We actually, like the over-achievers we are, were the first to arrive at 8:15 am. Once everybody was there at 10 am, we went off to the large auditorium and Cheryl Procter-Rogers presented her keynote address.
Cheryl Procter-Rogers was the past president of PRSA and is a senior consultant at A Step Ahead Public Relations. She spoke to PRSSA members about building credibility, expanding out networks and finding a mentor (Three VERY important things for students to learn about).
Next we went into three different professional development workshops; resume building and critiquing, interviewing skills and building a portfolio. All three of the workshops were hosted by members of a PR firm or group, which was extremely beneficial to those who attended because we were able to receive insider tips on the correct ways of building a resume, interviewing skills and portfolio how-to's.
We were able to have about an hour and a half lunch break and then moved onto the PR job and internship fair. There were over 20 different companies represented at the fair including Edelman, Fleishman-Hillard, Inc., Golin Harris, Ketchum, The San Jose Group, Weber Shandwick, SET Magazine, etc.
Once the internship and job fair was finished, we able went upstairs to have dinner (with the best salad ever!) and then went back into the auditorium to listen to the "Taste of PR" Panel. The panel consisted of Dave Prichard at Corn Products International, Lauren Peterson with Principal (a PR and marketing company), Brooke Gabbert, Public Relations Manager at Six Flags Great America, Delores Robinson, Assistant Director of Public Relations at MPEA (where Scott Winterroth works), Jeff Borchardt with ADS Fundraising and Kelly Jo Golson with Advocate Health Care. They were able to give everyone insight and valuable tips for going into this job market after graduation.
Lastly, the social was at Dave and Buster's in Chicago and we were one of the only schools that showed up! It was a good opportunity however, because we were able to network with some of the younger professionals in the PR industry and the national committee for PRSSA.
The regional activity was well worth the money spent and long hours down in the city. We were able to network, network, network, gain some insider tips of resumes, interviewing and portfolios and also were able to communicate and hand in our resumes with PR firms downtown.
-Michele Westergaard
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Political Scandal
Everyone knows that in what looks to be political scandals there are two issues that confront the politician: the legal side and the public perception of the events.
Amidst Illinois' new Senator Roland Burris' new political trouble's in what the press believe to be conflicting affidavits regarding his involvement with former Governor Blago, how would a PR representative guide Senator Burris through a difficult press time to create credibility and a rapport between himself and the press as he gears up for a difficult 2010 re-election.
-Jessica
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Can't buy your friends...
As I was browsing the PRSA Issues and Trends for February 10th, a story caught my eye.
According to a marketing website in the United Kingdom, Twitter will be charging those who use the social networking cite for "commercial" purposes.
Do you think it is right for Twitter to charge for the use of the cite? Or should Twitter be allowed to charge the companies for uses beyond social networking?
Let us know your thoughts!
-Virginia McCoy
According to a marketing website in the United Kingdom, Twitter will be charging those who use the social networking cite for "commercial" purposes.
Do you think it is right for Twitter to charge for the use of the cite? Or should Twitter be allowed to charge the companies for uses beyond social networking?
Let us know your thoughts!
-Virginia McCoy
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Importance of Networking!
Networking is critical for a successful communicator. A great network of contacts can help a practitioner land a new job or learn new skills. While the word “networking” frequently appears discussions about public relations, how to network is a mystery to many. What is effective networking? How can students learn to successfully network? (PRSSA Website)
-As a member of PRSSA you are given many opportunities to network including regional activities, PRSA dinners, YPN (Young Professionals Networking), Firm Visits, Guest Speakers, etc. You should definitely take advantage of all of these opportunities now while the time is HOT! This is the vital time our lives to be talking to and making networks with people that already working in the PR industry!
Just in case you don't believe me, here is a little fun fact from http://www.careercast.com:
A survey of more than 1500 successful job hunters shows that 63% found new positions by tapping their networks of friends, family members, acquaintances and anyone else who would help. In comparison, only 11% found jobs by answering ads, and just 2% by sending unsolicited resumes to company recruiters, reports a New York-based career consulting firm.So I say try it out, let me know what you think about networking!
-Michele Westergaard
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)