Tag: professional development

Meet Anna, Clairemont Intern

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From Pre-Med to PR

As a freshman, I came to college with a lot of uncertainty in regards to what I wanted to spend the next four years of my life studying. I thought for sure, however, that my degree would be in the field of science. Perhaps I would earn a Bachelor of Science in biology with plans to go to nursing school, medical school or dental school. Four years later, I’m a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill majoring in advertising with a minor in cognitive science. What happened, you ask?

The Transformation

After taking an introductory biology course paired with a lab and a statistics course my first semester, I soon realized that science wasn’t for me. I learned the hard way that college level science courses were a bit more advanced than the standard high school curriculum. Hoping to find a subject I was passionate about, I spent the following semesters taking various classes to fulfill my general education requirements. I found psychology interesting and picked up a cognitive science minor along the way. By the end of my sophomore year, I still wasn’t sure what vocation I wanted to pursue. Naturally, I was confused and began to panic.

Soon after, I walked into academic advising to declare my major to advertising through the UNC-CH School of Media and Journalism on a whim, not having taken a single class within the discipline. I heard great things about the program and the professors, but I simply hoped for the best.

The Transformed

The rest was history, and the best came. I have highly enjoyed all of the courses I have taken and the skills I’ve gained during my time as a journalism student. From working with Cartier in a creative advertising course to traveling to China on a global immersion program to learn about how the advertising, PR and journalism industries function in a communist country, the experiences I have gained will prove useful in all of my future career endeavors.

Not only do I have my professors to thank but also my internship opportunities that have provided me with real-world experience within the advertising, PR and marketing industries. As an intern at Clairemont Communications, I hope to expand upon my knowledge in the PR industry by working closely with clients to help them achieve their business goals. From creating social media campaigns to delivering media pitches and assisting with long-awaited grand openings of businesses, I am excited to meet new people and learn new things.

As they say at UNC-CH, “The ceiling is the roof.” At Clairemont, I hope to achieve new heights.

Written by Clairemont Intern Anna Ostrowski, a senior at UNC.

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“Out-of-Office” Outdated?

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When prepping for PTO, your mind is fixated on your much-anticipated, well-deserved time away, not on your out-of-office (“OOO”) email message.

However, take a moment to consider your OOO response. The tone, content and very existence of OOO messages have been thrown into the hot seat recently, as professionals debate what makes the ideal OOO message, if one at all. Here, we present the varying viewpoints. With which OOO response do you recommend?

The Traditional OOO: Direct, Short and Helpful

Supporters of the classic OOO message stand by its professional, succinct nature. CEO of officebroker.com Chris Meredith proffered 10 tips to crafting the effective, tried-and-true OOO email. The traditional OOO message doesn’t detail why you’re away, nor is it rude, funny or too friendly. It provides alternate contact details and correctly states when you’ll be back. Short, sweet and to the point.

The Revolutionized OOO: Clever and FunnySpice up your OOO message with a picture of baby sloths.

Visionary employees threw a curveball in the OOO email conversation and seized the email’s potential to “show your personality, generate leads and entertain your audience.” Content writers for Yesware and Travel and Leisure illustrate original approaches to the message, such as using it as a marketing opportunity (“I’m not here, but in the meantime, check out …”). Employees can exercise their rhyming skills in a poem or hone their sarcastic humor using witty jokes. Heck, even include a GIF or photo of adorable animals for good measure. Although unorthodox, the messages showcase creativity and appear more personalized to recipients.

The Outdated OOO?

Still, other professionals disagree with OOO emails altogether, deeming them unnecessary and unrealistic. The Huffington Post notes that even when physically An honest OOO email response by an overthinker.out of the office, employees likely have access to and check their email. Investment News criticizes OOO messages as a “terrible client touch point.” In order to maintain strong relationships with their clients, employees should remain available in the wake of immediate crises (and in PR, that’s one of our raisons d’être).

With such contrasting positions on OOO messages, it’s clear that no consensus has been reached on the issue. Ideally, the OOO email should strike a balance between (1) fulfilling your job duties even when off the clock, such as in the event of emergencies, and (2) allowing yourself to enjoy the vacation. Perhaps replacing the “out of office” expression with “currently unplugged from technology” may reflect a more realistic scenario.

What’s been your go-to OOO response? Before your next vacation, take some time to reassess in which camp you stand. Doing so will ensure that your clients and coworkers are appeased when you’re not there.

Written by Clairemont Intern Elizabeth Comtois, a senior at UNC-Chapel Hill. 

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PR People: Kim Strazisar

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Kim Strazisar

Job title and function: I wear many hats. I do everything from client networking and proposal writing to strategy and implementation of public relations, social media, email marketing campaigns and web design solutions. I have also started training courses to give small business owners a helping hand with their social media. Ultimately, my job is to listen to my clients and then develop and execute the best plan to help get their voices heard and their objectives met.

Most rewarding thing about working in PR today: Despite the rapid changes in technology and media, ethical PR strategy and tactics still get results. A news release helped a client raise money for charity. A broader social media strategy helped a client gain more customers. Letters to legislators helped a client get a law passed. A newsletter helped a client educate and retain its members. As a PR pro, there is nothing more rewarding for me than the satisfaction of helping a client reach their goals through communications.

Craziest/most challenging thing you’ve done in PR: One of my craziest adventures was while I worked for The Rossman Group (now Truscott Rossman) in Lansing, Mich. My client, The Michigan Oil and Gas Association, hired us to promote The Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund. One summer, I organized press conferences at several sites across the state. It was just me in my little Honda at these remote locations with limited cell service. Never before in a traditional press conference did I have to direct news trucks down unnamed back roads, schlep podiums out to swampy bird sanctuaries, or ask participants to do their best to talk over the bugling elks standing in the reserve behind them. It was crazy, but it was worth it as the client got great coverage for the program and my work on that campaign won our firm the Central Michigan Public Relations Society of America’s “Best In Show” award that year.

Advice for new PR pros: First, always do quality work. Then…

1) Connect with other PR pros. I met amazing friends and colleagues through the Central Michigan chapter of the Public Relations Society of America’s New Professionals group. We supported each other through the highs and lows during the first years of our careers. Fifteen years later, we are scattered across the country but we’re still cheering for each other’s accomplishments on social media and answering each other’s calls for help or advice.

2) Become a member of a public relations trade association, society, meetup, or club. I am a member of the North Carolina Chapter of Public Relations Society of America (NCPRSA). Membership is the key to continuing your professional development and finding future job opportunities.

3) Find a mentor. Seek out someone that you trust and respect who will answer your questions and guide you through managing workflow, navigating office dynamics and working with clients – all skills that will help you move to the next level.

4) Speak Up! It’s always better to ask for help, than to make a mistake – especially when dealing with the media. But if and when you do make a mistake, admit it, fix it and learn from it – quick!

Are you interested in being featured in “PR People?” Send us a message on Facebook to share your story!

Sarah Hattman, APR is president-elect for the North Carolina chapter of Public Relations Society of America and has been working in PR since she left television news. She grew up in North Carolina and was excited to move back to her home state in 2012 and then join Clairemont Communications, a Raleigh PR agency. 
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Masters vs. APR

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Seeking to advance your knowledge of public relations? There are numerous ways to do so, and here Sarah Hattman provides insights through the lens of earning her APR while Cherith Andes offers her perspective based on her masters degree in communication and media studies.

Prepping for the Job: APR vs. Masters in Communication

SARAH HATTMAN: APR

APR. It might make you think annual percentage rate, but for those of us who are PR practitioners it means Accredited in Public Relations. It’s a credential earned by public relations professionals who prove their competency in the knowledge, skills and abilities required to practice public relations with an effective and well-rounded approach in today’s business world. It’s a great tool for anyone who works in PR and is looking to to advance their career or simply expand their knowledge beyond their immediate experience. The path to accreditation is challenging but attainable as long as you commit to the multiple step process.

I first heard about the APR process while attending a professional development luncheon when I lived in Albuquerque and was a member of PRSA’s New Mexico Chapter. It was 2011, and I was only a few months into my PR career. After working in news for a decade, I saw it as a great opportunity to embrace and learn more about the profession.

My APR at Work

  • Building Blocks for My PR Career: PRSA defines PR as, “a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” The APR process forced me to further consider all the facets of PR: how it works, what’s the best strategy to make my message known, how the methods we use to communicate are always changing and how I can be a better communicator?
  • Challenging Myself: Often times, people tend to fall into a routine and develop a certain way of doing things. However, in the world of PR, no two clients or strategies are the same. To be the best that you can be you have to recognize this and challenge yourself to look at each project from all angles in order to develop a successful plan.
  • Moving Out of My Comfort Zone: Before I started the APR process my comfort zone was media relations. I had first-hand experience on both sides. First as a television producer, reporter and anchor who worked with PR people fairly regularly, and then as a PR practitioner who pitched stories to the media. I recently read Frédéric Harper’s blog post “The Magic Happens Outside Your Comfort Zone,” and it really resonated with me. While my background in the media is useful for my PR career,  it was earning my APR that gives me the confidence to move beyond of my comfort zone.

CHERITH ANDES: MASTERS IN COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA

After several years in the communications and marketing industry, I found myself returning to the same question: “But why this approach?” Strong PR requires a fountain of fresh ideas, but simply put, creativity without strategy fails to produce results. Effective communication campaigns marry targeted research with comprehensive strategy to deliver the right message to the right audience at the right time. Without the guiding hand of research, even the most innovative marketing campaigns fizzle and fade, and potentially epic ideas join a graveyard of missed opportunities.

I refused to follow that demise.

To build my “communication tool box,” I pursued my masters degree in communication and media studies. Through two years of late nights and hefty papers, I sought to uncover the academic bedrock supporting accurate research, strategy development and–ultimately–effective PR campaigns. Now a few years after graduation, my masters undeniably provided knowledge, skills and tools that inform my work on a daily basis.

My Masters at Work

  • The Big Picture: Many practitioners fall into the trap of a tactics-only approach to PR while failing to consider the broader factors at play. During my masters, I studied key theories that illuminate the patterns behind interpersonal and organizational communication. Step beyond Grunig’s basic Four Models of PR, for example,to examine how muted group theory or Noelle Neumann’s Spiral of Silence theory affects behavior adoption. Eye-opening, I promise. PR practitioners cannot afford to ignore this types of influences when crafting a campaign, and my masters trained me to examine PR strategies within a wider theoretical context.
  • Reliable Research: Ever read an article that cites something like “Sixty-eight percent of all middle-class Americans prefer XYZ?” Statistics can be misleading, especially if not defined, conducted and represented with precision. My masters provided hands-on work with quantitative and qualitative research methods, from focus group methodology to public survey coding (down to the intricacies of margin of error relative to sample size). These concepts translated into well-honed skills for collecting and integrating scientifically accurate data into relevant communication campaign.
  • The Old Hats: Here’s to the ones who have gone before! During my masters, I had the opportunity to learn from some of the leading communication researchers in the nation. Their experiences provided a wealth of case studies: what works, what doesn’t in a real-life dynamic. From Toyota’s crisis communication strategy to Binder’s research on Twitter and public opinion, I’m armed with an arsenal of applied communication examples (not to mention a network of great advisors) to guide my projects.

I have had the pleasure of working with both of these smart and talented women and admire their commitment to the field of public relations. Want to know some other things I find pretty awesome about my colleagues? Check out our other posts on The Clairemont Team.

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“Tell Me About Yourself”

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As a rising senior in college, many job interviews are (hopefully) just around the corner. However, there is always one question I seem to dread the most.

“So, tell me a little about yourself.”

This question, like it or not, is inevitable in nearly any job interview. How do you answer it? What is the interviewer looking for? What information is relevant? Am I just summing up my resume? How far into detail should I go?

I recently attended a workshop at UNC-Chapel Hill entitled “From School to the Working World: Tips and Advice for Landing Your First Job.” Here is where I finally understood what interviewers are looking for when asking this very question (or, at the very least, where I found a good starting point for crafting my answer).

One of the speakers described it to us this way. “Think of your answer as an elevator pitch.”

An elevator pitch: a short, sweet and to-the-point summary that defines you and shows your value. This narrative should explain how you got to where you are today and what has led you to the job interview. It should be concise enough that it could be delivered during a short elevator ride.

Want to deliver the perfect elevator pitch? Here are a few tips.

  1. Create your own brand identity. In any job interview, you’re essentially selling a product: yourself. Think of your brand identity as the mission statement of a company and the purpose of a product. Your mission statement describes who you are and encompasses your professional values; your purpose should explain why you are interviewing for the job and why you’re the best candidate for it.
  2. Develop your storyline. Think of your elevator pitch as a quick story (emphasis on “quick”). Give some background on yourself, explain where your “spark” was (for example, you gained interest in the marketing field after X experience), describe your growing interest and relevant experience in this area, and finally, explain why you are at the interview today. Make sure to have good transitions; don’t leave the interviewer connecting the dots on his or her own.
  3. Do your research. Have a good understanding of the company and its work. This will also help you stay calm and cool during the duration of the interview. By the end of your elevator pitch, you should have somehow tied what you have said back into the company and the job for which you are interviewing. With that in mind, your elevator pitch won’t be the same for each job interview. Tailor it to each specific job.
  4. Dress for success. Rumor has it that most interviewers generally make up their minds on a candidate within the first few minutes of the interview. Make sure your first impression is a strong one by first and foremost dressing the part. Then dive into your elevator pitch and get that job!
  5. Practice makes perfect. Give your elevator pitch some serious thought and make sure it represents the best version of yourself. It will take some trial and error, and it helps to practice with others. Most universities offer career centers where soon-to-be graduates can arrange mock interviews. You can also run through common interview questions and practice your elevator pitch with a friend or family member. Get some feedback! Find out if your elevator pitch is memorable or not.

Looking for other ways to develop your professional skills? Clairemont team member Tracy Lathan shares insights from the book Lean In.

Written by Sissy Rodriguez, junior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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