This is an overview of a ten minute presentation I had to give post conference to multiple Communication classes at Utah Valley University.
The major takeaway I learned from my trip to Philadelphia for the 2013 PRSSA National Conference is the importance of Networking and Personal Seo. A lot of students get in the mindset of, "when I get to this point in my life, then I will do this." I want students to understand, you don't have to wait to be to a certain point in your life, get out and go for it! It's very easy to think that you can't make it anywhere within your career until you graduate, but the exciting thing is you can start making these steps now, starting today!
T.U.S. is the three principles that I applied while I was at the conference. Talk, Utilize, and Stand Out. These principles are very important, especially to us communication students. Each of these steps take effort, but if you start working toward it, I know you can do it!
It is so crucial to reach out and talk to others, you have to be creative in ways that you do this. For example, lots of students at the conference would flock speakers directly after their presentations, however when students do this, they easily blend into the crowd and do not make an impression in those that they talk to.
When talking to business professionals to try your best not to have an agenda! Sometimes when we talk to others and have a set agenda of what we want to accomplish from the conversation, we forget to really learn about the person we are talking to and to be genuine with them. Another example, there was a session about Entertainment PR, afterward Tammy Golihew of Senior Vice President of Warner Brothers was so drowned out by students with "self centered conversations." I.E. What's in it FOR ME, what can you do FOR ME, what do you suggest FOR ME. IT IS CRUCIAL to be genuine in your conversation and to do as much as you can to ask questions and to genuinely get to know the other person.
Also, find ways to really seek out people and meet them. Here are some example of things that I did during the conference to seek out others:
1. Do your homework. Try to do your research on the person before talking to someone, that's a good way to stand out and it will give you a good idea of what to talk with them about.
2. Go to high traffic area to find them. During the conference, I got permission to go to our parent chapter PRSA to try to track down someone from Ketchum. However, my goals changed very quickly. Instead, I tried to make friends with everyone I met or came across within the area. I also sat by the registration booth and listened to people spell out their names as they came in. Upon them doing this, I would look up their Linkedin, read about them, give them a few minutes and approach them during a good time and introduce myself. In doing this I was able to meet a lot of people, including the HR director from Ketchum. I was also able to meet people who were higher ups in the PRSA Foundation, Burrellesluce, Businesswire, PR News, well known authors and reputable people within the PR industry, and more.
3. I went to the bar. As weird as this sounds, I made some great contacts from the PR industry by talking to them in a comfortable setting within the bar. We drank (I had virgin drinks, we signed contracts with our school saying we wouldn't drink) and I just talked to others and learned about their careers and their lives. I actually made some well known friends in the industry. One of them sorted through my business cards and talked to me about each of the people I had met and recommended to me who would really help me. I also had multiple professionals give me their direct line and told me they had respect for me as a student reaching out to them and trying to get to know them better and offered to help me out with jobs or advice whenever I needed it.
4. Find out of the box ways to meet people. One of the best things you can do is just reach out to industries and people that you are interested in getting to know better and let them know your sincere desire to connect and learn from them. Most people have respect for this and will schedule meeting with you or take the time to talk to you. Start reaching out to people that you are interested in TODAY!
Utilizing social media is so important yet it is something that is commonly overlooked. Try to work on having using one of the three above more consistently and then slowly build and add each social media platform.
- Linkedin. The beauty of Linkedin is that it's the "new" resume. Linkedin is starting to become more credible then a paper resume. If you do not have a Linkedin, make one right now, then set aside time each day to add revisions to it. Thing that you should do with your Linkedin is add samples of your work experience and to get recommendations from those that you meet or from peers or colleagues that you work with. There is lots I could say about this medium, but check it out and get started! It might seem overwhelming but it is so worth it. Tailor your profile to who you are and your work/educational experiences. I know you can do it, you just have to try! I guarantee you will get out what you put into it. I didn't start working on my Linkedin until the past several months and I am very pleased with where it is today.
- Twitter. With Twitter find a way to brand yourself. For example, the three things I tweet about are: 1) genuine conversations of trying to get to know followers or reach out to others. 2) Inspirational quotes, live tweeting school classes/meetings, and information from my textbooks. 3) Interesting news stories pertinent to my industry. It's important to have a brand for yourself so people know what to expect for your tweets. To build followers, follow people in similar demographics who have tweeted within the last 24 hours, you can follow up to about 100 people per day. You will have a good return rate of followback and can slowly build up your Twitter following.
- Blogger/Wordpress/Personal Webpage. A blog is a great way to expound and go into detail of your thoughts, accomplishments and work experiences. You can then sync your blog posts to your Twitter and Linkedin accounts.
This may seem overwhelming but I know you can do it, it's important to be on social media platforms setting a reputation for yourself, especially in the communication industry.
I cannot stress how important it is to stand out! Be you, don't try to be someone else. And especially don't try to win over people by not being yourself. If individuals or companies don't like you for you, check them off of your list and move on. Don't throw your money into the gutter by pursuing people who aren't receptive to yourself. It's very easy to get discouraged with trying to stand out, but as long as you try to be yourself you can't go wrong. This is an example of the business card I used for the conference. They were completely different from other business cards, but I thought it synced very well to my personality. We are all different, remember something that is good or beneficial for me, may not be beneficial for you. We are all unique, you need to utilize your differences, they make up who you are, when you stand out--people remember you.
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| I then played a video recap of our trip for the class. Click here to see the video. |
After the trip, my tips for students would be to follow the ABC's. Apply, Believe, Cultivate!
Apply for opportunities, even if you don't get the opportunity--you will have the experience of applying, getting rejected and you'll get better. You will also learn to appreciate the times you are successful with applying for opportunities. As of late, I've had fairly good luck with this concept.
For applying for the grant provided by UVU to go to the PRSSA National Conference, I was a journalism student and was not very involved in the PR department whatsoever at the university. I was surprised and dumbfounded upon being selected. Being selected for the trip ultimately lead and guided me down a path that I never would of pursued otherwise! After being selected for the trip, I was also offered an opportunity of a lifetime to join a small class where we work on teams to accomplish serious tasks and challenges. Upon these two things happening, it ultimately lead to me changing my major to public relations and my overall career path.
Try to keep an open mind when applying for opportunities. I applied for the opportunity to be a live blogger for the PRSSA National Conference and I was selected out of a high value of applicants to live blog the session with Entertainment PR and Warner Bros. (You can read what I wrote, here) I honestly, did not think I would be picked, but when you apply for things, people might notice the gold within you that you may not see yourself.
I really like this picture. This is from the movie, Monsters University. In the movie, the lead character Mike Wazowski takes the heat and belittlement from other people that he will never be the a professional scarer because he is not scary. However, during the entire movie, it shows Mike working his tail off to study and accomplish his dreams. One of my favorite quotes I was told from a valued Journalism professor of mine, Scott Carrier. "The best type of revenge is good work."It's not good to be vengeful but it is good to believe in yourself. Believing in yourself is not something that happen overnight, and it is hard sometimes to stay up beat in a depressing world where people are prone to judging and hurting one another.
You have to remember, the great thing about the Communication industry, whether or not you are a PR student is that it is all about relationships. Being genuine and being good to people. There's not merit in being mean to each other, or throwing your peers under the bus. Do you best to build yourself and others up, this in return will help raise in your confidence and in return aid to you believing in yourself. Remember, with this industry, you get out what you put into it.
Lastly, cultivate your future! If there's one thing I want you to takeaway from this entire presentation is a reminder that you are more than capable and you can start paving a path for yourself today. Stop waiting, get out there and chase your dreams. When you work hard and try to do your best, people will see that and will do their best to help you.
If you have any questions about this presentation or would like permission to use it, please contact me at emilynicoline@gmail.com
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