How to get a job and work the LA PR scene:

June 2009 Meeting Recap

Last week we gathered 30 young professionals at GolinHarris in downtown Los Angeles to learn how to navigate the LA PR scene – and get a job!  Panelists included Alan Weatherbee, Director of Recruitment for CMG, Jonalyn Morris, President of Jonalyn Morris PR, and Ron W. Roecker, President and Chief Enfluencer of Enfluence Group.

Whether your goals include rebounding from layoffs, making a lateral or horizontal career move, breaking into PR with that first job or internship, or ongoing networking, Alan, Ron and Jonalyn provided an entertaining and educational evening full of information, tips and real-world examples to help you feel confident pursuing the job you want (today or in the future).

Check out below for a hearty list of tips for job seeking, networking and interviewing!  For ongoing conversations, musing about the recruiting and the LA PR scene you can follow our panelists: Alan on his blog or @alanweatherbee, Jonalyn @jonalynmorris and Ron on his blog.

Networking:

    ?      Everyone you meet (personal or professional) is a potential networking contact. Remember information about them and keep them for future contacts.  The more networking you do as a young professional, the broader your reach when you’re in management.  You can also get job opportunities through bizarre connections, so make it known what you do – and what you want to do in the long run

    ?       Never burn bridges.  The PR scene (in LA and outside) is a very small world. Everyone knows everyone, and there’s always less than six degrees of separation

    ?       Be proactive.  Put yourself, your interests, your personality out there at networking events and on social media platforms.  For example, if you’re job hunting opening and currently unemployed – put a status update on LinkedIn including buzz words you would be interested in

    ?       Talk about your desire for your job

    ?       Keep your profile up-to-date and flaunt your achievements on networking sites, including LinkedIn.

Job hunting:

    ?       Seek and establish a list of the top ten agencies you’re looking for, regularly check in with HR to gauge interest and availability

    ?       Professional social networks vs. personal: LinkedIn is professional. It’s your call on Facebook, but BE CAREFUL. Your online profiles are your personal brands, make sure they sell you appropriately

    ?       Optimize profile for key search terms and source recommendations, such as ROI and social networking

Resume building:

    ?      Spell check your resume!! (Have someone check it for you.) You can also start reading from the   bottom up to make sure you’re catching everything.  (A typo in a resume goes straight to the trash.)

    ?      Include recent wins or accolades

    ?      Skill summary at top (new trend); objective section is “old school”

    ?      Adding value through social networking, new media tools

    ?      Entry level: much of your work is presenting documents to the client, be sure to promote your ability to polish work

    ?      Balance your hard skills with your soft skills.  There is a balance you have to strike.  Soft skills should be highlighted in your skill set summary at the top and demonstrate who you are as a person.  Hard skills are accomplishments and things you can do, but you need to set yourself apart

    ?       Highlight how your skills have created wins for your client – even small wins (when they’re big in supervisors or clients minds) are good. Any kind of results or metrics you can take credit for and incorporate in your resume will sell to a recruiter / hiring manager far above what you did to create a media list or review a document. (This also demonstrates ROI for your work.)

Interviewing:

    ?       Know about who and where you are interviewing before you go in. It’s a must to  demonstrate interest and knowledge of what they do and why you’re there. (Don’t waste anyone’s time, yours or theirs.)

    ?       If you’re not looking for a job, don’t go in for an interview.  Rather, set up an informational interview to manage expectations from the get-go

    ?       Presentation and perception are huge in PR

    ?       It’s always better to over dress then under dress

    ?       Take a personal note from an interview and be sure to show personality with follow up meeting

    ?       Sit forward and reach eye level

    ?       Always ask for a glass of water.  A glass of water will help you in any situation: need a minute to think of an answer, take a sip.  Get a scratchy throat from talking to the fifth of eight people, take a sip.  You’ll eventually need it so ask for it up front

    ?       Receptionist and assistant to the president have the most power in the organizations, be nice and polite!

    ?       Know the hierarchy in the interview process and tailor your conversation to who you are talking to.  If you are talking to a potential direct boss, he/she will want to know what you will do for them.  If you’re talking to an executive, he/she may want to know how you would represent the company and react to odd situations.

    ?      Maintain a personal touch on resumes but keep it relevant

    ?      Cover letter: why you should be hired and why you’re interested in the company. Don’t reiterate your resume.

    ?       Look around for common ground: photos, screen saver, personal mementos

    ?       Smart questions: What are you looking for?  Questions that offer clues to help you

    ?       Recap to why you’re a fit at the end of the interview, especially if they ask you the open-ended question: “Do you have any more questions?” Never say no to that question – our jobs are about answering, asking and listening to questions

    ?       Treat the interview as a new business proposal with prep and research to support your worth

    ?       Be cautious about titles – different agency positions and in-house opportunities are genuinely different and come with different job titles

    ?       Always send a thank you letter.  Always.

Young Professionals
April 2009 Meeting Event Recap
April 22, 2009
 
Meet The Media
 
Introduction
When advancing in public relations, nothing is more valuable than a Rolodex of trusted media contacts. During these difficult times, editorial relationships can define a practitioner’s capacity to secure positive coverage and become key differentiators when competing for highly-contested positions. On April 22, 2009, , Young Professionals (YP) sat down with journalists Scott Thill and Kate O’Hare at the Beverly Hills Library to gain insight into their editorial perspectives, review pitching tips, and discuss preferred communication methods.
 
The Panel
§         Scott Thill: A freelance journalist whose writing has appeared in Wired, Salon, XLR8R, Alternet, Huffington Post, Rolling Stone, LA Weekly and more, Scott gave us his perspective of freelance journalist. (He can also be found @morphizm.)
§         Kate O’Hare: TV columnist with Tribune Media Services and blogger, Kate gave us her perspective on journalism, public relations and how we can all work together.  (She can also be found @KateOH.)
§         The panel moderator was YP Program Co-Chair Gabriel del Rio (@gdelrio). A recap of the program is included below. (The event was also live tweeted by @ceematt and can be found by searching for the #PRSA-LA tag.)
 
A Typical Day At The Office? “It’s Never Typical”
For Scott, there isn’t a typical day for him; almost every day, he works 10-12 hours in his home office. Having started in sports, he freelances for a variety of publications. He shared that he’s always open to something. “You guys are our lifeline,” he said As a freelance journalist, he does not have time to chase down everything that is of interest, and he relies on public relations professionals to do the chasing for him. The only rule he stated is to make what you’re pitching interesting. (A very outgoing character, Scott shared that if he’s not interested in what you’re talking about, chances are he can’t sell it to his editors and the readers wont find it interesting either.)
 
For Katie, a journalist who works in a newsroom setting in downtown LA, a typical day is different. Working within Tribune Media Services, she focuses solely on covering television for the syndicate. She, too, shared the lifeline sentiment, and the professional dependency journalists have with PR pros. For her, work is like a train that never stops moving. “We take 2-3 weeks to prep for stories, so we’re always working on what’s next,” she said.
 

Questions and Answers
How many e-mails do you get from PR pros? (Be honest.)
Both agreed it’s probably more than 250 a day (from different PR pros), not counting the duplicates from the same professional.
 
What’s the worst thing PR pros can do?
Don’t fall into the unreliable column!! “We depend entirely on publicists to feed the beast,” shared Kate. Becoming unreliable - saying you have an interview, information or something lined up for a journalist and not being able to pull-through when you say you will (especially on tight deadlines) is considered a cardinal sin in their books.  “We’ll push you to the limit,” Kate shared, but be honest when you can get something and when you can’t. Also, Kate shared this tid-bit about pitching: “I’ll take suggestions, but I don’t take orders. That’s just not how it works.”
 
Creating and keeping relationships.
A few things to follow:
1.        Make sure you don’t abuse your relationships with reporters.
2.        Make sure your clients can give you what they’re saying - or don’t offer it!
 
Communication methods:  phone vs. email vs. snail mail?
§         Both Kate and Scott agreed:  e-mail is absolutely better than phone calls.  Scott even shared that he uses e-mail for interviews to make it easier.)
§         Kate: To me e-mails are like IMs. I transitioned to e-mail a long time ago and you’re interrupting my flow when I have to pause to answer the phone. (And voice mails for pitching, forget it!) It also makes it much easier for me because everything I do has to get forwarded and approved by my editor, so having it in email saves me TONS of time.
§         Scott: It depends on the reporter, totally depends on what they want. But for the most part, everyone’s on their Blackberry or at their inbox and it’s just easier.
 
Pitching Tips
§         Start the dialogue via email. Especially if I’ve never talked to you before, include the 5 Ws and H, and know your window. If there’s a timeframe associated with what you’re pitching (for example a new TV show airing next week) put that in the subject line.
§         If we don’t respond to your email it doesn’t necessarily mean we deleted it or we’re not interested. An email reminding me is totally appropriate. A follow up email is totally better than a phone call when I’m on deadline or chasing another story.
§         KISS! Keep it short and simple! Make sure the information’s accurate and straight-forward. (One idea: pitch me like it’s Twitter; keep it to 140 characters.)
§         Know your audience. Know the outlet and the journalist you’re pitching. Everyone’s on some social network, so do your homework and make sure you’re sending the information that’s the right fit for the right outlet. (For example, don’t send decoupage tips to Surfer Magazine.)
§         Make your relationship as productive as possible. You can still be friendly personable to build the relationship. ( genuine complement on a reporter’s previous article can always be a good start.
§         Let them say no. Don’t make it hard or painful for them to turn you down. Be gracious with their time.
 
Transitioning Into A Resource
With every journalist, it’s different. You can always let us know what clients you’re working on and what you could potentially offer. The ask may not come next week, or next month even, but if we had a good working relationship with you, chances are we’ll come back when there’s an opportunity to do so.
 
Wanna learn more about pitching media? YP recomends you check out the Bad Pitch Blog and other resources in the blogroll.
 
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