1. First and Foremost – Write it Down

First thing’s first. You need to write your goal down on a piece of paper and keep it where it’s visible to you at least once a day. This could be as simple as your resume’s objective: “To become a PR Professional at Argyle PR in the finance sector.” It works to put this on your bathroom where you go first thing in the morning. As well as the last. This will be your constant reminder.

2. More Than Just a Pitch

PR is more than pitching to journalists, writing press releases, and doing research. PR is a way of life that permeates in everything that you do. If you’re working as a cash clerk, use your skills. Talk to people. Convince them about something. Change their perception about international development. This will keep your mind sharp, and always active. Listen.

3. Read a lot

The best way to get involved in public relations from the outset is to read. Read the latest articles related to PR. Some great sources? The PR Daily, LinkedIn PR groups, and the #PRStudChat and #CanPR hashtags on Twitter. Also follow the Canada PR Daily, the bit.ly newspaper which gives you a succinct overview of some of the greatest articles relating to the PR industry as well as marketing.

4. Get talking

Talk to people in the industry. Engage with them in relevant conversation. Find a few people you can really learn from and connect with them, both on a professional and personal level. Build a relationship with them. Do this on Twitter or LinkedIn groups.

Deirdre Breakenridge adds,

“‘Get Talking’ can lead to relationship building, which is at the heart of public relations. PR professionals should always focus good personal and business relationships, based on trust and mutual interests. It’s these great relationships that bind us together and make our industry stronger.”

There are many more ways to get in to PR. What are your suggestions?

I also want to mention, that if you’re still looking for that opportunity, be not afraid to tweet the company’s CEO or hiring manager, or even someone who works there. I myself got the opportunity by tweeting the very pleasant, thoughtful, and helpful Dan Tisch, president of Argyle Communications.

During my interview, I learned a few things that I wanted to share with you that might be of help. Here they are. From the basic, to the “oh I knew that!”

Why Us?

This is the employer’s opportunity to see if you’re a fit. Right off the bat. this is also your chance to show off that you know about the company and you’ve thought about why you want to work there. Your time and skills are invaluable, and you are in a position to choose where you want to work. For reasons of time constraints, you should be selective where you apply and for what position. So read up. Show them that your values match the company’s.

Show Up Early

This will work to your advantage. You will have enough time to get comfortable with the aesthetic of the location and get to see some people and the feel for the environment. It will also give you enough time to recollect what you want to talk about, what you want to say. It will also allow you to position yourself for Lobbying (whats lobbying? keep reading).

Smell Clean

Of course you should be well dressed and clean shaven. Your hair should be well kempt. You are selling yourself as much as you are selling a service. I hear it on good source, that some companies will hire you based purely on how you look. While I have my issues with that, the PR industry IS about image, and so the way you look will play a significant role on whether or not you will fit in.

Equally important, smell clean. Don’t eat something that has a strong odor that may stick to your clothes or prominently be present in your breath. Try not to smoke beforehand.

Be a Lobbyist

Pun intended (I tried). When I was at Argyle PR, I was early and so I had the chance to spend some time in the lobby. I looked at the awards they had, and even their philosophy, put in a nice frame, and signed by all those who worked at Argyle PR. This reminded me of how the trailblazers at Apple had their signatures embossed on the inside of the first computer casing.

At Argyle, it also demonstrated integrity and commitment. The awards and philosophy were like cue cards. They reminded me what I wanted to talk about and jogged my memory. When I went into the interview, I could talk about what I had seen by way of example in the lobby, referring specifically to the philosophy. This I believe impressed the interviewer (just by the larger nod that I got). Inevitably, this will gain you some really crucial points early on in the interview.

Hi, How Can I Help You?

The receptionist is your best source of information. When you show up early, you will have some fair amount of time to converse with them. Talking to the receptionist at Argyle, I got a feel for how the people were and I got immediately comfortable with them. Converse. They are also an invaluable source of information about the latest happenings that have not yet been put up on the website or on Twitter/Facebook.

Chin Up, and Smile

The interviewer is probably as intimidated about talking to you as you are about them. Neither of you know what to expect (although the interviewer will have some sense, since they have done this several dozens of time before). Once you’ve spent time in the lobby and you’ve spoken to the receptionist, you’ll be comfortable. Use this opportunity to look your interviewer straight in the eye, smile widely (and honestly), and tell them your name, and show with your body how excited you are to meet them! This is after all a great thing that’s happening! Congratulations, you’ve made it this far! Congratulations, indeed!

“Tell us about a time you had to convince someone about your point of view…”

I was particularly unprepared for this question. I never expected it. Thankfully, one of the interviewers gave me something to latch on to (for example, about the time you had to convince your parents to let you pursue this field.) You will likely get this question, or a variation of it.

Persuasion is important and you need to be able to convince your interviewer about your ability to influence opinion. If I had read “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie earlier on, I would’ve known how to answer this question. We all convince people at various points we just don’t know how we’re doing it. At least, I didn’t.

In short, you want to talk about how you were a good listener, latched on to what their interests were, and told them how their interest would be served in subscribing to your point of view. The key question? What’s in it for them?

Follow up, Follow up, Follow up

Look, you’ve heard how important this is. Send an email or a hand written note. Do that if you want. I did. I wrote a nice long email thanking them. But then I realized this didn’t work too well. So I chose to call my interviewer and thank her personally. Do this early in the morning when the day is just starting. There was no mention as to whether or not they received my email. If they did, they didn’t have a chance to read it. This might be too late.

So call. Say thank you. Tell them what you particularly enjoyed about the interview. Remember names! I can’t emphasize this enough. The power of someone hearing a name is so strong and relatable, that it triumphs over all other generic thank you’s. Remember names! If you want, say thank you to the lead interviewer and tell them about how you enjoyed meeting the others by name! If you have the time and chance, call the others as well and tell them thank you. This will go a long way in building relationships when you start working for the company. When you walk in, it will be awesome!

I hope this has helped you. Tell me what you think. I’ve only had two or three interviews in the PR industry, so I’m fairly new to this. Do you have any other insights to offer? I would love to hear from you, as would others who stumble across this post.

Thanks so much for reading!

I just graduated! I wasn’t the valedictorian, but that didn’t stop me from writing my speech! So, here it is!

As we look to the future, it is wise to reflect on the past. Indeed, with deep introspection, we may be able to look to the future with humility and confidence.

I would like to share with you, three lessons. One, of foresight, the next of pluralism, and the last, of boredom.

In reflecting on the past, it seems fitting that I speak of my parents. When I was a year old, my parents applied to immigrate to Canada. At the time, it did not make sense to me why my father would think of moving away, leaving behind the luxuries and great businesses that we had. In hindsight, twenty two years later, I have learnt the lesson my father (who I consider the greatest public relationist), was teaching me.

As a Canadian, I have gained access to quality education from a prestigious program, even though McGill students haven not the faintest clue what communications entails, nodding their heads, hoping that the conversation will steer to the Bronfman faculty. Or Biochem.

Indeed, many in Pakistan do not receive basic primary education, let alone a local university degree. Education is the crucial element that forms the building blocks of a strong, democratic, civil society.

I also gained a cosmopolitan experience. This, I believe, is unparalleled by any other material experience, because the society in which we find ourselves, a majority – if not all – successful relationships rely on cultural curiosity and sensitivity.

Foresight also pays off. 20 years from living a lavish life, as the economic, political, and natural crises have taken their toll on innumerable societies, my father thought it prudent to equip us with the demands of the future. As we underwent a personal financial slump, we felt confident than most have the conviction to admit: we were secure and safe, thanks to our education. Thank you, dad.

Pluralism is a word that is tossed around quite frequently in Canada. Sometimes, the word makes no sense. In fact, pluralism means a myriad of things to different people based on their experiences, exposures, and traditions. For me, pluralism is something that I truly understood after successfully completing my first year at York University. When I moved to Canada, I had the experience of what most like to call culture shock. I soon realized, that was just the beginning. University taught me how to think in different ways about the world. As I went back home, the culture shock really hit me. It was not until I moved away from the mirror, and then back in front of it, that I realized that there was so much diversity within my own country

I have never had as much appreciation for the people of Pakistan until my first return. I am also somewhat saddened, that we hesitate in accepting that we are diverse. It seems that our nationalistic pride has come in the way of ourselves. Whether in Canada, or in Pakistan, or anywhere in the world, we must realize that each one of us have a multiplicity of identities. To deny this is to deny our existence and interdependence in society. As His Highness the Aga Khan has said time and time again, pluralism exists in fact, but not in spirit. While the notion of pluralism is fraught with its own problems, it is undeniable that indulging in this notion and consequently acting upon it has benefits that spill over to society as a whole.

The last lesson I would like to share is that of boredom. Boredom breeds disease. Zig Ziglar has asserted many times that he did not know of one person who did not pull themselves out of what we sometimes call depression, by having a goal. Boredom is not a natural state of being. It is counter productive to life and evolving as human beings. What would you like to accomplish today? In the next week? In the next 6 months? In the next year? In the next decade? Write these down. Chances are you will have trouble articulating yourself. But the act of writing itself is so profound, that once you have written the specifics, you will have put yourself ahead of most people. Indeed, the pen is mightier than the sword.

Some of you may be skeptical about my approach and lessons. I would like to address that with a story. When I was in Pakistan, I was an average student. I applied to university not expecting great results. I did not expect to get admitted to a great school, let alone get excellent grades. Fast forward a couple of years, I became an A grade student. I remained the editor of a successful college publication. When everything was working out, my TA Union went on strike for several months. I applied to Concordia University’s communications program, acclaimed to be the most prestigious one in the country. Because of the competition, I wasn’t allowed to transfer. I applied as a new student: the whole application, essays, and portfolio evaluation. Five years later, I graduated specializing in Communication Studies.

Why is this relevant? I wouldn’t have applied if I did not believe in myself. We can do anything we set our minds to. There are obstacles to be faced, but they were all part of the adventure. The more obstacles you overcome, the greater the story you tell.

The lesson? Don’t sell yourself short. Especially to yourself.

The boards here are from Canada, The UK, and the United States.

International Association of Business Communicators

IABC has some great job listings. In addition to viewing job postings, you can create personal job alerts and post an anonymous resume. In addition to PR, you can find other communication jobs.

PR Week Jobs

This is a UK based job board. This is a cool service because you can shortlist the jobs that you like, and then apply for them. Your public profile is highly customizable to include your salary expectations, and employers can download your profile in .doc, .docx, and .pdf formats.

Brand Republic Jobs

I haven’t registered on the board just yet, but I came across this board and it’s very versatile. It allows you to narrow your job search through multiple criteria, and that definitely helps. If someone’s already using this, please feel free to comment about your experience below.

Media Job Search Canada

This site isn’t really a board where you can apply directly, but many companies list their jobs here and ask you to go to their site to apply, with a mention of MJSC in your application. You can get all types of gigs here in the media and communications field.

NYC PR Girls

You should also check out the NYC PR Girl’s job hunting suggestions.

Other Boards

Remember, many companies have their own job boards. Check out Edelman, Ruder Finn, Burson Marsteller, and of course your university’s career placement services.

I reconnected recently, with a friend who I connected with online and lost touch. We are both passionate about art, and at the time, I was a budding photographer. As we reconnected, they mentioned that they hope to find time to learn photography in this lifetime. I was upset to hear this. I’ll tell you why in a minute, but first, primer.

I don’t usually have one-word titles. This, however, I feel is an important message to communicate. Many people talk about prioritizing. Important things on top, the less important things at the bottom. This is a great idea, at least theoretically. I don’t believe in prioritizing in the conventional way. A communications professional who does not prioritize? That must be new.

But lets expand that to include not just tasks, but also hobbies and activities, say photography and volunteering. Suppose these are words written on a piece of paper on your priority list. How would you rank them in the stack of papers that sit on your desk.

I have always seen this to be true with my friends, family, and colleagues without fail. There is something magical about prioritizing: If something falls beyond a certain level in priority, it will never be attended to. Whether this is taking up a new hobby, learning a new skill or language, or getting involved with something in some way, you will always find something more important to put on top of it. This is why prioritizing doesn’t work.

So, why did I get upset? It all boils down to passion. If you feel passionately about something, you will not need to find time. You will make time. You must make time. If you find that you don’t have enough motivation to make time for something, then it is perhaps something you are not passionate about. Yes, this is reductionist, and sometimes the complexities need to be stripped away to see the relation clearly.

Passion is also what makes the difference between being mediocre and being meritocratic. Passion is what you have when you’re drenched in rain, volunteering for a cause you believe in. Passion will be the same thing you you will have when you’re drenched in sunlight, still volunteering for the cause you believe in.

Passion is the fuel that ignites, throttling you to trailblazing speeds as you constantly improve your writing. Or your relationships.

Make time for things you are passionate about. If you are not passionate enough, be true to yourself.

By way of invoking famous quotes, Bruce Lee once said,

If you always put limits on what you can do, it’ll spread over into the rest of your life. It’ll spread over into your work, into your morality, into your entire being. There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A [wo]man must constantly exceed his level.

Klout just came out with a new beta version. Here are some of its features that I wanted to share. They hold great promise:

Social Network

Klout uses your Twitter and Facebook accounts to measure your influence. I suggest that you link both accounts in order to get a more accurate understanding of your overall online influence, unless of course, you want to specifically measure your twitter influence.

Score Analysis

As if Klout read my mind, there is now a graph that shows you your influence over the past 30 days, although this isn’t entirely clear. In addition to score analysis, it gives you your network influence, amplification probability, and true reach. In addition, it gives you a brief description of what each of these measurements mean and a one-liner that talks to your performanc. Clck on the picture for a larger view.

Influencers

Klout also allows you to see who you influence and what their Klout score is. It shows you whether or not their score has gone up or down in the past 30 days, and by how much. It also shows you what they are titled as: Feeder, Explorer, Activist are just a few of the titles that you may achieve. Sometimes it shows you the tags which are pertinent to the influencer, although it is not clear why some people have tags and others don’t. Click on the image for a larger version.

Other Features

You can also create a new list of people and earn badges or achievements. The purpose of the list isn’t entirely clear. It would be better if Klout could pick up the lists you already have or are on and do something with them, but creating a new list seems redundant. In addition, the legacy badges are almost patronizing and don’t seem to be updated.

Klout Perks

The best part I like about the new beta Klout is its Perks. I’m not quite sure how it works, but its very promising. Here’s some examples of how Klout can help you earn perks based on your influence. You can click “learn more” to sign up. Right now there is only one active Perk and it is full, so I have not had a chance to try the feature. Here’s some of the ways you can be selected for a Perk:

Audi invited key influencers in design, technology, and luxury to test drive the new 2011 A8 at an exclusive event in SF. A few lucky winners took the A8 for a luxurious weekend getaway.

This is quite cool, if you ask me. Here’s something cooler:

Heyday Footwear offered key influencers at SXSW a limited edition pair of the Heyday SuperShift.

This Perks aspect seems like a profitable feature for Klout. If this works out, I think that Klout will successfully be able to monetize on their service. It is of course a numbers game, and so there must be a lot of Perks available for people to take advantage of. Participating in a Perk will not change your Klout score.

Conclusion

Klout seems like a promising service. It’s one of the few influence measurement tools that are still working online and actually seem to have a legitimate analysis algorithm. Have you used Klout? What do you think?

Earlier I had said that you are wiser than you know, and that you can back your opinions with informed proof points. Why does this matter?

Or, in other words, why should you HARO?

HARO stands for Help A Reporter Out (HARO’s website, HARO’s twitter), and according to them, “Everyone is an expert at something.”

It’s important to help out because the PR world runs on connections. Between PR Pros, Between journalists and PR Pros, between People and PR Pros, Between…and the list goes on.

Whats The Benefit?

Getting out there: Credibility & Influence

If you help a journalist with some expertise or a quote, you’re getting your name out there. You’re taking steps to establish credibility and influence. Remember, you should try to focus your expertise on one or two things. You do not want to be known as the jack of all trades. Be the ace of one or two. Of course, have an opinion on other things, but give these to journalists only when necessary. Evaluate your presence in the media landscape, and make sure you are an ace, not a jack.

Build priceless connections

As I said earlier, this industry is about who you know. When you help journalists out, you begin to establish a relationship. If they like what you said, they’re likely to come back to you. Today, journalists are hard-pressed for time and if they find the olive branch of information (you!), they’re likely to spend less time finding alternate sources and will likely follow up with you about development or progress (journalists, please correct me if I’m wrong. Your input is very important). You will begin to learn about the journalist and foster a mutual relationship where you might come by a story that your client has and the journalist would be interested in writing about!

Conclusion

Remember, its not just about HARO. It’s about helping a reporter in your locality: in your neighbourhood, or borough, or municipality. Get involved with the community. This is one of the most important things for a PR Professional, and more so for an aspiring one. I cannot begin to emphasize why it’s important to get involved, but what I can tell you is that you’ll meet more people, know more things, and be able to make things happen for yourself, and for others.

Often, students think that they do not know enough about a certain topic to comment or provide input. This couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, from personal experience, I have seen students more engaged and more up to date about happenings and trends than many others. Part of this comes from the tendency to want to learn more, but a lot of it comes from academics. You can readily ground your opinions in a scholarly discourse to back it up. In fact, you may even ground your advice based on what the current thought leaders of any given industry are saying.

In essence, you know more than you think you do.

And, it is standard media interview practice. David Rodier of Hill & Knowlton asserts that you can state a key message, and then use a proof point to validate what you are saying.

See what I did there? I said that it is standard media interview practice, then I used a proof point from Rodier of H&K.

Your opinions are valid: you are current, you are aware, and you are informed. Be confident when talking. But remember, know what you want to say before hand. Take your time in composing an answer. Don’t be afraid to say, also, that you don’t know. It is better to acknowledge a lack of information than to provide incorrect information. This will effect your credibility adversely. If you don’t know the answer to a question, offer to help by providing someone with the contact information to someone who does know (as long as they are okay with it, of course). For example, you may say “I’m not sure about that, but my colleague Tabish Bhimani will have more insight into this. Here’s how you can get in touch with him. I’m sure he’d be glad to help.”

Why does this all matter? Stay tuned for the second post where I piece it together.

Here’s top three reasons why Auto DM’s are bad.

1. Disengagement

Right off the bat, when I receive an Auto DM I think to myself, oh gosh! If you’re sending Auto DM’s it shows to me that you really don’t care about building connections and relations, you’re just here to sell something. Often you will send a generic “thank you for following me, buy this” or “check out our website or ebook” message. I implore you to not do this. It’s even worse when your DM’s have a bit.ly link. I don’t trust you enough to click on something that may be a virus.

2. Disingenuous

Maybe this isn’t the correct word to use, but I’m sure you will understand that when you use Auto DM, it makes me suspect that you are insincere about your intentions and who you are. You have a great profile, and a real photograph, I think you’re worth following. But when I get that DM, I think twice about engaging with you and your content.

3. You Don’t Get It

This s the most important. Auto DM’ing? You don’t get social media, period. It’s social media. Get social. All your DM’s say to me is that you are going to use Twitter to blatantly promote something, perhaps something you don’t care much about, or don’t believe in. Sure you can use Twitter to market yourself or your product, but it should grow organically. People should galvanize around your product or service. Let them come to you, while you build connections.

Any other reasons why DM’s are a bad idea?

I’ve spoken about the risks of being on social media, and in recent times we’ve seen with BP and Chrysler, how social media should be taken seriously. It is a platform for you to communicate with your clients, but more importantly, for them to communicate with you as well as each other.

Its Twitter account @ToxicWasteSour was virtually inactive. It had no tweets in 2011, only four posts in 2010 in October, and just 10 sporadically in 2009. No mention of the product recall was made in 2011 and it had only 82 followers and followed 73.

Sometimes we get on social media thinking that it will be one more platform for us to promote our product. But it’s much more than that. If you let your presence stagnate, you’re likely to encounter heat. Customers loyal to a brand want to hear from their brand first and others after, when it comes to a problem (which in this case was high levels of lead in gums). It’s about trust just like any other interpersonal relationship.

Social media has allowed brands to make personal connections with individuals. They no longer have to deal with being an inaccessible nebula. But there is a responsibility that comes with it.

Recommendations

As far as the social media strategy goes, I have one recommendation. Don’t get into it, unless you can budget it in. You need someone to take care of the social media presence, and if you can’t afford it, don’t risk it. Also include social media in communicative strategies for times of crisis. Do this well, and do this often. How do you do this well? Think in people terms. Come up to the level of the individual, instead of staying on the side lines. Step up, rep up.