Advice We Probably Don’t Want to Hear
Things have been crazy over the past couple of weeks. Now that my life has calmed, let’s get back on track. Advice for graduates is everywhere, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t listen to it. 23 Pieces of Advice that College Graduates Don’t Want to Hear by Valerie S. Johnson gives some good advice that we might need to listen to. Here are some of my favorites.
1. Show up at work. It’s not like class. You just can’t skip.
2. Deal with your debt before it gets worse. Step one: Stop charging.
3. Don’t rush to buy all the expensive toys and trappings of adult life. Just be patient.
4. Spend less than you earn. There’s a difference between a “want” and a “need”.
5. Start an emergency fund. Bad things happen, so be ready.
6. Put time and energy into worthwhile friendships. It may be hard to make time, but your good friends are worth it.
“Graduates, go forth and conquer the world. Follow your dreams. Take risks. Have fun. But please follow some of this advice. Otherwise, in the not-so-distant future, in a not-so-distant galaxy, you’ll wish you had.”
We will try.
Let’s Talk About Money, Baby.
In the spirit of addressing every topic associated with finding, getting and keeping a job in PR, I thought is was time to utter that four letter word that we all think about but rarely utter: cash.
According to salary.com, the average yearly salary for a “public relations manager” is $78,917. The number that is often thrown
around for PR professionals with less than two years of experience hovers around $40,000. In case you didn’t know already, the latter group is most likely us.
Now that you are comfortable with the reality of our first of couple years in PR, let’s get some advice from Jon Morrow, author of the blog On Moneymaking. How I Got a Six-Figure Salary Right Out of College outlines three tips for making more money right out of college.
1. Start building your resume early. Your relevant work experience is crucial to landing a good job.
2. Get noticed by the right people. Networking within the PR industry while in college is essential to your success.
3. Forget about doing what you love for a while. The odds of you landing a great job are higher if you remain open minded about job prospects in different branches of the PR industry.
image from internationalpropertyinvestment.com
Is it really who you know that counts?
PR is all about relationships, and getting a job in PR is clearly no exception.
It’s trivia time. What percentage of positions are filled through traditional means such as the classifieds or resume Web sites? The answer is eight percent, according to Kevin Laws, author of VentureBlog. That means that 92 percent of jobs are filled, says Laws, through extended networks.
But how do we make these essential connections? We have to learn to network. Luckily for us, people like Kevin Laws are here to offer some practical advice. He says that “networking is about serendipity: making your own luck.”
Laws offers six tips for networking. And for me, there were three tips that stood out. 
1. Just do it. Make sure you are never wasting an opportunity to meet a new person.
2. Be specific. You’ll better stick in your new friend’s head if you offer specific information about what you’re looking for.
3. Don’t ask for anything but advice. Instead of asking people to help find you a job, try asking them if you can get their opinion on the industry, community, company or whatever. They’ll probably be more inclined to help you.
image from oneitaly.biz
The Darker Side of Blogging
I’m a newcomer to blogs and blogging. I’ll admit it. I had heard about the revolutionary medium for information and entertainment, but I was a true skeptic. After some research and this blog assignment in my advanced PR writing class, I have begun to learn more about these things we call blogs. Obviously, I have been converted and now see the error in my previous thinking.
I know all about the positive outcomes of blogging for PR purposes and beyond, but I’ve read very little on the darker side of the blogosphere – the consequences no one wants to talk about.
So, here they are, several of the negative aspects of blogs and blogging for those of you who have yet to fully submerge yourselves in the treacherous world that is blogging.
1. On the average day, you will spend more time reading blogs and blogging than you will talking to your friends, being in c
lass and sleeping combined.
2. Unless your parents are blogging themselves, your mom will forever refer to it as “blobbing.”
3. You’ll read the same information over and over but will be unable to resist clicking through to the next page about Brittany Spears’ newest tragedy.
4. Whenever something interesting, exciting or humorous happens during your day, your first inclination will be to find the nearest computer and blog about it.
5. Addiction is inevitable – see point one. Soon, as celebrities are checking into drug rehab, we will be introducing ourselves at BA: Bloggers Anonymous.
“Hi, my name is Katy, and I am addicted to blogging.”
“Hi, Katy.”
6. There is tons of advice on writing a blog, 10 Tips for Writing a Blog, 5 Simple Ways to Open Your Blog Post With a Bang, but there is little out there on how to recognize and overcome your blogging addiction.
So, what’s the moral of this tragic story? We’re all doomed. So, we might as well enjoy it.
Photo courtesy of my mom, Renae, who is very proud of my “blobbing.”
No Thank You: Turning Down a Job Offer.
As a journalist and PR student you are taught to research, research, research before you act. But what if a couple of days after a job interview, you find your have researched, discovered and sleuthed your way into not wanting the job at all? They offer you the position because life is cruel. But how do you say no?
Penelope Trunk, blog author of Brazen Careerist, offers four tips on How to Turn Down a Job Offer.
1. Be Nice. Thank the person for the opportunity. Trunk also advises complimenting the company in a small way. In my experience, you’ll want to get off the phone as fast as possible, but don’t forget common courtesy.
2. Follow Up. Trunk says you should do something within the next week or so to show the person that you want to keep in touch with them and the company.
3. Suggest Someone Else. Many companies participate in group interview sessions, and if a fellow interviewee stood out to you, drop her name.
4. Assess Your Own Conduct. Turning down a job will be even harder if you jerked them around or waited until the last minute to decline.
The bottom line is declining a job offer is hard and if done incorrectly could hurt your reputation in the PR community. Make sure you’re taking the time to decline respectfully. Don’t burn a company you may cross in the future.
image from positivesharing.com
