Career Workshop Equals a Sigh of Relief

I have been meaning to write about a career workshop that I attended last week, but I have had an onslaught of midterms for school lately...so, a week later, here is the overdue post!

The workshop, which was held on September 26, 2008 by Porter Novelli and THE LAGRANT FOUNDATION, was very informative for a me, so I wanted to share.

As we talked about beginning and maintaining a career in marketing, PR, and advertising, some of the tips that professionals gave were the following:

-Always ask questions! When you are in an interview and you are asked if you have any questions, ALWAYS ASK A QUESTION. If you don't, then you look like you are not interested in working for them.

-When you only have 2 minutes to network, ask questions. Those questions will often allow for the timeframe to go from 2 minutes to BILLIONS of hours (well, not billions, but more than before). People like to talk about themselves, so assuage them.

-When you only have 2 minutes to network, ask INTERESTING questions. Don't be a bore. Asking a good question makes an impression.

-Sell yourself! Make yourself wanted by other companies and agencies. You are a product whether you know it or not.

-Don't take an unpaid internship with a for-profit company. They are swindling you so hard.

-Act professional BUT be yourself. If you are a cookie cutter candidate, you will be lost in the pool of applicants.

-Lastly, don't give up. Everyone knows its hard to get a good internship nowdays. Its even more difficult to find a great job, but if you stick through it, you will end up doing what you love.

These tips may seem like common sense, but I never thought about the true importance of some of these things. It is imperative that you learn the ins and outs of finding work, because if you don't someone else will-just plain and simple logic.

In conclusion, the workshop gave me a sense of relief. Some of these account executives had a difficult time finding jobs and internships as well, so if they are succedding, then so can I (AND YOU).

Overall, I can sum this day up with a few words: A SIGH OF RELIEF!

On a side note, I wanted to rank my top 80's songs. These songs are for Dr. Karen Russell. She kindly gave me a list of songs I should listen to on one of her blog posts.

These are in no particular order:

Africa, Toto

Man in the Mirror, Michael Jackson

Uptown Girl, Billy Joel

Total Eclipse of the Heart, Bonnie Taylor

Jessie's Girl, Rick Springfield

Jack and Dianne, John Mellencamp

Material Girl, Madonna

My Sharona, The Knack

Take on Me- A-Ha

Tainted Love- Soft Cell

UGAConnect Conference; Diversity and Social Media

I learned so much at UGAConnect, but one thing that I found interesting is a word that kept being thrown around at the conference- community.

I want to elaborate on this because, in my opinion, diversity is integral in community.

Social Media is ALL about community, and though, diversity wasn't directly being targeted at the conference, I saw huge potential in terms of multiculturalism and pr, within the conversations that were occurring between professionals, educators, and students. 

One aspect is the idea of a conversation.

A two-way dialogue is important when anything is being broadcasted within the social media sphere; this becomes an asset to our cause!  This characteristic of new media allows minorities to be part of the conversation. 

Look at this blog; aren't you reading? I was allowed to speak though a blog, which is a form of social media.

Common Sense? 

Well, yes, but no real efforts have occurred with social media in terms of connecting minorities with the field of public relations.

The possibilities are endless; professionals, educators, and students who are all invested in elevating the industry to a higher level by increasing the importance of diversity in the field.

One outcome: the ability to connect minority professionals to minority students and recent graduates . These individuals will become vital in a student's success.

I know that my passion for  diversity has been fueled by two of my mentors, Kim L. Hunter and Bill Imada. They are always willing to help me with anything that I want to pursue in terms of diversity and communications. I have been lucky in finding mentors, but social media will make this easier to accomplish for other students. 

I can only imagine fueling the passions of other students for diversity through facebook discussions? or through twitter? or creating a LinkedIn social sphere? 

Moreover, PRSA could get involved! They could promote their multicultural scholarship. They could provide a connection to companies who are looking for diversity with students who are diverse.

This is just one aspect of social media that could help our cause, but what are your thoughts?

Is social media an asset or an obstacle? 

UGA Connect: Why do I care?

So, today...is UGAConnect and I am one of the few lucky students who will be attending the event, but what does this have to do with diversity?

Hmmmmm, well...first if you do not know about UGAConnect, let me give you a short background blip about this conference:

UGAConnect is a Public Relations & Social Media conference for professionals, educators & students that is held at the University of Georgia. This year it is sponsored by the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication and Porter Novelli. 

Hmmmm, so what does this have to do with diversity in public relations? 

Well, I am WAY pumped...because of my reason for attending.

As you may know, diversity in communications is my passion and I believe that social media is allowing greater multiculturalism in the dialogue of communications—I want to utilize social networking to reach minorities so that they can help the industry in growing. 

Moreover, I want to be effective in the space. The bottom line is that social media allows me to reach diverse people and in turn I can empower them to make a difference.

Deep right?

Well, it just common sense. Technology allows me to reach you. It allows you to reach me. The opportunity to educate about ANYTHING is limitless. Social media is changing how we interact--this conference is going to be a BIG deal to me and for many others out there.

I will update you on how it goes...

Frustrations: From the Mind of Asian PR student!

Today, I was sitting in the library...pondering life, and what I wanted to do. Then, in an instant, I was scared. 

Why do I not have a premiere internship yet? 

Why am I struggling to find a job? 

Why are companies not after me?

First, I am not trying to use this post as a marketing ploy to get a job. It is far from that! However, I am frustrated. So I wanted to look at two aspects that are hindering me and probably a major subset of minority leaders on campuses across the nation. I have done everything in MY power to be marketable, but employers want to see EXPERIENCE. Don't get me wrong, I have some experience, but I do not have the credentials of a student who has money--- ooooo why did I go there? 

Like many minority students, I have to pay for college on my own. I have to pay for rent on my own. I have to pay for food on my own. It's hard when you have to have experience to gain experience. I can't afford to take a semester off. I am in a bind. This is one aspect that I want PR agencies who are not a non-profit to hear--it is not right having an internship program that is unpaid--it is a rip off! 

Another reason involves extracurriculars. 

I am very active in my college campus--in MINORITY issues, but in my opinion, employers are only looking at involvement in career related organizations. I am a victim of this fact. I'm president of various multicultural organizations from the Asian American Student Association to APIAVote, but I have limited involvement in professional organizations. It hurts me! Minority students have to choose between their culture and work. It's sad!

I wish that my passion as well as the passion of others for diveristy issues would resonate in companies, but I feel like companies just talk the talk. They try to fill their quota. I know that I am generalizing ALL companies, but it is true for a lot of organizations.

I love PR. I love it to death! I think that is a great field, but it is disheartening to speak about diversity in the field when I cannot even have a legitimate conversation with people who care about the issue. 

I want to help people and I do not think enough people want to do that!

So for professional agencies that speak about diversity, you have to walk you talk. Students are interested in the field, but they need to know that they are wanted. Communications needs to revamp in terms of their diversity recruitment. We need to look at the entire industry and make changes that are appropriate for the field. 

I may make people angry at this post, but I have to be real-DIVERSITY IS LACKING! Come on people--look around, do you see diversity? 

So, if you can make a difference, step up and do it! We need you!

We are losing talented minorities because industry leaders are not part of the cause. They give the task to other people, but it needs to be a collaborative effort from EVERYONE! Sighs, I am only one student, I need some backing... will you back me up?

Diversity Committee... Part Dos!

The diversity committee met for a brief 45 minutes this week, and though we are a small group--I see a lot of potential in this sub-committee of PRSSA.

Here is the project that we are currently working on:

Public Relations Packet: PR packet will be distributed to ALL multicultural organizations on campus.

Part One--Includes public relations resources that student organizations can utilize including free publicity, how to write a press release, how to pitch a story, how to create a basic website, etc.

Part Two--The do's and don't of public relations for their organization.

Part Three--Research and Evaluation Examples/Template for their organization to use.

Part Four--Diversity committee contact information

The packet will be given to a targeted audience which includes Multicultural Greek Council, National Pan-Hellenic Council, Multicultural Services and Programs, and International Student Life.

Their are seven individuals working on the packet, and it should be done by next week. The beginning of our cause has begun--hooray!

If you have any ideas on what else we can put in the packet, please do not hesitate to put your ideas on the comment section and I will bring up to the entire committee.

It will be directed to their public relations chair

Any Ideas?

The first meeting for the diversity committee will be September 10th and I have a slew of ideas for what PRSSA can do to help UGA as well as Grady in recruiting diversity, BUT as a blogger...I want to know other ideas.

If you have any ideas, please do not hesitate to comment or contact me.

This blog is dedicated to increasing diversity...but I need people to help!

It is not about MY ideas...its about a collaborative effort to make the diversity happen.

I am passionate about this topic...yes! I know that, but at the same time... I want this initiative to be a community effort. I want others to be invested in this cause. I know diversity does not happen over night--It happens when people are open to change and are willing to bring their ideas to the table.

So again, if you have a comment on what we can do, please post it! Or email me at debbielobo@gmail.com . I love getting feedback.

Some cliched saying once said that "One person can change the world." ..IMAGINE what more that one person can achieve?

Diversity Research pt.2

First, I wanted to thank Dr. Russel for giving me a few tips on finding diversity research!

I found a research study yesterday from the Journal of Public Relations Research entitled "Diversity Issues and Public Relations" by Linda Childers Hon and Brigitta Brunner from the University of Florida [oh how I shudder at the mere clicks from typing University of Florida--true bulldawg =) but I must admit that it is a good study]. However, the study used qualitative interviews from 28 practitioners and 5 executives and asked them about their organizations diversity strategy.

I am not done analyzing the study, however I wanted to speak about some of the comments from the interviews.
Before I do so, I have to acknowledge something, these people who are interviewed are professionals. Sighs! It is scary reading some of their answers!

One participant mentioned that she had never heard of diversity.

The interviewers had to give her a generic definition before she could even answer their questions.

After the explanation, she stated, "It's old news."

"Holey moley" is what I have to say. These are people who are working in OUR industry,

I have to put my 2 cents in and write about this comment before continuing with my life.

Having diversity in an organization is one way that a company can be sensitive to the issues of everyone. It's true that not everyone will be happy--but at least with a good diversity plan, a company can recognize and begin to understand the spectrum of publics that they are dealing with. A less diverse employee base will result in an organization ignoring potential clients.

Anyway, I will update soon on the rest of the study, but this is quite an interesting topic. Oh my, do I enjoy research...?

No diversity research?

So I have this assignment to find research in public relations in one of my classes...and I wanted to look at diversity and public relations.

I have searched for billions of hours [well not billions, but pretty dang long] for this specific subject in research, and I have to be frank, the search is not going very well.

I have found 2-3 full research articles on this topic which is very slim in my opinion. Diversity in communications is a subject that PRSA has pushing for a couple of years now, and the industry still does not have relevant research on the topic.

I am student and this is my first time truly looking at research, therefore I might be off in my comment about 'slim-findings' on the subject of diversity and public relations.

Hmmm, it's a bit disheartening for me to see this. The latest study I found was conducted in 2000 by a professor at the University of Florida. She even stated the lack of studies conducted on this topic--and that was 8 years ago.

If anyone has any suggestions on where I can find some studies on the subject of public relations and diversity...please contact me.

I am in need of some reassurance that diversity matters and that research is being conducted in the field.