Breaking Into P R 11 7 07

Breaking Into the Competitive World of PR November 7, 2007

Introduction Jeff Krakoff—Director, Burson-Marsteller, Pittsburgh B-M founded in 1953. Offices in major cities throughout the world. Part of Young & Rubicam family of companies. Part of WPP, the world’s largest communications company. Founded and managed Krakoff Communications, Inc. Worked in agency, corporate and trade association PR. Adjunct Faculty at Point Park University, University of Pittsburgh. Member of IUP Journalism Department Advisory Board.

Introduction My Goals for Today: Provide some ideas and insights to help you find the job of your dreams. Help you to better present yourself. Offer Interview Do’s and Don’ts. Provide tips to help you progress in the future.

The Keys to Success While in School: Good grades, especially in your major. InternshipS with variety and purpose. Extracurricular like school newspaper, radio or TV station, media relations or SID, etc. Work on daily newspaper or with agency or company. Become connected with faculty. Become connected with professionals. Events Class projects Your own projects

The Keys to Success During the Job Search: Identify prospective employers that fit your values and interests. Ask for opinions, but filter them as well. Be prepared, know everything you can. Make your internships and professional experiences count on a results-oriented resume. Attitude, how can you be of value to the company. Very much like sports, what have you done for me lately? Be personable, professional and polished. Be aggressive, to a point.

Overview Some Things to Consider: Post Job Friday, 150 resumes on Monday. Companies have trouble finding good people. There are good interviewers and bad interviewers. When you are called in for an interview, they really hope you’re the right person and want to hire you. Selling yourself is much like selling a product. How you handle yourself seeking a job reflects on how you will handle the job itself. Don’t say what you think people want to hear if it isn’t how you really feel. The result can be a disaster.

Know Thy Audience The Generation Gap Doesn’t Have to Be a Problem. Know your audience, what makes them tick. Seasoned vets and newcomers are very different. Millennials, Gen Xers and Boomers are very different. Appreciate strengths, don’t harbor frustration over differences, learn how to manage them. Be wary of stereotyping. Traditionalists (1940 to 1945) Baby Boomers (1946 to 1964) Gen Xers (1965 to 1980) Millennials (1981 to 1999)

Know Thy Audience Talkin’ about My Generation! Baby Boomer Cuspers (1960 to 1964) Computers not in school. Witness to success of older boomers, but also experienced recessions. Jobs hard to find. Pay your dues, but question the status quo. Outwork the competition. Work independently, no news is good news. Mix of Generation X skepticism and Millennial optimism. Business is separate from personal life.

Know Thy Audience Millennials Internet Generation, Echo Boomers, Boomlet, Nexters, Generation Y, Digital Generation, etc. Sociable, optimistic, confident, talented, collaborative, open-minded, influential, achievement-oriented. Higher job expectations that past generations. Experience shapes perceptions: Focus on family Scheduled, structured lives You are special Political correctness Achieve now Serve your community

Know Thy Audience So, What Does This All Mean to You? People you work with and for: Value respect. Value on face-to-face conversations. Multi-Tasking not always good, give full attention. There is a history before you. Learn the politics, learn what has been done, what has worked, what has not before wanting to change the world. Sense of entitlement not a good thing.

Where to Begin—You Are Your First Client S.W.O.T. Analysis Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Marketing Plan Set Objective Develop Strategy Implement Tactics Evaluate the Results

The Job Search & Career Strategy Think of Your Career in Terms of Tracks Get on the right track and stay on the right track. A foot in the door may end up with your feet being stuck in the mud. Don’t make decisions based solely on finances. Make decisions based on your passion, the organization, growth potential, etc. Don’t be afraid to jump tracks early to make sure you get to your final destination.

How Do You Appear in Print & in Person? Are you Differentiating Yourself While Maintaining Integrity and Honesty? Does your resume and cover letter really reflect you? Could any name be on that resume? Typos or other mistakes? Is it optimized for key words? Make sure you look like the job description. Multiple resumes, cover letters, etc. To Whom it May Concern. Blue Suit or Hawaiian Shirt? Anything online can be seen. (Facebook)

Saying What You Think vs. What You Think People Want to Hear. Are you Differentiating Yourself While Maintaining Honesty ? Be 100% honest for today and tomorrow. Don’t undersell or oversell yourself. Do you really want the job? Can you really do the job?

Finding Job Opportunities Newspaper and Online Ads are Great, but Far from Everything! Read the news and trade journals, who is doing great things, growing and has a need? Look to faculty. Look to alumni. Are you LinkedIn? Participate in professional organizations. Identify companies/organizations that interest you. Find the decisions makers and ask for info. Seek as many informational interviews as possible.

Informational Interviews Get the Info Informational interviews are a great way to gain leads and information regarding the company. Make sure they know are seeking information, not a job. Be clear about what you are looking for and why you want to talk to this person. But, be prepared if it does change into a job interview. Have a prepared list of questions. At the end, ask if the person has any recommendations of others you could speak with.

The Interview Preparation, Preparation, Preparation! Learn everything you can about the company. Learn everything you can about the interviewer. Develop key messages for yourself. Anticipate questions you don’t want to answer.

The Interview Checklist Confirm the time, date and location of the interview and name of interviewer where appropriate. Be there on time, but don’t be there too early. Make sure your appearance is professional. Prepare by anticipating the organization’s needs, questions, and any of your areas of weakness. Concentrate on the interview at the interview. If you are asked to bring a resume, references etc., get them ready the day before. If not, bring them anyway.

The Interview Be On Time! Public transportation may be undependable. Is there road construction? Is it hard to find parking? Always keep in mind that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. So be on time at the particular location of interview. Also if you are there very early, you can wait at a nearby cafe or shop. And if you are going to be late, the best option is call them. On arrival, ensure the receptionist knows you are there.

The Interview Preparation and Confidence Good preparation always creates confidence. Be well rested and in the right frame of mind. High Energy is important. Act like you want it. Listen more than you talk. Gather information which is useful during the interview. If you’re not sure of an answer, don’t feel you need to have all the answers. Can be a chance for a good question.

The Interview People Will Size You up in 30 Seconds You never have a second chance to make a first impression so be careful. Smile is one of the things which may matter in your impression. Good smiles always please people. Offer a firm handshake. Eye contact without glaring shows your confidence. Speak with energy and conviction.

The Interview Answer Briefly The best interviews have a give and take atmosphere. To do this, you need to ask questions and try to draw out your interviewer rather than talking about yourself nonstop. A general rule is you should speak one-third of the time and definitely no more than half of the time. When it is your turn to speak, do not hesitate to talk about yourself. Also, frame questions that show your strengths. First Comes the Phone Today, telephone screening is very common. You need to be prepared for the phone to ring at any time. These screenings may be for 10 minutes or for much longer.

The Interview Be Enthusiastic and Positive! During an interview, always show enthusiasm. Do not be negative. Focus on positive achievements and views. Check in During Interviews Know how much time you have. Your initial interview answers should be brief. But some of your best stories may take time to detail, then after two minutes, ask for permission to go on. You may say something like, "Now that I have described my project, would you like to hear about my role in detail?"

The Interview Talk about Specific Achievements Interviewers like to know how you felt about a particular success. Some will ask for specific examples of things you have done that you are particularly proud of; how you solved problems; how you learned - and improved - from difficult situations. Think of an Interview as a First Date Instead of the Inquisition, think of a job interview as a first date: you are both trying to figure out if there is a match. This mindset offers many advantages. You come off as curious, not desperate, you do not assume that too-formal, phony-appearing job-seeker persona, you talk about what you want to talk about instead of just passively getting bombarded with the employer's probes and you are more likely to ask questions during the interview. Those questions will help you assess if you really want the job. Treat the interview as a first date, and you will both be better informed when deciding whether you should hook up. Also, don’t lead them on!

The Interview It is Your Interview Too! Ask about culture, training and growth opportunities, how valued employees are measured. What work will be done, with and for whom? Find out if it is a place where you want to work. Virtual Thanks You can send follow-up letters through email if this is the way you and the potential employer have been communicating all along. A hand-written note is nice as well. Be careful of too much follow-up. Messaging is important here too.

The Interview Don'ts Not preparing for the interview: You cannot communicate without pre-interview research. Showing up late or too early: Many job seekers do not realize that showing up too early often creates a poor first impression. Arriving more than 10 minutes early for an interview shows that the job seeker has too much time on his or her hands. Always remember that your time is as valuable as the interviewer's. Always arrive on time, but never more than 10 minutes early.

The Interview Don'ts Poor handshake: The shake hand starts the interview and that is your first opportunity to create a great impression. If you have delivered a poor handshake, it is impossible for you to recover it. Treat the receptionist rudely: The first person you meet on an interview is a receptionist. The receptionist has the power to say about your positive or negative points before you even set eyes on the interviewer. The interviewer may also solicit the receptionist's opinion of you after you leave.

The Interview Don'ts Talk too much: Talking too much always creates a problem. To avoid over-talking, practice answering questions in a direct manner. Being brief helps you to maintain focus. Talk negatively about current or past employers/managers: Even if your last boss was not good, never state your ill feelings about him/her. No matter how reasonable your complaints, you will come out the loser if you show that you disrespect your boss. When faced with the challenge of talking about former employers, make sure you are prepared with a positive spin on your experiences.

The Interview Don'ts Ask about benefits, vacation time or salary: Do not ask about the benefits, vacation time or salary during the first interview. Wait until you have won the employer over before beginning that discussion. Verbal Ticks: The first signs of nervousness are verbal ticks. We all have them from time to time "umm," "like," "you know." You can also sometimes avoid verbal ticks by pausing for a few seconds to gather your thoughts before each response. To reduce the verbal ticks, practice out loud to answer questions and share your best success stories.

The Interview Don'ts Not enough/too much eye contact: Eye contact shows confidence, but too much may make the interviewer uncomfortable. Avoid eye contact and you will seem shifty, untruthful or disinterested. If you sometimes have trouble with eye-contact balance, work this issue out ahead of time in an interview practice session with a friend. Failure to match communication styles: It is almost impossible to make a good first impression if you can not communicate effectively with an interviewer. If the interviewer seems all business, then you should behave all business. If the interviewer is personable, try discussing his/her interests. If the interviewer asks a direct question, answer directly. Allowing the interviewer to set the tone of conversation can vastly improve your chances of making a favorable impression.

It Really Happened The Cleaning Woman. Who is Your Supervisor? I have a BMW. Look at My Portfolio. I Really Want This Job (and 70 others). I Accept…Sort Of. A Real NailBiter. How Many Push-Ups Can You Do?

The Interview Discussion of Salary Let the interviewer bring up the issue. Ask about the market in informational interviews. Look at PR Week, Salary.com, Towers Perrin, etc. Take cost of living into account. Be honest, don’t change stance mid-process. It’s not about you or others, it’s about your value. The Burson Model.

The Interview Take it Step by Step Just as in products or services, there is a sales process. Don’t skip a step or move backwards or you will set yourself up to fail. Secure Interview Interview Follow-Up Secure Offer Accept or Reject

The Interview Final Thoughts Just as a strong resume wins you an opportunity to interview, strong interview skills will win you consideration for the job. We look for soft skills as much as technical skills. Take advantage of every interview. Don’t play it by ear, but rather have a controlled message and method to your responses.

On the Job How to Develop and Progress Learn as much you can from the senior people in your organization. Attend any and all training available. Ask for opportunities to work on things that interest you. Show people that you’re willing to pitch in. Evaluate other job opportunities looking at the big picture.

On the Job Dealing with Problems, Challenges If you have a problem, work to change things. Talk to those who can influence. If unhappy, figure out why and how to fix. Present problems, but also solutions. Know how to approach different people.

Summary Find the Right Fit For You. Be Mistake-Free. Be Prepared. Understand the Person and the Company. Show Energy but Be Yourself. Be Positive, Never Negative. Be Honest, Don’t Undersell or Oversell.

Breaking Into P R 11 7 07

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