HAPPO: The Freshman Edition

A couple of months ago, I was part of the HAPPO kickoff team. If you’re new to the concept, HAPPO (Help A PR Pro Out) is “designed to help connect PR job seekers with employers looking for top talent.”

It started as a day, but now it’s much more than that; a hashtag, blog, chat… in short, it aims to be your one-stop shop if you’re a PR pro looking for a job, and an ever-growing community that tries to help you do that.

Image: Marco Vossen, Creative Commons

The second HAPPO day (and yes, you can pun away to your heart’s content, we’ve heard it all) is coming up on April 30, focusing on new and recent graduates. So watch this space on Friday for a guest post from a young lady I met recently at a Towson University career fair – she’s quite terrific.

Coincidentally, I came across Gawker’s post on the (potential) intern from Hell today. After I got up from ROFLMAO’ing, I couldn’t help but recall Bill Sledzik’s excellent post on millennials (and the comments are mind-blowing), as well as Todd Defren’s follow-up riff in his “open letter to millenials” (and there’s a follow-up to that as well here).

Millenials, I’m not here to beat up on you.

I know a ton of you and you are, by and large, absolutely terrific people. However, being at a disadvantage when it comes to the years you’ve spent job-hunting, I think it’s important to reinforce that there’s a lot more to the process than you might think. My friend Mary Barber, also a HAPPO “champion,” wrote a terrific post on this. In particular, she said:

“It is a little concerning to see comments from those wondering why this was just a one- day event, bothered that they didn’t get a job and especially that the champion in their area didn’t find them a job.”

Here’s a news flash: when someone’s taking time out of their day (read: paid work) to help you find a job, it is your responsibility to help them do you a favor. Which means you should be polite, make sure they have all the resources they need, and not expect anything in return.

This “not expecting thing” is particularly important, because it will influence how you interact with them (and possibly other people), which will in turn influence how they respond to you.

It will also save you huge disappointment down the road when things don’t turn out the way you’d like. If you start with no expectations, you have nowhere to go but up. That’s not to say you shouldn’t have hope; but “hope” and “expectations” are two different things.

The thing is, those of us who try to help out – and I don’t mean just the folks involved with HAPPO, but anyone, anywhere who’s offered to help you out at anytime with anything – really do try. But you’ve got to give us the tools to work with. And the right attitude is part and parcel of that.

Get HAPPO-ready

As you gear up for HAPPO Day on Friday, why not go through this checklist of dos and don’ts to make sure you’re positioning yourself as well as you can to get that great PR job?

1. Typo-proof your resumé. You’d be amazed at how many folks don’t do this… or, at least, do it well enough. And if you’re looking for a job in “public relations,” make sure you spell “public” with the “l.” That’s something Spell Check won’t fix for you.

2. Don’t attach your resumé to an introductory email. If someone’s nice enough to make an introduction for you, follow up politely with that new contact and ask them if they’d mind you sending them your resumé. Don’t assume they’ll want it right off the bat. You know what “assume” breaks down to, right? Right.

3. Manage yourself online. If you have online profiles, make sure they’re updated and contain a nice, professional-looking photograph. Clean up your Facebook profile and go through your privacy settings with a fine-tooth comb. And if you’re on Twitter, make sure your profile is unprotected, so that people can see your Twitterstream.

4. Use language, symbols and punctuation wisely. Yes, we use smiley faces (Image: Matthew Juzenas, Creative Commons), acronyms and exclamation points far more liberally than we have before; I do it all the time on Twitter, Facebook, etc. But I don’t use them half as liberally in professional communications; at least not until I’ve established a relationship with someone. When someone’s just getting to know you, a professional demeanor is the best one to project.

5. Don’t ask someone to “feel free” to… pass along your resumé, share jobs with you, or generally promote you until they’ve gotten to know you first. In fact, I’d suggest you drop “feel free” from your vocabulary altogether. It’s superfluous. If someone’s impressed by you, they won’t need the invitation. If they’re not, you’ll probably just irritate them.

6. Follow up, follow up, follow up. You can follow up on leads without being a pest. As Mary says in her post, it takes more than four hours to build a network and find a job (there’s that expectation thing again). But if you’re politely persistent, you’ll have a much better chance of securing informational interviews and, hopefully, a job you’ll look forward to waking up to every day.

Now let’s get ready for HAPPO, or, as Whoopi Goldberg might put it, O HAPPO Day.

What would you add to the checklist? How else can we help younger pros prepare for the workforce? I’m sure there are many more tips we can offer new entrants to our field, so please do share your knowledge.

Filed under Career, Networking | Tags: #HAPPO, bill sledzik, getting a job, job hunting, mary barber, pr, todd defren | Comments (7)

Where’s The Box? Lessons Learned on The Job Search Trail

I first came across Mitch Derman when I participated in HAPPO (how great was that?). He took me up on my offer to showcase job seekers on my blog but, as luck would have it, was imprisoned by my spam filter that day.

To make up for it, I asked Mitch if he’d like to guest post on WUL, which is what led to a precursor to this post. I got delayed in publishing it, so what a grand surprise it was when Mitch asked if he could edit it slightly because… he’d found a job! Here are some great lessons he shares while on the search (image, Sascha Assbach, Creative Commons). And congrats, Mitch.

In my mind, every time that I envisioned getting laid off, I always thought there would be an empty box by my desk.

So when there was no box by my desk in November 2002, I was surprised by the call to come down to the General Manager’s office at the PR firm where I worked, only to see him seated at his meeting table with the HR rep by his side and a folder with my name on it.  I knew right away it was my last day of employment with the company.

While the moment surprised me, I had a feeling this might happen given the dotcom era had been replaced by the dotbomb era.  And all of our clients were in the technology industry.

Certainly this was a traumatic experience and one I would not wish on my worst enemy.  Needless to say, it was a learning experience.

For me, the biggest thing I learned the hard way was that I did not have a strong network in place.

At the time, while there were Internet resources such as Career Builder, Monster and others, there was no LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook.  I immediately joined IABC and PRSA, and attended various networking events.

Those activities certainly helped, but I know now that I would have been far more successful had I already built a strong network before the layoff.  It took me nearly six months to get a new job.

When I re-joined the workforce, I took my lesson to heart and tried to the best of my ability to stay active in professional and social interactions, where I could meet and network with as many people as possible.  I attended many events, participated in volunteer efforts and became active on social media channels once they started becoming ubiquitous in 2006.

Flash forward to today.

While different circumstances than 2002, I found myself on the job search once again earlier this year.

I left a job in February.  This time around, I was in a much better position.

I had multiple interviews; many of which were a direct result of networking. Once I knew that I would be leaving, I reached out to everyone I could through e-mail, LinkedIn and Facebook.  So many people offered to help and forwarded me leads.  And these were people that I stayed in touch with beyond just friending them on social networks.

I would post things, send congratulatory notes when people started a new job or were promoted, and I would forward job leads to those I knew were looking or were recently laid off.  I also started a blog.

Thanks to the help of my network, I’m happy to report that I started my new job on March 29.

Additional resources:

• Starting a blog is easy.  I used blogspot.
• The Twitter Hashtag #happo (Help a PR Pro Out) is a great resource.
• On LinkedIn, there are many networking groups to join; one being the Capital Communicators Group.  PRSA and IABC also have forums on most social media channels.

Guest author Mitchell Derman is a communications professional with more than 15 years of experience helping organizations enhance their visibility with external and internal stakeholders, in industries such as technology, telecommunications, media, aerospace and defense.  He is now Director of Corporate Communications for i2, a leading provider of intelligence and investigation management software for law enforcement, defense and intelligence analysis.  Visit him online at Mitch’s Beltway Banter.

Filed under Career, Networking | Tags: getting a job, job hunting, mitchell derman, Networking | Comments (2)

Help These PR Pros Find A Job

Update: please scroll down to see several more HAPPOers – the afternoon edition of this post. Again – these are all wonderful people who have unique skills and personalities – so if, while you’re reading their bios and posts, you can think of a connection that will help them – do make it. It’s social karma. Thank you!

I wrote earlier about why I’m participating in #HAPPO, so I won’t bore you with those details again (but if you need a refresher, the post is here).

Since today’s the actual HAPPO “event,” I thought I’d aggregate any DC-area HAPPO pitches I could here, to make it convenient for recruiters and folks with job openings to connect with them.

So if you do find someone below you’d be interested in talking to, or think one of the folks featured here could fit a bill you know about, please leave a comment or contact them directly, not me (but why not leave a comment anyway?).

Good luck, HAPPODC-ers!

Heather Mahoney

Heather (@Heather_Mahoney) attended the University of Maryland, College Park, graduating with honors in Communication (PR specifically). She’s involved with UCA, NCA, and PRSSA/PRSA. Published writer/editor for two publications; interned for Brotman Winter Fried and CBS Radio. A current reporter for The Scene Bisnow. Now, she’s looking for a full-time entry-level position in PR, specifically for a large publicity firm. She’s a fresh young professional simply looking for a place to allow her talents to shine.

Emilie O’Toole

Emilie’s a senior public relations major and business administration minor at Boston University, searching at the intersection of government, public affairs and communications for her first job. She’s a highly motivated and creative communicator looking to sink her teeth into a career in public relations. She’s an idealist, looking for an opportunity to make the world around her a better place through creative thinking, strategic planning and most importantly, action. Check out her full HAPPO pitch here or her resume.

Ashley Marshall

Ashley Marshall is a highly energized, self motivated, communications professional with experience in various avenues of public affairs, public relations, and television production. A recent graduate of Georgetown University with a Masters degree in corporate communications and public relations, Ashley completed a public affairs apprenticeship at one of Washington DC’s K street public affairs firms, Adfero Group. She had the opportunity to work with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Microsoft, The American Institute of Architects, and many congressional offices on Capitol Hill. This experience provided her with many transferable skills such as written communications, new media, web-based research, website development, developing communications strategies, advocacy campaigns, and Internet advertising analysis. Reach her at http://www.untaintedpr.wordpress.com.

Eli Baratz

Eli is interested in entry-level and intern positions with a PR firm in public affairs. He’s a 2007 graduate of Indiana University, BA in Telecommunications, BA in International Relations. Read his #HAPPO pitch here, and contact him at 317-626-7674 or elibaratz (dot) eli (at) gmail (dot) com.

Kim Allen

Kim is a recent PR professional, and loves the PR game. She’s looking for an entry-level position and to build a stronger networking base. And more then anything, she would love to relocate from Indiana, in fact she would consider that a requirement. Here’s more on Kim.

Andrew Elwell

Andrew is a senior at The George Washington University majoring in political communication and graduating in May.  He has experience working in communications with nonprofits and in an agency setting, as well as journalism experience.  He enjoys running, listening to bad pop music and constantly checking his twitterstream. Read his #HAPPO pitch here.

Laura Peck

Laura (@peccolina) is an organized, fast learner with great people skills, who loves to creative brainstorm. She’s graduating with a degree in public relations with minors in english, sociology and international studies from Penn State. She took the initiative to help co-found Penn State’s first student-run PR firm, Happy Valley Communications. Her extracurricular experience along with my education & internship experience make me a great addition to any team. For more, check out her blog.

The Afternoon Edition

Ann Marie van den Hurk, APR

I am an award-winning Accredited Public Relations (APR) professional with more than a decade experience leading all areas of integrated public relations planning and implementation including: digital media, issues/crisis management, media relations, organizational change, advocacy, events, and publication design. I am knowledgeable, skilled, realistic, and principled. I have a strong foundation in all areas of integrated public relations planning and implementation. I can design a plan through research then make it happen while doing it on time and within budget. My passions lie in doing good and have spent my career in nonprofits doing just that. Learn more about me that a resume can’t say: http://bit.ly/9CwaIL

Therese Pompa

Therese Pompa has five years of Marketing and PR experience.  Therese is diverse in her skill set and has an understanding of the connection between PR, Social Media, and Marketing; thereby allowing her to see the big picture when implementing a strategic plan. She has a strong attention to detail, is a creative thinker, a keen observer, sees the big picture and will go above and beyond until success is achieved. Learn more about her #HAPPO journey here.

Paula Newbaker

HAPPO-potomuses crash Internet!!!  To avoid such PR pitfalls in the future, view www.paulanewbaker.com. I’ve been doing this a few years, so you can check out my case studies and other samples for ways in which I can help you.  Strategic communications, PR, media relations, content-providing and writing, broadcast producing … I’ll even do your voice over work. Says Maury Tobin of Tobin Communications, “There are strategic thinkers and there are creative thinkers, but what makes Paula atypical is that she is smart when it comes to both approaches.”

Erica Lawton

Erica Lawton is an up-and-coming professional in the communication industry who is looking for opportunities in the DC area.  She graduated from Bryant University in May 2009 with an Honors BA in communication and minors in business administration and political science.  She is currently a master’s candidate at American University and will graduate with an MA in Public Communication in August 2010.  Her academic background and internship experience makes her an excellent candidate! Read more about Erica and #HAPPO here.

Faith Dow

I’m an Online Content Editor and Community Manager seeking to combine social media with marketing. I’m greatly interested in advocacy work surrounding access to technology and broadband internet. My writeup on #HAPPO is here.

Image (right at the very top): Blake Patterson, Creative Commons

Filed under Career, Networking | Tags: #HAPPO, getting a job, job hunting | Comments (2)

Help A PR Pro Out: The Michael Clendenin Edition

I know I’ve been talking (or having other folks talk) about job hunting, do’s and don’ts, etc., quite a bit lately. Honestly, I can’t help it; given this blog is all about “personal” musings on our business and our lives, it really is a reflection of what’s going on with, in, and around me.

Even though I’m not looking for a job myself, I’ve been helped countless times by both friends and strangers (who then become friends… what a wonderful world!) when I have been in the market – and the least I can do is pay it forward.

So when Arik Hanson and Valerie Simon asked me to be a part of a wonderful initiative: “Help a PR Pro Out” or #HAPPO for short, where several of us PR pros are going to do our bit to help our colleagues in the job market make excellent connections – and hopefully, find a great job – on February 19 – of course I said “yes.”

You’ve probably already heard the buzz online, but if you’re still getting up to speed, here’s the 4-1-1 on the HAPPO website itself.

Today’s #HAPPO Focus: Michael Clendenin

Specifically today, I want to tell you about a good friend and an excellent communicator, Michael Clendenin. Mike was most recently with Freddie Mac (yup) and is now in the job market. Having known and worked with him in a volunteer capacity at IABC/Washington (he’s on my current board of directors too) I can tell you that not only is he one of the most patient people around, he’s a really smart guy too; and whether it’s through sheer persistence or the luck of the Irish, invariably manages to pull the proverbial rabbit out of a hat when most needed.

Please – if you have, or know of, a senior-level communication position in the DC market, will you contact Michael? Or leave a comment below so that he can get in touch with you. And thank you in advance for your time and thoughts!

And now I’ll let Mike speak for himself. Please help this PR pro out!

Filed under Career, Public Relations, Social Media | Tags: #HAPPO, getting a job, help a pr pro out, job hunting, michael clendenin | Comments (6)

Job-hunting Long Distance? Five Do’s and Don’ts To Jumpstart Your Search

Job-hunting’s still very much on people’s minds, judging by the number of emails I get – and, I’m sure, you do as well. As I was reading Chuck Hemann’s fabulous guest post from yesterday on how to land a job in social media, as well as Thursday Bram’s post on online networking over at Women Grow Business, I thought I’d share what I’ve learned about job-hunting long-distance – because that’s what I did when I moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to the nation’s capital.

1. With an open mind, you’ll find opportunities in the unlikeliest of places

I’ve always been the kind of person to get involved in clubs and organizations. In San Francisco, I was on the board of a small publicity-oriented group, but wasn’t at all involved with IABC, simply because I didn’t have the time (ironic, huh?).

But when I knew I was moving to DC, which houses the largest IABC chapter in the country, I knew I had to check them out. After arriving here and settling in, I looked up their events calendar and started going for EVERY event I could, regardless of whether it catered to me or not; I figured the more people I met, the better for me.

One of those meetings happened to be an “accreditation funshop.” I’d started getting interested in accreditation a couple years prior, so off I went to learn more about it, even though it wasn’t a job-hunting or networking event per se. At that event, I got to know, and hit it off with, an extremely active IABC-er who ended up sending me the way of her neighbor… whose organization just happened to be looking for a PR professional of my level.

I interviewed and ended up getting a job offer, which I considered strongly, but didn’t take (I’ll tell you why in a moment). But I’m still in touch with some of the folks from the organization and none of that would have happened had I not ventured out.

2. Put your money where your mouth is… wisely

Even before I moved, I’d looked up IABC (as I mentioned) as well as the other networking groups in the area. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that trying to get the lay of the land when you’re completely new to it isn’t easy. Still, through some pretty intensive Internet searches, I knew that WWPR and PRSA were a couple of other groups I should start getting to know.

At the time, I couldn’t afford to join IABC or PRSA before I’d moved, but WWPR’s membership fee was relatively inexpensive. So I signed up – while still in the Bay Area – and once my membership went through, promptly emailed a couple of board members to introduce myself and let them know I’d be moving to the area.

Then, when I got to DC, I followed up with them and joined the organization’s pro bono committee. Through my activity with them, I not only made some great friends I have to this day, I got… you guessed it, another job offer (which I also didn’t take… yes, I’m coming to that).

If you want people to take you seriously, you have to show them you’re serious. And more often than not, that means putting your money where your mouth is. I know it’s tough, so do it wisely… but you really shouldn’t expect something for nothing.

3. If you think a job is right for you, use your leverage if you have it

The year we moved to DC – 2003 – was memorable for another reason; it was my first encounter with Katie Paine, measurement queen, mentor extraordinaire and who I’m fortunate to call a good friend. I’d organized an event at which Katie was speaking (there’s that professional development thing again!) and we hit it off. She gave me an introduction to a good friend of hers who was with Hill and Knowlton at the time – and I followed up when I was in DC.

After meeting, and getting along with, me, said friend gave me an introduction to four extremely highly-placed and well-connected agency friends, one of whom happened to be the Director of Media Relations for Ruder Finn. The minute I heard “Ruder Finn,” I knew I wanted to work there; I wanted large agency experience and their origins in art-related PR struck a chord with my entertainment background. I followed up with her, we had lunch and she set up a series of informational interview for me at RF. They loved me; I loved them. And over the next few months, I kept hearing that… but no offer was forthcoming.

One week the stars aligned. I received not one, but two job offers (#s 1 and 2 above). But I really, REALLY wanted to work at Ruder Finn. So I called my contact and let her know – nicely – that I had a great job offer on the table to which I needed to respond by week’s end. That this was not a shakedown, but that, if they were at all considering hiring me, now would be the time to make that known.

I had an offer in 24 hours.

Make no mistake, I would have taken that other job. But I leveraged the job I wanted. And you can too; just be prepared to walk the talk in case it doesn’t go the way you want.

4. Networking’s not a right, it’s a privilege

“It’s not a right, it’s a privilege,” is one of my husband’s frequent remarks about driving, and I think that applies to networking as well.

I know many people who make introductions and connections on a regular basis – I’m far from the only one – for no monetary gain whatsoever. There is certainly the “karma” aspect, though I don’t think any of us are intentionally trying to earn karma.

So when people give of their time and connections, remember this isn’t just a favor they’re doing you; they’re making a choice to spend time with or on you, as opposed to something else (which could quite possibly be earning them money). So please, please, please don’t take it for granted.

What does that mean? “Thank you” will go a long way, especially as a hand-written (yes, hand-written) note or card.

Along those lines, please don’t tell someone you’ve never met to “feel free to pass my resume along to anyone you think might be interested.” It’s not their job to help you. It’s YOUR job to help you.

5. Stay in touch and return the favor when you can

One of the first things I did before I moved to DC was get advice on my resume. Through a friend, I was put in touch with a senior executive at APCO Worldwide and while she didn’t have any openings for me at the time, she did spend an inordinate amount of time making suggestions on reformatting my resume (and it’s a format that has remained, to this day, and which I share freely with others, so if you’d like to see it, all you have to do is ask).

I can’t tell you how grateful I was – and still am – for all the time she spent with me. And even though we still haven’t met in person (I know, I know), I make it a point to keep in touch and one day, I’m convinced, will get that proverbial cup of coffee. Not because I want anything from her; but because I’m genuinely grateful for the time she gave me, which was invaluable to my job search.

Take it from me; when someone’s taken the time to review your resume, introduce you to a few folks via online or offline, they deserve more than a bcc email you send all your contacts to announce your new position before you disappear into the blue yonder.

Sure, send the bcc email; but always follow up and thank them personally. And keep in touch over the years as best you can. It’s the right thing to do.

And now, for some additional resources:

• Ned’s Job of the Week is a free, weekly jobs e-zine that I’ve written about before, and to which you should subscribe
• If you’re moving to DC and are looking for a job in communications, IABC, PRSA, WWPR and WNG are just a few of the organizations you should check out and start getting active in
• Again specific to DC and the PR field, PRofessional Solutions is a terrific PR temp agency
• If you haven’t already created one, VisualCV is a terrific complement to your LinkedIn profile; I strongly suggest you have both, and keep them updated

Those are my top tips for job-hunting via long distance, though I think they apply to job-hunting in general. What can you add? Do you have stories to share that we can learn from, perhaps get a chuckle out of? The comment section is yours!

Image: Ame Otoko’s Flickrstream, Creative Commons

Filed under Career, Networking | Tags: getting a job, job hunting, long distance, Networking | Comments (17)