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Tuesday, June 23, 2009
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Current Openings
GolinHarris
Vice President, Consumer. An agency experienced leader who can drive consumer account programs and manage staff, budgets, and creative process.
Account Supervisor, Corporate. An agency experienced corporate communications professional with in-depth experience handling a variety of corporate activities as well as a strong desire to grow new business.
Pipeline talent for technology, digital, and consumer account level staff.
Weber Shandwick
Senior Vice President, Healthcare. An agency experienced thought leader and program developer with deep healthcare experience.
Executive Producer, Digital. A digital PR/Marcom guru.
Account Coordinator, Digital. An eager digital PR practitioner who will implement strategies and produce the-on-the ground results for our clients in the online space.
General call for digital account level staff.
Rogers & Cowan
Account Executive, eMedia. A Freelancer needed for immediate new/social media work.
Meeting with Entertainment Digital account leaders.
Email Alan Weatherbee at aweatherbee@cmgrp.com for details, consideration, or referrals.
Follow me on Twitter at @alanweatherbee
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Beat the interview blues: change your tune.
The five minute walk from your car to your (hopefully) future office can be minutes filled with anxiety or minutes spent getting you in the right frame of mind.
A zillion things race through your head as you check yourself in the mirror, grab your resume and work samples (whew- you remembered to bring them!), and begin to navigate an unfamiliar parking structure and find the elevator bank.
You've prepared for this interview for days. You know that you are a savvy, smart professional who can list his/her accomplishments with efficient ease, and gosh darn-it, people like you. So, once in the room you know you'll be fine. But, how do you transition yourself from road weary to interview ready in moments?
Answer: a sweet playlist.
Music plays a large role in influencing mood and is an emotional experience that can definitely adjust one's attitude. So, I suggest clearing your mind and firing up your MP3 on your way from the parking lot to the elevator. Whether you are nervous, low on energy, or just sick and tired of repeating your "three best attributes" over and over in your head, the right song can really be a difference maker.
I conducted an informal survey (informal=I asked my co-workers and my sister Sarah in Boston) and found that different professionals look to different types of music to get them mentally prepared to interview. Many need inspiration and an energy boost, some just want their socks rocked off, others want the steady beat and confident lyrics of a hip hop song, while a certain few went for alternative rock to get them on track.
Of all, these are (in no particular order) the top ten tunes to get you revved to interview like a rock star:
MGMT "Kids"
Kanye West "Stronger"
Tom Petty "Free Fallin"
Katrina & The Waves "Walking on Sunshine"
The Strokes "Last Night"
Metallica "Enter Sandman"
Radiohead "Lucky"
The Killers "Somebody Told Me"
Muse "Nights of Cydonia"
MC Hammer "Can't Touch This" or C & C Music Factory "Gonna Make You Sweat" (same effect)
Pretty random, but my empirical, scientific research data doesn't lie. Try them and see for yourself.
And have a great interview!
Friday, March 27, 2009
“I wish that I knew what I know now when I was younger.”
The first six months on the job is a learning experience for anyone entering into a PR agency environment. There are billable codes to master, client contacts to learn and impress, Outlook meeting requests coming fast and furious, and, of course, a corporate culture to navigate and a kitchen to find.
To give the next wave of agency professionals a head start, some of the esteemed PR professionals in my network agreed to share some lessons learned during their introductory months and graciously agreed that I could pass them along. These lessons learned are pearls of wisdom for the ingénues of the PR agency world:
- Learn how to write well and don't be afraid of the phone.
- It's all people skills -- figure out skill sets of coworkers, how everyone fits together, how the machine will run.
- Never underestimate building social capital. Get face time with senior management and even co-workers to ensure that you are always top of mind.
- YOU are in charge of your own PR. Forward your supervisor positive emails from clients and co-workers.
- Over-communicate with your supervisor.
- Find a mentor! Finding that key person who will help you grow professionally and offer advice on how best to approach situations is worth its weight in gold.
- Read everything, even the back files. Arrive early. Make time to attend brainstorms. Find a peer buddy. Volunteer.
- Speak up, don't be afraid to disagree w/clients; bring value; know your worth each billable hour = profit for the agency.
- Learn your boss' values - all agencies have processes, and some managers want things done a certain way!
- Always be proactive. Ask questions. Know your clients and the industry.
- Have a distinct interest in one part of PR? Maybe digital? Master it! Then, exploit it.
- Figure out where you can show added value that no one else can. Actively look for ways to incorporate it (current projects/accts).
- Be genuinely interested/passionate in what you want to promote. Authentic marketing equals great results & career longevity.
- Don't spin it. Just chose a compelling angle & arrange the facts in an engaging way that supports that point of view.
- Learn not only media landscape and write clearly to engage the broadest audience.
- Be sure you understand who covers what. Nothing annoys a journalist more than pitches irrelevant to their beats.
- And, last but not least, don't IM the entire office by mistake letting them know you are bored J.
These tips come from successful practitioners and fall under the "I wish that I knew what I know now when I was younger" folder. Please take the time to look this list over, maybe a couple of times. These concepts are things to keep in mind as you enter the profession PR agency world and may come into play at any point during your formative months.
If you asked me for advice I would just say to keep an open mind, don't expect to know everything going in, trust your instincts, and deliver your best possible work product every time.
Thanks to all my PR friends who helped me with this tip sheet!
Alan
Monday, March 23, 2009
Tips for building your personal brand online
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Food (produce specifically) for thought for PR agency job seekers…
Many job seekers have apprehension and doubt enter their subconscious at some point throughout a job search. I'm no psychiatrist (or even a psychologist) but I think it's quite normal and natural. However, a step I strongly recommend to combat such uneasiness is to build your brand as a candidate. If you have a strong brand and you know what you are, it's a great approach to help you stay focused in your search, know which opportunities are for you and which are not (eliminates time wasting), and you can better appeal to a recruiting and a hiring team as the solution to their staffing "problem".
"I'm open to anything" is not a suitable response to the "which practice area within my firm most appeals to you?" question in a recruiting interview. In these times of specialization you need to figure out your brand and create strength behind it. Know what type of PR work you excel at and love doing and find employment opportunities that offer the chance to do it. I know the job market is limited so you may be forced to have some flexibility in other areas of a job offer, however, if your brand is "consumer PR specialist with deep product launch and lifestyle brand experience" don't start casting the net so wide that you're applying to crisis comm. opportunities. Unless you are in a career transition which is a whole other story.
It comes down to this: Be the best apple in the bunch if an employer is hiring for an apple. If an employer is hiring for an orange, well, it's not the right opportunity for you and you can move past it quickly. More accurately, it's be the best Granny Smith apple in the bunch or be the best Fuji apple in the bunch or be the best Red Delicious apple in the bunch or be the best…(well, you get my specialization/fruit analogy I'm sure by now).
So, ways to create, strengthen, and market your brand in the PR agency job market takes some project work but is not altogether daunting and is definitely not impossible. It starts with interspection (which is a useful practice to engage in occasionally- not too much or you'll end up a neurotic) about your likes/dislikes, strengths/weaknesses, clients that you've LOVED working on/clients you haven't, how you like to work (team/autonomous)….basically, it's not so much "what color is your parachute?" but it's how and where to you like to go parachuting.
Then, it's about creating a resume that clearly defines you and shows your actions and results while emphasizing your passion areas. Examples of client work and of your day-to-day responsibilities need to highlight your brand, references need to be in synch with your area of expertise, and professional affiliations should complete the picture of you.
Next is making sure your online and social media touch-points are all in synch and that your digital brand is not only a reflection but a clear pronouncement of it.
Lastly, in terms of your application, interviewing, and follow-up make sure it reflects the brand. Create email and documents with like fonts and styles, be focused and enthusiastic in all correspondence, research and understand the firm and their clients prior to applying and definitely prior to interviewing, dress for success, and follow-up in a way that you feel is professional and appropriate.
Each application process is different and each job opportunity unique so be ready to shape yourself to the target audience (in this case employers) is a smart and strategic way.
To end this little entry, please find a listing of PR Agency resources to tap when job seeking. Of course, first on your list should be my job boards (I recruit in Los Angeles exclusively):
Rogers & Cowan- http://bit.ly/1vLNwX
Weber Shandwick- http://bit.ly/IEx8R
GolinHarris- http://bit.ly/4EKWA5
These other targeted resources should be tapped as well:
Industry Associations
Local chapter:
Local chapter:
http://la.iabc.com/index.shtml
Council of PR Firms http://www.prfirms.org/
Publications
The Holmes Report http://www.holmesreport.com/agencies/bestagencies_top10.cfm
PR Week http://www.prweekus.com/
Online Resources
Ned's Job of the Week http://www.nedsjotw.com/
Bulldog Reporter's PR Job Mart
http://www.bulldogreporter.com/ME2/Default.asp
http://www.hr-guide.com/data/088.htm
http://www.online-pr.com/prjobs.htm
Facebook Groups
"PR Jobs" , "Official Facebook PR Group", "PRWeek Networkers", "PR Job Watch", "IABC", "PRSA"
LinkedIn Groups
"Tech PR", "PRSA", "PR Professionals", "Network of PR Professionals"
And, Alumni services at your University!
Happy hunting!
