What Will You Be Doing After You Graduate?

This is the question I get at least once a day.....what an intimidating yet exciting question.

After reading this article I sure am glad I didn't graduate last spring because the employment rates for graduates with a Journalism or Mass Communication degree weren't as high as they have been in years past. But I will not be discouraged, Spring 2010 Mass Communication graduates there is hope!!!

The ways I plan to prevent being jobless after graduation is by networking. I have heard the saying, "It's not the grades you make, it's the hands you shake." I never want to miss an opportunity to make a connection with someone, you never know they might know someone who is looking for an event planner for their non-profit organization, that sure would be convenient! I will also use my social media skills like Twitter and blogging to network and research job opportunities.

I am also not opposed to getting another internship the summer after I graduate, I think there are so many opportunities in internships to network, learn more about a specific PR field, and there is a chance an internship can turn into a job.

GCSU PR students also have an advantage with our portfolios. I hope to one day impress a future employer with my portfolio showcasing all I have done in my PR career at GCSU.

I am hoping by early next year I will have an answer to the question, "What will you be doing after graduation?" After all my Dad has reminded me that, "Your first job doesn't have to be your last job." I am willing to try a variety of careers dealing with non-profit or ministry related.

Community Relations Case Study: Wells College

The case study on community relations my partner and I chose to present to our PR Campaigns class is one involving Wells College.

Here is the scoop: Wells College was a small liberal arts all women college in New York. Wells began to struggle financially and their enrollment began to decline. The team threw around ideas like, reduce tuition 30%, increase student aid, add new programs and implement an advertising campaign. These ideas were unsuccessful in boosting enrollment, so the Wells Colllege board members had the idea of making the school co-ed.

There was lots of research involved and both the board and faculty voted. The end result...Men could now attend Wells College. After the decision the board decided to personally telephone employees, post a letter on the website, mail a letter to alumnae, send out news release, and email the students.

After the announcement some alumnae were upset at the decision and started a protest website and sent letters to the president of the college. Although some disagreed with the decision, it was successful; enrollment doubled the next year.

This case study dealt with community relations because should the college have asked the students instead of just allowing the board and faculty to vote? Students are the majority of the Wells community. What could the members of the board done differently to be more mindful of community relations?

Blog Action Day 2009

The topic for blog action day 2009 is climate change, and since I was not well seasoned in that topic I did some research online and interviewed my Dad who is a meteorologist. I now have a standpoint on the issue: Climate Change is a publicity stunt.

The discussion of global warming has moved from scientific to political. With that shift, facts have become twisted and thus the discussion has become quite heated.

Few would argue that the earth has warmed, the debate centers around the effect of that warming due to man. It is my opinion that climate change, both warming and cooling, happens around the globe, but that man is nothing more than a spectator.

My dad shared this example with me. The earth’s atmosphere is too large to be impacted by man on a global scale. Micro-climates can be altered, we have seen that in the heat island effect in our major metropolitan areas. The concrete and steel of the city can trap heat during the day and radiate outward at night keeping the recorded low temperatures higher than those in the suburbs. But that data would not change the overall climate for a particular area.

Here is another fact that contradicts the theory of manmade global warming. The latest surface temperatures on the planet Mars have warmed in the last decade and obviously not due to the efforts of humans.

This is a publicity stunt; consumers are buying products and ideas because companies are taking full advantage of this trend and marketing their products towards climate change advocates. This is a fad. Instead of putting time and energy in blaming man for climate change and developing new climate friendly products, how about putting those resources to work for a common good, like in the field of medicine. Surely there is no debate there.

(Don't think I am anti-environmentally friendly, I recycle and support conserving natural resources!)

Ladies Lawn Night

Ladies Lawn Night was October 1, 2009 from 6-9 p.m in the courtyard of the freshman dorms. This event was part of the PRSSA national CW campaign my PR class is competing in. I am in a group with 4 of my other classmates and we worked hours on making our event one everyone would remember. 

At LLN we showed the premiere episodes of 90210 and Melrose Place projected on a big screen and laid out blankets on the lawn. Before the sun went down we had a fashion show and the Jazz Bandits performed. A local jewelry store came and sold accessories and the clothes from the fashion show were even on sale after the show. A sister from ZETA soroity came and spoke about breast cancer awareness and handed out pink ribbons.  It was the perfect girls night!

Several community businesses were very generous in donating prizes for the raffle. We were able to give away lots of neat gifts. Plus the CW in Atlanta really helped us out and gave us boxes of CW promotional items to give out at the door and several huge CW banners that we hung on the tennis court fences so students could take pictures in front of them. 

As far as promotion goes, we did all we could. There were flyers EVERYWHERE, we handed out mini flyers on campus, sent press releases to local media, made a twitter and facebook event, posted it on the campus calendar and bobcat vision, had the event listed in the Colonnade, and updated a blog, (check it!)

When students on campus tell me they had fun at Ladies Lawn Night I feel like a proud parent because this event was my baby for the past month and it makes me happy knowing people enjoyed all our hard work. Let's just hope the CW think the same.

I learned so much about campaign planning; for example how asking someone to help never hurts. Most of the Milledgeville community was more than willing to help. Through several moments of frustration, I learned you need to triple check everything. I can see where it would come across high strung to the outsider, but as PR people we have events to plan and we have to make sure everything is in place and accounted for! 

I really have a new respect for event planners....it is a stressful yet rewarding job!

Now that the event is behind us, it is time to get going on putting together our campaign booklet!!!! 

Ethics and my standpoint

Recently I have participated in discussions about ethics in my PR and Advertising classes, and all this talk about ethics made me think about my own standpoint on ethics.

I would consider myself an ethical person and I think whenever I enter the real world I will stay true to my ethical choices. Here are a few of my standpoints:

-I do want to be successful in my career, but I will not compromise my morals and values to get there. 

-I want to support my future companies products, services, or ideas. For example I will not work for the Tobacco industry or some sort of scandalous or trashy company.

-I really want to enjoy my job, I never want to hate my job, life is too short to wake up miserable everyday.

It is difficult to list out standpoints because so many ethical choices are different case by case...but overall I would more than likely choose the conservative ethical route.

I think my main influences of my ethical standpoints are my faith and my family upbringing. My parents are conservative and have always stressed the importance of having high morals and values to my sister and me. 

It is very interesting to hear all my classmates' different standpoints on ethics. Alhough we all have different views, we all share in the desire to succeed (and to graduate!)

My new sparked interest in Corporate Social Responsibilty

I have always wanted to do PR for a non-profit organization, but I have now discovered another possible career choice.... corporate social responsibility.

Corporate social responsibility in a nutshell is companies doing good will towards society and providing more than just their product but also something to help the community in which they are a part of. Considering the economic state, companies are fighting for business and need more than advertising, they need to show society that their corporation is giving back during these tough times and earn trust and respect from the customers.

            McDonalds has mastered the art of social responsibility, especially with the well-known Ronald McDonald House. For nearly 35 years, Ronald McDonald House Charities have been creating, finding and supporting programs that directly improve the health and well being of nearly 3.7 million children worldwide every year. The organization helps families in serious times of need like finding housing for families near hospitals so they are able to stay near and support a hospitalized child, helping families afford staying together in another city while a child is undergoing treatment, or even getting basic medical and dental care in an underserved community.

McDonalds has a tab on there website titled, “Good Works.” This page tells of how McDonalds gives back. This quote on their site summarizes McDonalds' view on social responsibility, “We all have a duty to act responsibly. To do good. Participate in the lives of others. It’s about taking pride in the world we live in, and dealing with the important issues. It’s about being there for us.” Mcdonalds puts forth a noticeable effort to be involved in the community and earn the trust of their customers, not just by serving healthier menu options but also giving time and money to a large number of charities.

I would be more willing to work for a company I know is socially responsible than one that is not. Perhaps this concept will spill over and encourage individuals to give a helping hand in their own community.

I never want to learn something new everyday.

Recently I have come to the realization that I have a love for learning. My parents have always said that I always asked A LOT of questions when I was a kid, and I still do. I am just a curious person trying to take in as much as possible.

I am telling you of my curiosity for the purpose of sharing some skills I want to learn before I graduate. According to this post on davefleet.com there are 14 key skills and attributes for new public relations professionals. Here are a few I would like to learn more about or improve on before that scarrrrryyy day of graduation.

1. Writing- Since this is such a crucial part of PR I want to improve my writing skills and have a distinct style of writing. I don't mind writing, but I am not confident in my work. I could use some improvement.

2. Search Engine Optimization- I am a creature of habit and just use Google and if I don't find what I am looking for in the first couple pages I then move onto another search engine. I suppose I need to learn to search the web more efficiently 

3. Coding- Considering I don't even quite know what this is, I need to learn a lot more about this skill. 

4. RSS- Here is another skill I need to look into. I am familiar with RSS but would like to learn more on how to use it properly. 

There are few skills on the list I think I possess, but none the less can still work on.

1. Attention to Detail- I love details. In event planning sometime I stress too much about the small details, but I think the small details are important and someone will notice them. 

2. Proactiveness- Once again my curiosity and task oriented personality helps in being proactive. I don't do well with idle time or procrastination so I do my best to stay on top of assignments and deadlines.

3. Social Networking Tools, Blogs, and Twitter- Thanks to my PR professor, Ging, I have learned to be a social media advocate. I was always a fan of facebook, and honestly spend too much time on facebook, but find it very beneficial for networking now that most of the world has a facebook account. I also am now a fan of Twitter and enjoy following celebrities and people who put up informative links.

Being a senior I am trying to soak in as much knowledge and wisdom I can and take with me along my PR journey. Feel free to leave any comments with advice or other important PR skills.