Saturday, June 30, 2012

Building Your Personal Brand

As the first half of 2012 draws to a close, here's a brief word on building your personal brand.

As the term implies, personal branding involves a person treating his or her career as a brand name, give or take.  It's sort of like you're going to, or promoting, WalMart, only you're doing it as an individual, not a company.

The most important thing about personal branding is that you're always promoting a product: you.  Basically, that means you're selling your product to one customer: the company or employer you want promote someday.  But it'll be impossible for you to do so if you can't promote yourself or your brand.

The bottom line?  Just simply sending a resume, cover letter, and portfolio isn't enough.  It takes selling and promoting yourself to get potential employers aware of your personal brand.

Want more on building your personal brand.  MediaBistro's PR Newser has some tips here.

Feel free to comment on any and all posts at http://communication-careers-corner.blogspot.com/.

Send e-mail to communicationcareers@gmail.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/commcareer

Saturday, June 16, 2012

What the Times-Picayune downsizing means for PR pros

By now, most of you reading this blog know that the New Orleans Times-Picayune is cutting back the publication of its print product from seven days a week, to just three days a week, starting this fall.


Many articles published on the Internet, such as one recently published by John McQuaid in the Atlantic, suggest websites alone won't entirely replace daily newspapers.  That especially will be the case in New Orleans, which will soon become the first major metropolitan area in the United States without a daily newspaper.  Another post, written by Josh Stearns at savethenews.org, has more on what the upcoming downsizing will have on the future of journalism as a whole.


So, what will this move mean for public relations and other communications professionals?  For one thing, a reduced printing schedule means fewer opportunities, or days, if you will, to have key events publicized in the paper, but might create more chances to plug them online, as well as on mobile devices.  For those that have them, that is.

For instance, suppose a major employer were to come to--or at least expand to--a city like New Orleans? The announcement might come on Monday, however, people who rely solely on newspapers to get their news, and don't have a radio or television, or a computer to log on to, for that matter, likely would have to wait until Wednesday to find out that a new company is coming to town.

While the downsizing of the Times-Picayune might mean fewer print journalists at press conferences, it could open the door for PR pros to pitch their story ideas to online and broadcast journalists.  Plus, the seemingly constant growth of the Internet, social media, and other related digital media content will give PR people more chances to promote their product via their websites, blogs, and other channels.  

The bottom line?  It's time to think outside the box when it comes to pitching journalists who need to get the story out to the general public.

Feel free to comment on any and all posts at http://communication-careers-corner.blogspot.com/.

Send e-mail to communicationcareers@gmail.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/commcareer






Wednesday, June 13, 2012

How to stand out in a tough job market

As this post is being written, it's almost the middle of June, and summer is just around the corner.  Most colleges and universities have already held their graduation, or commencement, ceremonies, with multiple graduates are looking for work.

Those of you who are reading this post are no doubt know by now just how tough it is to find a job in an increasingly competitive market, especially in public relations, journalism, and other related fields.  If you want to stand out in this tough job market, you must do more than simply send out resumes.  You must be willing to embrace social media, as well as the other related new or digital media technologies available.

Additionally, other ways to stand out in a crowded field might include internships, doing volunteer work, or even joining a political campaign or organization.  Also, starting a blog like this one, as well as visiting social networking such as LinkedIn can be a tremendous help in standing out.  Also, don't dismiss communications related jobs that aren't in public relations, such as doing freelance writing for a local weekly newspaper or magazine, going into sales at a TV station, or even becoming a production assistant for a radio station.

So, if you're among the many recent college graduates that are having trouble finding work: remember the following closing words to this post: Be persistent, and don't give up!

Feel free to comment on any and all posts at http://communication-careers-corner.blogspot.com/.

Send e-mail to communicationcareers@gmail.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/commcareer


Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Why starting a blog is important in today's media landscape

Are you a journalist that's recently been laid off, and/or in between jobs?  Then click here and here to read the following posts.   Both offer tips on how to not only start a blog, but also build a brand, not to mention an audience.

Feel free to comment on any and all posts at http://communication-careers-corner.blogspot.com/.

Send e-mail to communicationcareers@gmail.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/commcareer