Between my moving back home, I unfortunately missed the pre-chat leading up to the conference, but made sure that I did my research on what to expect. Thanks to Valerie Simon on her post about what to expect when attending such a conference. After reading it, I knew that I’d be all set.

One aspect that really got me was the keynote speaker Sarah Evans (Sevens Strategy), who gave an amazing presentation on “What’s Next for Public Relations, Strategy, and Technology.” I’ve been talking to Sarah for months and to not only meet her but also listen to her was completely unreal. Three main things about campaigns that I took away from Sarah’s presentation were:

• Portable–Can I take it with me
• Personalized–Can I customize
• Participatory–Can I join in

There were some other presentations that definitely grabbed my attention from the moment the speakers began talking. Ed Schipul (Schipul), who included some amazing photography within his presentation, provided some comical relief. His presentation focused on the personal brands that we create, which was a great refresher on the topic after attending #PRAdvanced. Ed gave six important elements to really focus in on in the “Personal Brand Era”

1. Story
2. Creation
3. Curation
4. Distribution
5. Monitoring
6. Terms of Service

During the luncheon, Nick Bilton (New York Times) was our speaker and I’m sure that everyone ignored the food. Nick’s discussion was indescribable. I was so intrigued with everything he said about how technology is changing and how we are directly affected by it. Definitely going to check out his book I Live in the Future: & Here’s How it Works this fall.

In the afternoon, two more presentations grabbed my attention and I made it a purpose to introduce myself to both ladies. The first was by Sandra Fathi (Affect Strategies), who talked about Tools & Technology for High Tech. From hearing all of Sandra’s suggestions for tools and how to utilize them, I will be doing a bit of my own research on how to implement them into my work. Also, I was able to help out one of the places where I interned on a new tactic to present to a client.

And finally, Christine Perkett (Perkett PR), who I have talked to on Twitter and had no idea she would be attending the event. Christine’s presentation about being an influencer in PR was extremely insightful and hey, there was even a Kelly Cutrone (People’s Revolution) shout out in there. Some key takeaways from Christine’s presentation include:

• Build your personal brand
• Do what you do…and do it well
• SHARE
• Write a book
• Make your own rules
• It’s all about YOU

Overall the day was a complete success and I gained so much information that I plan on researching throughout the summer. Being able to meet a majority of the speakers was great and I want to really thank Deirdre for inviting me to attend the conference.

Brittany James is a recent graduate of Quinnipiac University with a degree in public relations with a minor in marketing. Over the past year, she has held internships at Goodman Media International in New York City and at Cashman + Katz Integrated Communications in Glastonbury, CT.

We selected Angela as our student moderator because she gave us the initial idea for #PRStudChat during the summer 2009, with her five part blog series, Is PR Right for Me.  I interviewed with Angela for her series and thought it was really interesting how she was asking PR professionals questions about the industry, allowing us to share our own personal experiences in order to help other students and professionals.  Thus, #PRStudChat was born and has been capturing the attention of PR students, professors and pros ever since!

Valerie and I will be helping Angela on the November 17^th at 12:00 p.m. as co-hosts and assisting her to guide the session.  Career Day is designed to inform participants about the many different types of public relations, in different sectors, as well as the differences among organizations from government and healthcare to agency and non-profit.  We’ve invited several experts to join to answer questions about their particular organization and type of work.  Several of our PR experts include:

• Stephanie Smirnov, @ssmirnov, President, Devries PR
• Heather Huhman, @heatherhuhman, media relations manager at a national health care professional association and entry-level careers columnist for Examiner.com.
• Alec J Rosen, @alecjr, CEO, AJR Partners
• Mike Rupert, @rupertmike, Government Communicator DC Department of Consumer & Regulatory Affairs
• Dan Hutson, @dhutson, Director of Communications and Public Relations at Southern California Presbyterian Homes    

During our session, our PR experts will be answering the following types of questions:

• Prior to hiring, do companies search candidates on Google and Facebook?  Where else do they look?
• Should college graduates take unpaid internships?
• How do you leave an internship or job without burning any bridges?
• When starting a community blog, what guidelines would you recommend having in place?
• What predictions do you have for 2010?
• If you had a PR wish list for future social media trends, what would be on your list?

We hope that you will join us for our #PRStudChat Career Day on November 17^th.  This session is designed especially for PR professionals, who can offer a unique experience, and students who are looking to learn more about what to expect in the business world of PR. 

I remember when I was a junior at Glassboro State College (which is now Rowan University).  I wondered about the many intricate details of my new profession.   I was a member of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) and I recall asking the practicing PR pros at my school general questions about the PR as a career.  These questions included:  Why did you select PR as a career?  What are the best books to read about the profession?  How did you know you wanted to be in an agency or an in-house PR department?  Did you learn about other marketing disciplines on the job? There was never an opportunity to dig really deep into the minds of many professionals at once.

With PR 2.0, now you have your chance.   Here are some really targeted questions that I wanted answered when I was in school, but actually didn’t find out the answers until I was well into my career and learning on the job.  Feel free to ask any of these questions during #prstudchat.  If they’re not all covered, then I will specifically write another blog post to answer each and every one of them.

• Is public relations integrated into other areas of marketing or does it stand alone?

• How closely should PR work with other areas of the company (i.e., sales, product development, legal, etc.)?

• In an entry level, account executive position, who do I report to?  Will I get any face time with VPs or the C-Level executives?

• If I work for a large PR firm, is it difficult to be recognized by upper management?  Is it better to work in a small agency so that I can be noticed?

• How long should you stay in a job before you try to advance to a higher title?  Does it look bad to have several jobs/companies on your resume?

• Will I have my own clients as an entry level person or will I still be more of an assistant to a PR account manager?

• If you intern at a firm, should you accept an entry level position there?  Will they still treat you like the intern?

• What is the most gratifying part of your public relations position?

• What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you on the job?  How did you handle the situation?

• Is it important to pursue continuing education in PR (APR certification)?  Why do some people have an APR and some professionals don’t?

• Should you join a professional association and what should you look for in this organization?

• Is public relations a 9 to 5 job?

• What are some tips to get noticed by senior PR people when you’re new to a company?

• Do you need to have a strong background in journalism to be a good PR person?

• Is it important for PR people to understand a company’s business and marketplace?

• What are some good courses that make a PR person well rounded?

I hope these questions are helpful for our #prstudchat on Wednesday.  Valerie and I look forward to a frank and dynamic discussion in the interest of helping PR students and PR professionals to better understand one another, based on the challenges and changes the industry faces today.   If you have any more questions, feel free to suggest them. I believe that if you ask these types of questions and get your answers from a number of professionals, then you will be able to answer the most important question of all, “Is PR Right for Me?”

I just finished an interview with Angela Hernandez, the President of PRSSA at Central Michigan University (CMU).  I was very happy to interview with Angela because the topic, “Is PR Right for me?” is important for the growth of the public relations industry.  We need to attract future PR leaders who are the best and the brightest.  Garnering the experience of industry professionals and having them share perspective is a great way to motivate PR’s next generation of experts.

Angela’s interview really made me think deeply into my PR memory bank to remember and extract personal information about the growth of my career and to provide my opinion on what makes a good PR person.  Now, I don’t want to give away my answers, because Angela will be posting my interview on her blog, In the Lede, soon.  However, I will share a few of my favorite questions and then add a few more questions and answers to continue the interview here.

My favorite questions posed by Angela were:

• What are three absolutely essential abilities a PR pro?
• What are some “unexpected” skills you’ve used?
• How big of a role does personality play in PR job success?
• Fill in the blank: PR probably isn’t the right field for you if you hate to ….

A few additional questions (and answers) to add to the interview would be:

Q: How important is technology for today’s PR person?

A:  Technology is very important.  PR people need to understand how to use new monitoring technology to keep track of conversations in the blogosphere.  We must learn how to use WordPress, SharePoint and back end content management programs.  We also need to be educated on website analytics to understand consumer behavior on the Internet.  Lastly, I think that PR people should be savvy at Web search and Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  With all of these new technology-focused responsibilities, the role of the PR professionals has certainly expanded.  There’s so much more to do, and, as a result, you are seen as an even more valuable asset to your organization.  As we focus on Web 2.0 and even as we enter into Web 3.0, the Semantic Web, technology will remain a constant.

Do you have a PR role model?

A:  My PR role model was a good friend of our family and the PR professional who helped me to secure my first internship, which later turned into my first job out of college.  His name is Fraser Seitel and when I first met him he was a VP at Chase Manhattan Bank.  Fraser was my 4^th grade teacher’s husband and really someone that I grew up with and always admired.  As I developed in my PR career, I would see Fraser on Fox News commenting about different PR debacles and to me he is considered, The Father of Public Relations.  He’s best known for his college textbook (that probably every student has read by now), The Principles of Public Relations, which is in its 10^th edition.  Fraser is the very reason that so many of us understand the comprehensive practice of PR and the importance of building a relationship.  Fraser has a private consulting practice today and is very well respected PR practitioner.

What was one of your favorite PR campaign and why?

One of my favorite campaigns was the launch of JVC’s GY-DV300 camcorder, a broadcast quality camera that streamed wireless to the Internet and the first of its kind.  So many times I’ve read in news releases how you have a “ground breaking” product.  Well, this particular product was truly revolutionary.  Because it was an MPEG-4 camcorder, you could stream content and upload it to your website in real time.  It was very exciting to have the physical launch of the Streamcorder in Baja Mexico at Fox Studios and be streaming live content of an interview taking place in Times Square in New York City.  The launch garnered hundreds of placements and the camera won awards by the major trade magazines at the 2004 National Association of Broadcasters Show in Las Vegas.  That was by far one of the most exciting campaigns because we were breaking new ground and introducing something that was never possible before.  JVC came to market with this product before Sony and Panasonic and it was spectacular!

I added in these three questions because they help a person contemplating a career in PR to see the type of responsibilities on a daily basis, the excitement of the campaign and also the nature and support of a PR mentor.  What questions would you add to help a young professional to answer the question:  Is PR Right for me?