Matt Ragas

Join #PRStudChat on May 16th at 12:00 p.m. ET for a Twitter chat session on “Careers in Public Relations.” Leading the discussion will be DePaul University professors and authors Matt Ragas (@mattragas) and Ron Culp (@culpwrit). Matt and Ron will share the knowledge, skills, capabilities and personality traits of successful PR professionals as well as insights on the growing need for greater business acumen in the field.

Several of the topics and questions that will be answered by Matt and Ron and the #PRStudChat community include:

Q1. You’re in Chicago, a major agency, corporate and non-profit center. What’s the job outlook feel like right now for PR and communications graduates and pros?

Q2. As professors at @CMNDePaulU @DePaulU, what are you telling your @DePaulPRAD majors and alums about how to stand out and land the best jobs and opportunities?

Q3. If I have one more elective to take before graduation, what would you recommend I take? #PRStudChat

Q4. PR and comms pros debate whether or not they should go back to grad school and, if so, what degree – comms, MBA, something else? What say you two? #PRStudChat

Q5. Is PRSA’s APR certification important for PR professionals to obtain? #PRStudChat

Q6. Build for us the bionic PR and comms pro of the future! What are the knowledge, skills, capabilities and personal traits you think they should have? #PRStudChat

Q7. You’ve written or edited two books together: Business Essentials for Strat Comm and Mastering Business for Strat Comm. You must think business acumen is important! Why? #PRStudChat

Q8. What are free or low-cost ways a PR student or professional can go about building their business acumen? #PRStudChat

Q9. Do you have any favorite new books for PR and communications professionals? #PRStudChat

Q10. Any closing pieces of professional development advice and tips for PR and comms pros? #PRStudChat

Get ready for a dynamic #PRStudChat discussion on May 16th with actionable tips, tricks and advice for successful PR career growth. #PRStudChat

As always, you can tweet in advance to @PRStudChat, @SpinSucks, @LKPetrolino, @ValerieSimon, or @DBreakenridge with any questions you would like answered.

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About Matt Ragas and Ron Culp

Matt Ragas, Ph.D. (@mattragas) and Ron Culp, Fellow PRSA (@culpwrit) are on the faculty in the College of Communication at DePaul University in Chicago where they help develop the next generation of PR and communications leaders. For six years in a row, the DePaul PR program has been a finalist for the PRWeek Awards’ PR education program of the year. Ragas and Culp are co-editors of Mastering Business for Strategic Communicators (Emerald Publishing, 2018) and co-authors of Business Essentials for Strategic Communicators (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014). 

About #PRStudChat

It began with a simple question asked by Angela Hernandez, then President of PRSSA at Central Michigan University (CMU). “Is PR Right for me?” A follow-up blog post by Communication Strategist Deirdre Breakenridge inspired a series of direct messages on Twitter between Breakenridge and fellow PR industry pro, Valerie Simon. This was an important question and one that should be explored beyond one student or one blog post. Why not build a community to help students across the country, and even the globe, learn from the experience and perspective of industry professionals … A community where everyone can learn and grow together.

About Spin Sucks

Spin Sucks was started in September 2006 by Gini Dietrich, the founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich, an integrated marketing communications firm. Its mission? To change the perception or PR. What started as a simple blog, soon became a movement. Spin Sucks is the number one PR blog in the world, the go-to resource for PR professionals to learn new strategies and tactics, to share and receive expert advice. It’s also the place where people have fun discussions, brainstorm, ask for help, and make new friends.