PR Campaign of You

Public Relations Campaign of You

COMM 436
Spring 2017

SCSU Career Center – Reference help for resumes, interviews and career development

Deadline March 2, 2017, 11:59 p.m., D2L
Submit as a Word document, Arial 12 point

Attachments:  Submit compressed folder
On a  Mac: Right click, select compress and an archived folder will be ready for upload.  Get help at Apple

On a PC:  Go to Microsoft

Note:  Everything is required unless noted as optional.

About – This is a public relations campaign you will develop to help find an internship, first job, helping focus your career plans before you graduate from St. Cloud State University. If your plans involve applying for graduate school, traveling and working abroad, or so more,  having a plan in place that’s ready will keep you focused and prepared for opportunities that come your way.

Guide and Reference – What you are really creating is a guide or reference plan to help keep your job search focused.  Search for your first job and be difficult, so be prepared to think how you can make changes to achieve your goal of landing your first job.

Career Media Kit – A detailed campaign for your job search, with critical documents, such as your business card, resume, cover letter, portfolio, biography, elevator pitch and other documents, will be vital to have ready in your personal career media kit.  The career media kit will have the tactics you will need in you personal campaign for achieving employment.

Personal branding, your reputation or what people think of you, an important feature of your campaign, along creating a detailed plan for making a list of  companies or organizations  to target in your job search.

Optional

The Fear Factor – If you have any fears about searching for work or landing a job, it’s best to address them now.  Why?  Fear can really cripple a job search and make it difficult to actually go about the search as you need or maybe give up after working hard for the past four or more years.

Making a plan, such as you are about to do now, will be one of the best ways to overcome your fear of landing a job.  If you think you are lacking a skill or need to learn more about a particular topic, now is the time.  

I.  Research

The research you will be conducting will be about your future career. You might have an idea about your future career plans, but you will need a detail plan, a strategy, with
tactics, such as a resume, website and more.  You will be the spokesperson for one of the most important public relations campaigns you will ever work on, getting hired. 

Asking yourself  questions, giving honest answers – You will need to do research involving asking yourself some very important questions and involve asking people you respect, such as mentors, professors, employers, family and friends that have your best interest and can tell you critical information about your brand you have already
established as a student or aspiring professional. 

Needing help, reputation repair – It could be people are telling you need to make
improvements  in your reputation or branding.  If you are hearing comments that you are always late, not reliable, not a team player, it could be you have some work to do.  You have created this reputation as a student. 

If you have area to improve, decide to make changes now, as a student.  If you have skills you are lacking make a plan to improve your personal brand now as a student, not when you graduate.

What my personal brand?

How to determine what’s your personal brand, reputation?

Gathering information – Ask by email, or meet in person.  Ask four to six people you respect.

  • Start emailing or meeting people you trust and respect, such as professors, employers, family, friends what you do best or what makes you standout as an aspiring professional in public relation and your related fields.  You need to be prepared some people will not respond, so make sure you ask four, six more more people.
  • You might decide to ask what you might improve to help you professionally, trying to note any weakness you can improve on now.
  • You can tell them you are putting together information to create your personal branding, and a video.  Thank them in advance.
  • Make your own list of your best qualities.
  • Wait for the feedback to start coming in, looking over person qualities and what others think about you.

Watch my video at CNN with Clark Howard.  It’s a pitch about my career based on questions I ask people I respected.

Video about making a script, based on my CNN pitch, starting around 2:30 in the video below

What you need to submit for personal branding:  Gather your findings from your research and simply make a list of responses from your questions related to your personal branding.  You can use your findings for creating an Elevator Pitch, biography or create a script to promote your career.  See more below.

Dreaming – What is my dream job?
Start creating a list of  company names, name of person to contact,  email, search for specific people to contact.  You can start by looking at company website and LinkedIn, and gathering as much information including social media links, and a summary statement about the company.

Create a list of at least 12 companies you are interested in working at after you graduate.  If you plan to attend graduate school, start creating a list, complete with details, same as an employer.

What you need to submit for dream job:  Create a list of 12 organizations or companies you consider places your dream job is located.

Include

  • Company name
  • Name of person to contact
  • Emails
  • LinkedIn, try to contact
  • Social Media
  • Summary statement about company

Job Bank website
Create a list of at least 12 job bank websites you can use for searching for job in public relations and your related fields.  You can go to the SCSU Career C enter website to start your search.

What you need to submit for job banks:  Gather a list of at least 12 job banks you can use for searching for work in public relations and your related fields of interest.

Backup Plan, Plan B, Reality – What’s a realistic first job and location to start on my path to my dream job? 

Sometime the perfect jobs does note come right away after you have earned your diploma.  You should make a plan where you will live, such as moving home with family, and put together a list of employers you can work at while searching for work in public relations or related fields.  Also include places you can volunteer your public relations skills as you seek employment.  Think about if you want to start your own business as a freelancer.  List at least 12 employers to work for outside your field and volunteer.  Include all details.

What you need to submit for Plan B:  Write a simple Backup Plan, or Plan B about why might do as you search for your first job.

II. Objectives

What is your career goal? It’s best to be as specific as possible. 

Ask yourself the following  questions:

  • Key skills or talents – What do you do?
    Example:  Leadership, pubic relations, marking, video editing, event planning, blogging, writing, graphic design and more.  You will have very specific skills and talents.  List them.
  • Value Provided – How do you help? 
    Example:  Prepare public relations plans, social media campaigns, spokesperson, creating graphic branding with logos  and more.
  • Customer Relationship – How you interact?
    Example:  Online, in person, traditional media, social media and more
  • Key Resources – Who you are and what you have?
    Example:  Passion for public relations, graphic design, journalist background,
    enterprising and social personality, self starter, leader and more
  • Channels – How they know you and how you deliver?
    Example:  Speeches, newsletters, online media, conferences, books, blogs and more.
  • Revenue and Benefits – What you get?
    Example:  Salary, benefits, recognition, public service, awards, education and more
  • Costs – What you give?
    Example:  Time, stress, personal energy, complaints, public opinion and more

Sample Objective
I don’t use the word objective in my resume.  Some career professional will tell you must  have an objective statement, while others think it’s outdated.


Link to my resume:  Go to resume

Jannet Walsh’s Objective
My hands-on experiences span strategic communications, journalism, multimedia and teaching. This unique skillset equips me to create effective content and educate
students for a society where, with a mobile device or computer, everyone is the media.

Graduating PR student looking for first job
I am an aspiring public relations professional with proven work experience in culturally diverse work environments, equipped with a skillet to create effective public relations and social media campaigns, combined with my tech savvy background in print, video and online.

Note:  Make sure you represent yourself honestly in your objective as it could come back to haunt you.  It’s all about what you offer an employer, not what an employer can offer you.

What you need to submit for Objectives:  From the examples listed above, write  your own career goal.  Use the examples to help you make a very short statement you can use in your resume in the Objective area, biography and more.


III.  Programing

Programing for you campaign will include:

  • Business Card -See D2L.  Pages, Word and more have templates for business cards.
  • Resume – See D2L
  • Reference list – See D2L
  • Cover letter – See D2L
  • Portfolio – WordPress
  • Biography – Post on your About page on WordPress, see examples online go to student About pages
  • Mini Biography – One to two sentences, can be used social media or even on your resume as your objective replacement.  It’s what goes on your Twitter, Facebook and other social media.  (This could be similar to your your objective statement.) 
  • Thank you letters -See D2L
  • Elevator pitch – 15 to 30 seconds what you would say about yourself,
    (Could be the same as your Video Script to Promote yourself.)

    OR
  • Video script to promote yourself
    See below
  • See my video at CNN
  • Optional – create actual video (10% extra credit)

What you need to submit for program – See list above, see sample script below.

Here’s a suggested script
Change as needed, only a guide 

START

Hi, I’m Your Name Here, student at Saint Cloud State University.

(You can say what city and state you are from, if you wish.  If you are an international student, you might say what country you are from.)

I’m a Mass Communication student, with an emphasis in adverting and minor in marketing and general business. (Update with major or minors, what you are studying.)

I’m active with the student media on campus as the photo editor of University Chronicle newspaper, also writing and producing videos that air on the university station, UTVS.

(Add what you are doing to build up your student portfolio.)

My goals is to own my own media company, work for major news agency, and travel the world.

(Say what your professional goals are in general.)

I am continuously updating my skills, recently created a WordPress website, websites using Adobe Dreamweaver with Bootstrap and editing video with Adobe Premiere Pro CC.

(Add what you are learning that shows you have the latest technical skills.)

This is Your Name Here, student from Saint Cloud State University.

(This is when you end your script, your sign off.)

END

Alternative

(Graduating soon – If you are graduating, you can add this to your video.)

This is Your name here, Class of 2017, from Saint Cloud State University.

END

Social Media, Networking and Planning

  • LinkedIn –   Create your profile, professional photo included, start asking for recommendations and connecting with people you know and people you want to work with, SCSU alumni and more.  SCSU Career Services will be helping in class with your LinkedIn profile and interview skills.
  • Social Media:  Profile with professional looking photo looking
    Twitter – Create an account now, include profile with professional looking photo looking
    Facebook – Create your own page for you as the professional, not the one you use for friend and family.
  • Instagram – Create an account now, include profile
    other
  • Networking  – What professional organization do you belong to already or should join?
    SCSU Career Services – Take advantage of all the services to help you while you are a student.  Search out SCSU Alumni on LinkedIn.
  • Interviews:  mock interviews, job or internship interviews, informational
    Will need at least one verified mock interview, information interview or job interview.      Take notes with visit from SCSU Career Center
  • Schedule – Daily, weekly
  • Log – How will you keep track of contacts, emails, phone calls or networking in person?

Keep a detailed record of your contacts, emails, phone numbers.

Always adjusting
You plans are always changing, so it’s important to change your tactics, update your resume, portfolio and always be networking.

What you need to submit for Social Media, Networking and Planning:  See list above.

IV.  Evaluation

Fine tuning, updating and rebranding

Always adjusting
You will need to have a plan in place for evaluation how to make changes to your vital career kit, interviewing and making adjustments to help you meet your goal. 

  • Have questions ready to ask interviewers after you receive a reject email or phone call. 
  • First, be very gracious and thank them for the opportunity to interview at their company.  Ask them how you might be more prepared the next time there is an opening.  Some employers will answer, other will not.
  • What will be your plan to keep focused on achieving your career goals and evaluating areas of improvement?
  • Seek out help from people you respect, such mentors, professors to see what changes you can make in your job search campaign.  Sometimes it’s just a updating your resume.
  • SCSU Career Center is ready to help!

What you need to submit for Evaluation:  See list above.  The evaluation will be used especially when you are struggling to land a job or need to seek help.