Blog Archive

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Become a guest blogger for UO PRSSA

Are you interested in becoming a guest blogger for the University of Oregon PRSSA chapter this term? We are looking for posts and articles on all things college, public relations, networking, social media and blogging, and more! Share your best stories, tips, interviews, and advice! Why should you consider becoming a guest blogger this school year? Let us tell you…

  • Sharpen your writing and blogging skills
  • Build and expand your writing portfolio
  • Improve your resume as a contributing writer and blogger
  • Gain exposure through UO PRSSA’s Facebook and Twitter
  • Earn membership points within the UO PRSSA chapter – more information coming soon!

The ideal post is 300-500 words in length, free of spelling and grammar errors, and is of course, your own original work. Each post should include an applicable image or photograph. Articles and posts might be edited to best suit the UO PRSSA blog. Submit your post in Word Document or PDF format to PRSSA Public Relations Director/Blog Editor Callie Gisler at cgisler@uoregon.edu!

Looking for other publishing opportunities this term? The national PRSSA organization offers several chances to publish your work. The PRSSA National blog Progressions tackles a range of PR, PRSSA, and professional topics, all written by fellow PRSSA members. Click here to learn more about submitting a blog post to Progressions. PRSSA National also produces FORUM, the official PRSSA newspaper, which is published three times a year. Click here to learn more about submitting a written piece to FORUM.

Questions or comments? An idea for an upcoming UO PRSSA blog post? Contact Callie Gisler at cgisler@uoregon.edu. We would love to hear from you!

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How to get a job in Public Relations

In every class we are in, it seems we are always hearing about how awful the job market is and how bad the economy is. While this is certainly the case, there are a lot of jobs out there and if you are prepared and motivated, you can and will get a job.

8 Best practices for getting a job in today’s market:

1. Be proactive – Put yourself out there online and elsewhere that you are job hunting and make a plan for how you are going to search for a job, where you are going to search for a job and how long you should spend searching for jobs. Tweet companies, visit their Facebook pages, stalk their website and know all about the companies you are looking at.

2. Do informational interviews – As you call companies and research companies, set up informational interviews with companies and firms. This will show you are proactive, you are interested and you are invested. Before the interview, make sure you have questions prepared that are not necessarily covered on the website, but ask them about their schedule, about their clients and more.

3. Do your research – Before you ever set up an interview, pick up a phone, send an email, etc., make sure you do your research on the company. You never want to be unprepared for a question about the company or their clients you should be able to answer, but are not able to answer because you did not look beforehand.

4. Monitor and clean up your online sites – I think this is one of the most important. We are constantly told to clean up our Twitter, Facebook, blog and more…. and we absolutely should. All it could take is one bad tweet, one bad photo or any little thing for a company to toss your resume and for the opportunity you could have had to slip away. Clean it up!

5. Be open – When you start the job hunt, you might have a specific job or ideal placement in mind, but things do not always work like that. You have to have an open mind when searching for a job. Be open to a new city or a new responsibility and it could really help you.

6. Use your connections – While you have been networking online and conferences [or you should have been], make sure you use those contacts you made. Reach out to them for job leads and for possible recommendations. Knowing someone can take you a long way. My professor told me that 60-80% of available jobs are not actually posted online. This means those available jobs are going to people the company knows or they are going to someone people in the company know.

7. Do not give up – While job hunting can seem like a job itself, do not give up and do not settle. While a $70,000/year job may seem very enticing, make sure it is really want you want to do for at least 1-3 years before you accept it just because of the money. Even if you do not get a lead for a few weeks or a few months, do not give up! Keep looking. If you do not find a job, try doing another internship if you can. Internships can often lead to jobs later.

8. Put your materials online – While you are job searching, put some of your materials from your portfolio online. Build your online resume and portfolio so when people and companies search for you, they find what you can do and what you could be capable of.

I wish everyone the best of luck with your job hunt as we go into the spring semester! Please feel free to contact me if you have any job hunt questions or general PRSSA questions.

Bio:

Lauren K. Gray currently serves as the PRSSA 2011-2012 Vice President of Public Relations and is an active Chapter member after serving as Chapter President for almost two years. Tweet her @laurenkgray and visit her website laurenkgray.com for more information and blog posts.

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Q & A with Kris Koivisto

Q & A with Kris Koivisto, Corporate Communications Coordinator for the Portland Trailblazers

1. What is a day in sports communication, especially as a part of the
Blazers, like?

As with many jobs in a fast-paced environment, no two days are exactly the same. They may involve the same duties, but rarely in the same order. Different days have different priorities. We have four employees dedicated solely to PR. Within our department, we have Sports Communications and Corporate Communications, with one person dedicated solely to Sports and one to Corporate. There are also two people that split time on both sides – although we all help each other out and fill in for each other on a regular basis. Below, I’ve listed the primary duties our department handles (which can also be found on my LinkedIn profile).

Writing news releases and media advisories
Fielding, scheduling and facilitating interview and photo requests
Pitching stories to the media
Building and maintaining relationships with local, national and online media
Working cross-departmentally to help carry out marketing and communications initiatives
Monitoring media coverage and fan feedback
Writing wrap-up reports of the coverage we’ve received for specified events
Writing speaking points on a wide range of topics
Conducting media training
Writing blogs and taking photos at events
Editing and proof-reading content
Producing the content and layout for each ‘Rip City’ program
Producing a 300-page media guide each offseason
Preparing press credentials, seating charts, statistics, packets, postgame passes on games days
Preparing game information and seating arrangements for visiting teams’ PR staff, broadcast affiliates and traveling media
Handling the internal communications within the company, including the management of our intranet site and staff meetings

2. How did you get into it? Anything that specifically led you there
from college?

I personally got my foot in the door during the spring semester of my junior year of college, interning in Interactive Marketing from home (school). My job was basically to create a viral buzz on the team’s MySpace page (that ages myself) and social network, iamatrailblazersfan.com.

Following that internship I applied for the summer intern position with the Sports Communications department. I was lucky enough to get a good referral from my previous manager, and was the Sports Communications intern the summer we won the NBA Draft Lottery (one of the best experiences of my life). I built a good relationship with my boss, and stayed on as the season-long intern during the 2007-08 season. By good fortune, a full-time position opened up within the department near the end of the season. I went through an extensive interview process and eventually got the job. The rest is history.

3. Is there  anything you wish you would’ve learned in college that you
didn’t?

I would say pitching stories, setting up formal interviews and ghost-writing quotes.

4. Any advice on getting into the world of sports communication?

Interning, definitely. Volunteering, too. Setting up informational interviews always helps to put a name to a face when the application process comes along. Making connections in the industry and building your own brand are also very key.

5. The most needed skill in your job and why

If I had to choose one, I’d say intuition. You need to rely on your gut instinct a lot of times when your boss isn’t around. It’s important that you can make the right decision on the fly – especially in conversations with the media. Every decision you make has to be in the best interests of the company.

6. Are there any positions open with the Trailblazers at the moment or
in the near future?

Unfortunately there are not currently any PR positions open with the Trail Blazers. We do hire 2-3 interns each fiscal year. All of our job openings on our website: http://blazers.teamworkonline.com/teamwork/jobs/default.cfm

If you have any follow-up questions for Kris, you can ask him via email or twitter:

kris.koivisto@trailblazers.com or Twitter (@KrisKoivisto)

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University of Oregon PRSSA Chapter

UOPRSSA Executive Board at the 2011-2012 PRSSA National Conference!

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The University of Oregon PRSSA Chapter is committed to providing an atmosphere that cultivates relationships, encourages growth, & strives for excellence in public relations & beyond.

We welcome students of all majors (not just PR!) to come join us at our meetings and get involved! Joining PRSSA is a great opportunity to network with peers and professionals, allowing members to develop contacts within the field.

Email prssa@jcomm.uoregon.edu for information regarding upcoming meetings (held bi-weekly throughout the school year), events, and professional development opportunities.

We look forward to hearing from those who are interested in joining!

Sincerely,
UOPRSSA 2011-2012 Executive Board