Author: abigail_noyes

We wanted to sincerely thank the inspiring professionals who spoke with us over Zoom throughout April! We at Emerson PRSSA wanted to continue offering our members opportunities for professional development as the college transitioned to online learning. As part of our Candid Conversation series, we welcomed three communications specialists to share their professional journeys and answer our members’ industry questions. Thank you to the following speakers for their advice, candor and inspiration:

Andrea O’Neal – Marketing and communications manager at National Geographic Society’s Impact Programs

Andrea offered valuable advice about the transition from agency life to in-house communications. She shared how her work at National Geographic takes her around the world to work on unique and modern media opportunities. 

Top 3 Pieces of Advice for Young Professionals:

1. Listen to feedback and adapt accordingly.
2. Always raise your hand when the opportunity presents itself.
3. Network as often as possible.

Rachel Krantz Cox – Communications specialist at Colorado Permanente Medical Group

Rachel walked us through her experiences from her college years to her current professional life. She shared how she tailored her education to her professional goals and said that each client she worked with taught her different professional lessons. Attendees also had the opportunity to hear how communicators in the healthcare industry are adapting during this public health crisis. 

Top 3 Pieces of Advice for Young Professionals:

1. Don’t underestimate yourself.
2. All experiences are good experiences.
3. Sit in on every meeting you can and ask lots of questions.

Marji Sherman –  Founder of Sherman Social, creator of #MyCovidStory

Marji shared how she is using her talents and her skills to change the narrative around Coronavirus. As a storyteller and social media maven, Marji is sharing honest, human stories about mental and physical health. She also opened up about navigating the world of social media at its inception and taking the leap to start her own business.

Top 3 Pieces of Advice for Young Professionals:

1. Be authentic in your storytelling.
2. When it comes to social media, always curate different content for different platforms.
3. Build your portfolio as early as possible and continue to build on it throughout your career.

An additional thank you to the students who joined us for these opportunities:

• Isabelle Braun*
• Chuqi Deng
• Leeah Derenoncourt*
• Jaclyn Galvin*
• Gianna Gironda
• Qingqing Hu
• Ryan Jackson
• Bethelly Jean-Louis*
• Rebecca McMahon
• Thea Nagle*
• Lily Noyd
• Abigail Noyes*
• Alex O’Leary
• Sophia Paz
• Paolo Pastor
• Juan Vega Rios*
• Rebecca Rippon
• Abigail Royle*
• Frida Sternbach
• James Sullivan
• GeGe Tan
• Zhaoqi Wang

* Indicates student attended all three speaker sessions

 

I chose Emerson as my university because I wished to surround myself with people who challenged me creatively. PRSSA International Conference placed me in a room of storytellers who did just that.

 

Friday’s keynote speaker, Will Collie, General Manager Southern California for Edelman, defined the role of PR the way I heard it described in Professor Gerzof Richard’s Guerilla PR class: promoting the good and protecting from the bad for your client. As a creative, he added one more role: whenever brands become stagnant, it’s our responsibility to help them evolve. This push for evolution remained a common theme throughout International Conference.

 

Dr. Kaye Sweetser, Navy public affairs, listed the 4 C’s of public relations: clarity, creativity, critique and collaboration. All of these illuminated something fundamental I learned in Intro to Public Relations. When Dr. Sweetser said “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough,” I remembered Dr. Scott’s reminders that PR writing must be accessible, direct and of course, creative. Her discussions of critique and collaboration evoked years of peer and professor edits that strengthened my writing and storytelling.

Sunday’s keynote address left a lasting impression on me as an Emersonian. In nearly all of my classes as a journalism major, I learned the story of two bold men who sought the truth in an era of distrust and abuse of power. Most professors on the 6th floor of Walker have the famous photo of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein surrounded by stacks of evidence of Watergate hanging in their office. To hear Woodward speak first hand about the centrality of truth bridged these values in my journalism classes to the lessons of ethics I learned in Dr. Scott’s class, Tactical Writing for PR. As a political hobbyist, hearing his insight on the current political situation in light of his work nearly left me entranced. Towards the end of his question and answer session with the incredible Laura Ling, Woodward said profoundly the four most potent words a journalist or PR professional can say to a source are “I need your help.”

 

Later that day, Erica Prime, who works in social media for Taco Bell, affirmed and elaborated on the description of Gen Zers Dr. Scott taught us in Intro to PR. Among these insights for the digital native were their desire for leadership rather than representation, and their desire to positively impact the world. She went on to describe ways to meet Gen Zers where they are, bringing something that resonates with these values directly.

On the first day, when a student asked Collie, “How do you stoke creativity?” he said he has best results when he surrounded himself with creative minds. I realized that beyond the invaluable lessons I’ve learned in my public relations classes, the creativity at the root of my Emerson experience that drew me to the school in the first place unquestionably prepared me for the industry.

By: Alex O’Leary, Treasurer and Jasmin Weiss, Social Media Chair

Justin Johnson and a team from Facebook visited the Boston campus on April 9 to provide Emerson College students with a comprehensive workshop on creating and promoting video content through Facebook. The step-by-step seminar brought together undergraduates, graduate students and faculty at Bill Bordy Theatre in Emerson’s Union Bank Building.

Build Your Brand                                                                     

The first step Justin Johnson and the team from Facebook demonstrated was building your personal brand on Facebook. Facebook makes it easy to create a page, and Johnson suggests that your URL and profile name be consistent, making it easier for users to locate you. Use your page to express yourself or your brand; describe yourself, be true to your voice, and develop a specific look. These suggestions apply to any and all users on Facebook, whether you’re using the platform to produce comedy sketches, how-to videos, vlogs, or streaming video games.

Publish Content

While most people are familiar with Facebook’s video-sharing feature, the team from the social media giant were sure to go in-depth to explore all of the content sharing options. Be sure to utilize Facebook Stories, which disappear after 24 hours; Premieres, which allow users to tease out upcoming content, and live stream video games. Additionally, content producers should utilize Creator Studio to effectively post, manage, and monetize their content. How often you post does not matter, so long as you post on a consistent basis. Whether your subscribers have come to expect a video every day, or on every Monday, make sure you stick to that schedule to condition your audience and retain loyalty.

Ways to Earn

Facebook isn’t just a social-sharing platform, but offers dynamic opportunities for content creators to make money. For video producers, make sure your content passes three minutes to make room for Ad Breaks. Build your platform to a point where you can collaborate with other brands and earn money from sponsored post. Additionally, Facebook offers creators the opportunity to create fan subscription pages (like Patreon) with seven price points for pages to further monetize their content.

With all this advice in hand, it’s never been easier to build an online persona. Create a page, establish your brand, and express yourself! While communities exist offline and through other platforms, Facebook is the largest and most vibrant, and provides spectacular opportunities for creators to make waves in the digital marketplace.

   

By: Anna Newton, PRSSA Secretary

Matt Prince, the Sr. Manager of Public Relations and Brand Experience at Taco Bell, spoke at the PRSSA National Assembly in Portland, Ore. on April 7 about personal branding and networking.

Prince asked the audience, “If resumes didn’t exist, could you find a job?” In order to answer “yes” to this question, Prince recommended finding yourself on everyone’s “I know a guy list.” Prince relayed he has not secured any positions through the traditional resume process and has earned all of his high-level positions through professional and personal relationships.

Prince stated strengthening and capitalizing on your personal brand is essential to landing positions. The professional utilized the acronym BRAND (Behavior, Reputation, Appearance, Network and Definition). Prince believes a PR professional must ensure their personal brand is reflected through each of these categories.

Because Prince considers “the most important client of your career [to be] yourself,” he recommends writing a personal business plan, mission statement and swot analysis. This way, you can evaluate your strengths and weaknesses and walk a direct path to success.

Prince said having a mentor is integral to a fruitful career and suggests finding an outstanding PR professional on social media and reaching out for mentorship. He also mentioned PRSSA leaders can become mentors to their younger members and encouraged those leaders provide this assistance.

Prince emphasized the importance of “finding what matters most to you and never comprom(sing).” Prince strongly believes in a work-life balance and has set boundaries in his work life to keep everything in order.

By Jaclyn Galvin and Meagan Lee, PRSSA Members, Spring 2019

Edward Williams, Director of Integrated Marketing Communications for NASCAR and Iowa Speedway spoke to the Sports Public Relations class last week. He shared his atypical journey to where he is in the sports industry today. In college he didn’t study public relations or communications, but biology. It didn’t take him long to realize that he would much rather pursue a career in the sports world, specifically in motorsports.

The main aspect that impressed us was the multitude of jobs that he performs on a day-to-day basis. It’s fair to call Williams a “one man band” because he has so many responsibilities he needs to take care of each week leading up to an event. On race days, you can find him in the media center running driver press conferences, doing stats and gathering highlight packages or acting as the liaison between the racing teams and race control. As the Track PR Lead, Williams deals with many aspects of the media, including interfacing with journalists or setting up appearances on shows like Good Morning America or The Today Show. One thing Williams told us was “sports are always changing, you never have the same two days.” Motorsports is especially fast-paced with the longest season in sports. It was inspiring to hear about how Williams is able to balance his responsibilities while still enjoying his work.  

Overall, Edward Williams demonstrated the many aspects of communication that are done in a “non-traditional” sport like NASCAR. He fulfills multiple roles at multiple venues in order to make his company stronger. Although he loves motorsports, Williams reminded us that we need to “weigh your fandom versus what you want in a career.” He said that he has had to put his love for the sport aside because at the end of the day, he is there to work, and it’s important for all students who want to go into the sports world to know that business comes first.

 

By Peter Jones, PRSSA Sports Chair, Spring 2019

One of the most recognizable ESPN personalities, Stephen A. Smith, spoke at the fourth annual Al Jaffe Speaker Series, March 27 at Emerson’s Paramount Theatre. Smith  discussed his career, journey to ESPN and mentality when it comes to forming opinions for his many shows. Smith was his usual, outspoken-self something he attributed to his upbringing in New York City and overcoming his dyslexia in grade school. Getting a basketball scholarship to Winston-Salem State University helped propel his career in sports media by providing Smith with what he called his biggest attribute, his work ethic.

Growing up with dyslexia, Smith learned to outwork people from a young age by overcoming his learning disability by “burying his head into his books.” Smith spoke about his time at Winston-Salem State University where he balanced classes, playing basketball and having an internship. He spoke about the importance of this time in his life and continuing to get better each day, as he continued to drive home the narrative of effort and hard-work.

“You got to put in the work, it’s going to be an uphill climb. You don’t get to have a degree and a good paying job without having to work for it,” said Smith.

Smith also preached on the emphasis of having tough skin in the dog-eat-dog world of sports. He spoke about how you do not apologize or retract a statement you make, unless it is morally wrong. Smith revealed he wakes up every morning with two agendas on his mind, “How do I make my bosses more money, and how do I get a share of it.”  

Having one of the most recognizable names in sports media come and speak at Emerson was an incredible opportunity for all students across many majors. His intelligence was personified in the way he carried himself as well as his answers to Al Jaffe. Stephen A. Smith is advertised as one of the best sports pundits in the country and it is safe to say he lived up to that billing.

Emerson College is always a wonderful place to share thoughts and ideas! PRSSA wants you to join the conversation on social media. Are you following our social media platforms and part of the conversation on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter? Click at the bottom of the page to be part of our story!

Beyond Emerson, PRSA Boston wants to create a larger network of college students within the greater Boston area to start a dialog, virtually meet some new friends and share your experiences.

By: Brittany Jarvis, PRSSA Special Events Chair

On March 19, PRSSA collaborated with Caroline Knight from the Career Center to jumpstart a series of workshops. The first workshop focused on tips and techniques for building the perfect resume and cover letter. From the session here is a compilation of all the tips we required.  

Resume Tips:

• What story does your resume to tell—Show progression, responsibility and eventually indicate a focus.
• No resume is one size fits all—It’s important to create a master and target resume depending on what job or position you are applying to.
• Organize your experience into sections—Organizing your experience can help to personalize your resume.
  • Relative Experience: Experience that is directly related to the position you are applying to
  • Additional Experience: List clubs and activated that relate to the field you are applying to
  • Selective Experience: Experience that may not be related to the field, but is still beneficial to add.
• The importance of bullet points—Under each experience list three to four bullet points that indicate the most important skills learned. Use an action verb to start, present an outcome for each point and really put an effort into each one to best represent yourself.  
• Skills—List three to four skills that stand out and appear unique (i.e. computer (social media), language, relevant technology (equipment), website software). Don’t use soft skills, they should already be weaved into the experience sections.
• Include one relevant link—Decide what best represents you and your work and include a link to either LinkedIn, digital portfolio, website or social media.  
• Proofread—Staring at a resume for so long could mean missing a mistake. Find a friend or go to the Career Center to have an extra set of eyes look over your work before sending it out to employers. The Career Center has walk-ins Tuesday through Friday from 1-3 p.m., or students can schedule appointments with their designated advisors.  Students can also submit to an Online Resume Review.

Cover Letter Tips:

• The purpose of a cover letter—A cover letter is meant demonstrate that you the applicant have a set of the required skills for the position. It is a chance to connect past experiences to the position.
• Content and format—A cover letter should be three to four paragraphs long. Use keywords from the job description and the industry. Also highlight two to three experiences that may not be on your resume.
• Sending out a cover letter—If you are sending in an application through an online portal it is best to submit your cover letter and resume as a PDF. However, if you are sending your application through email make the cover letter the email. Employers often don’t have enough time to read a lengthy introduction email on top of a cover letter so make them one in the same.

*Other Cover Letter and Resume Resources

 

By Erin Jaibur, PRSSA President, Fall 2018

On Nov. 29, the Emerson College Chapter of PRSSA hosted its first official event with guest speaker Morgan Chicchelly. Chicchelly was the Coordinator for the Communications and Policy Department, Chief Technology Office in the Mayor’s Office for the City of New York. Her experience in the Public Relations field is vast including positions in Social Media and Public Relations Manager for the Farm Bureau Financial Services and an Associate at Burson-Marsteller (Washington D.C. Metro Area).  

Chicchelly’s presentation at Emerson on Thursday covered topics all college students need to know, including office etiquette, managing work relationships, landing your first job post-graduation, and of course, LinkedIn management tips. Over 40 students were in attendance to listen to Chicchelly’s advice, ask questions, and network. One of her many LinkedIn tips was to have a good summary.

“Especially when you’re transitioning into in a new career role or starting in a career field in general, this is a good place to give your own personal elevator pitch,” Chicchelly said.

After her presentation, students were invited to participate in a Q&A session, connect with Chicchelly online, and help themselves to refreshments and snacks. The PRSSA executive board is looking forward to hosting even more events in the future, and they are grateful to Morgan for her time and effort. Stay tuned for more updates on what’s to come for Emerson’s very own PRSSA!