Guest Post: Charlotte Willcocks

It is the time of year....students are either looking for placement years, placement weeks or even placement days! So I thought it would be a good idea for one student who has been through the process to share her hints and tips with you about:

How to gain experience with no experience!

The catch 22 nature of the work experience world is well known. Employers expect you to already have experience, but you are looking to them for guidance on getting some industry experience. The whole process can be extremely frustrating. Over the last five months I have experienced this first hand, the weeks of tedious application forms and covering letters followed by the agonising wait for a reply that may never come.

Therefore the best defence is a strong offence, it is vital to make yourself stand heads and shoulders above the hundreds of the hopefuls. The most effective way of doing this is to think about the transferable skills necessary for the industry you are interested in and think of other ways to gain this skills other than industry experience, if this is not an option. Here are some methods that I used to secure my own placement:

1. Get involved in a society committee – this will give you the opportunity to practice public speaking, meeting organisation, event organisation, networking, leadership and team working skills, which I have found to be invaluable for my PR portfolio.

2. Start a blog – Due to the fast paced nature of PR it is vital to get to grips with new media. I started a music blog to act as a practice run and to find my own writing style.

3. Tweet, Tweet- It may be hard to get your head around but Twitter is one of the quickest and easiest ways to follow and chat to practitioners within the industry.

4. Persistence is the key – If there is a reply you are really counting on and you haven’t heard from them in a while, there’s no harm in emailing them, even if it’s to find out why they haven’t replied and what you can improve on for next time.

5. Create a LinkedIn page – Not only is this a good way to increase your presence online, it can act as a helpful tool when you get to the interview stage to get some background knowledge on those interviewing you.

6. Be Creative – This is not something that can be done with all companies, but if it is a creative firm you are applying to make your application stand out by using different media, such as YouTube.

I found that by implementing these methods I was able to prove that I was serious about PR with no formal industry experience and create an impressive portfolio of work, which led to me catching the attention of a highly respected consumer consultancy in London, Frank PR, who offered me a twelve month placement.

So in the end there is a way around the catch 22 nature of the placement search, it’s just about proving that you have put in the extra effort to secure the certain transferable skills that make you the perfect candidate for the position.

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Charlotte Willcocks is a 2nd year Business and Public Relations student at the University of Lincoln. She has bagged herself a 12 month placement at Frank PR working alongside Jay Sorrels, the head of digital at Frank PR. I'd like to take this opportunity to say: Good luck Charlotte!

MCN

As you may or may not know motorbiking is my passion in life....yes, even above shopping. Today, I achieved something that I have been wanting to do for quite a while. I had an article published on the MCN website!

It can be viewed here: No More Numb Bums

So check it out :-)

The title is rather strange admittedly, however once you have read the article you will see why I chose to give it such a title.

Guest Post: Petya N. Georgieva

Note from Carli: I always strive to discuss and learn about other's opinions both inside and outside the PR discipline. When the chance came to learn about PR in Bulgaria I thought I would allow others to learn too so invited Petya to write a guest post for my blog. Here, Petya N. Georgieva, a PR specialist and a blogger from Bulgaria gives her thoughts on what a young PR professional can bring to a business. You can check out her communications blog Higher & Higher or follow her on Twitter @pgeorgieva.

Young PR pros’ biggest assets: ideas, knowledge, initiative and passion

The PR profession is one of the most interesting jobs in the whole world.

I started discovering it in 2006 when I started my bachelor degree in Public Relations in Sofia University, Bulgaria. Considering that the PR profession has a pretty young history (no more than 15 years) in Bulgaria, it is interesting to think: Why did I choose PR in particular?

The truth is that I wanted to be a journalist since I was a child. With the time passing by, I noticed I was more interested in the process of “producing and creating” news rather than covering them. Communications and marketing are really interesting fields for me and after long research I realized that my career will be in the PR sector.

I was soon to discover that the PR skills are easier to understand in practice. I started working for PR agencies while I was in the first year at the university. It was a very useful experience. I was reading and studying at the university and practicing at work (which included experimenting, making mistakes, and working really hard).

As I’m from the young PR generation in my country and I’m following the international trends in PR, I regrettably notice that in Bulgaria traditional PR is still more often practiced than PR 2.0.
This can be easily explained, of course. As a former socialist country which is in addition pretty small as territory and population, Bulgaria’s market is small and young and in comparison to Europe, it is not so developed yet. It’s great to see that since 2001 things are rapidly changing and as a result the PR profession is becoming more popular. It’s nice to see also that some of the leading PR agencies in the state have already adopted the PR 2.0 tools and are providing highly professional services.

On the other hand, as a PR addict, I hope I will have the opportunity to explore the world of (international) public relations abroad, which means venturing out of my comfort zone. Moving away from one’s comfort zone is equal to gaining new knowledge. In addition, regarding the fact that the origins of the modern PR profession were in the USA and the UK, the both countries are my top two destinations for career development. At least, that’s my long-term vision on my future career moves. I’m sure that working for big markets is more different, offers different challenges for the PR pros and helps them learn different things. Here I should highlight that I know I’m aiming pretty high but ambition is what helps us to reach new horizons. Higher aims make us more ambitious and more constant in what we try to achieve. Higher aims lead to deeper knowledge and as consequence higher and higher achievements.#

Thankfully, social media channels are great supportive tools to get your name known no matter your current location or nationality. Just try to imagine the world without all these modern channels or without the tech revolution, which made it possible to present ourselves to wide groups of international publics and to stay constantly connected with them. And that’s my main message to all the young PR pros out there: your biggest assets are your ideas, knowledge, initiative and passion – and their power can be really amazing. And one of your biggest chances is to present your assets on the social web. This means: listening to the web, interaction, engagement, networking, etc. After all, it depends only on you to demonstrate your passion to communicate and ambition to learn more about PR. And if you can successfully promote yourself on the social web and build your own professional network of PR pros who know you and what you do, this will be your strongest point in your portfolio.

What Would I do?

At around 11am this morning, whilst eating my mid morning snack of Weetabix my mind went into over drive whilst watching This Morning with Phil and Holly. Usually full of good news stories and the odd fashion section presented by Jason Gardiner they ventured into the discussion of a number of websites offering a service to match married people actively seeking an affair.

One lady who used this service, for a number of years, was sat with her back to the camera as she wanted the hide her identity. Although how she was planning to convince people that it wasn’t her I have no idea! If one of my friends was on This Morning and I could hear their voice, see their hair and knew they weren’t at home I am sure even the dimmest of friends could work that out.

She explained how the service had helped her find a person to fulfil her sexual appetite as her husband couldn’t and that her relationship had in fact improved since she had joined the site.
The purpose of this blog however is not to assess this ladies relationship or condone or condemn the website itself, as it could be seen to be cashing in on something that is happening anyway, but instead to point out that this is a real life case of a moral dilemma that I have discussed in previous posts.

It got me pondering: What would I do if the PR agency I started to work for in July had this website as a client?

The feature was presented on this morning was essentially free advertising for this website and I am sure many people will have done the same as me and logged on to see what all the fuss was about. Oh and even if I wanted to join, which for the record – I don’t - I wouldn’t be able to because I’m not married!

I noted that the spokeswoman from the website was very calm and collected. Many people have said that it looked like she was wearing some sort of disguise, a blonde long haired wig and glasses. Is this because she doesn’t want to be recognised? Or create an impression? If however she wasn’t ‘in disguise’ and in fact looks like that all the time then I apologise! :-)

Just thought I would share my pondering with you all and also point out that if you are having an affair don’t go onto primetime morning television to be interviewed with Phil and Holly without disguising your voice or body, as unsurprisingly people will be able to recognise you from the back……

The 2011 Adventure

2011 is here! And with it comes plenty of exciting things:



The final instalment of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, a census and a VAT increase to 20%...



However we must not forget: Carli Ann Smith is on the job market!!



As of July 2011 I will be transforming from a PR student to a PR practitioner and I cannot wait.



For those that are interested to know more about my experience and projects I have worked on, feel free to add me on LinkedIn if you haven't already or email me on carli_smith@hotmail.com and I will send you my CV.



Here is to a fantastic new year :-) I am ready for every challenge that 2011 has to throw at me so come on let's make it a great one!

Do WHAT Boss?!

It is very easy to sit and say: “I would never do anything that would contradict my morals and ethics.” But what happens when you have responsibilities? When you have to keep earning to make sure that you don’t end up homeless or jobless?

Individuals are in limbo, according to Seib and Fitzpatrick (Peter and Olson: 2006: 296) PR practitioners have a loyalty to themselves, their client or organisation, their profession and to society as a whole. Brilliant when they are all in sync but what happens when there is a difference. What happens when you have to do something that you don’t agree with? Quit? Do it? Tell the press?

One anonymous source from within the public sector gave me this example:

“What do you do when the top dog of your organisation has been squandering taxpayers’ money on lavishing business leaders with football tickets, hotel accommodation and games of golf? Seeing public money used in this way is a hard pill to swallow; to say staff were shocked at what was going on is an understatement. So, after a sprinkle of some PR fairy dust we managed to avoid what could have been an otherwise explosive story.”

Initially you would accuse my source of being dishonest and covering immoral behaviour, from a cognitive approach there are obvious examples of absolute rights and wrongs being displayed here. But I don’t agree, I take a more non-cognitive approach. Non-cognitivism says that’s morality is subjective and bound up in the specific cultural context of individuals. There are only beliefs, attitudes and opinions. This means that individuals are able to change their opinions (or have them changed for them) in order to justify their motives and make their morals fit the situation. Handy for us…

This situation could have been a massive story, the media would have pounced and ran with it! It would have caused major public unrest especially given the current economic climate, when the public has little respect and trust in the public sector. So is this really essential knowledge right now?

If this was being carried out in a private sector company there would be no question’s raised, it would just be plain interesting, and let’s face it, Directors take customers out to wine and dine all the time. But because this is public money does this change the situation?

The source said: “As PR people we are often privileged to sensitive, suppressed or unpalatable information, and our job isn’t to judge it, but decide the best way to use it.”

But how do we decide the best way to use it? There are many ‘ethical decision making’ models in textbooks such as Potters Box but frankly when do we have time to sit and weigh up every situation and think about consequences that can’t always be accurately predicted?

The model I will be using when I enter employment is Parson’s five pillars that ‘carry the weight of ethical decision making in public relations’ (Peter and Olson: 2006: 302):

- Veracity

I agree that you must tell the truth, more of my thoughts on this can be found in my blog post: The truth, the whole truth… But what is it?!

- Non-malfeasance

I do not intend on harming anyone purposefully. However it is important to note that this statement can be applied to different stakeholders. So my behaviour should not harm either: myself, my client, my organisation or society as a whole. Not always achievable!

- Beneficence

I must ‘do good’. Entering into the job market it could be said that I hold many slightly rose-tinted views. But I would like to think that I will do good with my job, whether that is for the organisation I work for or for our clients.

- Confidentiality

I will respect privacy. Confidentiality is often protected in the way of rules and regulations anyway, but if it is not then I will try my upmost to do so.

- Fairness

I must be fair and socially responsible. Easier said than done. Is being socially responsible telling the public everything or is taking a slightly more paternalistic view and deciding to protect them from certain information?

I will be using this model because it allows the practitioner to place emphasis on differing stakeholders and it also fits in with my main morals of telling the truth and not causing harm.

I don’t think it is possible when working as a PR Practitioner to have a black and white view on what is right and wrong because you are dealing with a high number of stakeholders interests everyday so what is right for one of them might not be for another.

I must say, I think my source summed it up completely:

We hold the information, we shouldn’t judge it, just use it how we think best.

How do you decide what is right and wrong? What ethical decision making processes do you use? Or do you just use gut instinct?

Of public interest, or just plain interesting?

Our society’s fascination with other people’s lives is engrained within us from a very young age and is reflected in the high number of gossip magazines that we purchase as a nation. We have always liked to keep up with the Jones’s but the first stage of keeping up is knowing what they have in the first place. Like it or not, we are a nation of nosey parkers...

According to Peter and Olson (2006:69) UK regulations have been based on the distinction between public and private interests. However, it raises the question as to whether the general population know their real interest or whether these interests have been shaped by people such as ourselves, PR professionals. The textbooks call it paternalism, some may call it propaganda.

As PR practitioners we are paid to shape opinions and persuade people to our way of thinking, are we not?

So what’s the difference, do the public need to know everything just because they find it interesting? And do we have a duty to tell them details when they need only know facts and figures?

Before we decide what is ‘of public interest’ we have to define it. There are two main ways in which it is viewed, emergent and aggregate. Emergent concepts decide on areas of public interest by encouraging interactions between people in the form of discussions and debates (Peter and Olson:2006:70). The aggregate concept adds together desires and wishes of individuals. For example, according to the aggregate concept it could be argued that Emmerdale is of public interest because a lot of people watch it.

To fully get to grips with this I shall apply a case study: Michael Jacksons Death

Type in Michael Jacksons Death into Google and over 15 million results will come up.

What information was of public interest?

He died, his greatest hits album would be released soon and his tour was cancelled.

What information was interesting to the public?

Everything else. Did his Dr overdose him on drugs, the rumour that one of his children wasn’t his, what his mum and dad thought, how much money he had earned since he died, where his money has gone, who gets his estate.

Did the public REALLY need to know all that? If we decided that the aggregate concept is correct then yes they did, due to the fact a lot of people were interested. An emergent view would also support it, people were talking about it meaning that it was of public interest. But in my opinion people just wanted to know because they were nosey, did it affect their lives directly? No.

A study claims that 64% of people polled believed the coverage for Jackson’s death was too much. So it seems that some people agree, bet they still bought the papers though.

In this case I believe it was the fact that the papers knew that the public were interested in the story so it was a guaranteed way to sell papers. However it could be argued that it was an example of paternalism, in the sense that the papers (‘an elite few’) decided that the public would be interested in Jackson’s death to such an extent and fed the public a certain view on the situation, filled with controversy, dramatisation and ‘exclusives’.

The rise of individuals personalising their media choices and being able to choose the news that they receive could be seen as a solution to this apparent paternalism, however in my opinion it will always exist. Parents do it to their children, wives do it to their husbands and husbands do it their wives. It is a form of protection, putting their interests first.

Often the public’s interests are catered to with kiss and tell stories and countless articles on the adventures of their favourite celebrities but what happens when there are rules and regulations to prevent things from being printed? What about confidentiality? To a certain extent this could further fuel interest as it is not meant to be known, so when it is found out the media run with it and the public lap it up.

Does it make a difference however when you are talking about companies rather than celebrities? Do people still have that yearning for information and scandal? Indeed they do, ranging from directors of companies putting their foot in it like Gerald Ratner or grand openings gone wrong in the case of Terminal 5 at Heathrow. People are always interested in knowing what goes on behind closed doors.

As a PR professional we have to make this distinction: what do people need to know to ensure they make a rational decision? What isn’t essential knowledge and often more importantly, what do we need to keep quiet? Often we hold information that could make or break an organisation or that could cause major unrest society and it is up to us how to use it…

Scary thought hey?!