Category: Interviews

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How To Get The Right One To Notice You

Keep your subject line short and sweet to catch and keep any reporter’s interest

Photo from Pixabay

By: Sydney Oliva

Pitches can be a tricky thing to tackle. It can cloud the brain to try and figure out the right words to capture someone’s attention, but don’t overthink it. The key to success is simple: keep it short and sweet. Reporters are constantly bombarded with emails. If the subject line happens to catch their attention, the last thing they want to do is read a pitch that’s too wordy. You want to make them want more. Keep your pitch a few sentences long. Give them enough to be interested, then they’ll come to you looking for more. Here’s how to write and attention grabbing pitch.

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How to Land a Job Without Actually Applying

A still life of a coffee cup, a paper and pen.

By: Marisa Bearden

When students think about how they’re going to get their first job after college, the first step is usually to fill out the application. What if that’s where we’re going wrong?

In my search for my own job, I have been offered an internship at a public relations agency and a public relations specialist role at a large telecommunications company. I didn’t apply for either of the positions I was offered. Here’s what I did that could potentially help you land a job after college.

Be my guest. During college, you get to meet so many people. From professors, other students and school staff. One group of people we forget to reach out to is guest speakers. These are people who want to share their experiences with students and be a resource in the future. Connecting with guest speakers after their presentation is a great way to expand your network and potentially get an “in” at their company.

Send it! That PR practitioner your connected with on LinkedIn or that alum that gave you their email is waiting for you to reach out. All it takes to have someone at a company to vouch for you is starting a conversation with them. You can’t wait for people to reach out to you, you have to be willing to ask for what will advance your career. Send an email or message simply asking to set up a phone call.

Professors that profess. We often forget that our professors had jobs and careers before coming to teach at your university. This means that they have a lot of connections with professionals in your field. Build a relationship with your professors early on, and they’ll want to tell all their connections about you by the time it’s graduation.

Rely on resilience. Finding a job after college can be difficult. It looks different for everyone, which means that you have to be resilient in finding what works best for you! Don’t give up or settle on a job that isn’t right for you.

During your time in college and when you’re fast-approaching graduation, take a look at these tips to see how they can work for you.

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5 Ways to Improve Your Interviews

5 Ways to Improve Your Interviews

Noah Enns

Being able to interview someone is a vital skill to have in the world of public relations. There are ways to improve your interviewing skills to get the answers and quotes you need to make a good story.

The first thing that I like to do when I am interviewing someone is to be friendly. The best interviews feel like a conversation between two lifelong friends. If you can establish a friendly vibe, the person you are interviewing will feel more comfortable and willing to give more engaging answers.

Be prepared. Come into your interviews with your questions thought out beforehand. It is important to do your homework on the person you are interviewing so you don’t waste their time because you aren’t prepared.

Always record your interview when you can. Say something along the lines of,  “Do you mind if I record our conversation so I can quote you accurately?”. This will establish to the person you are interviewing that you know what you’re doing and that you take pride in being accurate. Recording your interview ensures you capture that great quote needed in your story and serves as proof for what someone said exactly.

Make the person you are interviewing feel like the expert. If you aren’t sure of what they do or say, stop them and ask if they could explain what something means. This will give them a sense of power or confidence that what they know is of great importance. It’s okay not to know everything and you should be willing to learn new things in each interview.

Be on the lookout for other stories in your interview. The person you interview might reveal something that could be used in a different story. The more you can take from an interview, the better. All of the information you gather from interviews are important, especially when content is low. You will have information for stories already on-hand instead of having to go out and look for the story.

These tips will help you in the PR world. Interviewing people is a standard tool to have and the better you are at them, the better your stories will be.  

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5 Tips to Ace Your Interview

A planner with a pink stick note of helpful tips for an interview and a flashcard on top that reads "Interview"
  1. Be confident

The saying “fake it until you make it” holds a high level of truth to it, especially for interviews. It is okay to not be confident internally. As long as you portray confidence externally you are set.

Giving off the illusion of confidence is all about body language. A strong handshake, a smile and good posture are three things that create the image of confidence. Also, be mindful of your body language. Make sure that you are not fiddling with your hair or playing with your clothes because this makes you come across as nervous.

If you want to be confident both on the inside and outside, give positive thinking a chance. Remind yourself of the successes in your life, this will help you feel more confident on the inside and that will show on the outside.

  1. Dress professional

I always wondered what to wear to interviews. Should I dress business professional, business casual or simply casual? There are two answers to this question.

First, dressing business professional is the safest bet. Looking your best can also increase your confidence level, while showing professionalism. Dressing up may also set you apart from other applicants.

Second, the dress code depends on the company and type of job. When I was applying for a retail position, I dressed in a white T-shirt, jeans and Converse. I knew the company’s brand which was keeping things casual and fun. I arrived at the interview dressed casual because I researched the company and what they were looking for in their employees. Note, this only applies to a slim number of companies and positions. For instance, if you were to apply for a public relations job, it is better to dress business professional.

  1. Prepare

(Image of planner and checklist for upcoming interview)

Being prepared for interviews shows the interviewer you care. Some ways you can prepare for interviews is to: practice answering typical questions, bring extra copies of your résumé and do your research. Before the interview, research the industry, company and position. This will help you answer any unexpected questions. For example, if I were to apply for a video game company as a public relations professional, I’d research the companies past public relations campaigns for their popular games.

  1. Ask questions

Try to ask at least two questions at the end of the interview. This will show the interviewer you were attentive and focused during the interview. If you don’t ask questions, it will be a missed opportunity to impress your interviewer.

  1. Practice

To ensure that your interviewer clearly understands your talking points, practice your lines beforehand. Read through your résumé and practice expanding on the points in your résumé. A lot of the time, interviewers tend to ask questions relating to your résumé. For instance, if you put that you had experience in a collegiate speech and debate team, the interviewer might ask about speech and debate. When you answer such questions, try to incorporate the skills you’ve learned from the experience.

At the end of the day, relax. As long as you’re prepared and confident, your chances of making a good impression are high. I hope you find these five tips as helpful as I did. Good luck.

 

By: Kim Cuong Nguyen