Should be a great meeting! Hope to see you there!
- Posted by Valerie Russell
As many of you know, Megan Abbott of GolinHarris spoke at our Pitching Workshop last week. (Thanks, Megan!!)
Here’s a great follow-up link that talks about how to explain publicity to your client from a management perspective! Check it out!
http://www.valleyprblog.com/pr-best-practices/the-reality-of-publicity/
Other Relevant Links:
- Posted by Valerie Russell
Congratulations to all our new officers and board members for the 2009-10 school year!
Secretary: Katie Feher
Treasurer: Rachelle Adams
Board Members: Bre Tosti, Jen Thack and Velena Jones
The INAUGURAL BOARD MEETING will be held on Monday, May 11 at 5pm in the Production Center’s Conference Room. Meeting will end no later than 5:45pm. Refreshments and snacks will be served.
- Posted by Valerie Russell
Hello members!
Here’s an internship opportunity with the OC Fair!
http://jobs.prsa.org/c/job.cfm?t732=&t731=&max=25&t735=&site_id=2170&t1841=&t730=&jb=5447409
The president of the PRSSA chapter at CSULB has been interning with them for the past few months, so if any of you are interested and would like to speak with her, contact our PRSA Liaison, Jenny Corsey at jcorsey@westboundcommunications.com.
Happy (job) hunting!
This just in by Jenny Corsey:
Interesting to see how the ad industry views the PR discipline.
The Fall semester has begun and the Biola chapter of the PRSSA is also off to a great start. This past Thursday, September 17, kicked off the first event of the season. About 25 students turned out to hear keynote speaker Raniel Diaz, Senior Integration manager at Boost Mobile, present about PR and marketing strategies in the workplace. Raniel, a Biola alumnus, was returning to the school campus for the first time since his graduation in 1998. “I used to sit in these chairs, and had classes in this very room,” he noted. “It’s exciting! Back to the future a little bit!”
Raniel’s first job was at the electronics store Circuit City selling cell phones. Ironically, that is the field he ended up making his career in. After graduating from Biola with a Business Marketing major, Raniel climbed the corporate ladder working for companies including PacBell, Cingular Wireless, and more recently Boost Mobile, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sprint Nextel.
Raniel described Boost Mobile’s recent and rapid success as the “perfect storm” in which PR played a significant role. In the recent launch of their new advertising campaign, for example, the PR department helped them score over 931 headlines in a mere 48 hours! “It’s an excellent field to be in,” he said.
Raniel was able to offer students a valuable glimpse into the workings of a real-world company. Slides included Boost’s fall marketing strategies that will be implemented in the coming months. Raniel also outlined their PR department for students wondering where they will fit in after graduation. At Boost, they might find a job in any of the following areas:
- Consumer: managing media relationships with standard trade publications (magazines, newspapers, etc)
- Corporate: leveraging major news media such as Fox television
- Local: promoting Boost at the local level
- Internal: overseeing communications to the employee base
While the majority of the students in attendance were PR majors, a smattering represented other majors such as communications, visual journalism, and even political science. Raniel had encouragement for everyone in attendance. The last half of his presentation focused on things he admittedly “wasn’t on top of while at Biola”. “I’m addressing me in the crowd,” he said.
Making it Personal: Tips for Students
Make the most of the experience: “Pass your classes for sure,” Raniel advised, “but grades are not as important as you think. It is as much about the journey of going through school. The journey of learning.” He also encouraged students to have the proper perspective on their future career. “A job can simply be an enabler to your passion,” he said.
Develop personal discipline: College is a training ground. “If you don’t develop healthy habits, it takes a while to unwind afterwards,” Raniel said. Practical suggestions include managing and budgeting your online life. “Employers will look at your online profile,” he warned. Students should be cognizant that what is said about them on the internet will reflect back on them when they are looking to get a job later. But it’s more than just being careful about what you put out there about yourself. Raniel also emphasized building a positive profile, including joining the popular professionals’ website LinkedIn.
Focus on Interpersonal Awareness: This was the key point Raniel wanted to make for the students. “As Christians, it’s easy at Biola to all be on the same page. But in the corporate world, you’re not always on the same ethical or goals page. It comes down to how you demonstrate love for others.” Raniel encouraged students to take personality tests such as Meyers Briggs or DISC to discover their strengths.
Then study other people and understand how their personality fits or doesn’t fit with yours. How can you still work with them effectively in a professional setting? Because these are the kinds of questions you will face in your future career. The real world and the real workplace will be full of people whom you may not get along with.
“It’s all about your ability to interact with others,” Raniel concluded. “Make sure what you’re doing has loving motivations.”
