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.”

This just in by Jenny Corsey:

Interesting to see how the ad industry views the PR discipline.

http://adage.com/columns/article?article_id=136530 

- 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!

- 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

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:

http://www.golinharris.com/

Sorry this has taken so long!  We know you’ve been anxiously waiting!

In the column on the right, you’ll find a great number of new pages designed to help you with your job-search.  The speaker of our last event, Ron Feher, was kind enough to provide us these resources.  We hope you’ll find them beneficial!  We certainly did!

Here’s a quick run-through of our recently added pages. Please note that the first four items have several pages “nested” under them.

• Cover Letters
• Resumes
• Other Letters
• Interviewing
• Miscellaneous: Job Fairs and Job Offer Checklist

Due to format issues, we weren’t able to post the Chronological and Functional sample resumes, but we’d be happy to email them to you!  Just contact Val Russell on Bubbs.

Are you considering a career in public relations? 

Don’t miss this month’s PR Agency Tour!

On Friday, November 21st, we’ll be visiting Morgan Marketing & Public Relations LLC in Irvine.  Morgan is an award-winning firm with an established reputation for developing breakthrough PR campaigns in a wide range of business and consumer-driven industries.  This firm has worked with such prominent brand names as Panda Express, BJ’s, Applebee’s, 7-11, the Children’s Hospital of Orange County, and Bubba Gump Shrimp Company.

Check out Morgan’s web site by visiting this link:  http://www.mmpr.biz/web/services.html

On this tour, you’ll be able to see first-hand what an agency looks like and talk with some of the staff members about working in a firm.  Be sure to mark your calendar for this very exciting and FREE event! 

Friday, November 21st – Meet in the Journalism Department at 1:15pm. We’ll carpool from there.  

Also – there’s no need to fret about your Friday night being entirely occupied by this event.  We’ll be back by 5pm! (o:

For more information or to RSVP, please email valerie.l.russell@biola.edu.

- Written by Valerie Russell

Attention All Students:

We’re back! The trip to Detroit was great- very productive! Next year’s PRSSA National Conference will be held in San Diego, so if you’re interested in going and would like more information, please let us know!

Last night, we enjoyed a joint social event with PRSA (our parent organization) where we mingled with some of the best PR practitioners in the nation. I had the privilege of talking with Wendi Sabo, Business Communications Director of General Motors, Dallas. She shared with me her journey to success, including her transition from life in Toledo, Ohio to her job at TeleCom, a company that took her around the globe; Paris and Rome were just a couple stops. After 5 years, Sabo was offered the position at GM, where she’s in charge of internal communications, speechwriting, and public relations.

When I asked her how she landed such amazing jobs right out of college, she said that she just walked through the doors as they opened. She didn’t know much about cars when she took the job at GM, she told me with a laugh. “They understood that I wouldn’t know everything,” she said. They took the time to train her in the manufacturing labs and other departments before they announced that she was “ready to go.”

Our conversation was very encouraging. Although I was intimidated at the start of our talk, Sabo, the “high and mighty” executive, soothed my fears about entering the highly competitive field of public relations. She assured me that the right doors would open for me, as long as I take the risk and submit my resume!

Same goes for you!

In 5 years, you could be much further than even the destination of your dreams. You’ll never know what you’re capable of until you believe in yourself!

Networking is going to play a key role in the success of your future, however. Whether you’re graduating this semester or in a few years, networking abilities are as essential to PR as writing skills. We realized at the conference this week that networking isn’t as easy as one may think. Personally, I found that branding oneself is downright unnerving at times… but it’s doable! And this week you can learn!

Join us for a FREE Networking Workshop this Thursday, October 30 from 5-6pm in Business Bldg, Room 207.

You have so much to offer. This workshop will teach you how to be confident in promoting yourself!

For more information, scroll down to the Oct. 16 blog post!

Hope to see you there!

- Written by Valerie Russell

This is our last full day at the PRSSA Conference in Detroit. This morning we listened to a panel of 4 living legends of the industry who shared with us invaluable advice regarding PR careers and traits for success. We would like to pass it on! Print this blog, tape it to your mirror or dashboard so that you see it often. Strive to meet the points made. Doing so can only lead to success!

Top 5 Pieces of Advice for a Career in PR

1. Know that there is NO right answer.

2. Play your “A” Game and find out the “A” games of others. (Don’t try to do everything yourself.)

3. Work hard at what you do and where you’re doing it. You never know who is noting your diligence.

4. Live a balanced life. PR professionals shouldn’t only be good with people FOR work purposes!

5. Tell the truth and prove it with your actions. If something goes wrong and it’s your fault, take responsibility for it.

Top 5 Traits for Success in PR

1. Type-A Personality

This will help you tremendously. Make a list and check it twice! This doesn’t mean you need to be high-strung! Don’t stress people out. It means being on top of things!

2. Great Attention to Detail

Notice all the small things. Smooth out the wrinkles and don’t let ANYTHING fall through the cracks.

3. Ability to “think it all the way through”

This includes all project objectives and possibilities! You can never be too mentally prepared.

4. Social Interaction Skills

Do not confuse this with social MEDIA skills. Myspace and Facebook do not count as social interaction. We need to learn how to effectively converse FACE-TO-FACE.

5. Ability to Identify Smarter People

The era of the Lone Wolf is GONE. Use others! There are so many incredibly intelligent and skilled people who’d be willing to help!

The panelists:

John (Jack) Felton, APR, Fellow PRSA, President and CEO Emeritus, Institute for Public Relations.

Steven Harris, Vice President, Global Communications, General Motors.

Thomas Hoog, Fellow PRSA, Public Speaker and College Lecturer, former President and CEO of Hill and Knowlton/USA, Founder of Hoog & Associates.

Dr. Debra Miller, APR, Fellow PRSA, Senior Director of Marketing and Communications, Clark Atlanta University.

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