Jim Parham, PR Chronicle

Getting a job out of college is such a pain. You’ve worked hard (except that last semester when you had bowling and folk dancing) and should see the offers flowing in. 

Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen. 

That internship at Burger Palace didn’t work out as you’d planned (bastardized line from Steely Dan’s Two Against Nature CD) and now you’re sitting at home thinking that life has to get better soon, or you’re going to go crazy. 

This doesn’t make any sense! I sent out 400 resumes to those addresses my college roommate looked up on the Web. What happened? About 40 of those got returned, 20 bounced-back in e-mails, and the other 320, no response.   

Why not take yourself into the mind of the recipient for a brief moment. 

“Hey Martha, can you go down to the mailroom and pick up today’s large and ridiculous stack of resumes?” “Yes, Mr. Witherspoon. What would you like for me to do with them?” “Take them to H.R. Tell them to write everyone: “Thanks for your interest. But had you read our Web site, or called us, you’d know that we haven’t hired anyone since 1909.” Also, please note: “Mr. Witherspoon’s title is not CEO, it’s Damn Big Deal.”   After that, consider your resume DOA!   “Look at this pretty cover letter with flowers and a very nice scent of hemp.”  This, as much as you might think, isn’t going to work. 

Why not try this exercise. Think of seven people you know. No, not the guy at your favorite drinking establishment; I mean really know. Identify anyone that you might know, your parents know and anyone your family knows that would help you connect with people in the business, or better yet, pick up the phone and call a friend in New York, Chicago or
Omaha (ok, so we’re casting a large net here on the Omaha thing). 

Then identify who on that list of seven could help you land an interview, phone call or give a contact to send your resume too.    

It is all about networking and the ability to take advantage of your contacts, or your family and friends’ contacts. Oh no! I can’t do that! Well, let’s look at our little black and compact rule book: 

Rule One:  It’s about Networking.   

Rule Two:  It’s who you know, or someone you know who’s willing to talk to someone in the business. 

Rule Three:  Very few people, if any, ever get hired from a resume. Maybe a resume mailing campaign will get you a call back, or separated into a smaller stack of resumes, but the best way to secure a chance to talk to someone who is a real person is to use the contacts available to you. Rarely do we (at our agency) snub someone who is a referral. After all, a phone call or recommendation from a colleague is quite impressive and will give you a fighting chance. 

Rule Four:  Swallow your pride, punk!  Networking and using your associates is not a bad thing. If you think it’s wrong or cheesy, well, let’s ask that person who actually got the job where you had applied.

For all those budding public relations professionals, there comes a time when the question arises from the professor, or interviewer: Tell me about your comfort level with AP style? 

Oops… missed that class! (There was a soft pillow with my name on it… never did catch up with that punctuation thing.)   

Ok, so let’s see… a few hundred pages that tell me about when to use fewer or less.   I don’t need that information; I learned that from a beer commercial. So, does knowing AP style really matter?It’s hard to say. 

Let’s go back to the basics. Consistency in style, proper grammar and usage does make a difference when writing. Certainly, journalists will know the difference, and yes, there’s the PR agency boss that seems to know when to use farther and further. 

But, how should you approach the AP style challenge? Most likely it’s best to say, “Hey, this is fun and I can use this stuff at a party to impress my friends and enemies.” 

Or, even better, “Gosh, I can actually explain to someone why I used this particular word.” Here is my advice (and please weigh in with your thoughts). Common sense and consistency are the most important things. Sure, it’s nice to know that the new brochure for the client is a “flier” and not an airplane stunt pilot (flyer), but that’s cocktail party stuff. If you are inconsistent in the use of punctuation around quotes, then someone is going to notice. 

Tell us here at the PR Chronicle what you’ve found to be the case with the AP style and your classes or company.

How to get a job in public relations.  No, really. 

So, you wanna be a rock star?   

Get a job in PR to pay back those student loans. 

You’ve heard it, right? Frustration in full!    

To get a job, you need experience.  To get experience, you need a job. 

Let’s talk about it. Let’s debunk and demystify the crap you’ve heard from every know-it-all PR god and spin doctor extraordinaire, about landing on your feet after four (or five, if you had fun) years of college. 

First, let’s break the rules, or bend them. 

Did you ever get told that a resume should be kept to one page? 

Wrong. Your resume should tell a story of your education and experience. Let me put this out there. The resume should be an appropriate length to appropriately describe your background and experience. So, if your story is a page and one-half…well, that’s fine. (IF, and it’s a BIG IF, a page and one-half is needed to tell your story.) 

So, weigh in on this. Does one page really work?