As a woman-owned business, we often are the only females in the boardroom.
College grads, listen up! While the job market is challenging, don’t be discouraged. Use that expensive piece of paper you just earned alongside some extra strategy to land the best job for you.
By Eric Yule
After my eight months at Snackbox, I now know more about the PR world than I could ever imagine. With these eight months of experience, my eyes have been opened up to an alarming number of facts about what universities aren’t teaching students to prepare them for the real world. Although schools do a great job about hammering in what a press release is and how to write one, they fail to expand on this element and how other press materials play into the overall day-to-day functions of the PR world. After experiencing the real world, I’ve compiled a list of things that universities need to start teaching their students right now!
Media Database
CisionPoint (and other software providers like it) is PR software database that helps us find reporters to pitch relevant stories to in order to secure placements for clients. It is the most useful software a PR specialist will ever use in their career and it is the most utilized tool in PR. Cision allows you to tap into a media database that contains more than 1.6 million contacts and outlets for pitching. Coming into my first internship, I had no idea what Cision even was or how to use it. Luckily I have been fortunate enough to familiarize myself with the application for eight months now, but this is a crucial element that universities are completely ignoring to teach students. Without Cision, the PR world would be blindly searching for reporter contacts and painstakingly pitching to a smaller audience of reporters with less significant results for clients. Every student with a degree in public relations needs to know what CisionPoint is and how to use it.
Media Lists
Using Cision is one crucial component to the PR world, but learning how to compile and condense a media list you pull from Cision is a whole different ballgame. This is another element that universities are failing to teach their students. Many PR firms ‘shotgun’, or mass send, pitches to reporters. This is a careless and dangerous tactic for a PR firm’s reputation due to the fact that they pitch the wrong reporters and anger them in the process. Learning how to correctly compile a media list is crucial to be successful in the PR industry and universities should be zeroing in on this aspect.
Pitching to Reporters
Although universities teach students how to write pitches, they don’t teach students how to pitch to actual reporters. At some points, PR specialists will be pitching to more than 1,000 reporters in a day. There should be a class to teach students how to pitch to reporters and how to follow up with reporters in order to obtain the maximum number of placements possible. A class like this would sharpen skills that would be useful to PR firms on day one of an internship or job, rather than training interns or employees how to do this for the first couple of months they start in their position. Reporters bite back in the real world if you pitch them off topic and students need to learn how to avoid these horrible experiences by learning smart pitching habits in the classroom.
Hootsuite
Unless students have had a social media internship, Hootsuite is probably unfamiliar to them. For social media, Hootsuite is a wonderful application for posting content to social media platforms. Universities should have students go through a Hootsuite tutorial in order to be certified and well-versed in the application to further strengthen strong PR skills and make students more competitive in the job interview process.
I wish I had known at least the very basics of these skills before going into my first internship. Luckily, Snackbox was able to help me and train me in becoming proficient with these skills over my internship period. However, students need to know what these things are and how to utilize them when going into interviews. They will make students more competitive in both the job and internship process while also giving them valuable skills they can use for their entire PR career. Universities need to realize these are necessary skills to teach and they need to start teaching them sooner rather than later.
By Eric Yule
As my final weeks wrap up at Snackbox, it’s hard to believe my internship is almost over. Seven months ago, I was just a college student trying to secure his first internship in the PR world, but I never thought I would be exposed to the amount of knowledge I was able to absorb during my time at Snackbox. As our Creative Director, Eric Oltersdorf, a.k.a. “Snacklord” said, “This internship is the golden ticket,” and after spending seven months with the Snackbox family, I now know why.
In all seriousness, this internship was, without a doubt, my golden ticket in many ways. Going into this internship, I had never had an internship in the PR industry and my mentor, Jenna Oltersdorf, showed me everything she has come to know about PR and the way it functions. She taught me so many things throughout my seven months, I feel my head spinning even trying to think of them all, but I have narrowed down four key things I’ve learned during my time at Snackbox.
Ask for Help
I cannot stress this point enough. Personally, I believe my biggest flaw is asking for help. I’ve grown up with the attitude, “I can do it by myself and I don’t need help” and it has eaten me up more than once. I believe it’ll always be something I’ll struggle with, but the Snackbox family has helped me in breaking down this barrier. There have been moments where I’ve felt overwhelmed with either a specific assignment, my daily task list or just overall life. For my internship period, I only had a short time to complete my assignments, and sometimes an assignment took longer than expected. This left me with a small amount of time to complete the other tasks and led to me sometimes falling behind in work and on deadlines. This is where asking for help pays dividends.
As talented as Jenna is, she can’t read my mind and only I had to ability to let her know when I was feeling overwhelmed or if I was lost with a specific assignment. Mentors are here to make your life easier, not drown you in work and let you figure out how to do it by yourself. You will most likely be doing many tasks that are new to you for the first time as an intern, so don’t be afraid to ask for direction or help on how to do a certain task – it’s safer to ask even if you feel dumb asking a certain question. Chances are, your mentor or supervisor has had the same types of questions when they were just starting out.
Mechanics are Key
Although some assignments may seem tedious or get annoying, don’t get overly frustrated with an assignment. Your mentor isn’t assigning a certain task just to make your life miserable. Ask yourself how an assignment plays into the overall bigger picture for the client. Usually your assignment is tied to two or three other assignments your fellow coworkers have assigned on their task list. Once you get the mechanics down of repeated tasks, the edits will decrease and you will find yourself with more time on your hands to complete the rest of your assignments.
Even when you think your work is perfect, it’s not. You must always triple-check your work and read through it each time thinking, “How can I make this better?” Chances are your work will almost never be perfect the first time you send it in for review so don’t get discouraged if your work has a ton of edits made to it. My dad always told me, “Don’t focus on how they’re saying it. Focus on what they’re saying.” This advice has given me comfort time and time again and it has helped me in developing thick skin. You must look at the kind of feedback you get and not how it’s being delivered. Take your mind off all the red lines and deleted words and focus on how you can learn from the edits and make your work better.
How to Work Efficiently and Effectively
As previously stated, an assignment is usually connected to two or three other assignments that your coworkers are working on. With only a few hours in the day, it’s important you focus on the hard tasks to start and end your day with the easier tasks. At the start of my internship, I found myself focusing on the easier tasks first and I was unable to complete the more difficult tasks by the end of the day. I quickly tried to change my mindset and I definitely found success with my new game plan, but there will always be days where you feel you’re lagging in some way. With only a few hours each day, I had to learn how to finish my work efficiently but also effectively so I didn’t make more work for my fellow colleagues. For me, my personal goal was to come in each day and learn something new, but to also make the workday easier for the whole firm.
The World of PR
My favorite part about public relations is how each day is different and unique in its own way. I can honestly say I didn’t have two days that were the same during my seven months at Snackbox. In PR, every client is different and has their own personality. This is the greatest contributing factor to everyday being different. Sure, the mechanics may be the same, but you never pitch the same thing twice or draft the same press release twice.
Pitching to reporters can also be extremely daunting for an intern. These reporters get thousands of pitches every day and if you mis-pitch a reporter’s beat – oh, man. Luckily, I never received a scathing email from a reporter, ripping me to shreds – but my colleagues at Snackbox have told me lots of stories (and have given me lots of advice on how to avoid this disastrous mistake). Although pitching can be daunting, it can also be extremely fulfilling when you get a bite – especially your first bite. I compare pitching to fishing in a way. I pitch to my media list and I wait patiently. Sometimes the reporter’s bite on a pitch nonstop and it feels great, but sometimes you only get one or two bites and that’s okay! With pitching you need to try different tactics to stand out in that inbox of a thousand other pitches, but not overly obnoxious because these fish can bite back!
This internship has been one of the most intense yet satisfying periods of my college career. All I needed was an opportunity to show what I was worth and Snackbox gave me that chance. For those who have not secured their first internship yet, don’t give up. It may be extremely discouraging at times but keep casting your line out to whomever you can find, someone will eventually bite and give you an opportunity like Snackbox did for me. The best advice I can give to someone entering his or her first internship is: work hard, work smart and absorb everything you possibly can during your internship period.
Snackbox is a boutique public relations and graphic design agency specializing in food and consumer marketing, headquartered in Austin, Texas. Our clients include Smoothie King, Sunwarrior, and The Biem Butter Sprayer.
We are looking for part-time candidates for our prestigious apprentice program. Ideal qualities include: hardworking, energetic, driven, with an interest in public relations. The selected candidate(s) will take part in a sophisticated internship program offering real world public relations experience complete with media list building, creation of media materials, media outreach, campaign analysis and reporting.
Qualifications:
- Excellent grammar, spelling and composition as well as oral communication and interpersonal skills
- Strong attention to detail
- Ability to work in a team as well as independently
- Ability to organize and prioritize deadlines
- Initiative, creativity and strategic-thinking skills
- Strong research skills
- Public Relations experience is not required
- Must be classified as a senior in college
Responsibilities:
- Develop media lists and reporter research
- Assist in creating media strategies
- Create media materials
- Conduct media outreach
- Develop reporting for clients
- Create a final report on intern program
How to Apply
If you are interested in this opportunity, please email bonjour@snackbox.us with a brief note telling us why you should be a Snackbox candidate along with your resume. Please use ‘Snackbox PR Intern’ as an email subject line.
By Jamie Hooker
Ah, the art of strategic messaging. This is arguably the most important skill a public relations professional will use in a crisis. Ensuring your team is controlling the message and how it’s being portrayed by the public is crucial. The goal is to respond early to a crisis, even if you aren’t sure how you’re going to handle it yet (re: the title of this blog).
Like we’ve mentioned in our crisis blog series, acknowledging there’s a problem is step one. A simple, initial statement letting the public know the situation is being taken care of is sometimes enough. For example:
“We are aware of the problem, and we are doing everything in our power to fix it.”
How easy is that? Obviously, that statement would be Plan B after a more comprehensive statement, given we know more about the crisis and our plan. Nonetheless, having a skeleton statement that is easily modifiable will save you precious time during a crisis.
You should also be strategic with your social media messaging during a crisis – if the situation is big enough to address on social media, that is. In cases involving franchises, smaller, local crises may not need support of the corporate social account. Since you’re a PR genius, you’ll surely have someone monitoring social media during a crisis. Your social media monitor should always be ready to respond to mentions and comments about your client. Again, having a simple statement prepared ahead of time can be hugely helpful when responding to followers and fans. The goal is to be as transparent as possible to establish trust between you and your client’s customers. In other words, don’t be shady!
You’ll need to be strategic when tackling the media, as well. Expect your phone to be blowing up with calls from reporters if your name is on a press release or any other materials related to a crisis. Be sure to stick to the talking points and statements that have been approved by your client. If a reporter asks about something you aren’t sure about, tell them you are looking into it and will alert them when there are developments. Never say, “I don’t know about that.” This will come off as confused and disorganized. “No comment,” is a phrase that you should also avoid at all costs. You may as well say you’re guilty, because that’s exactly how it is most often interpreted by the media and the public.
Strategic messaging is a cornerstone of public relations. If you do this well, you’ll be a crisis-handling queen (or king).
By Yahaira Hernandez
In my experience, I have had two performance reviews since I started at Snackbox. The first performance review happened while I was an intern and the second time was as an Assistant Account Executive. On both occasions, I learned a lot about Snackbox and about myself. I learned that even though I am dedicated, I make mistakes from time to time. The most important thing, however, is that I learn from my mistakes and I always try to excel in my craft.
At Snackbox, we love to provide valuable information that you can carry with you throughout your career. Getting hired is one thing, but proving yourself time and time again to earn that promotion or raise takes a lot of effort and skill. The following is a list of our top five tips towards achieving an excellent performance review.
Be On Time
Everyone knows that being a great verbal communicator is crucial, but your nonverbal communication is just as important. By showing up to work on time, you are communicating responsibility and you are showing your team that you care.
Learn from Your Mistakes
Are you a perfectionist like me? If so, you might need to remind yourself that as humans, it’s only natural to make mistakes. The true test is admitting to your mistakes and overcoming these obstacles by performing better as an employee. An employer will know whether or not your mistakes are making or breaking you.
Be a Team Player
At Snackbox, we always try to help each other, from proof reading a document to suggesting pitch ideas. Make sure your team knows that you are as dedicated to your job as they are, this will reflect beautifully on you and your entire workplace!
Take Your Work a Step Further
Dedication is a key determinant to a great performance review. Some employers see this because of the extra input you give, like staying longer hours or providing a more detailed report than what was requested. By always going that extra mile, you can provide many points on just how valuable you are to the company.
Make Your Boss’s Life Easier
One of the most valuable lessons given to our employees is doing your job well enough to make your boss’s life easier. Your employer will be grateful for giving them more time and energy to switch between tasks.
By Dana Sotoodeh
So you have internship experience, a college degree, and your planner cleared for ample amounts of job interviews. But how do you present yourself and what do you wear?
Your presentation and appearance are just as important when it comes to landing your job as that well-rounded resume you have worked so hard on. Employers want to know you care just as much about your presentation as you do the quality of your work– and that’s why Team Snackbox is here to tell you a few things you shouldn’t do when it comes to that big interview.
- Don’t show up late: Although this seems like a no-brainer, it’s extremely important to mention. Your punctuality says 10,000 things about the kind of person you are, and being on time is crucial in working for any company. Instead of leaving it at “don’t show up late”, we say “show up early”. At least by 10 minutes. Show your potential employer that you are punctual and value their time.
- Don’t not make eye contact: Eye contact is a universal symbol for attentiveness and is extremely important when it comes to interviewing with a potential employer. Your future boss wants to know you’re engaged and actively listening to whatever they are saying. Wandering suggests you aren’t paying attention and gives off an unprofessional vibe. Eye contact is just as crucial when it’s your time to answer questions as well.
- Speak clearly and concisely: Your tone and voice patterns make a huge difference in the impression you give off to your future employer. A timid and soft voice may be hard to hear and undermines your confidence, where as an extremely loud voice may come off obnoxious. Make it a point to use an indoor tone of voice and keep your talking pattern at a medium pace. This ensures that all of the valuable information you have to say is heard clearly and that’s important.
- Don’t fidget: Fidgeting with your nails, hair, or clothing shows your anxiousness and is distracting for the interviewer. Make sure you sit up straight, place your hands on the table or in your lap, and focus on the questions being asked at the moment. Employers notice body language so make sure you don’t look uncomfortable or anxious to be there. You are there because you want to be—so show it!
- Prepare questions: Prepare a list of questions before your interview to show your future boss you’re interested in the position and ready to dive in.
- Bring work samples: Samples of your work can easily tell the story of your relevant experience. Whether your work represents what you’ve accomplished in the classroom, as an intern or a volunteer, it shows you have a knack for the job.
What to wear:
There are a few basic rules to follow when it comes to wearing interview appropriate outfits. Snackbox wants to coach you on a few “tips for workplace style:
- No short skirts/dresses– Ladies, remember that dress code you had to follow in middle school or high school? Something along the lines of… “ don’t wear anything shorter than your arm-length?” That’s a good rule to stick by. Too short of skirts or dresses look unprofessional in the working environment. Luckily, there are plenty of places that sell stylish and long enough pencil skirts and dresses.
- No heavy makeup/ perfume/cologne: Although you should definitely smell nice and have makeup on, there are some rules and guidelines that must be followed. Too much makeup is distracting and not appropriate for an in-office interview. Too much cologne or perfume is distracting and may stray attention away from you and the points you are trying to make.
- No flip flops: No matter how comfy your favorite pool shoes are, never are they ever appropriate for a work place environment. Steer clear of flip- flops, or open-toed shoes in general. This rule applies to men and women.
- Stay groomed- Weather you are a male or a female—this rule is important to follow. Men should make sure that their facial hair (if any) is groomed and not out of control. Women should make it a point to make sure their hair is neat and put-together. Simple actions like groomed hair or well-kept nails are little details that actually matter.
- Dress to impress: Depending on where your interviewing, styles may change. However, during your interview, it is always better to be overdressed than underdressed. Think of what you would wear to church or around your family. If you wouldn’t wear it around them—don’t wear it to an interview.
If you need a little more assistance on the Do’s and Don’ts of job interviewing here’s a short excerpt from Career Builder. Check it out and Good Luck!
As a business owner, I receive a lot of emails about available positions. And, when I talk about needing specific types of people on Twitter, the numbers double, sometimes triple. So what makes me want to hire a person? And, more importantly, what makes candidates get noticed?
1. Just like your pitch to a reporter, keep your pitch to me succinct and to the point. Why will your employment with my company make MY life easier? How are you going to help build/grow Snackbox with your expertise? Why are MY clients going to love working with you? For us, and really any company, it’s more about what you can do for your company, rather than what your company can do for you.
2. Resumes are BORING. I hate reading through them (probably how a journalist feels about a news release). We’re in a creative industry, so why doesn’t your resume have a personality? And better yet, why didn’t you bullet your relevant experience for me in your email? At the end of the day, show me your creativity and your personality.
3. It’s okay to follow up with me if I don’t respond. But don’t be annoying. I have clients to take care of and a business to run and, no offense, but that’s more important than your resume. Given that, you’re still important to me (if you’re good at what you do). So again, follow up with me just like you would a reporter.
4. If you make the cut and we’re doing a phone interview, come prepared with some questions for me. I’m not looking for an ego stroke. Instead, I’m looking for a smart human being who thinks. Sound easy? A lot of people would disagree.
5. I just spent time reviewing your resume, talking to you on the phone, and we may have even had a face-to-face meeting. All these things take away from billable time and time is money. Thank me! Seriously. And not just me, but the person who introduced us and anyone else that you may have interviewed with.
At the end of the day, don’t be a robot. Show that you’re human, that you have a personality. The better your pitch is, the more personable you are to work with, the faster you’re going to get the job … which coincidentally kind of sounds like the process of pitching a reporter for a client story… and that’s by design. If you prove to me that you’re good at pitching yourself, surely you’re going to be good at pitching for our clients.
| By: Jenna (Gruhala) Oltersdorf | ||
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To read this piece in its original form and to access the comments posted in response to this article, click here.
As an entrepreneur and principal of our public relations practice at Snackbox, I see resumes from a wide variety of job seekers throughout the country on a regular basis. Sadly, many of these resumes look nearly identical and do nothing in order to grab the reader’s interest.
In the marketing industry, you’re expected to be creative … so why is this not being translated into your resume?
Before we get started with tips, let’s throw some preconceived ideas out the window. Resumes should:
– NOT be limited to one page
– NOT be restricted to just black and white
– NOT be boring
Time and time again I find myself reviewing one page Word documents that quickly begin blending together. Suddenly I’m trying to remember if it was Kelly or Kerry that had the great, relevant experience.
So what can you do?
One of the first questions we ask clients in our line of work is: Who is your target? The same goes for your job search. Begin by determining your ideal position and the responsibilities attached to such a job. Research the companies that fit within those categories. Once you have established where you’d like to work, it makes it much easier to develop job-seeking materials.
Begin with a strong cover letter, two to three paragraphs in length. Keep in mind that this cover letter gives you an opportunity to “sell” your skills to the reader. Reference relevant experience listed in your resume. Customize that letter so I immediately know how you’re going to make my life easier because I’m looking to be helped, not help.
Are you sending your cover letter as an email attachment? If so, STOP. The body of your email becomes your cover letter these days.
During my last bout as a job seeker, I reoriented my resume so it printed horizontally rather than vertically, created a logo for myself and varied the font sizes. You wouldn’t believe the compliments I received. I’m not suggesting that everyone go to a horizontal resume, but I am suggesting that you build a personal brand that is consistent through your materials, just as you would for any client. A word of caution, though: remain professional. We all remember the pink, scented resume from Legally Blonde. That’s not (always) appropriate in any line of work.
Your resume should outline your experience, community service and education, among other things. If possible, keep it to one page, but if you’re seasoned in your line of work, by all means, use more pages!
Run spell check on ALL of your documents and verify that you have not misspelled your contact’s name. Don’t make it easy for them to immediately eliminate you from the running.
After delivering your cover letter and resume to the appropriate contact, follow up with a handwritten note and enclose a business card. The note is always a nice touch and helps you break through the clutter of other competing job seekers. Many of us have become so dependent on email that we’ve forgotten the art of a handwritten note.
A word about business cards: You can create a personal calling card that looks and feels professional quite inexpensively through places like Overnightprints.com. Include your name, cell phone number and personal email address.
Networking is king in any job search, no matter how weak or strong the economy. Make a list of the top companies with whom you’d like to work and begin researching them online. Go beyond the company Web site and find key decision makers on social networks like Twitter and LinkedIn. The more ways in which you can interact with company representatives, the more opportunity you have to network and get your foot in the door.
Don’t be afraid to follow up, within reason. Because I spend most of my day on the phone, I much prefer an email from candidates versus a phone call. But it’s always great to touch base and gives you another opportunity to continue to build rapport with your key contacts.
Once you’ve scored the interview, create a list of questions for your meeting. There’s nothing worse than asking if someone has further questions and they respond with “no”. Also, anticipate the questions you’ll be asked and prepare your responses. A well-rehearsed interviewee typically comes out on top.
After your interview, send another handwritten note, thanking the contact for their time. Take this opportunity to reiterate any key points that were discussed during your meeting.
In our industry, we’re all storytellers at some level. We understand how to talk with clients and it’s key in any job search to use those same skills to find and create career opportunities.