Just Another ‘Kell on Earth’ Blog Post

Kelly Cutrone is a bitch.  I don’t say that like it’s a bad thing.

It takes a bitch to run a business. It takes a bitch to raise a child alone. It takes a bitch to have the weight of the world on your shoulders and not give up.

Honestly, I don’t mind the swearing. I don’t even mind the barking.

What disturbs me most about Kell on Earth are two things I didn’t see throughout the entire first episode:

Teamwork AND Communication

One major example of the lack of communication and teamwork in Kelly’s fashion PR firm, People’s Revolution, is demonstrated by the complications with the Chado Ralph Rucci RSVP-lists.

Confusion and frustration arise because no one is sure who is supposed to be checking the Chado voicemail and as a result, the RSVPs get mixed up. Andrew S. and Stefanie Skinner confuse the difference between a yes-RSVP and a no-RSVP, which leads to more time wasted backtracking, yelling from Robyn and stress of everyone overall. Stefanie Skinner tries to delegate some of the RVSP-list responsibility to Stepahie Burhees, but again, miscommunication occurs and for whatever reason, it doesn’t get done.

Communication with RSVPs falters again when Andrew M., Kelly’s assistant, is thrown into helping Stefanie with the RSVPs. However, since he is not given proper instructions and has no previous training, he misunderstands who is supposed to be entered into the RSVP-list. Stefanie takes on an extra three hours of work to backtrack and help Andrew M. fix the problem so he doesn’t get in trouble.

“There is zero ounce of teamwork,” Robyn says, hitting the nail right on the head.

Robyn then proceeds to throw Stefanie Skinner under the bus, tattling to  Kelly that there are major issues with the RSVP lists and that everything is unorganized. A doe-eyed Stefanie, looking more like a deer in headlights by the second, explains to Kelly that she’s doing the lists with Andrew and everything is taken care of and organized.

In fact, the best attempt at communication I saw throughout the entire episode  is when Kelly explains to Ashley Dupre, the call-girl that caused the Elliott Spitzer fiasco, why it would be an idiotic to crash another fashion show; granted a lot nicer than I would have after the problems she caused from crashing Kelly’s show last year.

Is Kell on Earth entertaining? yes. Will I watch it again? Probably. Is it an accurate depiction of my future career in PR? I hope not.

Can PR Tell the Difference Between Write and Wrong?

Fraser Seitel, author of my favorite acadamia-intended PR textbook, answers the question that many others, especially those working in the media, are wondering: Why Do PR professionals have a hard time writing?

Mark Ragan from Ragan Communications also points out the common practice of  bad writing among PR folks in his article, “Why is PR writing so atrocious?”

But why are so many PR professionals bad writers? Why don’t they take the time to hone their writing skills? Ragan points out the main reasons for bad writing: laziness and ignorance.

Some PR professionals developed these bad habits before they even entered the job market:

“None of the kids hired by the agencies and billed out at $150 an hour have the slightest idea what they’re writing about. They don’t understand the product or the client. They have no background in the industry, and they never learned how to write in college.”

Ragan says a lot of PR pros use a 1-2 punch style to their writing, using the template/ buzzword method to get the job done. However, writing like this typically lacks major punch to their prose.

Template

(name of company) the leading solutions provider for the (name of industry) announces the appointment/ purchase of/ merger/ etc of (name of another company) the leading provider of (name of product or service).

Buzzwords

You simply highlight the word with your cursor, hit “enter” and the word is inserted into various spots throughout the release. The column includes all of the old standbys, including our friends “Thought Leadership” (in all caps of course); “connectivity,” “global,” “forward thinking,” “vision,” “strategic,” and “influencers.”

Ragan shows his frustrations with a press release from Ruder Finn, exclaiming, “Of course the template is there in all of its glory, as it is with six out of 10 press releases I came across during my whiskey-aided research.”

CHICAGO, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ — Ruder Finn, Inc., a leading independent full-service global communications agency, today announced that it has been appointed global PR agency for Alterian, plc—the leading global enterprise marketing platform provider.

Rants like these from people I admire, such as Seitel and Ragan, serve as a wakeup call to students and professionals alike. Any young PR professional or pre-pro will have an advantage if they have developed their writing skills from the get-go and get relevant writing/ editing experience early on in their career.

Does Your Twitter Handle Belong in Your Resume?

In the day and age of social media, emails and personal websites, our world is gradually becoming paperless. One *exception to this paperless world is your resume/ CV (*even resumes/CVs are becoming paperless, but most employers will prefer a hard copy for the final interview or will print off your “paperless” version onto paper during the application process).

But is the bridge between online and on-paper one that should be built? Or rather, does your social media contact information belong on your resume/ CV?

In my opinion, yes. I put my twitter handle in my resume. Where you decide to put your social media information is personal preference, but I decided to make my twitter handle very noticeable and included an entire section under “skills” where I include which social networks in which I am active.

I also have my blog (the one you are reading right now!) listed under relevant experience/ projects. However, I only suggest you include blogs in your resume that you regularly write for or that have received some sort of recognition.

Putting your social media contact information on your resume not only let’s the employer reviewing your resume/ CV that you’re tuned in to using social media, but that you have nothing to hide. Let’s face it, they’re going to google you regardless if you put your twitter handle on your resume/ CV or not. Why not beat them to the punch and say, “Here I am and this is why you want me to work for you” (this is also made under the assumption that your social media identity is kept clean/ professional. I think this is a safe assumption to make for most PR pre-pros). Showing employers that you have nothing to hide, but instead are actually borderline showing-off your social media identity not only shows candidness and professionalism, but confidence in who you are as a pre-pro and your willingness to make life easy for him or her.

As a result, your social media identity tells them even more about you:

• Personality type
• Personal brand
• Interests/ Hobbies
• Aspirations
• Skills (especially writing and using technology)

This type of information is especially helpful to your employer when applying for jobs that are out of state or area. It lets him or her get a sense of who you are and whether or not you would be a good fit for the company. It provides the employer a sneak peak to your feature film.

Some employers even place high-importance on the use of social media contact information. Here’s what some of the pros said:

Worob It’s the first thing I look for when reading resumes.

thescottbishop If you have an active and valuable twitter brand…add it to your resume (but be aware of what you tweet).

prtini Absolutely a good idea if you’re applying for PR/SM jobs. Shows you are involved online. Important for

employers to know.

sjhalestorm Fits very well into contact info. – gives feeling that you are involved, not hiding. Give potential employers all the opps you can to stalk you by including Twitter handle (+ others) – then impress them.

Additional Resources

Report today in the UK mentions use of Twitter handle / LinkedIn details on your CV

Careerealism’s Resume: 20 Down and Dirty on What to Include

Brand Republic: Social Media talent vacuum in PR and Marketing

(Special thanks to @kionsanders @bitty_boop @Lmnovo @patrickbjohnson @aaronwolowiec @AdamVincenzini @dfriedman16 @TBlinkedin @lisaatufunwa @PattyBaragar @EstrellaBella10 @AlexiaHarris @han_ma @ Worob @thescottbishop @PRtini @sjhalestorm)