Are You Ready to ROCK (Your Interview)?

As graduation draws near, many soon-to-be grads are applying for internships and entry-level jobs for the summer. Many will get lucky and land an interview, spending days (or even weeks) preparing for that one-shot at making a good impression. But what do you do in that final hour before the interview?

For me, that final hour was literally a 60 minute drive left alone with my thoughts. Or rather, a perfect chance to psych myself out and over think every possible situation that could happen during the informational interview and writing/ editing test that would ensue for the next few hours.

What if I blanked on basic rules of AP Style during the editing portion? What if I had writer’s block (an illness I’ve been recovering from lately) during the writing test? What if clammed up and was completely out of character from my usual bubbly self? What if I was put on the spot and the only words that come to mind are “I don’t know?” Or even WORSE – what if one of many bodily functions blindsided me while I was there?!

As my life going down the drain flashed before me, a glint of something shiny on the floor caught my eye. Quickly I reached down, taking my eyes off the road for ONLY a second (I swear!) and struck gold: an ’80s mix CD I had compiled last summer. Immediately I popped the CD into the player and cranked the volume as loud as it would go without making my ears bleed.

Belting out the lyrics in the comfort of my car erased all of the if’s, and’s or but’s from my mind. Dance moves (though limited in the confines of a moving vehicle) and head bobs included.

Then it hit me: I am Dwight Schrute from The Office. Okay, maybe not quite, but I can at least relate. If you watch the video clip below, you will see Dwight take a moment alone in the car to vigorously listen to Motley Crue’s “Kickstart My Heart.” *I know embedding is disabled, click on it again to go to this clip on YouTube. It’s 25 seconds long. Just do it!

At this point you may be asking yourself, “Okay Mikinzie, you are a huge geek and I’m frightened to be driving on the same road as you, but what’s the point?” The point is you need to have your “thing” that will ease your nerves and put any doubts in yourself to rest. Whether that means dancing it out, meditating, writing down all of your accomplishments on paper, looking at old pictures of fond memories or even letting your voice crack to bad ’80s music is up to you. In the end, whatever you do needs to inspire self-confidence. Even if that means getting funny looks from other drivers on the highway.

What do you do to get rid of the first-interview jitters?

As some of you know, I’m a bit of a music fiend and love giving (and getting) music recommendations. Here are few songs on the playlist that I sang particularly loudly while bopping around in my purple ’95 Cavalier:

• “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” -Simple Minds
• “Burning Down the House” – Talking Heads
• “Always Something There to Remind Me” – Naked Eyes
• “I Ran (So Far Away)” – Flock of Seagulls
• “Ah! Leah!” – Donnie Iris
• “Ordinary World” – Duran Duran
• “Love Will Tear Us Apart” – Joy Division
• “Video Killed The Radio Star” – The Buggles

PRepster Lauren Novo on Key Messages

Lauren Novo is a a senior at Florida State University with a double major in Media/Communication Studies and Creative Writing. Additionally, she serves as the staff writer for Trusteria Services, a regional company in Tallahassee, and as a public relations staff assistant for RB Oppenheim Associates, a local PR agency. Connect with her on Twitter, LinkedIn and read her blog, Gen-Y PRogress: Lauren Novo’s PR Journey.

By Lauren Novo

Many of us are just two months away from the real world. College life is actually coming to an end. Perhaps you’re graduating with top grades and impressive resumes or maybe you’re just barely making it out alive. Regardless, we’re all in the same boat. Those of us who have decided against grad school need to start thinking about securing jobs. Like now.

So while seemingly every PR pro, extended family member and teacher asks what your plans are after graduation and your stomach starts to churn because you have no flippin’ idea, just remember this: you’re not alone and it’s going to be OK.

What’s the key to staying calm when you enter an interview (or even “non-interview”) situation and you’ve got competition? Key messages.

Think about it – right now, whether you’re learning PR tactics in school or through your internships, you’ve probably noticed how important key messages are to campaigns and initiatives. We are taught that in order to influence thinking and ultimately behavior, our messaging needs to be clear and relatable. We need to be sincere and make people genuinely care. So why not bring these lessons into our own personal, “hire me, please” endeavors?

1. Sit down and figure out who you are, what you want, why you want it and how you are going to accomplish it. If you can’t clearly define your capabilities to a prospective employer, why would you be hired?
2. Go into the interview with your key messages prepared. And no, your messages should not be the same for every interview. After all, messages aren’t going to be the same in every campaign you complete once you’re hired.
3. Consider: What does this agency/corporation stand for? Who does it serve? What does it need from its PR team? Don’t lie about yourself to get the job. Just understand and explain how and why you are a good fit.

It sounds silly, making a list of key messages. But that might just set you apart from the others. Not only will it help you understand your own value, but it will help you develop analytical skills for when you receive that first big project at work.

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.