Changing your PR sector
Recently The Works Search and Selection has noticed that an increasing number of people, particularly at the junior end of the spectrum, are keen to change the sector of PR they work in.
Because of the financial cost of recruitment, post-recession employers can be quite conservative; they want the ‘perfect’ candidate, ideally with highly relevant sector experience and contacts. People changing sectors therefore represent a risk.
Don’t lose hope though; think about the transferable skills you can offer employers. Superb core PR skills are fundamental to a successful transition, and those you’ll need to stress include:
- Writing – Read relevant press releases to get an idea of how to adapt your writing to suit a new sector; practise the style until you get it right!
- Dealing with the media – You probably won’t have many contacts in your new sector, so focus on your knowledge of how to deal with the media and make sure you know who your key future contacts are likely to be.
- Client handling – Use your experience to demonstrate your ability to liaise and advise at senior level and to build strong client relationships.
- Time management – Juggling a heavy workload and several clients is a key element of any PR role which you should already be prepared for.
- Social media – If social media is vital to your new sector, you MUST understand how it is used, be using it yourself, and have an opinion on it.
Whilst a broad range of relevant skills is helpful, it is just as important to demonstrate an active interest in your chosen sector. If possible use some of your holiday allowance to gain some work experience so that you can be sure it’s the right move for you. Make sure you’re always up to date with stories on PR Week or Gorkana, as well as following the news and journalists in the publications relevant to your new sector.
Changing sectors also carries with it financial implications. In remuneration terms, financial PR pays the highest, followed by technology, healthcare, corporate and finally consumer. If you are in one the higher paid sectors you MUST be realistic about your expected salary. Your recruitment consultant can advise you on average salaries at your level.
Apart from all of this, to be able to make a successful transition you have to be able to demonstrate passion for your chosen sector – as with any interview your future employer needs to buy in to you, and in this instance, even more so than someone with relevant experience. Think of ways you can demonstrate your interest, for instance, maybe you could start writing a blog about the news in your chosen sector? If you do, bring a copy to your interview to wow your interviewer and put you one step closer to getting that dream job!
Would your ‘Elevator Pitch’ get you hired?
Even if you weren’t one of the record nine million viewers who tuned in to watch the latest series finale of ‘The Apprentice’, as job seekers we could all learn a valuable lesson from the successes and failures of the four candidates in the final show: the elevator pitch.
Although the candidates were asked to summarise their business proposition, it’s just as likely that you’ll be asked a similar question in an interview situation, but this time, you’ll be asked to talk about you! Being able to win over your audience, and quickly, in an interview situation could similarly determine whether you’re ‘hired’ or ‘fired’.
For those unfamiliar with the term, an ‘elevator pitch’ is a concise overview of, from a recruitment perspective, a person, and is designed to stimulate further interest in the conversation. The name reflects the idea that it should be possible to deliver this summary in the time span of an elevator ride – approximately thirty seconds to a minute, and that its ultimate goal should be to interest the other party sufficiently for them to want to know more.
Whilst business practitioners, entrepreneurs and sales people usually have a good handle on how to best capture their audience’s attention in the shortest time period possible, it can be far more daunting to sell yourself. That said, the ability to do so should be something in every job hunter’s handbook. When it comes to securing a job, your elevator pitch should be about your skills and your competencies, and what you can deliver to that organisation, rather than just a speedy summary of your CV.
Think of another TV show, BBC2’s ‘Dragon’s Den’. Venture capitalists determine whether to fund a project on the strength of an entrepreneur’s pitch, but interviewers operate on the same principles: if you haven’t convinced them of your value proposition in the first few minutes of interview i.e. what you can deliver to the team or organisation you are applying to join as well as your personal flair, then, like any audience, you’ve lost them – and their interest. An elevator pitch is THAT important.
We recently attended a workshop which underlined just what those thirty seconds should consist of in an interview situation. After you’ve settled yourself, exchanged a few pleasantries with the interviewer or panel and maybe had a sip of water, it’s almost inevitable that the first question will be ‘tell me a bit about yourself…’
‘A bit’, is key. They don’t want to hear your life story. By the same token, they have your CV in front of them, so don’t use up those valuable ‘first impressions count’ moments to reiterate the information it contains. Instead, you should use your elevator pitch to demonstrate your competencies and skills, being able to back up any claims with measurable statistics and examples. That is what an interviewer will be looking for.
Every candidate’s pitch is going to be different based on their own strengths and background, but common elements should include a statement of: who you are, your USP and your call to action. Showing you can provide a solution to a problem is also a winning element.
Think of it as the ultimate ‘hook’ in a press release’s opening paragraph. The audience may not be the media, but get it right and they’re very likely to be your future employer…
Farewell Account Exec, hello Catalysts. Is this the future of the modern PR agency?
When Golin Harris announced their ‘complete redesign’ of the PR agency model last week, to be operating worldwide across 34 offices within 12 months, we admit, the reorganisation threw up questions about retention and recruitment, more than it answered.
Let’s recap. According to their website, the agency is now structured on what it terms ‘G4’ to focus on four key areas which president and CEO, Fred Cook, believes are ‘critical to communications’:
Strategists – the business analysts who focus on research and analytics;
Creators – those who produce content on behalf of clients and tell stories about the brand;
Connectors – channel experts who ‘engage consumer and business audiences’ and ‘merge social and mainstream media channels to share compelling stories’ and;
Catalysts – those ‘at the heart’ of the G4 model, such as account leaders or ‘change agents’ who execute client campaigns.
Whilst the agency believes the redesign (and redesigned job titles) will benefit clients by combining strategy, creativity and engagement ‘in one seamless package’, where will it leave employees who may find these redefined job roles don’t exist in any other agency when it comes to moving on? Do PR’s actually want to be this specialised when many current roles seem to require all-rounders? And how has this been received internally by current employees concerned about their ‘employability’ over the long term?
From a candidate’s point of view, the new structure allows for employees to play to their strengths and loves, such as senior consultants who love or hate media relations, which could be a real draw for talent. But equally true is that by specialising, becoming a pure strategist or creative for example, may be limiting their future career options (particularly for in-house moves) as the model isn’t reflective of the rest of the industry and clients are still hiring with an element of caution – they prefer to see similarities with skills and responsibilities. GH will have to move fast to communicate the benefits of the new model to future employees and recruitment companies, or face the very real possibility of a talent shortage in the longer term.
However, we also know that GH staffers have been very well briefed and kudos to the agency for doing an excellent PR job. It seems that most people in the company are excited about the changes and that it may remove some of the internal politics come promotion time.
As part of the same group, we wonder where this leaves Weber Shandwick. Perhaps changes are in the pipeline – Hill and Knowlton reorganised to become industry sector specialists, a move which seems to have worked well for them – or maybe, as a more conservative outfit, they prefer to stay as is – for now.
We look forward to hearing more about how the changes may impact on current and future employees over the next year. Until then, we, like everyone else, will just have watch and wait…
How will your executives rate your training?
The Works recently hosted a Career Advancement Workshop for account executives and senior account executives. The event gave attendees advice about how to develop their career, as well as offering them a chance to network with their peers and get tips on how to improve their CV.
In addition to this, we were keen to hear attendees’ feedback on how well they thought their employer managed their development and what they felt could be done better. Although it was a small survey pool, the results show that the PR industry is failing to invest enough time and resources to get the best out of their junior talent.
The survey reveals that account executives and senior account executives crave more support in the form of training and feedback on their progress from their employers so that they can better develop their talent and expertise within the industry. Above all the survey shows that across the board, agencies need to step up investment in their staff, not only financially (e.g. training courses) but also in terms of time, particularly at a more senior level.
Of those questioned, there was a direct correlation between the frequency with which executives met their line manager and how well they rated the way that their company managed their development. The 20% of PRs who rated their agency as ‘above average’ all had more frequent meetings with their line manager than anybody else, with meetings taking place either monthly or quarterly. By contrast, all those who said their employer managed their development ‘very badly’ met with their line manager only once a year, and all specifically mentioned the need for increased frequency of appraisals and better feedback on their progress as the key things they felt that they needed to help them develop.
On the subject of training, feedback once again showed that executives feel that more could be done to help them develop. As is to be expected, the majority of AEs and SAEs felt that they got the bulk of their training ‘on the job’ but felt that they (and indeed their employer) would benefit if investment in external and internal training was increased. Interestingly, over half admitted that their training was not tailored to their needs and consequently it didn’t help them to improve their weaker skills and grow as an account handler.
Indeed, when asked what one thing their employer could do to help them develop, over a third (35%) of attendees emphasised the need for more and better training, ideally in the form of external courses. This was followed closely by 30% claiming the need for better quality and more frequent feedback on development and goals, with a further 15% stressing that they felt that more support and involvement from senior staff would be beneficial to their development.
Clearly employers face the risk of losing good staff and one worrying sentiment amongst executives is that 95% would consider leaving, or indeed have left (25%), a role because they felt that their career development could have been handled better. Certainly a number of executives commented that they felt that they have not had access to the opportunities they need to develop, something they find hugely frustrating. Clearly more could be done by employers to support and retain their staff. Employers could benefit significantly from increasing the frequency of their meetings with employees, improving the quality of the feedback they give following an appraisal, and by setting more clearly defined goals and targets so that staff have something to work towards.
Following on from this survey The Works will be conducting an industry wide survey of JAEs, AEs, SAEs and JAMs to get a fuller picture of the situation around training and progression for executives in PR. To add your voice to the discussion please take two minutes to complete this anonymous survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/rateyourtraining. Everyone who completes the survey will be entered into a prize draw and twelve people will be picked at random to win a bottle of wine! The prize draw will happen at 12pm on Wednesday 20th July so all entries must be submitted by then.
Dress to impress this summer
As the mercury rises, so too, can hemlines but according to one of the UK’s leading personal and corporate stylists, Angela Barnard (www.mylondonstylist.co.uk), don’t fall into the trap of dressing down or inappropriately just because summer has arrived.
“It can be tempting to relax the corporate wardrobe with the onset of summer, but opting for lighter materials – or less material altogether – to cope with the rising temperatures shouldn’t be an excuse for abandoning simple style rules altogether,” she says.
In an industry that places more emphasis than most on projecting the right image, how you look can, for some, be as important as what you say.
“It’s a truism that you never get a second chance to make that first impression,” says Angela, “and how you present yourself gives the interviewer, the client or journalist you’re presenting or pitching to an instant visual guide and reflects who you are as a person,” she says. “How you look – your overall image – conveys qualities such as leadership, precision and organization as well as creativity and personal style. It’s not a shallow consideration. Never underestimate the power of appearance in a professional setting,” she says.
Of course, having the right look isn’t all about making sure your bag and shoes, or belt and shoes match. It’s about maximizing your self confidence in interview or presentation situations, too. To help make sure your first impression is the right one, here’s Angela’s – and our – top tips on how-to-wow.
Keep it simple. The more complex the outfit is, the more likely it is that you’ll make a fashion faux pas. Too many colours, too many patterns, conflicting styles and fabrics are all no-no’s, as are high fashion clothes (except for, perhaps, trendy tech or consumer agencies). For women, Angela also suggests avoiding tops that are too low cut (no cleavage, please) or skirts that are too short, whereas men should leave white socks for the squash court. We concur.
Don’t take uneccesary sartorial risks. Having outlined what to avoid, Angela says choosing an outfit of three colours or less is the holy grail of interview dressing. Starting with a dark base such as dark skirt or trousers and adding colour with brighter / softer tones such as cream or pastels is a winning combination – you want to look sober but not sombre. Most of all, wear something you feel comfortable in.
The devil is in the detail. From well brushed, freshly washed hair and well applied make up to making sure your outfit is stain-free, looking good is all about the details. That means no visible panty lines, no coloured bras or underwear and certainly no missing buttons or broken zips. We know from experience that well-manicured nails (men and women) are on an interviewer’s mental checklist, as are well-polished or buffed shoes. Make sure your pockets are empty of keys, wallets or cigarette packets to ensure your clothes hang the way they are supposed to and although it sounds simple, many people make the mistake of wearing clothes that are either too big or too small. How you smell can also help create the right impression, so wear a discreet, light fragrance or aftershave and for smokers, fresh breath is a must.
Dress for your sector. How you should dress varies according to the sector you’re working in (or, if you’re going for a change in focus, the sector you want to work in). Is the style of the company you’re meeting super trendy, incredibly corporate or somewhere in the middle? It’s worth checking ahead of interview or being guided by their branding but as a general rule, tech and consumer are much less ‘corporate’, where even wearing a jacket to interview could be viewed as overkill. The rule of thumb for financial healthcare and corporate, though, is ‘smart / business casual’. Men should wear suits for interview, or even communication business meetings in this sector.
If you want to make sure you have the right look for your next job interview or important client meeting, Angela can be contacted on by e-mail or by calling 0208 743 2602. Angela also advises corporate organizations. For more information click on www.mylondonstylist.co.uk
Food for thought: How to boost your brain power (amongst other things)
Whether you’re gearing up for an important interview or just want to stay top of your professional game generally, the correct food and drink choices can help provide that competitive edge.
The benefits of oily fish and omega 3 have been well documented when it comes to boosting your brain power but there are many other super foods and drinks that can get your grey matter – and the rest of your body – into shape, according to the latest nutritional findings.
So, from what foods can help improve your memory, boost your immunity, improve energy levels, promote great sleep and even give you a flawless complexion, we’ve collated some ‘do’s and don’ts’ to give you ‘food for thought’.
DO
Oil the grey matter. Our bodies’ most important organ, the brain, is largely made up of, you guessed it, fat, so keeping it well oiled is a crucial element in helping it operate to its maximum potential. Decreasing your saturates intake whilst increasing the level of essential omega-3 fatty acids in your diet is key to brain health, amongst numerous other important bodily functions. Sources include: salmon, mackerel, sardines and pilchards (organic is best to avoid un-needed toxins and hormones), nuts and seeds as well as eggs. As well as being high in omega 3, nuts and seeds have the added benefits of preventing poor memory and giving you glowing skin due to their vitamin E dense properties.
Go green to enhance your memory. Broccoli is great source of vitamin K, a lesser known vitamin, which not is not only essential for the blood’s clotting abilities, but has been found to enhance cognitive function and improve brainpower. Sage, too, has long had a reputation for improving memory and although most studies focus on sage as an essential oil, it could be worth adding fresh sage to your diet, too.
Boost your immunity. There is nothing worse than waking up the day before an interview with a streaming cold, so taking preventative measures to boost your immunity during the run up is a smart move. Most people know that Vitamin C is key, but many don’t realise that there are a wide range of fruits and vegetables with a far higher and equivalent C content than an orange. Berries, particularly blackcurrants and kiwis are all ‘c dense’, as are peppers, sweet potatoes and broccoli.
The principle mineral that protects the immune system is Zinc and is commonly lacking in the average diet due to its sensitivity to heat, caffeine and alcohol. Zinc rich foods include fish, meats and whole grains (basically anything brown rather than white such as brown rice, whole-wheat breads/pasta).
Energise! If you’re prone to that post-lunch dip, then upping your B vitamins and balancing blood sugar levels are the key to boundless energy! As the B’s work well together, it is important to keep your diet varied and rich in a range of vegetables, whole grains, meats, fish and eggs. If you are a vegan, you would probably benefit from B12 supplementation, as it is only present in foods from an animal source. Lethargy and lack of concentration are the main indicators that blood sugar levels are out of whack. If you want to keep blood sugars on an even keel then consume a good mix of fibre rich complex carbohydrates and proteins, while steering well clear of the simple sugars found in the biscuits, cakes and sweets so often found in abundant supply in offices! It is also important not to allow yourself to get too hungry, as it is when our blood sugar is at its lowest, the sugary cravings attack!
De-stress. Foods known to calm and induce sleep are those high in the amino acid tryptophan (amino acids are the building blocks that form a protein). Sources of tryptophan include: seafood, meats, poultry (especially turkey), whole grains, beans, rice, hummus, lentils, hazelnuts and peanuts, eggs, sesame and sunflower seeds and soy products such as miso and tempeh.
Keep it varied. The broader the range of foods you consume, the greater the likelihood you will be meeting your nutritional needs.
Keep it as organic and unprocessed as you can. Intensive farming methods and food processing are the major causes of mineral and vitamin depletion in foods.
DON’T
Drink caffeine at least 2hrs before you go to bed, or with food. Ideally leave at least an hour between food and a cup of tea or coffee to ensure you don’t deplete the many vitamins and minerals it affects.
See supplements as an excuse not to improve your diet. The best way to consume nutrients is in their organic form, which is food. Supplements should ideally be taken under the supervision of a qualified nutritionist for maximum benefit and to avoid any harmful side effects.
Think wine will relax you the night before an interview. One small glass of red wine (ideally a pinot noir) will provide benefits in the form of an antioxidant ‘reservatrol’, though anything more may leave you with a fuzzy head!
Be swayed by marketing hype. Health starts in the gut. If the flora and fauna of your stomach and intestines is out of balance, then illness can follow. However, whilst the ‘good bacteria’ hyped by many large dairy producers is indeed a good thing in restoring this balance, only good quality organic yogurt is a reliable source, as processing can be very destructive to the probiotic content.
Deprive yourself. Always remember there is no such thing as a bad food, but there is a bad diet. A small chocolate bar here and missing a meal there is ok, as long as it is occasional. Think continental, see eating as a pleasure rather than a chore, enjoy the preparation and eating process as often as you can and work it into your social life!
Career advancement workshop for budding account managers: book your place now!
Do you feel stuck in a career rut? Are you being overlooked for promotion but are not sure why? Would you like to advance your career, but need professional advice? If the answer is ‘yes’, then rest assured, you’re not alone. One of the biggest reasons candidates approach us is because they want to be promoted but feel this isn’t happening for them in their current role , a career bottle neck that is particularly prevalent at senior account executive level, arguably one of the hardest levels to move up from.
With this in mind, The Works has decided to hold an event specifically for account executives and senior account executives on the 24th May, offering candid career advice about how to advance your career.
Czarina Charles, Talent Acquisition Manager for Hill & Knowlton will be on hand to talk about what she looks for in candidates, what steps people can take to impress on interview and answer any questions you may have. There will also be a short presentation from senior PR practitioners who have worked for the likes of Cow PR, Frank PR, Virgin and Forster about how to get that next promotion. And, of course, the team from The Works will be on hand to offer one-on-one tips on how to improve your CV.
Drinks and nibbles will be available throughout the evening and there will be time to network before and after the talks.
When? Tuesday 24th May between 6.30 and 8.30pm.
Where? 1 Berkeley Street, London, W1J 8DJ
What next? Places are limited so please get in touch with Sarah Barnes at sarahb@the-works.co.uk, or on 020 7559 6520 to secure your seat.
We look forward to seeing you there.
How to get your CV noticed: Our top 5 ‘secrets’
As busy recruiters, there are certain things that we look out for in CV’s we receive – here we share our top 5 CV secrets that can help yours stand out from the crowd.
- Secret 1: Straight-forward language and bullet points. Nothing is more off-putting than having to search for important information. As communicators, we expect your CV to project the vital statistics in an up front and easy-to read manner tailored for your target audience (ie us, the client, and the job you’re applying for). Leave flowery language and purple prose for the novelists.
- Secret 2: Covering emails really help determine whether you make that all important shortlist, so it’s worth spending a little time crafting them to their best potential. The best applications flag how you meet the requirements of a job advertisement in succinct fashion and in a professional, not too familiar tone.
- Secret 3: Stand-out CV’s highlight measurable achievements , actively demonstrating the value you have added to their current and previous employers. Rather than just saying ‘I worked on x campaign’, spell out how this campaign reached targets: ‘I worked on x campaign, which received coverage in x number of publications and increased sales by x amount, for example. New business wins and media contacts are also helpful. We’re more interested in career history than education and personal interests, so ensure the CV is weighted accordingly, with career history (most recent role first) following contact information.
- Secret 4: Make the job title and company you work for stand out. If you’ve highlighted ‘account manager’ at one of the major consultancies, for example, we’ll prioritise them because the job title automatically conveys likely responsibilities.
- Secret 5: Sharing what we DON’T want in a CV / cover letter approach is as helpful as what we do. If yours includes: photos, quotes, a lengthy hobby list, a CV longer than 2 pages or a link to an online CV rather than a hard copy (we can see where you’re going with this, but we’d much prefer simple), edit them.
Spring cleaning: Time to get your social media footprint in order
When a corporate communications candidate was recently overlooked because of their social media footprint – or rather lack of one – it served as a sharp reminder that, if you want to get ahead in your career, how you appear to others online is something that requires regular attention.
No matter that this particular candidate posted regular corporate blogs, tweets and Facebook updates on behalf of their employer. What was more important to the potential employer was that the candidate in question had failed to do their own PR.
We’re pretty sure that it’s a situation that many professional communicators may find themselves in. Let’s face it – when you spend all day upholding the reputation of others on professional level, how many of us have the time and / or inclination to do the same for ourselves?
It’s fair to say that not every PR sector places such gravitas on social media housekeeping. You can still get away with relative personal digital anonymity in some sectors, healthcare and financial PR for example – for now. If you’re in technology, consumer or corporate communications though, perhaps it’s time for a bit of social media spring cleaning? Here are our tips:
Keeping a personal blog can have more pitfalls than peaks, career wise. Off-piste subject matter, contentious comments, an off-beat house style or ‘unusual’ hobbies may win you followers but are just as likely to put off potential employers. Frankly, why give them the ammunition? Much better to keep a regular, appropriate Twitter stream, updating as regularly as is practicable whilst being mindful that potential employers may be watching…
In the corporate world, LinkedIn is the professional social media platform of choice. Keep it updated regularly, maintain just one account (we sometimes find in our own searches that candidates have neglected an account they may have forgotten even existed), fill in your profile if you haven’t already done so and if you’ve posted a photo, ensure it reflects how you would like to appear to a current or potential employer. And remember: a poorly maintained, incomplete or inappropriate profile can look worse than no LinkedIn account at all.
After last year’s ‘Facebook furore’, most people are quite savvy about their privacy options. If you’re not one of them, get it sorted. Now.
Time for a communications rebrand?
The latest U-turn by the coalition, this time abandoning the consultation on the proposed sell-off of national forests, has seen the Government lambasted by their political opponents, the media – even members of their own party.
Whilst it’s true that the coalition has experienced more than its fair share of climb-downs since the election (Michael Gove’s decision to backtrack on plans to abolish dedicated funding for school sport, dropping plans to publish the names of civil servants earning over £58K per annum and scrapping plans to remove free milk for the under –fives being notable examples), where does this leave the Government’s reputation?
U-turns are usually interpreted in negative terms; “humiliating”, “weak”, “embarrassing” have been just some of the adjectives littering recent media commentary.
And yet, if handled correctly, coalition communications has the opportunity to turn this perceived weakness into a strength, which could provide an inspiring example for PR and corporate comms professionals across the board.
Following the inflexibility of Thatcher, Blair and Brown, branding these changes of policy as examples of a more open, ‘listening’ style of government could be a real vote winner, as long as the brakes are firmly applied on any further U-turns in the near future, that is.
After all, in life as in politics, there are worse things than changing your mind.
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