Calling All Interns

I’m taking a stand.

I’m tired of feeling like I have to justify my position to misinformed skeptics.

I’m tired of having to break through misconceptions before people who I talk to about what I do get it.

No, I’m not running to fetch the boss the morning coffee or relegated to menial and pointless tasks because my uncle pulled some strings on my behalf.

Yes, I’m an intern, and I’m damn proud of it.

It’s been one month since I began my journey on the ‘ship at Weber Shandwick in Chicago and there are two thoughts that stand out above all:

1. Holy hell, it’s been a month?! Where have the last 4 1/2 weeks gone? AND
2. This is one of the most rewarding experiences of my young life, and I couldn’t be happier with the places my journey has taken me thus far.

I’m getting to do some incredible things for national brands, join in on brainstorms and, most important, I feel like a valued part of each of my teams. Even better, I’m getting paid to do it! My stance on paid vs. unpaid internships is another post for another day, but my point is this:

The internship has undergone a transformation. Gone are the days where ‘intern’ was synonymous with ‘pawn’. Particularly with the down economy (which is showing signs of recovery), more companies in more industries are using interns as a valued part of the team. Internships are now an integral stepping stone on the path of the young professional in many fields.

Remember, today’s interns are tomorrows CEOs, so take the steps you need to now to find, land, and OWN the internship that steer you in the right direction for your career. Need help? That’s my middle name. Or at least my favorite past time.

CALLING ALL INTERNS!

To help rebrand the rejuvenated internship, I’m asking interns from all walks to stand up and declare, “Yes, #ImAnIntern” on Wednesday, May 12 at 9pm EST/8 c, on Twitter. Let your voice be heard as eager students join the conversation to learn what it means to be an intern. Share the knowledge you’ve accrued in your experience and help be a part of building a better workforce for the future of your industry. If you’re less forward thinking, save yourself the pain of training them on EVERYTHING later when they eventually get hired.

CALLING ALL INTERN WANNABES!

Given the logical way in which we’re taught to read, I’m going to assume that you’ve read the immediately preceding paragraph (if not, it’s right there, go ahead- I’ll wait) and jump to the relevant bit: Send us your questions! What do you want to know about finding, securing and rocking an internship? Get the knowledge straight from the collective horse’s mouth. If you’ve got a great question you’re afraid you’ll lose, head to the new Brazen Careerist network “INTERNal Affairs” (http://brazencareerist.com/network/internalaffairs) and post your queries in advance.

And don’t forget to tell your friends- the more experiences we can draw from, the more everyone benefits.

I can’t wait to hear from you guys!

PRospective Employee No More

I can’t believe I’m writing this post on January 14, but this prospective employee is headed to the Windy City after this quarter of school to start a full-time, paid, post-grad internship with Weber Shandwick, the award winning agency that topped both PR Week’s and the Holmes Report’s list of global agencies.

Yes, this all started back with a simple Tweet five months ago:

DannyCox anyone in Chicago work for Weber-Shandwick? Would really like to meet a few when I’m in the windy city, need some guidance.

After getting some great responses from a few members of Weber’s team, I maintained contact over the ensuing months: took an informational visit, sent friendly questions as a reminder that I’m alive, came back for my interview in December, had a nice chat with Adam Keats (the SVP responsible for their digital team) via phone, and now this.

It had been a little more than a month since I my interview, and thanks to the holidays I was stuck in the anxious waiting game. I now know how those girls in movies who check their phones constantly to see if they had missed the call from that cute guy at the bar (ala, He’s Just Not That Into You), as since the New Year I had been checking my email roughly 12 times per minute when I was near my computer. This led to great productivity as you can imagine.

So yesterday, sitting in my Political Leadership class, I felt my phone vibrate. I look down to my excitement to see a 312 area code (Chicago, duh) and literally jumped out of my seat and ran out the door. This may have been a slight distraction to the discussion about Robert Macnamara and the decisions that led to the quagmire in Vietnam, but I had to take this call! Unfortunately, I didn’t answer in time and was forced to call immediately back. The butterflies were flapping in my stomach, and my heart nearly sank to my feet as Erin Trier, the wonderful hiring manager who has helped shepherd me through the interview process, said “I’m sorry that it took so long for us to get back to you, and thank you for being patient. I want you to know that we were truly impressed with you during your time here…” Oh no. Here it comes. The old, ‘it’s not you it’s me’ spiel. ‘You’re great, we just don’t think it would be a good fit,’ or ‘We unfortunately just don’t have any spots open right now.’ IT’S ALL BEEN FOR NOTHING!

Fortunately my brain snapped back into reality in time to hear the words “…we would love to offer you the position of intern to start April 5th.” Wait. What? WHAT?! At this point an uncontrollable smile spread over my face and I quite literally had a movie-style jump-in-the-air heel kick and a fist pump of joy.

The lesson to take away from this is as follows: social media is the great equalizer, and it’s full uses are yet to come.

I never dreamed that one little tweet would lead me to this. In what everyone keeps saying is a terrible job market, I didn’t send out a single application or unsolicited resume and was hired for the first position for which I interviewed. Now my path wouldn’t work in any field, but if you’re looking to go into Public Relations, you’re doing yourself a great disservice by not jumping both feet first into the digital space. You’re going to need it. Windy City, here I come.

What are some ways that you’ve used social media? How did you make the connections that helped lead to your first position out of college?

Operation Foot in Door, Success

Well, the stage is set. You remember the post about using Twitter to find a job? Perhaps that was a misnomer. Perhaps the post should have been titled, Tweeting to land an interview because my friends, I have done just that.

On December 11, 2009, I, Danny Cox, will complete my first interview with a Chicago agency. Which agency you ask? The same one that opened my eyes to the possibility of social media as the great equalizer, spanning great distances and formalities and granting the user nearly magical direct access with people who have the ability to make a difference: Weber Shandwick in Chicago.

A note: the greatest utility of social media is not necessarily its ability to connect you with the one person who has  the ability to make the difference in getting you an interview. Rather, its best function is in helping you build your own mini-network of those who have the insight, knowledge, and existing connections to put you in the right place at the right time. Without everyone else’s help along the way, I don’t think this would have ever come to be, and for that I am truly thankful. As I’ve learned over the past few weeks, the buzz-phrase of the young professional in Public Relations is to “Pay it forward.”

Just like Morpheus could only show Neo the door, if you use it well social media can only put your foot in it, you have to show up and show that you’re worthy of letting in. But it can get that foot in the door, no postage on a shoe necessary.

Have you used social media to advance your career? Any tips on how to nail the interview? What other tactics do you use when job-searching?

View from the top… and bottom

During the 2009 PRSSA National Conference, I have had the opportunity to hear some great speakers from a variety of disciplines within the industry. One of my favorite sessions so far was from Ron Culp, Director of Ketchum’s North America Corporate Practice, and Kevin Saghy, an Account Executive at Ketchum Chicago.

The basis for Ron and Kevin’s presentation was providing students with a look from both senior level PR professionals and junior pros who are making their mark in the industry. With information from both presenter’s friends and colleagues, the presentation provided great insight into how students can most effectively make an impression in the workplace.

The conversational style and witty back and forth of the presenters aside, it was the quotes from the (older) and (younger) horse’s mouths, as Kevin humorously categorized them, that packed the most punch.

When asked to provide an example of what young professionals can do to succeed, John Iwata of IBM replied, “They don’t confuse activity for results.” This answer really stuck with me. I feel like too many times young professionals feel the need to constantly be doing busywork, just to maintain the appearance of a good work ethic. Or it could be that you have a great work ethic and want to make the most of your time, but if the work you’re doing is contributing somehow to the end result, you’re not going to be seeing a promotion any time soon.

A particularly rewarding aspect of the presentation was the summarized verbal Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the rookie/veteran insights. For example, both groups were asked what young professionals should NOT do. The senior level management said that PR upstarts should not be credit-hogs, looking to bring more attention to themselves or their contributions to the project. Additionally, it was a consistent message that young professionals should not come in with their own, individual agendas.

“In a culture where teamwork is paramount, there’s really no room for self-promotion,” Nicole Merritt of Cox Communications said.

The young professionals, on the other hand, focused on removing the appearance of the sense of entitlement. It doesn’t matter if you’ve had 5 internships globally, when you start out in a new organization you have to pay your dues.

After the session, Kevin talked about an intern who worked with him that always had a positive attitude, no matter what task was given to her, which led to more responsibility and more enjoyable tasks later on.

For those PRospective employees out there, remember to convey a sense of being a team player who is ready and willing to work in your cover letters and interviews. Have you been a part of an intramural team in school? Done a lot of group work for an organization you’re involved with? focus on those attributes to frame yourself as a team player who’s not just focused on that next promotion. If you try too hard to be a social climber, you may notice your rocks slipping 0ut of your fingers.

Do you have any tips on how to succeed in the workplace? What have you seen that is/is not successful?

Rush Chairman, Damn Glad to Meet You: College Edition

So you’re a college student and want to try find a job? Join the rest of the currently unemployed 9.5% of the United States labor force . That equates to about 3.3 job seekers per open position according to personal branding expert Dan Schawbel. So how are you going to stick out from the millions of other prospective employees flooding your next boss’s inbox? Simple: have somebody within the organization deliver it for you.

I realize this may seem like a pretty simple observation, having someone within the organization advocate for you will improve your chances of getting that foot in the door for your interview. We’ve all heard the phrase, “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” so what’s your excuse for not knowing the people who have the ability to put you where you want to go? The best excuse is not having an excuse at all. We all know or have heard of somebody who’s uncle gave him or her a sweet gig right out of college, but unless you’re that lucky niece or nephew, you need a strategy. This edition is dedicated to those who are still in the halls of academia, but expect the follow-up for recent grads and other young professionals soon.

So as a student, how are you going to meet those people that can introduce you to your future employer? I’ve broken it down into an easy-to-follow step-by-step process for you.

1. Get Involved Early

Whatever it is that you’re interested in, find a club or an organization on campus that you can pursue that interest. If there is no club, find out what you need to start one: it’ll give you leadership experience, and put you in a great position to meet people who share your interests. Your colleagues and peers of today are going to be tomorrow’s leaders, so make a positive and lasting impression.

2. Introduce Yourself

When you go to the meetings, introduce yourself. Be friendly, polite, and always show a willingness to learn. If you actually participate in the meetings and make yourself known, those upperclassmen will remember you after they graduate. I can’t tell you how many stories here at Ohio University are tossed around about mentors hiring their former mentees from the Public Relations Student Society (PRSSA) once they get into the workforce.

3. USE SOCIAL MEDIA

I’ve already talked about using Twitter to expand your network, twice, but there are tons of social media outlets that can help connect you with the right people. If you’re inclined to write, join a blogging network like BrazenCareerist, create a profile on LinkedIn and join a few groups. Just like Sauron’s ring was forged to rule them all and in the darkness bind them, one principle above all rules the social media waves: PARTICIPATION. It’s not enough just to have an account on a site- read, comment, share, discuss. Let your voice be heard! Which leads us to number…

4. Speak Intelligently

If you’re reaching out to people who likely have busy schedules, it’s important to speak (or write) in a fashion that shows that you are more intelligent than a second grader. That’s not to say that you’re expected to be Tolstoy, just make sure that you are contributing something worthwhile to the conversation. Spelling and grammar rules do apply. Once you’ve found that person or persons that you’ve made a strong connection with, it’s very important to…

5. Stay in Touch

If you spark a great friendship with the hiring director at your dream job in November, but you’re not going to be graduating until the following June, it’s important to maintain that contact. Questions are a great way to keep touch: they give you a reason to reach out beyond, “Hey! Remember me? Well, I’m still here. Welp…see you later!” Additionally, questions show that you care about knowing more about the person or his or her organization.

So what are you waiting for? Go out there and shake some hands! How do you network? What ways do you stay in touch?