Adria Courtot
Mantaining professional networks important for student growthOrganizational Communication major provides alternative to PR
In today’s competitivecorporate world, PR professionalsare expected of to possess strongwritten and verbal communicationskills. The ambiguity of these
credentials begs the question to
many students: Which major willprovide the best preparation for a job in PR?Traditionally, students whowish to pursue a public relationsdegree will declare Journalismmajors. However, some studentshave opted to take a differentapproach.The School of Communication Studies is analternative for students, whowish to study the fundamentals of communication, while pursuing a
“related eld” to supplement their
major. The school is divided intothree programs: OrganizationalCommunication, Communicationand Public Advocacy, and HealthCommunication. Typically students,who select public relations astheir specialized area, declareorganizational communicationmajors.Career Services Adviser,Brandon Bute attributes studentinterest in communication studies
to the exibility it offers.
“Students view it as a moreversatile degree. It gives them moreoptions and doesn’t lock them intoone particular path,” said Bute.A graduate of the
Kathleen Haney Continued on page 4
Network, network, network.Everybody who has listened toweekly PRSSA speakers hasheard about the importance of networking. Maybe you’ve joinedTwitter, cleaned up your Facebook,
and made a LinkedIn prole, but
now what? There are plenty of opportunities to make contacts withprofessionals, but more importantly,how do you keep them?
The rst step in networking
is the initial contact. With the help of social media sites, such as Twitter or LinkedIn, this has become aseasy as clicking a button. However,simply following someone onTwitter does not constitute “makinga contact.” Introduce yourself, leavea message, make an impressionand your presence known.Another great place to makecontacts is readily available at theweekly PRSSA meetings. Not onlydo meetings provide the opportunityto network with other members,the featured speakers make greatadditions to any network. Speakersoften stick around after meetings, soinstead of grabbing a business cardand rushing out, wait around andintroduce yourself. This will come inhandy if you intend to contact themin the future as they will be morecapable of putting a face with your name.While making contacts can
be difcult, especially for those who
are timid, keeping contacts is thehard part. Once people are in your network, it will take some effort onyour part to keep them there.Engage with your contacts,whether that means asking
questions or starting a conversation
in response to something they havesaid. Utilize your contacts as sourcesin schoolwork or extracurricular
activities; it will atter them that you
think of them as a knowledgeablesource. Heather Farr, a freshmanin PRSSA, uses interviewing as a
successful networking technique.
“When I interview, I almostalways do it by phone because Ifeel that it is more personal” Farr said. “Also, I don’t keep it strictlybusiness. After the interview, I ask
other questions for my own personal
use and this almost always strikesup a conversation.”Be sure to stay on top of
news, specically industry news.
If you see something about thesuccess of a known client of your
contact, send them a quick email of
congratulations. This is a great wayto keep in touch without asking for something from the contact.If you are traveling, check outwhat contacts work in the area. Thiscould be a great way to experiencethe location while meeting up for lunch with your contact.Finally, keep your contacts
up-to-date on about what you are
doing. Did you land a great internshipor job? Are you moving across thecountry? Let your contacts knowabout these changes, especially if they served as a reference or helpedyou along the way. A personalupdate is often more appreciatedand more remembered than aLinkedIn status update.Remember thatprofessionals have been in your shoes at one point in time. Keep itpersonal, and let them know thatyou are a better student for havingthem in your network.
Spring 2009 Edition PRSuccess Page 3
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