As the world changed in March 2020, so too did the future for many college seniors who graduated months later.
After a long job hunt, and months of uncertainty, 2020 grad Hunter Whitney landed an internship with a PR firm in Jan. 2021. She’s made the most of it, though. The firm, Berlin Rosen, hired Whitney in March as an account coordinator.
Hiring for the Future
With the economy reopening, many industries are hiring, including leisure and hospitality, education, professional services and retail, the latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show.
And with Gen Z entering the workforce, millennials taking more leadership positions, and technology platforms proving to be important tools for communication, some firms are changing the way they recruit for PR jobs.
While clear writing and speaking remain important for PR success, several companies and PR firms are looking beyond traditional skills.
Emphasizing the Non-Traditional
Whitney, for example, majored in global trade, economics and Mandarin with a minor in entrepreneurship at UNC Chapel Hill. She realized that utilizing her unusual background could enrich her application and give her an edge.
“I played up my versatility, ability to learn on the job and global perspective in my job applications,” she says. “Fine-tuning my ability to articulate why I was a great fit for the job based on my prior experiences was what really set me apart,” Whitney adds.
For example, “I had to learn how to explain why I spent semesters studying [Chinese president] Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, but wanted to pursue public relations.”
Dr. Kaye Sweetser, director of the Glen M. Broom Center for Professional Development and Public Relations at San Diego State University, agrees.
“I see that the new practitioners who use their public relations skills to promote and frame themselves do the best in finding a position,” she says.
While the pandemic brought tremendous economic distress in its wake, some firms are interested in how graduates spent their time in 2020. These activities also can enhance the non-traditional candidate.
“We understand the challenges that were brought on during the pandemic,” says Cristian Gonzalez, account supervisor at Ketchum. “So, we’re on the look-out for creative and non-traditional ways that candidates have spent the last year.”
Did the candidate join virtual programs or pitch contests? Did they further their education online? Did they discover a passion for cooking/baking and start a food blog or small business? Did they resume hobbies like painting or short-story writing? Did they volunteer with organizations creating change in their communities?
“The best way to set yourself apart from other candidates is to connect the dots and show us how your passions and experiences ladder up to your overall career goals.”
This worked for Whitney, who pushed herself during the pandemic. She completed an online certificate program from eCornell in brand management and worked remotely as a teaching assistant for a course at Duke University (Innovation at the Intersection of Technology, Entertainment, Media and Consumer Products).
Tammy Phan, director of talent at BerlinRosen, says the firm considers more than a candidate’s skills.
“What we are looking for is potential.” The firm values people who are creative and solutions-oriented, she says.
“For example, if there’s a challenge, try and take a shot at a few ways to approach it. ‘I’m not sure, but I think I might have possible ways to solve this’ is so much more powerful than ‘Here’s an issue. What should I do?’”
Passion Perseveres
Passion and the ability to display it, which were important pre-pandemic, remain highly desirable.
“Strong communicators are passionate about their work and can share this passion in a clear, considerate and succinct way,” Phan says. “If you can thoughtfully convey why you love tech PR or what brings you personally to issue-advocacy work in an interview, we know that you can bring that same enthusiasm to each campaign.”
Several other traditional touch points remain. Thoughtfulness in every step of the application process is important, Phan says, from creating a compelling cover letter to double-checking for typos.
“When you’re early on in your career with just a few things on your résumé, make each interaction in the interview process a thoughtful one that helps add to the story of who you are as a candidate and potential employee,” Phan says. “Each step is an opportunity.”
Adds Dr. Sweetser, “Personalizing a cover letter and résumé go a long way in framing how a candidate is a good fit with a prospective employer. I like to think of it as a love letter to the prospective employer,” she says. “It should talk about why the candidate and the employer are made for each other, and show fit for the position.”
A good love letter, she adds, isn’t so vague that it could be sent to anyone. “You use specifics, you use words that you know will resonate and you make it so personal that the reader knows it was meant for them.”
Making the Grade
Colleges and universities also are changing things in the wake of the pandemic. Some are revisiting program and course requirements to ensure they are sending graduates into the world with appropriate skill sets.
“Our courses are continuing to change and evolve to meet the demands of the communication workplace,” says Dr. Deborah A. Silverman, chair and associate professor of communication at The State University of New York at Buffalo State College.
In addition to adding social media courses, the department strongly recommends PR students take a basic media production course to acquire video skills.
Students also have mandatory portfolios, which they create in an “Introduction to Visual Communication” course. Then, in subsequent required courses, they add to the online portfolio. The faculty and alumni assess the portfolio during students’ senior year.
Outside the PR Classroom
Considering employers are moving beyond traditional PR skills when hiring new graduates, it’s fortunate that educators are emphasizing the importance of qualities outside the academic canon.
For example, Dr. Sweetser looks to provide students with lessons to help transition to the professional workforce. Besides working one-on-one with new grads, she brings in PR pros as guest speakers during classes.
“You’re not going to find a class...that teaches ‘professionalism,’ where a student learns to not talk [about personal business] on a cell phone during the day at their desk” or check text messages during meetings, says Sweetser, one of PRNEWS’ 2021 Outstanding Educator of the Year.
“In some cases, you have the professional values of the management’s generation creating tension when the up-and-coming generation sees things differently.”
She’s also already seen great success with the class of 2021. Many of the seniors in Dr. Sweetser’s PR capstone course have bypassed post-graduation internships and gone straight into entry-level jobs.
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