What education are PR firms looking for in new recruits?

February 7, 2008 • Joseph Thornley • education, PR, publicrelations

Kerri Birtch poses the question on the Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms Weblog, “What level of of education is necessary or valued in the PR industry?”

Personally, I look for people who have at least an Honours BA. If the candidate possesses a graduate degree, I’ll spend extra time talking with her about her studies and what she drew from the experience of gaining a graduate degree. What I am looking for in this is the “extra spark” of insight, self awareness and maturity of thought.

How about a PR certificate? This can give an edge to one of two otherwise equal candidates because it gives me some assurance that the entry level prospect has been exposed to the mechanics of PR.

But more than anything, I’m looking for analytic and problem solving skills. PR consultants s must be able to listen to our clients, draw out relevant facts and assemble them in a coherent assessment and proposed solution. The outstanding consultant will draw on a set of PR tools. But she will also not be restricted by them. She will have a broader exposure to communication, sociology, and business that will enable her to find an effective solution to a problem.

That’s what I look for. How about you? What do you look for in a new hire for a public relations job?

More men should attend Toronto Girl Geek Dinners

September 19, 2007 • Joseph Thornley • No Tags

Last June, I attended the first Toronto Girl Geek Dinner organized by Maggie Fox. I was the only man there. And that was a pity.

The goal of the Girl Geek Dinners is “to make technology accessible and interesting to all age groups and all people, particularly women.”

During the course of the evening, I heard lots of interesting points made by smart people who were both knowledgeable and keen about technology and its application to real world problems.

But I also heard lots of questions and discussion about how to break through the male-dominated tech culture. It was clear from the conversation that the glass ceiling persists in many tech organizations. And many of those organizations are run by … men!

Now, I’m old enough to have entered the work force when the workplace culture really did resemble that portrayed on Mad Men. But the world has moved on.

Every male executive I know today wants to build an organization that will attract and retain the best women. We’d be stupid to do anything else.

But that doesn’t mean that we’re always successful. And we can only benefit from being part of the conversations with women as they relate their real world experiences. We can learn both about the mistakes we are making and, if we’re smart, we can learn how to eliminate those mistakes.

I plan to attend future Girl Geek Dinners. And I’d encourage other male executives to do so as well. Not only will we learn a lot about the experience of women in business and technology, but we’ll also get to hear some top notch speakers.

Tonight’s speaker is Leila Boujnane, the CEO of Idée. I met her at the June dinner and recorded a brief clip with her. Have a listen.

Leila Boujnane, CEO of iDée talks to Joseph Thornley [ 1:47 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

UPDATE: I came down with the cold to end all colds and decided not to spread it around at the dinner. So I had to miss the event. However, Kyra from PR Girlz was there and posted her impressions of the event.

If you're looking for a job, don't blow it with your application letter.

April 24, 2007 • Joseph Thornley • No Tags

If you are looking for a job, please remember that you only get one chance to make a good first impression. And in a highly competitive field, a negative first impression may eliminate you from further consideration.

As the CEO of a public relations and design company, I receive several job applications and requests for “information interviews” every day from prospective or recent graduates.

You want to get to the interview... From the first word I read, I am assessing the writer as a potential employee. And I am amazed at how poorly most people present themselves in these requests.

No, I’m not talking about the spelling errors (please spell my name correctly), thinking that my first name is Thornley and my last name is Fallis (if you don’t know you are writing to, don’t bother) or just plain bad writing.

I’m talking about the fact that easily half of the information requests and job applications I receive are clearly generic form letters.

Here’s an example of an “information interview “request that I received today:

Dear Mr. Thornley,

Please allow me the opportunity to introduce myself. My name is XX XX and I am currently looking to break into the communications industry in an entry level position and was wondering if I could possibly set up an informational interview with you to learn more about Thornley Fallis and the great work your firm does. I’m a recent graduate of the University of YYYY with a Master’s Degree in Modern Middle Eastern Civilization and International Relations. After graduate school I went on to complete an internship at the ZZZZ Institute. I have previously held roles as a journalist, public relations and media relations representative as well. My resume has been enclosed with this message for you to review my qualifications and I look forward to your correspondence. Have a great day!

Best Regards,

XX XX

Take out my name and my company’s name and that letter could have been addressed to any potential employer.

Please, if you are going to approach me as a prospective employer, show that you actually took the time to learn something about me and personalize your letter. And no, putting my name in the salutation is not sufficient.

Don’t ask me to meet with you to tell you about my firm. If you simply Googled my name and the company name, you’d get a great profile of me and the people I work with. Show me why you fit with my company by telling me why we interest you and how you think you would fit in. Not generically. With specifics.

Remember, I may review five applications in one day. I probably only have time to interview at most one of those people. If you write a generic letter, you can be sure that someone else will have written a killer letter that talks directly to me. And that person will get the interview.

Third Monday social media meetups to resume on January 15

January 9, 2007 • Joseph Thornley • No Tags

We’re kicking off the 2007 Third Monday season with a special panel of Ottawa-based social media experts who will lead a discussion of what’s hot, what’s working, what’s not and what’s ahead.

Colin McKay, Ian Ketcheson and Brendan Hodgson will prime the discussion with their views and perspectives. Then it’s over to us for a wide open discussion of what we think is on the horizon for social media this year. In government. In business. What lies in store for PR and marketing?

New location: We’ve moved this session to the Clocktower Brew Pub on Bank Street south of the Queensway.

If you’re in Ottawa on Monday, January 15, please join us for this discussion. You can let us know you’re coming by RSVPing at Third Monday on meetup.com

Build a great career on what you are good at and like to do

December 14, 2006 • Joseph Thornley • No Tags

In the past few weeks, I’ve conducted career planning sessions with several of the consultants who work with me. We structure these reviews in two parts: a look back at what worked well and what didn’t work as well during the past year followed by goal setting for the coming year. We ask the employees to take the lead in completing a questionnaire that focuses our discussion around these topics. This requires them to take the time to think about what’s really going on and what they really want.

As the leader of a team of highly talented, creative people, I know that I can count on them coming to work each day only if they truly enjoy what they are doing, and if they feel appreciated by their colleagues and challenged by the work. (For people who are good in consulting, money is never the issue.)

We therefore focus on putting together a plan for each person that will help her to grow and give her a sense of accomplishment. Over time, we have learned that this can best be done by following two related guidelines.

First, build next year’s objectives around the employee’s demonstrated strengths. In school, our teachers drilled us on the subjects on which we were weakest. And we hated it.

But the working world doesn’t have to be like school was. If an employee is not good at something, we don’t have to force them to improve on that (unless they really want to.) We can always find other employees who will be good at these things. Instead, we can channel each employee to focus on and further develop those skills and areas of expertise in which she has already demonstrated strength.

Second, we add another dimension. Each employee should like the things that she is doing. We’ve all seen workers who do things that they are really good at – and that they absolutely hate doing. Again, there’s no need for this to happen in a well managed services firm. With foresight and discipline, people should be able to follow their passions. As management expert (and Thornley Fallis client) David Maister says, “Success comes from doing what you enjoy. If you don’t enjoy it, how could it be called success?”

If I do my job well, I will hire people who have both strengths and passions that we can match to our business opportunities. And if I do this, I will be surrounded by happy, fulfilled, enthusiastic colleagues who are doing great work for our clients.

Do you think we have the right approach to career planning? What approach does your company take to the challenge of guiding employees to grow and prosper?

Fanshawe College public relations students learn by blogging

October 21, 2006 • Joseph Thornley • No Tags

Dana Morningstar has started a blog for her public relations students at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario.

If you are an experienced PR practitioner, please subscribe to this blog and participate in the conversation with the students. It’s a great way for us to give back to the next generation of communicators.

Ottawa communicators meet to discuss social media

October 19, 2006 • Joseph Thornley • No Tags

At lunch today, I participated in a panel discussion sponsored by CPRS Ottawa-Gatineau on the theme: Knowing What You Don’t Know: Are Blogs and Social Media Changing the Communications Landscape? My fellow panelists were blogger Ian Ketcheson and Rob Henderson from CNW Group.

Rob Henderson said that while many of CNW’s clients have been slow to embrace social media, they now are are expressing increasing interest in it. They know something is coming. And they want to be ready for it when it breaks into the mainstream.

Publicly traded companies are concerned about what they don’t know. The unknown lends a random, unpredictable element to the management of their corporate reputation.

Rob suggested that a number of the larger companies are holding back on social media because they want to see some of the early adaopters make the mistakes. Then they will have the “before” picture and be able to engage in social media with a set of established best practices and known conventions.

CNW has been introducing multiple streams of multimedia to match their clients’ appetite as it develops.

Ian Ketcheson talked about the environment for social media in government. He believes that senior executives in government get the significance of social media. It’s seen as one of the most pressing issues that they must deal with. And they are struck by the speed with which the changes driven by social media are occurring.

The breaking of news about the Gomery Committe on the Captains Quarters blog brought home to government communicators that traditional means of controlling news and information have broken down. Garth Turner’s expulsion from the Conservative caucus demonstrated that a public figure can harness the blogosphere to match large organizations in advancing his or her position.

There is much experimentation with social media in various parts of the government. Like social media itself, it reflects the initiative of individuals operating beyond a centrally planned and controlled strategy.

The discussion with the audience touched on a broad range of issues, including the power of social media to conduct consultations with people regardless of their geographic location; the power of blogs behind the firewall to bring organizations together and to provide a channel for genuine and spontaneous feedback; and social media as a tool to enhance collaboration.

The point was also made that many blogging reporters are exploring potential stories first on their blogs. They may then assemble a perspective and body of facts necessary to compete for the limited space in the mainstream media outlet. Finally, communicators must prepare their organizations to surrender the fiction that they control the message and instead understand that the era of social media requires that communicators engage in persuasion, not control.

I ended the session with an invitation to the participants to visit this blog post and get engaged in social media by leaving a comment. So, the success of my contribution will be judged by whether there are any comments here.