Comm Club and WIC Host Professional PR Panel

This past Wednesday (Oct. 21), Comm Club and the Women in Communications Club had the pleasure of co-hosting a professional public relations panel at Kimmel. We really had a phenomenal turnout and we hope that everyone got as much out of the event as we did. We heard from professionals across a wide range of industries and were really able to get a great sense of what it takes to make it in PR. Also, Quinn & Co., one of the firms that participated, covered us in their blog!

Update: Here's a short, clip from the panel. Enjoy!







The panelists:

· Katie Elliott, Account Supervisor, Travel and Digital Media Specialist, Quinn & Co.

· Emily Franklin, Digital Media/Senior Account Executive, Real Estate, Quinn & Co.

· Danielle Culmone, Digital Media/Account Supervisor, Real Estate, Quinn & Co.

· Jenna Hudson, Executive Assistant to the President, FerenComm

· Kate Brennan, Junior Publicist/Assistant to the SVP, FerenComm

· Claire Coveney, Content Manager, Perks Consulting

· Maureen Haley, Account Executive, Development Counsellors International

A small selection of the most informative and helpful Q&A:

What advice do you have for securing a job/internship in PR?

• With the economy, you have to remember that although a job may be hard to find, an internship can turn into a four-month interview where you will have the chance to prove how valuable you are to the team

• Remember to write thoughtful thank you cards after an interview. This will really make you stand out since you went out of your way to handwrite something personal and snail mail it.

• Stay busy at your internship. Your supervisors will notice if you are slacking or not putting in 100% effort.

• Go to as many networking events as possible. Meet people. Research different firms. Most importantly make sure you enjoy what you are doing!

What are the best and worst parts about working in PR?

• Best: Communicating well is not easy for everyone. Helping clients by formulating effective communications message so they can promote their brand is extremely rewarding. Also, working with clients that reach across national markets is very exciting.

• Worst: Pitching to journalists can be very hard. Some of them are mean and some of them will never call you back. It’s also always very difficult to leave your work at work. PR professionals are extremely busy and managing your time effectively often becomes the hardest part of the job.

How has social/digital media changed the way PR works?

• There are so many different channels available now to communicate client’s messages. This can especially become harder to manage when people within the PR agency are new at using the tools. Communications agencies across the spectrum are now getting up to speed within their own structures and for the client work they produce.

• The fact is that although there are all these new channels your goals are still the same – to effectively communicate and drive results for the client. The more channels the better but you always need to remember that the same diligence is needed in every execution.

If you’re interested in learning about any of the internship programs at the panfirms, please don’t hesitate to let us know! nyucommclub@gmail.com

Compiled by Natan Edelsburg, Edited by Sara Saldi