PR Studies

Life, liberty and the pursuit of work

This is personal. While I wanted to write it ('I write therefore I think') I'm not necessarily so keen on you reading it.

(Here's how to do it well: a graceful statement showing how to move from one job to another.)

In my case, I'm leaving one job for several, and it's happening over an extended period. Had I been primarily motivated by money or by status, I'd certainly have stayed put.

Money first. Don't assume because it's not a motivator that I don't need it. I'm a borrower not a saver, and am still anxious about money most of the time. It's just that money doesn't go higher for me than the base 'food and shelter' level in Maslow's hierarchy of needs. It's not an end in itself; my self-esteem is not at stake. That said, will I have food and shelter should I live to be 90? Will people close to me be adeqately provided for should I die at 50 (it happens)?

Status next. This is very easy for me. I'm just not bothered at all about titles or name plates above office doors. They're not a motivator - especially in a world where it's easy for an individual to express an identity outside their organisational role. Again, I recognise that my attitude can be self-defeating. I was surprised at how many times I was approached by head-hunters when I was the (interim) PR manager for a very well-known software company. Others were evidently drawn to the title; titles are magnets attracting attention, fame and fortune even. But still I'm not motivated - I suspect because of the ties that bind.

So what's my driving force? In a university, I'm surrounded by people who respect left-side of brain reason (and sometimes undervalue emotional factors). For me, decisions about the future have to be emotional and intuitive because the future is largely unknowable.

One factor is longevity. Six years in one role feels a long time for me (it's longer than I've worked for any other organisation). Organisations provide security and community; they should provide constant new challenges. But they can also constrain the spirit in ways that have people longing for retirement.

Then there's the question of size. We often cite numbers of employees as an indication of success (on the assumption that big is best). It sometimes is - but look what happened to the dinosaurs. Evolution suggests that smaller organisms were more adaptable in times of change.

Change is happening (it always has). Again, its effects are unpredictable, but I can point to some trends. The years of easy growth in mass higher education are coming to an end, but education and training will play an even more important role across a working lifetime. Technology is a factor - both in delivery and in challenging the legitimacy of organisations. That more than anything was the message in Clay Shirky's Here Comes Everybody.

I have form. I left my first PR consultancy job after five good years and spent the following ten as an independent practitioner. I'd joined a small, specialist independent - Aeberhard and Partners which became A Plus Group during my time there. Subsequently it was known as Brodeur, then Pleon and now it's being merged with Ketchum. I'm sure this growth strategy brought benefits, but I knew that I was better suited to the early phase of this business.

Now for two breakthrough moments. The first was the advice from someone close to me to stop looking for jobs and to start looking for work. Good advice in a world in which jobs are becoming scarce but work is always abundant.

The second was the search for role models. When I think of the people I admire occupying a similar space in the PR educational ecosystem, many of them operate outside of institutions and job titles. They have work, but not necessarily jobs. They comfortably operate across the boundaries between university education, consultancy, professional qualifications and training - and they write books (and blogs) too. I greatly admire (for what they do and for the way that they do it): Michael Bland, Paul Noble, David Phillips and Heather Yaxley (to name just a few, in alphabetical order).

This is a long preamble to stating that I'm leaving a full-time job at Leeds Metropolitan University for a part-time job at the much smaller University of Gloucestershire. For the university part of my week I'll be teaching and supporting undergradaute students; for the other part of my week I'll be educating professionals towards the CIPR Diploma qualification. There should be time for other unpredictable educational, consultancy or writing projects too.

Happy Independents Day!

Wake up call to students and graduates

Perhaps you need grey hairs to know just how bad it is out there (I have lots of grey hairs). What's a graduate to do in these circumstances?

One ploy is to take what's offered and stick it out for at least a year (on the 'bird in the hand' principle). Another ploy would be to spend the next year gaining a postgraduate qualification, or travelling, or working voluntarily. Anything to differentiate your CV from the many others graduating in a recession.

What should a second year student do, faced with the option of a placement year or returning earlier to complete their studies? Take the placement year option. Here's the amazing thing: I hear there are more vacancies than there are students chasing these CV-building opportunties. I don't believe it!

I also hear there are opportunties at Publicasity in London (for a summer intern and for a graduate or year placement student); just as Wolfstar in Leeds is on the lookout for new talent. These two have something in common: they're looking for students with social media expertise.

All those wasted hours on Facebook and YouTube could prove to be your big career break. Only someone with grey hairs could think 'I don't believe it!'

What works when you want work?

Universities are producing record numbers of graduates just when the economy can no longer absorb them, it appears. The credit crunch will turn into a career crunch for some.

I don't have any easy answers to offer: I suspect that we're experiencing a shift from working for large organisations towards smaller players, from secure employment to more flexible arrangements. This can be painful for some, but open doors to others. Graduates, I feel, should be better equipped to respond to change and uncertainty than non-graduates. We'll see.

But help and advice has never been so available to those seeking work. Much of this advice can be summarised in two points:

• Network. This involves connecting with and meeting people, and not just on Facebook. Explore PROpenMic, the professional social network LinkedIn and join professional bodies like the UK's CIPR. Allie Osmar tells how her Mentorship Connection initiative led directly to a job offer for one person. Sadly, her career's taking off so the Mentorship Connection is no longer being supported.
• Stand out. This has always been a competitive industry and it's not getting any easier, so you need to be an outstanding candidate. Sometimes this involves paying attention to detail and doing the basics well. In a thoughtful essay, Harold Burson argues that 'writing quality has been diminishing for half a century at least' and that 'the young job seeker who demonstrates writing skills is immediately differentiated from others'. 

  UPDATE: Richard Edelman offers seven tips for graduate job seekers.

The selfless meme

In response to Adam Lewis's request at Flawless Buzz:

1. What is the one piece of advice you would give to someone entering the world of PR?

Find a way to add value. If you're a consultant, what can you uniquely offer your clients? If you're working in-house, how can you become a key member of the team?

This may sound daunting, but it's simple common sense really, and especially important in a recession. The need to add value should make you recognise the importance of specialising - sooner rather than later in your PR career.

2. The favourite part of your job?

Helping others to succeed. This may sound like an educator's evasion, but it was also true when I worked in PR management. I liked nothing more than recruiting talented people and helping them to succeed (often soaring ahead of me in the process).

3. Why did you decide to go into PR?

Nothing unusual here. I had a great magazine job with lots of international travel. But I was losing money just to get to work so needed to increase my salary. I'd seen many PR people in action and had an idea of who I'd like to work with. Luckily, the consultancy at the top of my list took me on. Within weeks I was advising a leading software company whose products I'd recently been reviewing. Within months, I was offered an in-house role with this company - which I turned down.

I perhaps should add that I was in my late 20s when I took my first PR job, and was helped by having some experience of journalism and the IT sector. Perhaps that's how I was able to add value from day one...

She is the very model of the modern uni graduate

I've read much about Generation Y (and their sense of entitlement). Now it's time to paint a more positive picture, drawn from life.

The description below is a composite; to preserve anonymity and to respect confidentiality, it's based on more than one person. But it's all true (as far as one person's perceptions can ever be true) and describes the best of all possible students about to graduate into the worst economic circumstances in living memory. As you'll see, the gender references are deliberate; a typical university graduate is now female.

This model graduate is:

Hard working: She works hard on university assignments, but that's the least of it. She's also paying her way through university by working long hours as a waitress. She then fits in carefully-chosen unpaid work in order to build her CV and portfolio.

Ambitious: She chose a vocational degree because she's ambitious. Though she knows where she'd like to end up, she has an open mind about how best to get there, and assumes she'll need in-house and consultancy experience, and to have worked in the public and private sectors.

Experienced: She took a gap year before coming to university and chose the option of a full-year placement. Though still young, she has more work experience and a more rounded view of life than most new graduates.

Family-oriented: She may be the first in her family to gain a degree and knows that her parents have made sacrifices to help her get this far. This fuels her ambition. On the downside, though, she accepts that it will be hard to combine a career with having her own family. It may also be hard for her to remain in a long-term relatonship: as popular literature and film shows, there are more 'fabulous females' than 'marriageable men' in most adult age groups.

Fearless: She communicates well with people regardless of their age, gender or status. Though star-struck, she held it together when meeting an iconic global celebrity, so presenting to chief executives is a routine matter for her.

Next year will be a difficult one for new graduates, but my model graduate is better than - and cheaper than - many incumbents. Smart employers will be quick to snap her up.

I'm leaving

Behind the Spin has scooped my news. How did they do that (I didn't write it)?

How to get on in PR (and how not to impress)

Here's another good debate, especially in tough times. How best to get your PR career started?

Tom Watson (a practitioner turned academic) believes employers should rate those with PR degrees ahead of those with non-vocational qualifications:

"Too often, industry leaders pay lip service to PR education but choose not to recruit students who are job-ready in favour of those from non-vocational universities."

He makes a strong case, but I'm not sure which instruments can be invoked in a free market economy to privilege one set of graduates over another. I also expect that his calls for greater industry support for education have come at a bad time.

Meanwhile, Maggie Kerr-Southin, a self-proclaimed 'PR goddess from Canada's west coast' lists the qualities she seeks in new recruits. It's a good list - and she and Watson at least agree on the importance of an education.

"Being good with people or enjoying events isn’t enough."

Well said.

We're hiring again

In the week the Governor of the Bank of England and the Prime Minister mentioned the R word, I'm still concerned with recruitment. We took on two colleagues in the summer to deliver our new BA Journalism degree, we've already hired one lecturer on a one-year contract and we now need another. Our public relations and communications teaching team now has around 14 members.

Universities are not immune to the wider economy, but they work on different cycles. Student numbers overall are still increasing, and Master's courses are growing in popularity. Recruiting students from outside the EU helps with income, as does research and consultancy work.

One of our star researchers has gained public funds for a one-year research project, so we're looking to replace her. We welcome applications from practitioners, but we need someone with a strong interest in theoretical concepts for this post. Here's the advertisement on the university website.

A one-year post might suit someone returning to university lecturing or looking to make the transition into the sector full time. Please contact me if you'd like to discuss this informally, but do avoid the telephone while we resolve the problems with our new IP phones...

Recession-proof PR

Robert French has started an important discussion at PROpenMic. What does the financial crisis mean for me, for students and for the PR business? I've posted my thoughts there but will summarise them here:

• For educators. Recognise that we're aiming at a moving target and don't make teaching too formulaic. This may disconcert some students ('why are you asking me these questions and not giving me the answers') but it's a necessary preparation for an uncertain world.
• For students. Recognise that your parents' generation doesn't have all the answers and hasn't got everything right (baby boom turns to bust). Be angry about this - but channel your anger into a determination to help make a better world.
• For the PR business. Expect clients and budgets to vanish for some of your frothier services. This is no bad thing for the reputation of PR since the core service of corporate communications will grow in importance as organisations seek to reconnect with key stakeholders and reestablish their legitimacy.

So you want to work in fashion PR?

I had two enquiries from prospective students interested in fashion PR at a university open day yesterday. I wish I'd picked up this article from Saturday's Guardian before I met them. Ambitious students should note the questions employers are likely to ask you at interview, published at the end of the piece.