|
This week, I wrote a news article about executive search firms and how the economic downturn has affected their work. While almost everyone I talked to reported a decrease in projects and assignments, many of them were taking action, hoping to stay bring in and keep more clients. After the jump, a few ways executive search and recruitment firms are changing.
Read more »
The Wall Street Journal how business schools are working to attract women to their executive MBA programs, including Cornell University’s Johnson School of Business and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. Cornell is focusing on a less male-dominated persona, featuring a female executive on its Web site, while UPenn has a faculty member who devotes time specifically to increasing female enrollment.
“A handful of schools have taken similar steps to boost female enrollment by creating personal networks to recruit women, changing classroom-time requirements and adding more outreach staff,” the WSJ article says. “But while interest in part-time, fast-track degrees geared toward professionals with 10 or more years’ experience has risen in recent years, many schools say they still have work to do to attract more women.”
The days between Christmas and New Year’s Day are of course notoriously slow news days. The Washington Times, though, found a way to fill that void: It follows a recent Texas college graduate in Chicago on her quest for that elusive but all important first job. This grad wants a PR or advertising job in particular, or even an internship, but it seems no one is hiring.
So far, it has meant taking office temp jobs and lining up baby-sitting gigs while she networks, sends applications and schedules the occasional interview. She’s looking for a job in advertising and public relations, a field that is usually bustling in Chicago.
But many agencies, she’s finding, aren’t even taking interns right now.
“They always say, ‘Check back, check back. We don’t have anything right now. Check back,’” says Miss Bratton, 22.
One of the most lively audiences at this year’s PRSA International Conference in Detroit is the younger set: PRSSA. At their career fair today the students showed no fear, marching up to prospective employers (lines were heavy at the agencies - Ketchum, Golin Harris, and Fleishman-Hillard to name a few). Even Target was there, recruiting not for a PR internship but for sales associates - with leadership qualities.
While speakers are covering everything from green marketing to ROI to crisis communications, one of the hottest topics is … social media. And over and over, top communicators are saying you have to engage your whole staff in social media, not just the young ones.
Look for more coverage of the conference, including videos with Penelope Trunk, author of Brazen Careerist, Mike Cherenson (PRSA 2009 CEO), and more.
The Public Relations Society of America launched a podcast series called PRSA Diversity Today, which will tackle diversity issues in the PR industry. Manny Ruiz, co-chair of the PRSA Diversity Committee and president of PR Newswire’s Multicultural Services, will host the discussions with PRSA executives on topics including the number of men in the PR industry, diversity programs at PRSA chapters, and best practices for corporations and agencies. The first podcast is available now.
The Orlando Business Journal takes a look at the PR industry in Florida, and noticed that PR is starting to see effects of client slowdown. On the Florida PR Association’s job board in June, there were 103 open positions in private firms, which was down 53% from 217 jobs in June 2007.
“[It] is one of [those] ripple- effect type of things,” said Jamie Floer, president of the association’s Orlando chapter and a senior account executive at Miami-based Wragg & Casas Public Relations Inc.’s local office, according to the Business Journal.
Are you in Florida and noticing this trend? Is it happening elsewhere? Let us know what you’re seeing.
Alex Bruell and I recently had the opportunity to speak at a BU PR class (we were in the area for a digital roundtable) that was titled PR and New Media. Many of the students unsurprisingly had blogs, but it was refreshing to see some were very skeptical about the new media environment. I told them that the PR industry leadership did not expect them to have a mentality that pitched new media above all else. I said - the industry expects them to be able to translate the value (to their peers) of the tools PR professionals. Today’s marketing executives know that young people are hanging out on Facebook, IM. But few know exactly why. That’s just one thing you will be expected to bring to your employers. What else is the industry expecting?
Does the great “What is news?” divide between journalists and PR/advertising professionals begin in the womb – or at least college?
Scott Baradell at the Media Orchard blog asked University of North Texas journalism students last month to list their three favorite Web sites. The sites getting multiple votes were DallasNews.com, Yahoo, WFAA.com, Facebook, and CNN.com.
However, when Baradell asked the same question to advertising and PR students at Southern Methodist University, he received the following multiple responses: SMU.edu (for e-mail), Facebook, CNN.com, Perez Hilton, NewYorkTimes.com, Weather.com, and Google.
Not surprisingly, Facebook and CNN drew interest from both sides. Yet J-school students – at least in this class – are placing greater information-gathering emphasis on local news Web sites than their PR peers.
Steve Cody has an interesting blog post on how one prospective employee got his attention.
Hats off to Matthew O. Waters of Doylestown, Pa. Matt read my blog about the dearth of hand-written. Letter letters from Gen X and Gen Y job seekers and, yes Virginia, sent me a lengthy, handwritten note with his resume….
Good for you, Matt. You’ve not only differentiated yourself, you’ve gotten a blog written about your iconoclastic ways.
For both journalists and communicators, the news cycle never ends. At The Cycle, PRWeek’s editorial team offers commentary and viewpoints on how the latest marketing, business, political, and cultural news impact the PR industry.
Studios still beholden to TV spend
Marketing in a recession (or depression)
SAG and AMPTP reach agreement
Highs and lows of marriage
NYT looks at drug ad confusion among marketers
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in any form without prior authorization.
Your use of this website constitutes acceptance of Haymarket Media's Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions