Month: December 2015
Dear PR Majors
Dear public relations majors,
I would like to offer up a few words of advice in regards the fast-paced, stressful, wonderful, insane industry we have grown to love in between all of the chaos.
First, I wanted to share the best advice I have ever been given. Sophomore year I was in the middle of a visual campaign when every possible thing seemed to be going wrong, and my professor told me, “Make it work.” Profound huh? Well in public relations there is a 110 percent chance that things will not go according to plan, no matter how well you plan. A client will change their mind about what they want months into a campaign, a venue will cancel the week before a big event, or just when all is seeming to go well – a crisis will come forth. That is the beauty of PR though, we are the chosen few who make things better. So when it feels like nothing is going right and you are drowning in chaos – be resourceful, take things one step at a time, think outside of the box, ask for help – and you will make it work.
Secondly, I know that we all live and die by our Erin Condrens (or Emily Leys or Lilly Pulitzers or insert favorite planner here) but do not let take away from truly living. There have been far too many times I have missed out on really enjoying myself because I didn’t pencil it in. I love the fact that I am obsessively organized, punctual and time efficient, but it has also been my fatal flaw in truly living my life. So let’s stop glorifying busy and write in a little wiggle room so we can start enjoying things a little more.
My next word of advice is stop letting competition discourage you and start making it inspire you. Public relations majors are notoriously competitive, always fighting for the next big internship, leadership position or opportunity – and that constant clawing to be at the top of the totem pole can be utterly exhausting and disheartening. Stop thinking about your peers’ resumes and just focus on being the best at what you do. As I have said before, I would rather have friends in high places. Let’s all make a collective decision to stop with the underhanded brags and competition and just encourage one another.
Lastly, explore. PR is so multifaceted, between media relations, event planning, crisis communications, integrated marketing and the other million sides of the industry – it can be easy to feel lost. It is okay to not have a staunch answer when people ask what you want your focus to be, but what is not okay is if you are not exploring to find what that answer is. Finding your calling is a journey and 4 years is usually not long enough to make that destination. So calm down, take a deep breath, and explore away.
Best,
Natalie Adams
Lessons From a Fourth Year
Wake up Early… EVERYDAY
Stop complaining that there are not enough hours in the day when you are sleeping through the two or three most important! I have learned that knocking out the hardest tasks of the day before noon makes for a much better day.
Take B12
This stuff is literally a miracle. A B12 and a cup of coffee will make even the busiest day seem conquerable.
Save Naps for Rainy Sundays
I cannot say that I believe those Buzzfeed posts about nappers being more successful. Successful people know what they need to do and they get it done, without sleeping in between.
Only Wing it if You’re Good at It
Vague, I know, but winging-it is a true art. There are people who can get away with a client pitch with no research, but most of us are not Don Draper so I have learned that it’s better to be overprepared than sorry.
Download a text editor
I use Grammarly. It makes emails to professors and research papers a lot less of a threat.
Stop Giving People Your High School Email Account
Sorry naticus93, you are now demoted to retail store notifications.
Networking is not Just for Seniors
Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT wait until senior year to start networking. Build strong, professional relationships, go to events, reach out and ask questions – it will make job searching a lot less stressful when you finally roll around to it.
Ignore FOMO
On any given night you will have around 6,000 options to participate in, and sometimes you’re not going to do a single one of them, or sometimes you simply can’t. It is okay. There will always be more, and you will have a lot more misery thinking about the things you didn’t go to than the actual missing out on them.
Competition should inspire you, not threaten you
Why do we get so upset when other people find success? There is room for all of us to be successful, and frankly, I would rather have friends in high places down the road.
It is okay to not know exactly what it is that you love yet
It took me three majors and a lot of soul searching – to still not even know what my calling is yet. But I am closer and I have tried out a lot of things and I have gotten pretty good at some of them, so I’m learning to enjoy the ride.
Actually do things that scare you
Whether that is applying to an internship that is coveted or going on a study abroad all alone in a place you know nothing about – you will almost never regret it.
Make Decisions for YOU
I spent far too much time making my life decisions for other people, and for a while that meant living a life that was not my own. Sure you need to reach out for advice and wisdom, but make decisions for you. As I have reminded my Gamma Chi girls upwards of one million times, “YOU have to live the life that you make, not the people you are letting make it for you.”
natallwhowander.com 