Dear PR People: Calm Down
I imagine that the housekeeping staff at the Las Vegas Westin has seen their fair share of early morning shenanigans. So hopefully, they thought nothing of me running through the hall in my socks and banging on the door of Room 831 shortly after 6 a.m. one January morning in 2013.
PR Professionals: Always the Bridesmaid, Never the Bride
Let’s play a game that I like to call “Business Executive or Bride?” I’ll describe an outlandish request, and you can guess which person was behind it.
Bylines, Surveys & Tweets: When Did PR Get So Boring?
My first taste of the working world came from the print shop my grandfather owned and operated since 1941. Like most entry-level jobs, there was hardly anything glamorous about my position as a “runner” – which, as the name implies, involved dashing from station to station to deliver materials, take away finished jobs, and, as my grandfather often put it, “not louse anything up.”
Working in PR: Five Lessons I Wish I Learned Sooner
A few months ago, a colleague suggested that I meet with his college-aged daughter to discuss having a career in PR. It seemed a reasonable request considering that I’d been broadcasting my industry observations and personal opinions through this blog since February. But career advice for one specific person? Well that just sounded dangerous.
Five Pet Peeves of Working in PR
At my first agency job in New York, I worked alongside a media relations specialist who wanted each of his annual coverage reports to be as thick as a phone book. Every December, he would drop the three-ring binder on his desk with a resounding thud. “Now that’s a coverage report,” he would say.
5 Myths of Working in PR
Quick show of hands – who’s heard this line before: “All I know about PR is that most of the people who do it are pretty dumb.” I, for one, have had that insult hurled at me on several occasions – which means that I’ve mastered the ability to mutter “Your face is dumb,” into a cocktail straw before strolling off in search of better company.
Six Signs You Work in PR
How do you know if you work in PR? You’re comfortable being hung up on. You can spot a lunatic. You have great shoes. Plus a few more.
Five Unexpected Life Lessons I Learned Working in PR
I don’t work for anyone who arrives 40 minutes late for an interview. And I don’t date anyone who does the same but at a bar. Find out the other five life lessons I learned working in PR.
Pop Quiz: What is PR?
What I find most interesting about the question, “What is PR?” is the tone that often accompanies it. The people asking claim to be unfamiliar with the field and yet they seem to imply that they know it’s not good.
Asking for a Raise? Four Tips for PR Pros
A former colleague once warned me not to ask for a raise during our firm’s end-of-year review cycle. “They’ll never give it to you,” he said. “I asked for one last year when my wife had our second baby, and they said no.” I tried my hardest to look sympathetic as I replied, “Well I don’t have any kids, so I’ll have to come up with a better reason than that.”
Pitch Perfect: How to Dust Off After a Dust Up
When pitching, nothing is more exciting than getting a call back from a top-tier reporter within minutes of sending your first email – which is exactly what happened to me one day several years ago when I was arranging a desk-side media tour for an executive who would be in New York the following week.
Tinder: A Publicist’s Dream?
When I joined Tinder, the now-ubiquitous matchmaking app, last spring, I was expecting it to be an absolute zoo. But while sifting through a great many profiles belonging to tiger lovers and amateur skydivers, I noticed something quite unexpected: a surprising number of reporters and producers popping up in my daily feed.
Read all of my guest posts on Cision.com here.