No, this post is not about basketball, or baseball, or any sport for that matter. In this post I will go through the top ten things I learned this semester while in Barbara Nixon’s Public Relations course at Southeastern.
We learned a lot of things this semester, from making resume’s to the difference between PR firms and departments. All of it is substantially important information, and I did learn a lot this semester during this course. Some of what we went over, like Twitter and social networking, wasn’t new to me, but was still a great way to learn about them from a professionals point of view. I never considered all the work those in the public relations field have to go, and I now have a lot more understanding and respect for them.
I would say the number one thing I learned was how vital networking is to the job. Networking keeps those in contact with their customers and supporters, and is so important that many companies, if not all, wouldn’t be operating without it.
Number two would have to be the resume. I never really knew how to make a resume before taking this class, and I was always worried about that. I always thought it was going to be such a hard and complex process to go through, but it really isn’t. There’s practically nothing to it but listing and describing, which is so easy to do. Good resume’s can make or break your employment and hire status, and making one that is professional and well made is vital.
Number three, which ties into number two, is keeping up with the day to day business of the companies you are interviewing for.
Number four, is that the classroom is not the only place that you can learn about PR. from NewsU courses to LinkedIn and other sources, there are many resources out there to stay educated.
Number five, blogging is very important.
Number six, twitter accounts, facebook pages, and more, are all vital resources and important to keeping customers up to date about the going-ons of the business.
Number seven, along with number six: be careful about those accounts, make sure they aren’t hacked or mistakenly used when someone forgets to log off.
Number eight, stay up to date, with everything going on in the world. Many websites, especially prdaily.com are very helpful for that.
Number nine, writing skills are very important. Being a good writer is most of the battle, and something that is vital to being a good PR practitioner.
Number ten, public relations can be a lot of fun if handled the right way.
This semester was a great introduction to the world of PR, and I look forward to taking more classes and learning more.
Public Relations Apps 