Public Relations = Arrogance

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blog, blogging, blogs, book, cap 220, career, college, event planning, events, future, love, opinion, passion, plan, plan book, pr, public, public relations, reflections, relations, student

Another chapter in college is closing. This blog started as an assignment back in September. It really has been one of the highlights of my short PR career. So what did I actually do?

I want to begin answering this by speaking in general. My mindset has become arrogant. I have become critical. Subconsciously entitled… for once in my life I feel like I am actually really smart. And I have become an accomplished individual in my taste. Who knew that I was capable of that at 19? I now have a hard time enjoying books not because of content, but because of arbitrary and distasteful writing styles. I am still the only person I know that finds The Fault in Our Stars to be one of the most predictable and dragging books to date (with no disrespect to John Green). I can tell when a writer is trying too hard. And I’m hypocritical. I am just lucky to recognize that I possess all of these lovely traits. Let’s just hope this doesn’t mean that I peak in college.

Now that that’s out of the way…

I’m sorry I had to.

Fundamentals of PR. You taught me time management, that’s for sure. A whole class that revolves around teaching yourself how to write a massive campaign plan book (and panicking when direction is lost). Even as a semester long project, balancing the book along with writing blogs (if you can’t tell, it’s been my favorite part) and other school work was pretty much a challenge. And I am being so serious that I work better under pressure. I become unfocused unless I am under pressure. But workload was intense. I thought I had said good riddance to my stress induced acne back in high school. But I’m here and I avoided becoming a zombie for the fourth semester.

It was the one class that having no idea what you’re doing is a good thing. In fact, it was encouraged to gain problem solving skills. I was actually able to put all the skills I was given to use rather than letting them sit. Seriously though, I have found that I love PR so much that having all this knowledge stored up actually frustrates me to no end. This is why I have decided that overloading myself and becoming heavily involved in PR based positions for next semester is a good thing. It will all work out, right? See. Time management implemented already!

As for the actual content of the plan book, I never thought I would have to “plan” an event in this much detail. It was pretty crazy figuring out how all of the information I collected would coincide and I had strong points, but overall it definitely could be better. I don’t know if this is a good thing, but I learned that a working document such as this is better to turn in even with some flaws than to continue getting gray hair over. That mindset will change in the real world, but I really have only started. I am not an expert, so I can’t say “I KNOW now exactly how a PR campaign plan book works.”

But if this major has taught me anything, it’s to just roll with the punches… Or tides. Depends on how meditative you are. Indication: gray hairs?

Oh I just have to throw this in too: this class has shown me that I enjoy the crap out of blogging. And apparently I am good at that. I think we all tend to love what we’re good at.

Seriously though, I have gained an uncertain amount of skills that I am looking forward to getting use out of which includes different sections of the campaign plan book as well as looking into maintaining a blog for a company. That is, if they allow tasteful sarcasm. I also know what I want to know more about such as budgeting and how a timeline really should look.
One thing that will never change for me is my skepticism of rough drafts… unless it’s a plan book. The plan book has become the inevitable exception.

This is what I really want to ask. What did you learn from me? It feels weird being the teacher sometimes, but that’s what a nerdy love of writing and research can do to a person.

This also isn’t goodbye, this is see you later… on my other blog that I hope to fill with many rants. Shameless plug so go follow this link

http://wvhd.wordpress.com/

There may be rainbows and candy… but at this time it is a void. Those are fun too…

These are Not the Definitions You’re Looking For

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Advertising, Advertising and Marketing, after, and, before, before and after, cap 220, career, definition, job, networking, opinion, pr, promotion, public, public relations, relations, student, web, websites

I am not sure where this post is going to end up as far as its content… I apologize as you pain yourself through this post.

Just four months ago, and after the semester I’ve had feels like an eternity, I blogged about what I believe the definition of PR was, and I am still clueless. After a rant, I mentioned that I thought PR was “professionalism, positive promotion, and networking” which are all considerably true, but now with all of the knowledge of the semester crammed in my head, I think I can conclude a more formal definition.

First I want to touch on the fact that there exists a widely accepted definition of this profession according to PRSA. “Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics,” (PRSA, 2014). Even Word is trying to convince me that statement is grammatically incorrect. The computer has no power over the proximity of human knowledge. In my case, it is still growing.
Just as the way public relations works, the definition has changed considerably since it’s inauguration in the professional world due to environmental factors (Harlow, 1976). I laughed a little bit as I typed that year. But that generally still applies no matter if the writer is long retired now.

So I may have stalled just a little, but the bipolar Michigan weather and pre-finals week has made my brain into mush. Seriously. I have to sleep with a towel under my head. Let’s just go with this: if I were asked on the spot, I would say public relations is a communication profession in which organizations build relationships and images of other organizations or publics through different strategies and tactics. That isn’t something that will remain etched in my head. I know if someone else were to ask me it would change dramatically.

Thanks to Harlow, I now realize that definition for me could change in five seconds, but it’s the internet. So it’s here forever now. You know those Buzzfeed articles everyone seems so interested in? I found one that was relatable. Well, it was by a PR professional, but she outlined 31 different definitions of PR… THIRTY-ONE. Trust me, I wish it was straightforward too. But that’s what makes this profession so interesting and desirable in my case. One that stuck out mentioned that PR was valuable, but not valued (Cohen, 2011). The fact that not that many people are aware that such a job as PR exists, I agree. I didn’t value this position until I recognized all the opportunities. So I really hope that environmental factors and mindsets will change so the “public” will realize this profession isn’t defined as “playing on Facebook all day.”

References

Cohen, H. (2011). 31 public relations definitions. Actionable Marketing Guide. Retrieved from

31 Public Relations Definitions

Harlow, R.F. (1976). Building a public relations definition. Public Relations Review. 2(4), 34-42.
PRSA. (2014). What is public relations? Public Relations Society of America. Retrieved from
http://www.prsa.org/AboutPRSA/PublicRelationsDefined/

Career Aspirations Can Knock Down Buildings

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aspiration, aspirations, career, career aspirations, empowering, empowerment, job, leader, leadership, opinion, passion, pr, promotion, PRSA, PRSSA, public, public relations, relations, sports, sports promotion, student

I just went AWOL for a month. Did you notice? Didn’t think so.

Let’s get controversial: gender discrimination in the PR job market. Yes, it still exists. Not only in pay, but in leadership roles in the job market as well. “Even if all gender discriminations at the point of hire and subsequent promotion were removed, considerable gender segregations would still remain in paid work due to the different and seemingly voluntary career choices men and women make,” (Corell, 2004, p. 94). This claim alone, although made ten years ago, is still absurd. And you guessed wrong, the study this quote came from was written by a female. This isn’t the 1950s. What happened to equal opportunity? It is still common for women to aspire for the same job a man has.
The PR world is no different. It is primarily made up of women. Overwhelmingly, women make up 72% of the population in PRSA (Melgin, 2013). I can already see the correlation between that and the 4 men in my PRSSA organization. Yet, even with this dominance in the United States, men are still more likely to be hired with leadership roles within PR (Melgin, 2013). Don’t see the correlation here. With and executive board of all women once again and not a single male was interested in running.

I can see the potential struggle in my career aspirations. Will a woman gain the respect and notoriety she deserves working in the sports realm of public relations? I’m pretty sure this is why I have continued to change my mind. I have kept my options open, and have avoided the sports promotion class at my university, fearing that I would be the only woman. Should be empowering, right? Of course, this is all subconscious. I can’t be the only one who analyzes her brain.
Although it may seem like a reliable plan, picking a job and just rolling with it will put you at a standstill. “The popular notion that you graduate from college, join a company, go with the flow and hope that someone, someday, recognizes your skills and potential is false. No one is going to pluck you from the masses and help you rise to business stardom unless you make the first move” (Quast, 2013). Set a goal for yourself. Do something you enjoy. That’s the whole point of a career aspiration.

I am honestly frustrated at how many people are in college just to get a degree. When I argue this, they can’t see anything wrong with it and see me as doing the same thing. Wrong. I’m not here to finish. I didn’t pick to move away from home and go to a four year university just to ‘get everything done.’ I was here to see if a passion would fall into my lap. I’m here so I can make a better living for myself after college. I’m here to enjoy my time. This isn’t high school. You’re not forced to do anything. I am a PR major and loving every second of it. I’m not here to advocate that I have the ‘right’ major. Yes, it’s the right one for me. But I strongly believe that picking a particular major and rolling with it ‘just because it opens more doors,’ sure it does.

Forgive me, I do not mean to completely bash any fields. But give a woman something to be passionate about, and she will knock down buildings. Equal opportunity. Men, watch out. I’m taking over.

References

Correll, S.J. (2004) Constraints into preferences: gender, status, and emerging career aspirations.
American Sociological Review. 69(1), 93-113.
Melgin, E. (2013). Gender imbalance: Why is the female-dominated PR industry still led by
men? International Public Relations Association. Retrieved from
http://www.ipra.org/itl/10/2013/gender-imbalance-why-is-the-female-dominated-pr
-industry-still-led-by-men
Quast, L. (2013). Don’t rely on luck at work: Define your career aspirations and goals. Forbes.
Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/lisaquast/2013/04/08/dont-rely-on-luck-at -work-define-your-career-                         aspirations-and-goals/