Drillbits Blog

Five Tough Love Tips for Grads

Today, one of our interns interviewed me for a term paper she’s working on. Most of the questions focused on points of differentiation as well as convergence between media and PR. We talked a lot about how tools have changed, how user generated content is impacting the business, how the reduction in editorial space and both media and consumer attention spans are changing the game – and how all of this is impacting skill sets for the class of 2010. Lizzy, who’s getting ready to graduate from UGA’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, is a good interviewer. She’s also a strategic thinker, a great verbal communicator, a solid writer and a new media whiz. Even more impressively, she knows how to manage up (which means that all my attempts to skirt deliverables that may impact a deadline she’s committed to are met with gentle but persistent reminders that action is required.) And that makes her a rare commodity indeed.

Sure, we meet plenty of job candidates who know HTML code and Facebook apps backwards. Most also bring lots of enthusiasm and they love to chat. But we find that too many lack some very essential skills that will handicap them in the PR field. Most troubling is the frequent absence of written and verbal communication skills. A fair share of these “kids” just can’t seem to craft a compelling sentence. It’s popular right now to cast generational blame – after all, isn’t the class of 2010 a byproduct of an environment that reduces communications to a click here, a text there? How can we expect anyone to read verbal and visual cues when their biggest point of social interaction is with a computer screen or a PDA? As excuses go, good try – but unless your career objective involves a hut and a mountain top, chances are you’ll have to speak with or – horrors! – sit across from a real human being at some point and sell them on an idea.

So, here’s a little dose of tough-love self-help for all you future PR rock stars. We know there are plenty of brilliant sparks among you – just don’t let these five no-nos derail your quest for a great job.

1. I haz cheezeburgerz isn’t good English.
   You’re applying for a job where you’re going to communicate for a living (OMG!). Why is your cover letter rife with typos, missing words and grammatical errors? Why don’t you know the difference between it’s and its? (LOL, #FAIL) 




2. Like, really, we thought Valley talk was so Eighties.
   Hey, you’ve already hijacked our music and fashions so go ahead and use the word “like” once, twice or even more in every sentence during our interview. And keep talking that way all the way out the door. Like, later, dude! 




3. Turn down the volume!
   Why is it that you know how to get your point across in a 140-character or less Tweet but it takes paragraphs of run-on sentences to tell us why we should hire you? Thoughts of dazed clients and angry journalists are dancing in our collective heads. 




4. TMI.
   Okay, so you’re charming, quick-witted, play well with others, love this and that, etc. But really, enough about you, already. What exactly can you do for us? No experience, you say? No problem. Why not pick a client we currently represent, do your research and send us a few creative ideas about how you would help get them noticed? 




5. Your parents don’t work here.
   If your folks still fight your battles (ask us about the Mom who called to question a performance evaluation) or otherwise guard you from the evils of the real world, may they soon see the light. We offer jobs that require attention to detail, accountability, self-motivation, drive and energy. Don’t leave home without them. 

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Tagged best practices, strategy