Comments on: Investing in Your Career

By: Jenni Lewis

Jenni Lewis — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 19:22:13 +0000

Nick,

Thanks for pointing out my addiction to shopping. This is a great post though, and if you know me then you know that I always say that it would be to your benefit to join PRSSA.

You are so insightful!

Jenni

By: Yuri Afanasov

Yuri Afanasov — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 13:11:34 +0000

yeah, it’s the largest PR students society in Russia as PRSSA, they are very similar. And we even have some contacts with PRSSA members, they sent video message to participants of “Moscow PR Week” conference last year

In Russia also there is Russian Public Relations Society (RASO) as PRSA.

By: nicklucido

nicklucido — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 04:34:06 +0000

@Allie Your story is not an uncommon one. It’s always nice to have a solid base of connections to interact with.

@Yuri I’ve never heard of that organization, but it sounds a lot like our PRSSA. I share in similar experiences with you, even though you’re on the other side of the world!

By: Yuri Afanasov

Yuri Afanasov — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 09:23:46 +0000

You are absolutely right, Nick! All things that you say are very important. It’s necessary to investing in career and I tell it to students when they ask me “Why we should join Russian Public Relations Students Society (RASSO)?”

We have similar problems – it’s expensive too, some members not active, etc. But I always say this is investment in your career, look at me, at first I was Chapter President of UCA RASSO, in three years I became Vice President of RASSO and now I have good experience in PR and interesting work. And it would be much more difficult to achieve it without RASSO and other activities.

By: Allie Osmar

Allie Osmar — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 03:36:41 +0000

The networking opportunities through these organizations are SO important (with both students and professionals). My biggest support group in the first year of my career came from a group who had met through PRSSA (and later Young PRSA).

I also recommend joining in on any trips or agency visits these groups take.

By: nicklucido

nicklucido — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:31:49 +0000

@Jennie – sometimes, you have to bite the bullet and get the well drinks, right?

Good points, Rachel and Angela. Your resume should be your talking points in an interview. Those who put things on their resume that haven’t done much with their internships and associations show it in an interview, which is what Ari described.

By: Rachel Esterline .:. A Step Ahead.:.

Rachel Esterline .:. A Step Ahead.:. — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 19:31:39 +0000

Good point, Angela. I think it’s funny how many people we have that have joined PRSSA…yet I can’t place a face to their name since they are not involved.

By: Angela Hernandez

Angela Hernandez — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 18:55:07 +0000

I totally agree Nick. This is great advice. It is one thing to join an organization, but it really doesn’t help you in any way unless you get involved and make the most out of it like you said. The worst thing is for a student to put PRSSA on their resume but have nothing to say about their involvement during an interview.

By: Ari Adler

Ari Adler — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 18:29:35 +0000

Good post Nick. When looking to hire folks, I often have taken the immeasurable quality of “confidence” into account. And nothing builds confidence like being able to go into an interview able to say, “Sure, I’ve done that, as well as this, and this, and even some of this.”

Don’t just tell me you know how to do something — show that you’ve done it, done it well and will work hard to do it even better when you’re hired by me.

By: Rachel Esterline .:. A Step Ahead.:.

Rachel Esterline .:. A Step Ahead.:. — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 18:08:12 +0000

Nick,

This is a great post. I also believe in investing in your career. What you do now will affect how far (and how quickly you move) in your career.

As a student paying for college on my own, I know how tough it can be to afford some professional development activities. I’ve had to make some sacrifices, but I truly believe they are all worth it. And it has paid off tremendously so far.

My suggestion to others is to push yourself to be involved in many different ways. When I found out that the student government had a PR position, I applied (and got it). I also try to find local nonprofits to do pro-bono work for.

PRSSA is very important, but I think other activities help broaden your horizons and build your network.

Reading and learning also is a great point. If you can’t afford subscriptions, then browse Web sites, blogs and go to the library.

And as for surveys…fill them out! That’s how I got quoted in the PR Week Career Guide, which has made a nice piece for my portfolio.

Great post and I hope to read other people’s suggestions on their investments.