It's always nice to get an update from our PRowl Public Relations alum! Brianna Fisher was a member of PRowl for two years and excelled in all positions she took on, including Account Executive and Director of Finance. A full-time PR pro now, Brianna checks in via the blog today:
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No, I'm not talking about a run in with the cast of the popular MTV show. It's been about a month since graduation from Temple U and it's finally starting to sink in that I'm officially a PRowl Public Relations alum. As new, fresh bloggers move up the ranks I'm tickled at the opportunity to guest blog (thank you, PRowl!) and couldn't resist the chance to share some knowledge I've gained as a full-time employee at one of Philadelphia's top PR agencies.
Agency work is exciting and fast paced. I have yet to experience a boring day at work and I don't see that happening any time soon. This made the transition from college to the working world a lot easier for me. If you're going to be at one place 40 hours a week, you'd better like it!
That being said, this work can easily start to overwhelm a new hire like me. As a college student with a lot on my plate I thought I was the queen of prioritization and time management, but those two concepts have a completely different meaning in the work world.
Luckily, I reached out to a colleague for some advice on how to be successful in my entry-level role. This is what she said:
1. Don't be afraid to ask for help! (Gee, how ironic that I had just reached out to her!)
2. Don't be afraid to take time to finish work thoroughly.
3. And finally, don't be afraid to ask questions!
She relayed several stories of past entry-level folks who began feeling overwhelmed with their new duties and got burnt out before any of their coworkers realized there was a problem. If you don't tell anyone you're feeling stressed then they can't help you out!
Thoroughness, she said, is one of the biggest problems for entry-level people. Working with the notion that an agency's pace is fast as lightening will only make the final product less than stellar. I found the more I was assigned, the more I tried to multitask and the less I got accomplished. After hearing that thoroughness was next to godliness in the agency world I began allowing myself to completely focus in on one project at a time and am much more effective as a result!
As a newbie, the last thing you want to do is ask a bunch of questions that could potentially make you feel stupid, right? WRONG! My colleague clued me in to the fact that asking questions is the only way to know exactly how the project should be completed (remember, thoroughness?). If I don't understand something - I ask - saving me a lot of time trying to figure out what the heck they meant by asking me to pull a folder out of the wiki on the data drive?! Lots of companies have lingo and acronyms that you will learn by experience, so ask, ask, ask!
One of the best things I've learned in my transition is that there are a whole lot of things left to learn. But, I'm enthusiastic and excited for the future. What are your plans for the future? What do you think will help you get there?
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