How To: Dress For A Summer Interview

With the temperature rising as we continue into the summer season, dressing for summer interviews gets a bit tricky. Summer is the season of bright colors, short-shorts, light tank tops and airy sundresses. Interviews call for dark hues, stiff blazers, long pants and stuffy button-down shirts.

The best advice I have ever received in regards to interview wardrobes was "Dress to impress," Even if you are interviewing with a company that tends to dress a little more casual, always stick to a business casual approach.

Although the summer weather may make dressing in a suit or blazer uncomfortable, it is always important to dress up instead of dressing down. You should always look well-groomed and neatly dressed for an interview, no matter what season. 

Here are three essentials of a summer interview outfit:

Blazer: Summer calls for blazers, which are more casual than suit jackets but are still professional. Try to choose a neutral color, perhaps a light color. 

Button Down Shirt: A white, cotton button down is key for any summer interview outfit.

Dress Pants: Pants should also be a neutral color. Khakis are key for summer interviews. Women can substitute pants with cropped pants or ankle-length skirts.  

Are You Familiar With The AP Stylebook?

The Associated Press Stylebook is an essential device for every journalist, editor and writer. If you have not yet  acquainted yourself with this book, you definitely should. As aspiring professionals in the communications field it's important we use this Stylebook as a reference when writing.

I am currently taking a news writing and media relations class and this book truly acts as my bible in this course. After using this book, I became more aware of the silly mistakes I made when writing articles and press releases. Now, having this book as a resource it eliminates trivial errors in my writing.

Below, are some minor pointers the AP Stylebook brought to my attention while writing a better press release:

Addresses: When writing an address, we only abbreviate street, avenue and boulevard in a numbered address.

Numbers: Be sure to spell out numbers one through nine and use figures 10 and above unless, its a measurement,math, money or starts a sentence.

Times:  When writing the time use figures except for noon and midnight.

Months:  Be sure to abbreviate months that are longer than five letters.

Formal Titles: Tittles are lowercase unless it is a formal title, it is right in front of a name and it is not set off with a comma. For e.g President Barack Obama spoke at a conference in Dubai. The aforementioned example demonstrates the title being uppercase. An example to show the title lowercase is: The president, Barack Obama spoke at a conference in Dubai.

Whether you are wondering if a specific word should be capitalized or if a title should be abbreviated or not, the AP Stylebook will answer such. Remember, the less errors in your writing generates a clearer message to your audience. 

The TRUTH About Unpaid Interns

Last week, PR Daily posted this article featuring 5 things not to expect from an unpaid intern. The article basically tells internship coordinators and PR pros who will work with these interns to brace themselves. It describes unpaid interns as slackers who won't be motivated to be great interns if they aren't being paid to do so.

Having completed two unpaid internships with a third in progress, I know a few things about being an unpaid intern. The PR Daily article definitely does not describe any successful intern I've ever met, paid or unpaid. While being paid to intern is great and a big help to many, it should not be your only criteria when selecting an internship, nor should it determine the type of intern you will be. I know plenty of students who have held multiple unpaid internships and walked away with a wealth of knowledge of their field. I also know people who have held multiple paid internships, and only walked away with a paycheck.

That being said, here are three things I believe you should actually expect from an unpaid intern:

1. They are passionate about their field: Knowing that twice a week I get to wake up and do what I'm most passionate about is the best feeling in the world. Unpaid interns do what they do because they love what they do. Doing the job for free shows that they refuse to put a numerical value on their passion.

2. They will give it their all: Despite what PR Daily says about unpaid interns giving their all, I believe that an unpaid intern will put everything they have into an internship. Many times, interns are upperclassman (juniors and seniors) who will be searching for long term employment in the near future. They cannot afford to risk a bad recommendation  an underdeveloped resume, or to lose industry connections. For these reasons, along with many others, unpaid interns will give their all to their internships!

3. They want to learn and grow: My favorite part about interning is getting a chance to observe the workplace environment. You learn the most from just observing how your superiors go about things and handle certain situations. Unpaid interns, as they aren't being paid, want to leave with a takeaway, and that takeaway is knowledge. The goal of every intern should be to know more by the end of their internship about the field than they did when they started.

Have you ever held or are you currently holding an unpaid internship? Do you think less is expected of you than a paid intern? What did you think of PR Daily's article? Share your thoughts!!

Types of First Days

In my experience, there are two types of first days when it comes to a job or internship.

The first type is the typical training day where you get acclimated to the environment, maybe read a thick employee manual, and learn everyone's names.  While this might not be the most thrilling day of your job, it's crucial in adjusting to a new position.

The second type of first day is more exciting.  You go in and after a few brief introductions you're thrown into the fast-paced rhythm of the business just like everyone else.  While this type of first day is arguably more desirable, it can also be fairly overwhelming.
 

The first day at my summer internship was the exciting one.  I was there for half an hour and then was hustling to a press conference, researching press coverage, and writing a press release.  I was thrilled to be given responsibility on the first day but I was also so nervous that I had to constantly remind myself to take deep breaths and calm down.  Overall the day went really well and I learned a lot from it.
 

Here are some tips if you're feeling nervous on your first day:

• Write everything down.  Whether it is names, assignments, or directions, it helps to have something to refer back to.
• Don't be afraid to ask for help.  No one expects you to know everything, especially not on the first day.
• Be confident!  You have experience, even if it's only learning from a textbook.  You're more prepared than you think.

What advice do you have for the first day of a new job or internship?  Share with us!

 

Blog Branding

At this point I think it is safe to say that we are all aware of the importance of maintaining a personal blog. In some arenas it has even become a necessity. Since blogs, more specifically being a blogger, has grown in popularity, it has also become a necessity to distinguish your blog from the millions of others in the world. Now, we not only have to focus on branding ourselves professionally, but how to brand our blogs as well. Luckily, I stumbled upon an article that inspired me and gave three short tips to keep in mind, and keep you focused, when developing your blog and its brand.

1. Identify what you want to be known for. As opposed to choosing an arbitrary topic to center your blog around, think about what you want people to say about your blog. Do you want your blog to be known for being informative? Comical? It’s important to pinpoint your blog’s purpose so that every post is a step towards accomplishing that goal. 
2. Be what you want to be known for...consistently. This may sound like a simple concept, but it does take some practice. Keep the brand that you want to portray in mind when doing anything related to your blog. From writing a post to sending a tweet, it’s important to “stay in character,” so to speak. You don’t want to contradict the brand you are trying to create.
3. Monitor and participate in conversations about you. The author of this article simplifies branding as what people say about you when you’re not in the room. So, find out what people are saying about your blog when you’re not in the room. While some reviews may not be so easy to hear, the purpose of researching people’s opinions is not to defend your blog to the death. Instead, enter into it with a “genuine desire to listen and connect.” You may discover something that can be improved.

What is most important to remember is that your brand should be an extension of yourself, and your blog an extension of your brand. If you stay true to who you are then you, your brand, and your blog may be imitated, but can never be duplicated. 

Got Professionalism?

We all write emails, sometimes multiple times a day, but how much effort is put into the emails we write? Even the simplest emails should be given the utmost time and attention. It is important to always appear professional and take the time to construct every email you write. If you follow these simple tips, you will never think about writing an unprofessional email again. 

1. Keep it short, sweet, and to the point: People are normally busy and don’t have much time to spare reading a long email. 
2. Be polite: Don’t be rude when it comes to asking people for things. Remember to say, “Please” and “Thank you” throughout the email.
3. Take a breather: Never write an email while you are upset. Aggression is easy to pick up on in an email and people don’t want to feel you are yelling at them. Write your thoughts down first and then edit to make them sound pleasant. 
4. Hold the creativity: Some people like to use colorful fonts or big print. Don’t! Standard, black font is the most professional. It is classic and people find it easier to read. 
5. Proofread, proofread, proofread: Never send an email without reading it first. Do not just rely on spell check; read it yourself and read it slowly. There is nothing more embarrassing than someone reading an email and correcting a spelling or grammar mistake.

Emails are a part of our everyday communication. Careful attention must be put into every one. Mistakes in an email are the fastest way to disrupt a relationship with people. Take your time and read through every email before you hit the send button because once you hit send, it’s out there and cannot be retrieved. 

This guest blog post was written by PRowl Staff Member Alie Curran. 

Perfect and Professional Portfolio-ism

For internships, jobs, and even student organizations, PR students have to go through several interviews. Of course with an upcoming interview comes the re-wiring of your portfolio. Whether you are just starting to put together your portfolio or updating it, following these few steps can lead your portfolio to perfection.

Compile all the pieces. Since public relations consists of a broad range of skills, there are plenty of options for material for a portfolio. The majority of your portfolio will consist of writing pieces of all different kinds: press releases, media alerts, PSAs, media kits, pitch letters, articles, and even informal blog posts. Make sure to include pieces that reflect your relevant skill set, even things such as graphic design or media technology.

Quick Tip: Don’t forget to grab a program from any event you’ve worked or volunteered at. Add them to your portfolio to show that you’ve been out and about in the world of public relations at events, not just writing from an office!

Find the perfect fit. By the time you graduate, you’ll probably need a 3” inch binder, but don’t overcompensate as a beginner. Open space will take away from the neat look of your portfolio. Pick out a binder that is going to accommodate what you have currently, and then move on up in size.

Perfect your resume. Edit your resume for the specific position you are interviewing for, adding any newer relevant positions you hold. Always keep a few copies of your resume in the front of your portfolio. If you’re using a binder, slide them in the outside sleeve. You could be surprised by multiple interviewers and wouldn’t want to be without copies for everyone.

Use a peer review. Ask fellow students and friends to take a look at your portfolio. They can check out your resume and writing for any small errors you may not have noticed, and catch if your portfolio has the right appearance. The more eyes to view it, the better.

Overall, you want your portfolio to come off like yourself do in an interview: cool, calm, and collected.

This guest blog post was written by PRowl Staff Member Alyssa Guckin.