For the third session at Real World PR in Atlanta, I attended Seal the Deal: What You Need to Know to Land the Job. There, Sharon Jones from Ketchum and Tia Jackson from Porter Novelli gave tips on how to land a job. Below is the list of tips that Sharon gave us:
- Start by networking.
- Start social networking- Twitter, LinkedIn.
- Research the company beyond the Web site.
- Send your resume to the company and make it PERFECT. (Sharon said that she rarely looked at the objective on a resume.)
- Send a cover letter (but Sharon reads the cover letter LAST).
- Follow up after sending in your cover letter and resume.
- Rehearse your elevator speech.
- When you get the interview, arrive 15 minutes early. Thirty minutes early is too early.
WHEN you’re in the interview:
- Practice being calm, yet energetic.
- Listen to the question that you are asked.
- Maintain comfy eye contact.
- Mirror the formality of the interview and maintain an appropriate level of business.
- Come with thoughtfully prepared questions- at least 3.
- Write hand-written thank-you notes after the interview.
Tia Jackson from Porter Novelli then spoke about how to behave once you’ve landed the job:
- Go the extra mile. Meeting expectations isn’t enough.
- Network.
- Meet with your manager and team.
- Set goals.
- Find our your expectations.
- Become actively engaged.
- Take advantage of volunteer opportunities.
- Meet deadlines.
- TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR OWN CAREER!
Tia also gave two tips for phone interviews:
- Put a mirror in front of you during the interview so you feel like you’re actually talking to someone.
- Smile. You can hear the smile in someone’s voice over the phone.
My experience at Real World PR was very helpful. Below is a picture of all of the Clemson PRSSA members who attended the conference.