What You Should be Doing Right Now
By: Gabriella Yuen
This past year has been a big year for me as far as working towards my professional goals. I joined CSUN PRSSA in order to gain more knowledge of the PR world, and ended up finding out this is the field I want to pursue! The bright side of this pandemic has been the many opportunities I have been able to receive through our virtual environment. I have learned so much from internship recruiters of big corporations like the Golden State Warriors, WarnerMedia, NBC, Fox, etc., and even was able to connect with some! I wanted to share some of the advice that I was given from so many high-ranked professionals in the industry with you because now is the perfect time to improve your skills and try to get some experience.
Here are some things that professionals emphasized you should be doing right now:
Work on your craft!
If you want to be in PR, practice your writing skills. Raymond Ridder, the Senior Vice President of Communication for the Golden State Warriors, stated that he looks for individuals who know how to write well and have extensive knowledge on AP style writing. Look up press releases and make sure you recognize the components that are used in each one. This goes for any industry in the PR world, so utilize that AP Stylebook! Another tip is if you want to go into social media, practice making graphics. As CSUN students, we have free access to Adobe Cloud! Another good resource is Canva. Take advantage of what is provided to you for your own benefit! It is a requirement for many, if not all, social media and graphic design internship positions to have previous experience with these tools.
Build your portfolio
Listen to me - don’t let portfolios intimidate you. I have recently applied to a handful of internships for this upcoming summer and half of them have asked for a link to my portfolio. Now I am not going to lie, my portfolio is underused. But those who are serious about landing an internship always have one to share their work with recruiters, which definitely makes you stand out! As CSUN students, we also have access to Portfolium, a platform for you to keep all your work. You can include any written work, graphics, and so much more to show yourself off!
Attend webinars
The beauty of our virtual environment is access to numerous webinars. PRSA National offers so many webinars with the top public relations professionals across the nation, and for free if you are a member! Find upcoming events with a variety of topics here.
P.S. CSUN PRSSA has an event in the near future from a big name in the music industry, so stay tuned to make sure you don’t miss it!
Update your resume and cover letter
My resume and cover letters have improved so much within the past year, especially since I now have PR experience. Find resume/cover letter workshops to know the do’s and don'ts, they help tremendously! Last semester, I attended one and had a professional look at my resume. He told me what was good and what to edit. That advice can go a long way for those who feel uneasy about their resumes and cover letters.
Use LinkedIn to the max!
Let’s face it, the industry is all about who you know. It’s important to build your network with those in the field you want to pursue. You never know who or what opportunities you may come across through your connections!
Stay on the lookout for internship opportunities
Right now, a lot of businesses are posting their Summer 2021 internships! Make a spreadsheet of the specific positions you apply to in order to stay organized. It’s important to note the deadlines of the internships so you do not miss them!
