Twitter series examines what employers look for and when to start job search

An enterprising recent series of questions on Twitter (see #PRStudChat on Twitter) provides good answers to questions JMC students need to know, such as "how soon to start a job search?" and "what do CEOs look for in new employees?"  Although the series focuses on public relations students, the results are applicable to all JMC majors.  Take a few minutes and read this blog series by Valerie Simon, a senior vice president at Burrelles Luce and a freelance writer.

What does a CEO look for in a PR hire?
http://tinyurl.com/n4wlvs

When should students start their search for a job?
http://tinyurl.com/mfk3tz

What are the best PR books and publications?
 http://tinyurl.com/ns3vty

 
 DH

Ag & Environmental Sciences offers part-time student job

The Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (A&E) Department at ACU is seeking a part-time student employee to help market the department and manage its Web site. This could be a good opportunity for any of our students but especially for electronic media or Ad/PR majors.

Requirements include:

• Students should have completed their core JMC courses; preference will be given to juniors and seniors
  
• Agricultural or environmental background is not required, but the student should be willing to learn some of the jargon and terms used in this field
  
• Self-motivated/initiative
• Work 10-15 hours a week
• Ability to "market" A&E by staying abreast of departmental stories and communicating through various means
• Current proficiency or willingness to learn Collage (ACU's Web site software) to keep the A&E Web site current and fresh
• Willing to interact with the Optimist and Creative/Marketing Services to keep our message in front of people

For more information, please e-mail me or call me at 674-2045.

Graduated but not employed: Strategies for what to do next

Graduated (or about to graduate) and still not employed? Read this story from the Public Relations Society of America for some helpful job-search tips.

Internships, part-time jobs await JMC students this fall

Now that you are back in Abilene for the fall semester, some of you will be looking for JMC internships or part-time job opportunities. I have good news. Some of Abilene's best JMC-related employers are waiting to hear from you.

Before you browse the list of opportunities below, you may want to review the internship program requirements. All internships require the department's prior approval. E-mail me before accepting any internship. Also, keep in mind that the university will no longer allow seniors to participate in graduation ceremonies if they have an incomplete or "in progress" grade on their transcript. If you plan to graduate next May, for instance, you must complete your internship and submit all of the required paperwork at least three weeks prior to the end of the spring term.

Internships

1. If broadcast journalism is your thing, then you'll be pleased to know that both of Abilene's network TV providers, KTAB/KRBC and KTXS, offer internships. TV stations also offer opportunities for public relations, advertising and electronic media majors. KTXS TV offers internships in news, production, promotions, weather and sports. For news, weather and sports internships, contact George Levesque, KTXS general manager, at levesque@ktxs.com or 677-2281. For production and promotion internships, contact David Caldwell, KTXS creative services director, at davidcaldwell@ktxs.com or 677-2281. KTAB/KRBC TV is looking for both fall interns and part-time workers for its Friday night high school football coverage. KTAB and KRBC interns may get to report, produce, write, shoot video or edit video. Interns can also gain experience writing, designing and creating graphics for the station's Web sites. Contact Austin Kellerman, news director, at AKellerman@ktab.tv.
   
2. Hospitals offer excellent internship opportunities in a variety of JMC fields including public relations, event planning, graphic design, media relations, copywriting and advertising creativity. Hendrick Medical Center's Marketing Department offers interns the opportunity to work in all aspects of hospital communications and marketing work, including one of the city's largest annual event-planning programs for the Children's Miracle Network (spring). For more information, contact Elizabeth Ables at eables@ehendrick.org or 670-2431. On the other side of town, Abilene Regional Medical Center offers internships in marketing and public relations. It is seeking interns who are proficient in Adobe PhotoShop and Illustrator and who have good word processing and spreadsheet skills. As would be true in any hospital setting, ARMC says students need to have "extreme diplomacy and tact" and be able to handle confidential information. Professional appearance and good decorum are also on the qualifications list. For information, contact Julia C. Belcher, marketing and public relations coordinator, at julia.belcher@armc.net or 428-4952.
3. Zachry Associates is Abilene's only full-service advertising agency. Zachry offers internships for senior Ad/PR majors with a strong background in graphic design. Students should have at least a 3.0 average GPA and a demonstrated interest in advertising creativity. Students should have samples of their graphic design work to share if called for an interview. For more information, contact Danny Flanagan, art director, at dflanagan@zachryinc.com or 677-1342, extension 125.
4. One of the best opportunities for students interested in event-planning careers is right here on the ACU campus. The Office of University Events seeks a student intern to assist with coordinating, planning, organizing and preparing for special events, meetings and conferences. The office also manages all events in the new Hunter Welcome Center. Students will a keen interest in event planning and who possess good communication and customer-service skills are invited to apply. First see me for a complete job description and then contact Jennifer Ellison, director of events, at jme00a@acu.edu or 674-2632.
5. The City of Abilene offers excellent internship opportunities for students interested in public relations and video production. These internships pay a $350 stipend to your ACU account. Two internships are being offered this fall in public affairs and video production. The public affairs intern may get experience writing news releases, creating public service announcements and producing articles for the employee newsletter and e-newsletter. Applicants should be familiar with Adobe InDesign and PhotoShop software. The video production intern will get the chance to work with the City's Channel 7 TV station. Experience will include writing, shooting and editing public service announcements and working on city-produced television programs. Applicants should be familiar with digital photography, Adobe Premiere Pro nonlinear editing system and PowerPoint. For more information on either of these internships, e-mail me for a complete job description and contact information.
   
6. While no specific information is available at this time, three other Abilene employers who often provide outstanding internship opportunities for JMC students are the Abilene Reporter-News, West Texas Rehabilitation Center and Big Brothers Big Sisters of West Central Texas. Check these organization's Web sites and e-mail me if interested in more information.
   

Part-time jobs

Abilene Christian University Press seeks a student to work part-time in marketing and promotion. The student in this position will learn how to send e-mail marketing blasts, design Web sites, spend time in marketing research and work with Web-based catalog marketing. This position is not available until Sept. 20. For more information, contact Dr. Larry Fitzgerald, director of marketing, at lxf07a@acu.edu or 674-2870.

Our own KACU-FM has opportunities for student announcers. This is an excellent opportunity to work on Abilene's most professional radio station and the region's only National Public Radio affiliate. Contact John Best or Dave Smith for more information.

Finally, ACU's Alumni Relations Office has part-time student positions posted with the ACU Career Center. See the Career Center for details.

Social media, PR offer hope in challenging job market

While the latest annual jobs survey by the University of Georgia's James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research is generally bad news for JMC graduates, public relations and advertising students can take some hope.

The survey found that only six in ten recent JMC graduates nationwide had found employment, the lowest level in more than 20 years. Public relations graduates fared the best, with 71 percent responding that they had a full-time job. This compares with 65 percent for advertising majors, 59 percent for print journalism majors and 57 percent for telecommunications majors.

Coupled with another report out recently, it seems the best way for public relations students to further strengthen their career prospects is to develop expertise in social media. The 2009 Digital Readiness Survey found that social media communications skills are nearly as important as traditional media relations skills for PR professionals seeking jobs.

The survey, sponsored by online newsroom provider iPressroom with support from Korn/Ferry International, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and Trendstream, also found the following:

• Public relations leads marketing and advertising in the management and oversight of all social media channels within companies and other organizations. The only exceptions are with bulk e-mail and search engine optimization, where marketing takes the lead.
  
• Social networking, blogging and micro-blogging skills are the three most important social media communications skills for job candidates to have.
• Most organizations are considering hiring social media specialists.

A copy of the full report is available from iPressroom.

After Your Internship: The Do’s And Don’ts

After Your Internship: The Do’s And Don’ts

This article from PRSSA's blog gives practical tips for how to maximize the networking value of your internship. Even though this article discusses public relations internships, the advice can be adapted to any JMC-related field.

PR intern learns about seeking opportunity

This summer I had the opportunity to intern in Clearwater, Fla., at Tech Data Corporation. Tech Data is ranked 102nd on the FORTUNE 500 list and is one of the world's largest distributors of technology products from leading IT hardware and software producers. They gave me the opportunity to dabble in any area of the Creative Marketing Division that interests me. I shadowed and worked with the public relations manager, worked alongside the events team during the planning and execution of major corporate events, and I also wrote stories and e-mails that were published on the internal Web site and distributed to our partners in Europe. It was exciting to get to dip my feet into various fields and get an idea of what most interests me.

I learned that experience is invaluable, every person you work with has knowledge and experience to share if you ask them, and questions are proof you want to learn more. I think the most important thing I learned is that when opportunity isn’t knocking on your door it’s your responsibility to go and find it.