You think the stimulus package is confusing?! Try explaining to college students the PR, marketing and sales industries that are constantly overlapping and being redefined…
Time for a Road Trip…. Yesterday, I trekked to my alma mater, Cornell University, to speak on a PR and marketing panel with three other talented alumni from Mercedes-Benz, Mandarin Oriental and Pizza Hut (Yum! Brands). Our road trip from NYC took us through the ever-changing landscape of CU’s campus, Collegetown Bagel, Stella’s and Moosewood for a little West African Peanut Soup – delicious!
A Few Months Ago…
I had seen an increase in emails from students who were very concerned about job availability in our current market. Yes, that is to be expected. Times are tough, and students are going to have to get creative in finding jobs and remain flexible in what types of jobs they’ll accept. However, I was shocked at how little some students seemed to know about the PR, marketing, event planning and sales industries and how truly confused many seemed to be about 1) what a job in those fields entailed, 2) how to get there, and 3) what experience was relevant.
Back to College…
During the panel discussion, it was fascinating to see how all four of our roles would be grouped under the term “marketing;” however, we each perform very diverse and yet, quite similar job duties. We discussed a number of topics, including:
- What marketing and PR roles have you held since graduating?
- What does your job entail?
- How do you interact with consumers and the media?
- What kinds of summer experiences or first-job-out should students consider that will translate well to marketing/PR careers in the future?
- What advice do you have, or strategies do you suggest, in regards to obtaining hard-to-find summer or permanent marketing positions?
- How has the current economic climate influenced your current path and future goals?
Through the discussion, we all agreed on a number of points. First, sales experience is a key skill for a career in PR, marketing and event planning. Second, students need to consider taking unpaid internships in the area they are passionate about and supplementing with other jobs that pay.
When I graduated college in 2001, the economy wasn’t as messy, but for someone in the tourism industry, 9/11 decreased positions available to hotelie graduates. I worked three jobs, seven days a week for a year after graduation as a consultant for an eco-tourism company in Mongolia, a personal trainer, and a bartender. It wasn’t ideal, but all of those experiences have served me quite well.
A Look Forward…
Bottom line, in this day and age, all major companies, and many small ones, utilize PR as a means of growing their business, increasing sales of a product or service, managing public perception, etc. If students are not heading directly into this line of work, the will acquire jobs for companies that do employ PR, marketing, or event planning services.
There are many different avenues that can lead you to the end goal of a career in marketing and PR. The sooner students realize this and the sooner they learn to creatively adapt in these turbulent times, the more developed they will be in the long run. And in PR, being creative early on is an invaluable tool.
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