So you’re thinking about running for office…

Hi, everyone!

I hope all of you are staying dry amidst this nasty weather. My hope is they’ll turn on the fountain on Herty Field now that we’ve had enough water to last a while!

Anyway, all the officers have written little blurbs about what qualities or skills a candidate might need to have for the specific offices.  I’ll post them in a couple of different posts, so stay tuned for more updates. Our first two today are the offices of secretary and PRecedent editor. Yay!

So you wanna be the secretary…

As secretary of PRSSA, email routine and organization is key.

I serve as a representative and recruiter when students inquire for more information.

It is my job to devote love and attention to my email inbox! <3

Within this responsibility, I nurture the listserv (appropriate information without flooding), organize and send the Web master internship listings, answer questions and serve as a well-presenced liaison, as well as direct any other questions I may receive.

The main project as secretary is collecting membership applications, then organizing and sending a document of all members to PRSA Nationals.

However, all semester you work hard and help serve as a cohesive part of the e-board.

In return, you build wonderful relationships with your future partners, meet and dine with active professionals and add a wonderful experience to your resume/career - all while becoming an email wiz

Good luck with elections!

- Lauren Rausch

So you wanna be the PRecedent editor…

Think you want to be PRecedent Editor? I’m here to give you the good, the bad and the ugly!

If you love graphic design and editing, you’re the one for the job. The best editor is one who can pace themselves – no procrastinators here! You’ll be responsible for getting people to write on time, so you can design on time and have it to Dr. Jones on time… you get the picture.

Your biggest challenge will be finding writers. Be prepared to visit classes to recruit writers – don’t be shy. For the first few months, I wrote 2–4 articles for each issue. All that said, I couldn’t say enough about what I’ve learned over the past year, and the PRecedent is a fantastic way to gain experience.

- Leslie Emanuele

To see a complete listing of the officer descriptions, click here. (It will take you to another page, and you’ll have to click on “click here” again. Why? I don’t know…)

Living Legends and Social Media Savvy

Greeting everyone from D-Town, as it is affectionately called! 

The past few days have eye opening and the professional sessions have provided all five of us, along with the other 1,000 plus students, with great information! Yesterday morning we all attended “Meet the Living Legends of Public Relations” made up of a panel of four wonderful PR professionals with a long list of accomplishments behind each of them.   I know we’ve all gotten really great quotes and I hope that we will be able to share notes with everyone real soon.

Another cool session we got to attend feature Craig Newmark, founder and customer service representative of Craigslist, as the keynote speaker. A self-proclaimed nerd, Mr. Newmark compared his top 10 Internet company to a flea market. Weird, I know, but it actually does make sense! Both talk to people and while they are trying to buy or sell something it isn’t necessarily the main goal. Starting as an informal email between him and a dozen of his friends, determining what his community wanted and/or needed has turned in to a multi-million dollar business.

I just wanted to close with something that has become even more apparent to me while being at the PRSSA National Conference. I know Leslie already touched on the Social Media session we attended, but I just wanted to reiterate what stress has been placed on this form of communication in multiple sessions in the past three days. If you aren’t on Twitter and actively using it – change that now! I wasn’t a believer and now I can’t get enough of it! Many professional speakers are on Twitter along with their company! Get up-to-date with the current Web sites and applications. I promise you won’t be sorry! This is a quickly growing part of our industry and it’s part of our job to know what we’re talking about and doing. It just might help you land a great job out of college to jump-start your career. And if you are social media savvy then I would suggest getting in contact with Leslie and write a short article about one medium for the PRecedent!

Hope we are giving y’all good information and updates! Can’t wait to get back and share everything with everyone!

– Jillian Bowin