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Helping A PR Job-Seeker Out
August 1, 2006 | |
If the resumes and emails I receive are any indication, neither your parents nor your teachers taught you how to properly look for a job. I frequently receive notes to my email address that are addressed “To Whom It May Concern”, or “Hiring Manager”, or even “Please pass this along to the appropropriate person.” I guess since YOU are the one looking for a job, that I am supposed to help YOU find it. Because YOU are special. Your Baby Boomer parents have been telling YOU this all of your life, so it must be true.
It’s not. Welcome to the real world.
If you are looking for a PR job, it’s YOUR JOB to find it. You should have had intro to journalism at some point in your college career. Unless, of course, liberal educators have removed all job-related courses from the curriculum. But that is another posting.
From your journalism courses, you should know how to do a modicum of research to find out the proper person responsible for hiring. In 20 seconds on my website, my six-year-old grandson could find a name and an email address of someone who works at Hoover ink.
And if you are going to be working with journalists, you need to know how to customize your story pitches. “To Whom It May Concern” sure gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling. I’m sure a reporter would love to receive that in an email pitch.
When I got out of college about 100 years ago now, I sent out 200 letters and resumes, each addressed to a real person. Not “Hiring Manager.” I got two responses, which I thought was pretty rude. I swore then that I would always respond if I ever got into a position where I could do the hiring. Even if the response was “Not hiring. Good luck to you.” No longer.
If you don’t do the research to find out who I am, then I don’t care about who you are or your feelings. Sorry.
Now, here’s a little more unsolicited advice. If you want to stand out from the crowd of job seekers, it is not hard. Send a letter and resume via snail mail. Address it to a real person that you have done a little research on. Include some references about the person’s history or career in your letter. If you really want a job, show why you should have it. Trust me, it is easy to separate yourself from the crowd. At least, based on my experience.
Comments
3 Comments so far
It is a valuable point u’ve made to consider. Knowing whom to approach is very important in seeking jobs.
UPDATE: I wrote this before I joined forces with my business partner, Brant Waldeck, to form My Creative Team. Our company is a network of freelancers. This means we don’t have employees and this is clearly stated on our website. We will get resumes this year asking for jobs. I will ignore them.
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