Finding your first or new PR job can be daunting. Besides the arduous tasks of crafting a resume, searching job boards and networking with industry contacts, you have to deal with a rollercoaster of emotions and hits to your budget. To make the task easier, employ many or all of these 20 tips:
- Volunteer to serve on PRSA committees.
- Attend local meetings of PR/marketing/advertising trade associations and network with their members.
- Set up an online profile using Squarespace, About.me and any number of other sites.
- Subscribe to the pro version of LinkedIn so you can send inMail to recruiters/networking contacts, and mark your profile as "open" to recruiters.
- Regularly view job postings on the PRSA website.
- Upload your resume to indeed.com, CareerBuilder and ZipRecruiter.
- Review company profiles on Glassdoor and CrunchBase and reach out to the firms that interest you.
- Obtain a part-time, remote or contract job while you are searching (visit flexjobs.com, virtualvocations.com).
- Subscribe to RSS feeds on the job sites of the companies that interest you.
- Subscribe to the Job of the Week newsletter www.nedsjotw.com .
- Visit the IABC job site https://jobs.iabc.com/ .
- Add a portrait to your LinkedIn page. Recruiters won't take your profile seriously if it doesn't contain a photo.
- Craft your resume to focus more on your accomplishments than your job responsibilities.
- Expand the number of contacts in your LinkedIn network to 500+ and reach out to them for ideas and assistance.
- Create a one-page profile that you can give to contacts. Include your career accomplishments, personal strengths, and education. Also, include lists of target roles, industries and companies.
- Reach out to anyone at your target companies who can introduce you to hiring managers.
- Rather than putting your contacts on the spot by asking them if they are aware of any jobs, ask them to introduce you to contacts at your target companies.
- Volunteer at a charity in order to build your portfolio.
- Connect with your college's alumni office and see if they have a job site.
- Reach out to your college advisor and instructors and let them know what type of job you seek.