Progressions

Stay Connected with PRSA Beyond October

This is the last of five posts relating to PRSSA/PRSA Relationship Month. First, we gave advice on how to participate in Relationship Month. We then invited a member of the PRSA New Pros to give advice on social networking. Then, we gave advice where you can find a mentor. Last week, Sarah Norton from Belmont talked about building the relationship with a PRSA Chapter.

Though October is wrapping up (which means National Conference in San Diego is coming), you shouldn’t stop your Relationship Month activities. If you’re like students at many Chapters across the country, you’ve met some PRSA professionals, attended some meetings and visited different public relations offices.

In the posts from the past months, we often waxed lyrical about how this relationship-building process will be extremely helpful for your Chapters and for the profession at large. But you may be asking yourself: How is this going to help me?

Professional connections will help you at all points in your career. A good rule to remember is that 70 percent of jobs are found through networking. That’s more than online job boards, advertised positions and company Web sites combined. More than finding a job, you’ll often face challenges and difficulties. Having a mentor or a group of mentors who have similar professional values as you and who have had similar career experiences to guide you will be extremely helpful. Here are a couple more reasons:

• Mentorships offer the chance to teach and learn. Both of these skills are essential in public relations. You’ll learn how to explain new trends, especially if you’re working with a more seasoned professional. In exchange, you’ll have someone who can help you find a job or give you a new perspective on a situation.
• The more people you know, the better off you’ll be. The profession is a lot smaller than you think, and because PRSA is a huge organization with members in all sectors of public relations, many professionals are connected with each other. Connecting with different members of PRSA will help you connect with their networks, too.
• Your relationships can turn into new business. This is especially helpful if you end up at an agency because you might meet professional connections looking for more public relations support. If you can bring new business to the firm, you’ll definitely earn some bonus points in your career.
• Remember that it’s not just what you know, and it isn’t just who you know anymore; it’s who knows you. Get out there, stay connected with PRSA, and make sure you are taking all of the opportunities before you.

With all of the connections you have hopefully made in October, it’s important to keep going. Continuing to network and build relationships with professionals will ultimately help you land a job and find a career you’ll love.

Now that you know how it helps you, here are some questions for you. How have you found professionals relationships to be helpful? What are some traits and practices of a successful professional relationship?