{"id":14378,"date":"2026-10-28T14:14:57","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T18:14:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/?p=14378"},"modified":"2026-10-28T14:14:58","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T18:14:58","slug":"you-dont-have-to-have-your-career-figured-out-yet-a-conversation-with-teo-landoni-and-dr-kate-stewart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/2026\/10\/28\/you-dont-have-to-have-your-career-figured-out-yet-a-conversation-with-teo-landoni-and-dr-kate-stewart\/","title":{"rendered":"You Don\u2019t Have to Have Your Career Figured Out Yet: A Conversation with Teo Landoni and Dr. Kate Stewart"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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If there\u2019s one thing I\u2019ve learned from talking to people in PR, it\u2019s that almost no one\u2019s career looks exactly like they thought it would when they were in college.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was one of the things that stood out to me most when I talked with Kate Stewart, who holds a doctorate in journalism and mass communication with a focus in public relations. Stewart has worked in the PR industry, gone through both a master\u2019s and a Ph.D. and now teaches students while continuing to stay connected to the industry. So, naturally, I wanted to know: How do you figure out what you actually want to do, and what happens when you\u2019re not as confident as everyone thinks you are?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her answer was pretty simple: You figure it out by doing things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Try things before deciding what you want<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of Kate\u2019s biggest pieces of advice for students was to get as much experience as possible in different areas of PR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She had four internships before graduating from collegel, including experiences that helped her realize what she didn\u2019t<\/em> want to do. One internship involved writing blog posts every day, and she quickly realized that wasn\u2019t for her. She also interned in sports, something she loved, but learned that she wanted sports to remain more of a hobby than a career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think that\u2019s something students sometimes forget. An internship doesn\u2019t have to confirm that you found your dream job. Sometimes, the most valuable thing you can learn is that you don\u2019t want to do something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kate put it pretty well: \u201cYou just have to figure out what you like doing because you want to wake up every day and love your job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And PR gives us a lot of room to figure that out. Social media, influencer marketing, entertainment, sports, technology, food, nonprofit work, corporate communications \u2014 there are so many directions you can take your degree. You don\u2019t have to pick one immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grad school teaches you more than what\u2019s in the classroom<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kate knew pretty early that she wanted to get a Ph.D. and become a professor, so she went directly from undergrad into graduate school. At the same time, she continued working in the industry throughout both her master\u2019s and Ph.D. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That combination ended up being one of the most valuable parts of her experience. For Kate, graduate school wasn\u2019t just about learning more information. It taught her how to think differently. She described having to think about the \u201clong game\u201d through research papers and semester-long projects, while also learning how to manage teaching, work and everything else happening at the same time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there was another side of that experience that I think is especially relevant for students: confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kate told me that she didn\u2019t really experience imposter syndrome until after graduating from undergrad. She already had two years of work experience, but when she entered her master\u2019s program and found herself surrounded by people who were older and had more experience, she started questioning what she knew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her advice was something that sounds obvious, but is much harder to actually do: believe in yourself and what you know. Know what you\u2019re good at. Find ways to show those strengths. And when you find something you don\u2019t know, use your professors, mentors, coworkers and network to learn it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t have to know everything. You just have to be willing to keep learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your network isn\u2019t just the people above you<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We talk about networking constantly in college. Go to the event. Connect on LinkedIn. Send the coffee chat email. But something Kate and I both talked about was the importance of looking around you, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the people who can help you the most are going through the same things you are. Your classmates, friends, recent graduates and young professionals can give you a different kind of perspective because they were in your position recently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kate told me that when she connects her students with professionals, she often tries to find people who are five years or less removed from the experience they\u2019re asking about. If a student is interviewing for an internship, for example, someone who recently went through that process can explain what it was actually like \u2014 something companies don\u2019t always tell you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That kind of information matters. And it doesn\u2019t have to be complicated. Share an event with someone. Send them a job posting. Tell a friend about an opportunity. Introduce two people who should know each other. You don\u2019t have to be a senior executive to help someone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start building your name before you need it<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another part of our conversation that stuck with me was personal branding. Kate created her own website and personal brand when she was a sophomore in college. Today, she believes students should start building that presence even earlier, and I agree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your professional identity shouldn\u2019t start the day you graduate. Your LinkedIn, portfolio, work samples and the things you share online are already becoming part of your professional reputation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That doesn\u2019t mean everything has to look corporate or overly polished. In fact, Kate talked about using Barbie-pink in her branding and even making her resume scented at PRSSA job tables. The point wasn\u2019t the pink or the perfume. It was finding a way to make people remember her and, more importantly, making her professional presence feel like her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are a lot of talented students and young professionals out there. Being good at what you do matters, but people also need to know who you are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re allowed to change your mind<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think that\u2019s ultimately what I took away from my conversation with Kate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can change your mind about your internship. You can change your area of PR. You can decide to go to grad school \u2014 or decide that it isn\u2019t for you. You can realize that the thing you thought was your dream job isn\u2019t actually what you want. That doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re behind. It means you\u2019re figuring it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kate\u2019s advice to her younger self was that there will always be people who doubt you. Some will say it out loud, and some won\u2019t. But you can\u2019t become one of those people yourself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So try things. Ask questions. Reach out to people. Build your portfolio. Take the internship even if you\u2019re not sure. And if something doesn\u2019t work out, take what you learned and keep going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t need to have your entire career figured out right now. You just need to keep moving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kate Stewart, Ph.D., is an Assistant Public Relations Professor at Jacksonville State University. Her primary goal is to educate and foster relationships with the next generation of strategic communicators, disruptors, and leaders by making a positive impact, enriching the lives of the younger generations, helping them achieve their goals, and adequately equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed. Kate earned her Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of South Carolina in August 2024. Her dissertation, Fan, Friend, Or Foe: An Exploratory Scale Development of Perception of Social Media Influencers on Instagram, established a new amalgamated scale and theoretical implications directly impacting the academic and professional areas of the influencer ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kate\u2019s university service includes serving on the College of Business and Industry Department of Communication Assessment Subcommittee and Public Relations and Advertising Curriculum Subcommittee. She is also the Assistant Editor of Digital Media and Social Media for the Journal of Public Relations Education and the 2024 Public Relations Society of America Educator\u2019s Academy Communications Chair. Kate also continues serving with the Association of Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Public Relations Division by being on the Teaching Committee and Professional Freedom and Responsibility Committee for the 2023-2024 academic year.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Teo Ignacio Landoni (he\/him) is a graduate in Public Relations and Institutional Communications from Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (UADE) and is currently pursuing an M.A. in Public Relations and Advertising at DePaul University. He serves as the PRSSA International President and as an Operations Adviser for EntrePuentes.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previously, Teo served as Vice President of Chapter Development on PRSSA\u2019s International Committee, where he supported Chapter growth, strengthened leadership pipelines, and expanded opportunities for students across the organization. He also worked as an Account Executive at Mosc\u00fa Comunicaci\u00f3n + DATA, leading communications and branding strategies for brands within Pernod Ricard, and as an Executive Assistant at EY.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Committed to volunteer work since his high school years, Teo served as Youth and Volunteer Workforce Coordinator at Argentine Red Cross in his hometown and contributed to global initiatives such as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Data Playbook.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teo is passionate about building strong teams, connecting people across borders, and creating meaningful, sustainable impact through communication and thought leadership.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So try things. Ask questions. Reach out to people. Build your portfolio. Take the internship even if you\u2019re not sure. And if something doesn\u2019t work out, take what you learned and keep going.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":14380,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3512,2892,3852,3776,3775],"tags":[76,75,2217,15,422],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t