I was reminded recently when one of my colleagues decided to leave Jackson Marketing Group and move back to her home state, how few people actually prepare for a job interview. It never ceases to amaze me those that will enter an interview not knowing one thing about what we do specifically, who our clients are and/or how their skills can help us. In fairness, the ones that do research and come prepared almost always knock my socks off.

So I decided to write a quick blog post on job interviews from the PR perspective. Some of these rules can be applied when interviewing for any job. Some are specifically for public relations applicants.

• Research the agency and your interviewer. Know who our clients are, know the person that you will be talking to (almost every company has bios online) and know the focus of our business.
• Briefly research an agency’s clients. You don’t need to know anything in depth about them, but it’s an interview killer when someone asks, “So, who are your biggest clients?”
• Be specific on how you can help a company. We are a specialized industry. The public relations discipline consists of numerous specialties in and of itself, from media relations to crisis communications to media training to speech writing. How can your skills best be utilized?
• There is one thing that all public relations professionals should be: master communicators, specifically master written and verbal communicators. If you can’t write well, if you don’t have a grasp of proper grammar and punctuation and you don’t like to speak in front of people, this isn’t the business for you.
• Follow the news and know what is going on in the world and in your community. How can you help a company communicate and position a company positively, if you don’t have your pulse on what is taking place in the world or in your community?
• Understand that PR is not a 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. job.
• Dress appropriately and conservatively. For heaven’s sake, you’re being interviewed to be the spokesperson for a company and agency and/or a brand. Don’t you think they want you to represent them in a positive light?
• Follow up. I will never hire someone who doesn’t follow up with me following an interview in writing. Period. First, it’s rude. Second, it’s arrogant. Third, it’s a great way to show someone you really aren’t interested in the job. Finally, on the positive side, it’s a great way to showcase your writing skills. If you really want to get in on my good side, follow-up with a phone call, too.
• Communicate your pertinent extracurricular activities. Do you love social media? Are you writing a novel? I don’t care if you were a member of the sailing club, unless we have a sailing-related client. I do care if you are fluent in another language. I don’t care if you were your fraternity or sorority photo chairperson. I do care if you were photo editor of your school newspaper.

If you follow these tips, then you are sure to make a positive impression, stand out amongst most other candidates and give yourself a much better chance of getting hired.

PR professionals are so often the victim of the vicious label “spin doctor.” The common thought is PR pros make people believe in your products or services, no matter how unimportant they may be in the lives of others.

If you are good at PR, there is no need for spin or even a pitch. All you have to do is tell the truth. Give out the information you have and answer questions directly and concisely. Really. No used car salesman tactics needed. No neuro-marketing research required. If the products or services are important to the audience, they will bite. The days of the hard sell and mass press releases are over.

With the rise of social media, and public relations merging and meshing into the technological world, being transparent and concise is absolutely critical. Take full advantage of the uber-niches that social media provides. Don’t pitch these people and talk at them.  Engage and talk with them. According to the Bad Pitch Blog, participation is key.

This past Tuesday Northland Baptist Bible College went through an enormous rebranding process by changing their name, logo and website to Northland International University. The announcement was made by Northland President Matt Olsen and Northland Chancellor Les Ollila during the week-long Missions Conference.

Northland International University was founded in 1976 and exists to train pastors, teachers, missionaries and godly laymen of tomorrow. Northland is located in Dunbar, Wisconsin, and enrolls 650 undergraduates and 100 graduate students, representing 45 states and 11 foreign countries.

“Northland is responding to what’s happening around the globe today,” said Ollila. “Northland International University is our answer to providing the necessary biblical and practical training and resources to local churches and Christians worldwide as they seek to fulfill the Great Commission in today’s exciting global culture.”

The website was designed and developed by Jackson-Dawson on an incredibly short time line, and the process of updating much of the site’s content continues.  The old website was spread across numerous sub domains making the information hard to find and not as user-friendly as it could have been.

Jackson-Dawson revamped the new website with an HTML/CSS framework custom to the needs of the Northland web team. Combining CSS, Javascript and Flash, JD was able to build the structure with standards-based and accessible markup and style.

To get more insight into the rebranded, check out their latest press release.

When PRNewser interviewed social media innovator, Guy Kawasaki, at the South by Southwest Conference (SXSW) this week, Kawasaki made no apologies for still clinging to his PR firm.  (See the originial interview at http://bit.ly/KHvbQ)

“I may know a lot of people, but that doesn’t mean I know every blogger. Take something like Mashable, they have ten reporters. I don’t know all ten of them. I don’t know which one is the most logical for me,” he said.

He pointed out that in addition to providing “arm and leg” support such as scheduling media briefings, PR pros should provide strategic-level thinking–which outlets to use, who to contact, clarifying the message, etc.  ”You wouldn’t just buy QuickBooks and then decide to do all your books, you would hire an accounting firm. And this is the same thing, you hire the pros who know how to do it.”

Kawasaki also said it’s important for PR firms to “just beat the crap out of you and get you prepared for the tough questions.” He doesn’t want his PR firm to be an “entourage of suck-ups.”  Kawasaki said it is PR’s moral obligation not to do this and to provide constructive feedback.

A lot of people have come to me since October – clients, colleagues, PR pros, students, etc. – asking what they should do PR-wise to survive in the down economy. The answers vary for each group and individual, but the basic truths remain the same. Here’s my Top-10 reasons why PR matters, especially in a down economy:

1. Credibility – No other form of communication is as credible as PR. Why? PR lets unbiased decision makers tell your story for you. Think about it? If you read from an unbiased columnist that a widget works or a restaurant is great, doesn’t it resonate with you more than an advertisement or direct mail piece? What if you read it on someone’s blog or your best friend tells you about it? It’s powerful and it works!
2. Value - PR provides better ROI than other forms of communication. Sometimes, a simple phone call to an editor can result in a story that reaches thousands of people and is worth tens of thousands of dollars.
3. Perception – No other form of communication can persuade and change public opinion better than public relations.
4. Trust - Consumers are constantly looking for trustworthy sources, especially now with all the negativity that is surrounding the economy. PR pros are that trustworthy source for companies and consumers. If you are an executive or high ranking manager on the corporate side, seek and get honest feedback from your communications team. It is needed. If you are working with an agency, let them inside and trust them with sensitive information. Sometimes the truth initially hurts, but it certainly pays to have trustworthy advice that can lead to positive solutions.
5. Message Strength – Public Relations allows you to say all of the things that you can’t communicate in an advertisement or on a billboard. It tells a much deeper and broader story that evokes emotion and addresses the values and attitudes of your audience.
6. Relationships – Newspapers, trade publications, television and radio stations are feeling the effects of the economy, too. They are short staffed and underfunded. The need for PR pros with solid editorial connections is at a premium.
7. Short term vs. Long term – Don’t sacrifice long-term marketing objectives with short-term financial problems. PR can help you weather the short-term storm and meet your long-term objectives when the market returns ahead of the curve.
8. Facts – It is normal for rumors to fly and mountains to be made from mole hills during tough economic times. People are edgy and nervous. It is even more important now to deal with facts and truth, both from the client side and the editorial side. Fact checking and trustworthy sources are needed more than ever. Inaccuracy can be a death wish.
9. Don’t play Hide-and Seek – As a formal journalist, nothing is more frustrating than the “PR pro” who is only there when times are good and nowhere to be found when times are bad. Too many companies, executives, clients, etc. are hiding behind their attorneys or getting rid of their communications departments to cut costs. This is not the right approach. Be seen and be heard – good and bad. It will build trust, credibility, and relationships, and will pay you back 10-fold when times are good.
10. Bite Into Market Share – There is no better time than now to bite into your competitor’s market share. It follows the same principle as the stock market of buy low and sell high. When your competitors are not doing all of the things mentioned above, and you are, the results will be increased market share and better brand awareness. Times are bad. So invest. The market will return and consumers will purchase again. The key is: will they then purchase from you?

Remember when the word “marketing” used to mean advertising, public relations, sales, research and all other forms of communications? It still does to some people, but most, especially Fortune 500 companies, understand the difference amongst communications disciplines. That understanding is also trickling down to the grassroots levels thanks to integrated marketing communications agencies and our brethren in the corporate communications, non-profit and government sectors.

With that paradigm change, expertise and mastery of a specific discipline is more important than ever. Just think about other professions – doctors, attorneys, architects, realtors. They are all specialists. Sure they have to work with other specialists, as do we, but they are the experts in their field of study. Now, so are those in the communications profession, which is why differentiating oneself amongst your peers is so important.

Let’s take my discipline, public relations, for example. With a growing and better understanding of what PR practitioners do – from strategic development and crisis communications, to C-level executive counseling – most clients want to know how experienced and credible their spokespeople are going to be. Let’s face it: we are going to, in many times, be the face and voice of your company or product or be advising your spokesperson.

Not only does expertise matter, but more and more clients are starting to ask for it. They are demanding more strategic, sophisticated communications counsel, as well as a want of professional certification as hiring and promotional criteria in the U.S. and abroad become more competitive. In the PR profession the highest level that one can obtain is called accreditation. It is signified with an ‘APR’ designation by one’s name. Fewer than 25 percent of PR practitioners are accredited.

Accreditation is the hallmark of the public relations profession and signifies mastery of the public relations body of knowledge and the holder’s commitment to ethical behavior. It demonstrates broad knowledge, experience and professional judgment in the field. APR demonstrates that individuals have the knowledge, ethics and experience to set them apart.

To earn the APR designation, one must pass an examination that consists of an oral presentation to a panel of senior-level PR pros and pass an exam that tests 60 specific knowledge areas from within 10 areas of professional practice such as research, planning, implementing and evaluating programs; ethics and law; communication models and theory; business literacy; management skills; crisis communications management; media relations; information technology; history; and advanced communication skills.

It doesn’t mean that you can’t be successful if you don’t have it, but it’s the equivalent of working with an accountant who is a CPA or an architect that is AIA. There is an instant credibility that you are working with a seasoned and proven pro when that designation is beside your name. And those designations are making more and more of a difference.

Brett Turner, APR, is Public Relations Director of Jackson-Dawson Marketing Solutions in Greenville, S.C. Turner is President-Elect of the South Carolina Chapter of PRSA and also serves as the Chapter’s Accreditation chair.