The Art of Asking Hard Questions

Achieving your goals comes from hard work. That is a truth and an obvious statement. So why bother mentioning it? It is because so often I see many of my peers who underestimate willpower and dedication. They forget that while sometimes good things come to those who wait, you also only get what you put out. 

Are you feeling underemployed, dissatisfied with your job or internship, or feeling stuck? Sometimes you may blame the job market or your situation. But quite often you need to assess your position and determine how hard are you willing to work to be truly happy? Because at the end of the day, you don’t get what you don’t ask for.

Kevin O’Leary talks about this in his book The Cold Hard Truth. In business you don’t get what you don’t ask for. There may be a great opportunity  waiting for you, but just sit there, dead silent, unmoving, and it will pass on to the person who does speak up. Maybe you feel entitled, but you sit quietly by. Entitlement is not as satisfying as perspiration. Maybe you are scared of failure. But that will only ever hold you back. It could be the risk asks too much. That could also means getting more in return.

Whatever the reason for your lack of success, you are probably thinking it is not for lack of being ambitious. But thinking about success is different than reaching out for it. And success looks different to each person and does not mean you reach the dream job from the start. It just means taking the first step that matters to you in your career.

I learned from a very early age from another great teacher – my mom. I don’t know how many times I would have concerns or questions about things and decisions in my life that I would confront with statements like:

• “I really like x, but I don’t like y. But there is nothing I can do about it.”
• “I wish I could do this. But oh well.”
• “I guess that is just the way things are.”

And without fail my mom would remind me that confronting difficulties, problems or negativity often involves asking something of someone. And that can be a scary thing. For example, you might think asking to work different hours is something you cannot do, because you are afraid of no. But my mom would always say to me “When you ask, the worst that can happen is you get a no.”

I only had to hear this 1000 more times before I internalized it. Now I use it all the time. Every time I want something or need something to change, I am less afraid to ask for what I think is fair. That is because if you do it strategically and be honest, the worst that can happen is they say no.

People can’t read minds. No one goes around giving you what you want. But maybe, if you speak up and ask, you can achieve something and reach that goal you have been reaching for. But you will never know if you don’t ask.

How do you feel about difficult questions? What was the hardest thing you had to ask for?

P.S. I love PR

Career Advice for PR Students and Grads

Here is my follow-up post on Informational Interviews, you can find the first one on how to do informational interview here.
Thus far I have done 7 informational interviews and have met a significant number of different PR professionals form my area and have learned from first-hand experience. Completing 7 info interviews might seem like a lot, but once you get contacting people you get good at it, it becomes easy and natural. I found that I wasn’t able to meet some people face to face and so I did some Skype and phone interviews as well. Each type had its own feel, but because I was prepared and they were willing to help me, they all went smoothly. The key is making sure the info interviews are helping you and not stressing you out. So while I recommend that all graduating students do some, 7 might not be feasible for everyone.

That being said, I have gathered some interesting insights from a variety of people from different areas of the PR industry. Because I believe in helping my peers and because I want to give my readers some value I will share what these PR professionals so generously shared with me about the skills you need in PR and the advice they have for grads.

Essential Skills for PR
(Other than writing and communication)

1. Business savvy
You need to understand your business, your organization’s priorities and how PR functions within the overall profitability of the business. This means not getting distracted by personal motives or caught up in the PR side without considering the business side.

2. Data management
One of the interviewees told me “The person who has data wins.” In PR, evaluation is everything, so data is essential. The data points to what is working, what is not, why you do certain things and why you don’t do others. When analyzed properly, data is valuable information that can be leveraged to justify what you do, how you do, and most importantly why it works!

3. Perceptive abilities
In PR your job should not just be coming up with ideas, but seeing holes in plan where others may miss. The ability to anticipate reactions, needs, disasters and gaps where others can’t is what will separate you from others. This is why knowing who your stakeholders are key!

Advice for PR Students and Grads

• Volunteer work is a great way to build your portfolio and skills.
• Finding a mentor is a great way to learn about your career goals.
• Join professional organizations to make networking easier.
• Network and build valuable connections whether it is in-person or via social media.
• Keep in contact with people you meet, following-up is essential (this means following up with the people you do informational interview with).
• Stay open to opportunities – say yes and always follow through.
• Dress the part, no matter what you should look respectable, it shows that you care and that you pay attention to the little details.
• Make a plan of your goals and be specific. Writing them down makes you more accountable to yourself.
• Do something every day that will bring you closer to your goals. This will build your momentum and create a self-fulfilling prophecy.
• You don’t get, if you don’t ask – this requires you to reach out and be proactive in seeking out opportunities.
• Know what you are asking for (i.e. meeting or job) and know what your give is. When asking for something, make sure you can return the value in some way.

Finally, the great thing I learned from doing informational interviews is how to be confident when meeting people. I feel so much more comfortable in interview settings now and with cold calling people too. I also learned some great advice as shared here!

I hope this helped and if you have advice to share, please comment below. And let me know, how do you feel about informational interviews?

P.S. I love PR.

Step 9: Adding Value to Your Future in PR

Filling in the Blanks 

This next post will cover some of the things that you might want to consider looking into at this point if you haven’t already. These are things that will compliment your existing body of work, that will round out your efforts to appear professional and that will help you stand out from a crowd in PR.

1) Find a Mentor
Finding a mentor is something that many higher-up PR pros will recommend to young PR newbies. The reason why is because as students we don’t have access to the inside of the PR industry unless through internships, so we need to insight and firsthand accounts from someone on the inside. Mentors will also help you find out about the hidden job market, make connections and build essential employable skills that you may not know you even need.

Finding a mentor can be done through existing connections or networks. Maybe you can send some messages or call someone you know in the industry from LinkedIn or maybe from a business card you collected at a social event. You can even try calling up a local PR professional and asking for an informational interview. A mentorship doesn’t have to be a long-term commitment. You can have one mentor or several. They may play a large role or a small role. Either way mentoring will help you out. You can check out my post on my own mentorship.

2) Get and Give Networking Cards
Just because you are not fully employed doesn’t mean you should be carrying around those ever important business cards. As a student you may call them networking cards. These are basically cards that include your name, contact and industry. For instance, put your name in large and underneath write public relations. Then include your phone number, email, LinkedIn and even your Twitter handle if you want to flaunt social media.

Networking cards are great because it shows you are professional and that you take yourself seriously. In turn other people will take you seriously. This past month I went to a CPRS event and brought networking cards and got a really positive reaction. People said it was proactive and they admired it. It is also great to be able to complete the card exchange. Having a card to give makes it easier to ask for a card.

The cards themselves don’t have to be a fortune. If you have a decent printer you can design and print them yourself. Otherwise look up some printing companies like Vista Print. 

3) Be Online 
I was recently told that in PR, you need an online presence to stand out. This is because so much of the PR industry is digital. I was told to start a blog, build my Twitter presence and learn to use other social media platforms. Also use LinkedIn as this is predicted to be a very popular tool for PR in 2013.

When it comes to your online presence my one advice is to always keep it private or professional. Anything you say can be seen by others and will reflect on your character. I think it’s important to avoid slang, bad words, insults or spelling mistakes, because these could be the one difference between you and another job candidate. It also shows that the company that hires you can rely on you to be professional in representing their organization.

This step is sort of a mash up of some actions you can take when you have time among your busy schedule. They are things that aren’t necessary at this point, but that are additional if you want to get ahead. Every now and then I like to think of small things this that I can do that will add to my value, so stay tuned for more tips like these in future posts.

Next up: you can never be too prepared for graduation and the job hunt, so I will start with that in Step 10.

P.S. The count down for 2013 is on and this will be the year you make it in PR!

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