A little nerd knowledge never hurt anyone
We all know that I got my current job at Edelman because of blogging. (Well, that’s the short version.) We know that employers — many of the large agencies, especially — have clearly recognized the need to build up their own online-focused practice groups, so they’re hiring webby folks as quickly as they can find them. You know social media, you’ve got a job.
Some students, however, make the mistake of thinking that learning about new media and understanding the online conversation points to a direct career path of all-day-every-day online-focused work. Wrongo!
I can say, with a good deal of confidence, that we are moving toward a time when all practitioners — whether you’re in healthcare, travel and tourism, or crisis management — will need to have some basic new media skills. The way I look at it, new media (dealing with social media, social networks, blogs, etc.) is just another form of media. The other types of media are all currently covered in pretty much every PR degree. I know in Auburn’s program, we learned how to write press releases, as well as how to write scripts for radio/television announcements. We learned how to work with journalists and how to pitch a story. Everyone seems to accept all these as essential skills for a PR professional. So why is it that when educators try to incorporate new media into the curriculum, they’re met with resistance — both from administrators and students?
Doesn’t matter if you don’t want to do the web stuff every day. You still need to know about it, just like you need to know how to write a press release.
Within media relations, we have many different specialties: television, radio, trade journals, newspapers, etc. When you come right down to it, new media — and blogger relations, especially — is just another specialty. If you have a guy in your office who specializes in radio and has relationships with all the radio people in town, you still have to have a basic understanding of what you’re asking him to do. So draw the parallel. You’ll be a much better (and more valuable!) PR professional if you can go to your online team with existing knowledge of what you need and what they can do for you.
My specialty is blogger relations. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t know how to format and write a formal press release. Or that I don’t know how to plan an event for a client. Or that I’m clueless if you ask me to help roll out a media tour.
Obviously, I’m preaching to the choir a bit. If you’re reading Forward, you’re probably going in the right direction. (Hmm … forward? 
) But I encourage you to email a link to this post to your not-so-web-savvy classmates.
A web-friendly skill set is a necessity, hands down.
Technorati Tags: pr students, public relations students, public relations, pr, new media
Great post, but why stop with new-media training? I’d like to see every PR or marketing grad have better new-media skills *and* the following before they’re awarded a sheepskin:
* Know enough Excel to create a basic budget and a mailing list.
* Know enough PowerPoint to create a good, non-embarrassing presentation.
* Know how to properly and consistently format a document in Word.
* Know enough about fundamental business and management issues to talk cogently about them in interviews. Bonus: If you’re looking for agency work, have a grasp (not a Ph.D.-level understanding, just a grasp) of agency business models.
* Be able to do basic HTML edits, easy Photoshop tweaks (like cropping a head-shot), etc.
Sounds like a lot of around-the-edges stuff, but it’s surprising how few entry-level hires can tackle even half the stuff on this list.
Comment by Greg Brooks — February 10, 2007 @ 1:43 am
Great point, Greg! I think I forgot about those because several of them were covered in Auburn’s program (or at least, they used to be). I think they were contemplating removing the Excel/Word/PowerPoint class right before I left. What a shame.
What about understanding research and statistics? I think that’s pretty important, as well. How can you make good choices for message strategy if you don’t quite understand the research that is essential to informing those decisions …
Comment by Erin Caldwell — February 10, 2007 @ 11:35 am
The only question now is what happens to us nerds when the mainstream gets a little “nerdier”? Guess now i gotta learn more just to keep ahead of the curve and maintain my nerd status.
Comment by Farley — February 10, 2007 @ 1:25 pm
Ooooooh, the statistics and research point is a good one and I feel foolish for not mentioning it. Over on the YoungPRPros listserv,it seems like the question of calculating margin of error comes up pretty regularly.
If I could only pick one area to recommend, it would be the knowledge of business and management issues. As an industry, we seem awfully predisposed to talk in our own language - often to the exclusion of our clients and employers.
It’s particularly bad on the agency side, where the client will often say “I need a cake!” and we start talking about how many eggs we’ll use, the utter quality of our flower, how strategic our salt is, etc.
Comment by Greg Brooks — February 11, 2007 @ 8:50 am
[…] Is YouTube The Scourge of Brand Advertising? (Jaffe Juice) “After viewing this year’s crop of Super Bowl advertising and reading about the dismal traffic to advertisers’ respective websites (for example: peak traffic per minute this year was 282,000 versus 750,000 last year), I couldn’t help but wonder why any self-respecting advertiser would purposely choose *not* to maximize the potential of a $2.6 million investment.” A Little Nerd Knowledge Never Hurt Anyone (Forward) “I can say, with a good deal of confidence, that we are moving toward a time when all practitioners — whether you’re in healthcare, travel and tourism, or crisis management — will need to have some basic new media skills.” […]
Pingback by Todd And - The Power To Connect — February 11, 2007 @ 1:30 pm
Well said. We don’t train students or young practitioners how to use the phone - but we do assume some familiarity with it.
New media will soon be like this. An assumed starting point for engaging in conversations…
Comment by Richard Bailey — February 12, 2007 @ 10:15 am
Great comment, Greg. I’m shocked at the majority of interns that we bring on board who know little about the basics of Microsoft Office programs, especially Excel.
I know most major universities require freshmen to take a course in computer literacy, but I really wish they would further emphasize this in the commuications major. Many times, especially in small PR firms, employees are expected to create their own expense reports, mailing lists, presentations, etc. without much direction.
I also think entry-level candidates should know how to properly format a business letter. Sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised.
Comment by Stacey — February 12, 2007 @ 12:28 pm
This was exciting for me to read because I am just now dabbling into new media and skills such as blogging. I am a pr major and it was nice to read your post, along with other practitioner’s comments.
I am learning now what businesses and corporations are looking for when hiring new, out-of-college twenty-something’s. I understand it is so important to know Excel, Word and PowerPoint and also manage to have terrific phone skills and web skills.
I am excited about the opportunity to learn more media skills and receive more advice and guidance.
Comment by Hollon — February 12, 2007 @ 1:03 pm
I am a senior public relations major at Auburn University right now and I am sad to say the Excel/Word/PowerPoint class was removed after you left, Erin. After reading this blog and learning I need to acquire a more ‘nerdy’ media knowledge than I had previously thought, I am a little more nervous now to graduate and leap into the working force.
My question for those of you that are currently PR practioners is, what advice do you have or could reccommend to college graduates interning or just joining the PR work field that are not fully educated and confident in all MS Office applications? Besides ask questions on the job (and be that annoying intern) what can we do now, when there is no longer a class offered, before we graduate to enhance our qualifications?
Comment by Ashley — February 13, 2007 @ 3:20 am
Ashley, looks like Auburn still offers that basic computer applications course. (I think the change that was made was to remove it as a requirement from the PR curriculum. Very sneaky!) So it’s still there for you to take if you have another semester to squeeze it in. Otherwise, there are online classes you might want to look in to. There are some free options out there, as well as some that might cost a bit, but are a little better-quality. Or feel free to explore the applications on your own. Microsoft’s Web site looks like it offers some good how-to articles and whatnot. Definitely worth taking a look.
Asking questions is always OK. But you’ll be much better off if you get a handle on the skills we discuss above beforehand. (Trust me, there will be plenty other things to ask questions about!)
Comment by Erin Caldwell — February 13, 2007 @ 7:24 am
This whole blogging experience is making more and more sense to me the more that I do it and read about it. I’m not sure that I want blogging to be my specialty in my career, but your thought that we should have a basic knowledge of it so that we can communicate with people who do it makes me really want to gain a better understanding of it. I don’t want to feel ignorant if social media somehow becomes a part of my work life.
Obviously, knowing more has never hurt anyone, and I’m excited to have the opportunity to learn more about social media. However, I’m a little worried about how to present these skills to prospective employers. How do I let people I am interviewing with know about this skill set without making it seem like I am pursuing social media as a career choice?
Comment by Katherine L. — February 17, 2007 @ 5:42 pm
Hmm. Katherine, first thought that came to my mind to answer your question: just say so. Spend some time figuring out what you are interested in and frame it as, “I think having a variety of skills is important, so I’m familiar and comfortable with social media, but my passion lies in sports PR …” (or whatever). If you know what you do or don’t want to do, it’s A-OK to say that in an interview. It’s not a one-way street. Not only are they trying to see if you’re a good fit for their company — you should also be figuring out if they’re a good fit for you. So being clear about your true interests is very important.
Smart employers will be thrilled to have found someone who’s taken the time and effort to acquire an additional skill set — it shows initiative and is extremely valuable to an employer.
Comment by Erin Caldwell — February 17, 2007 @ 10:20 pm
It is nice to be reminded from your post that the knowledge of social media and blogging are truly advantageous for our upcoming job searches. I have been told so many times in classes, posts and articles how much we will benefit from it. Your post hits a little closer to home as a former Auburn student like myself who has been hired in part to her knowledge of social media. I am encouraged that as I learn more I will become more confident in using this new media tool and that it will help me in my future job searching and career.
With an extremely limited knowledge of blogging before this class, it has been hard for me to understand how I will be using new media in my career. In other words, I have had a difficult time seeing a balance in the earlier skills such as press release formatting and the skills I am learning in new media. Your post reminds me that I will be using both and that a knowledge of both are crucial. As I have read the above comments, it is very informing to see what skills employers expect us to have. I saw where you added understanding research and statistics along with the list of necessary skills. Which of these skills (and any additional ones) within new media and the additional skills have you found to be especially important in your career?
Comment by Allison — February 18, 2007 @ 6:15 pm
Allison,
First of all, a lot of companies are trying to figure out the balance between the traditional PR skills (press releases, etc.) and new media, as well. The industry as a whole is growing to incorporate this, and that means figuring out what level of skills need to be known by all practitioners and what skills can be reserved for those specializing in online PR. The good news is that if you present yourself to an employer as an already-prepared-with-new-media-skills employee, you can be more flexible and are, therefore, more valuable. (Let me know if that didn’t make sense and I’ll try to explain it better.)
I’m not sure I completely understand your question, but I’ll give it a whirl.
* I use a heck of a lot of what I learned in Dr. Kim’s class (research and statistics). For me, that has become one of my areas of sub-specialty: analyzing and quantifying the online conversation. (I’ll spare you the nitty gritty of how I do that.) You have to have a good understanding of, and interest in, research and statistics to do that.
* Also, within new media, you definitely need to understand how to effectively search and monitor the blogosphere. This has a lot to do with understanding the value of correctly formulated key-term searches, and knowing how to use search feeds, etc. (That’s a whole other post in itself!)
* Additionally — surprise, surprise — I do a lot of writing, both for pieces that go to the client and stuff that’s more pitch-like. Also, knowing how to communicate effectively via email is very important. This means knowing how to quickly put into text what you’re trying to say — concisely and accurately. There’s not really any training on that. I usually just do one more read-through before I hit “send” and mentally pretend I’m reading it for the first time from the recipient’s perspective, just to make sure I’m communicating what I mean (and not rambling!).
Speaking of rambling …
That’s generally it. Or at least what I can think of off the top of my head.
Comment by Erin Caldwell — February 18, 2007 @ 7:34 pm
This is such a good point. I know that there have been times that I feel like I am never going to use certain skills that I have learned because that isn’t the type of job that I want to have. But after reading this post and others like it, it is becoming very clear that you must know a little bit about everything in order to be successful in the PR world. I know there are areas of PR that I would never want to work in, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t need to have a basic understanding of how it works. Although I might not be working in an area that I don’t like, my job may still require me to communicate with other practitioners in that department. I must know the language and skills they use in order to get my point across and my job done. As of now, I am trying to soak up as much knowledge as I can while I have the resources at my fingertips so that I can continue my education on my own when I graduate.
Comment by Dana — March 4, 2007 @ 5:53 pm
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