Help A PR Pro Out

Author Archive

By Deirdre Breakenridge

I was really happy when Valerie Simon (@valeriesimon) and Arik Hanson (@arikhanson) approached me to participate in Help a PR Person Out (#HAPPO). What a wonderful way to share information and to help PR professionals with the job search by organizing an upcoming Twitter event. The goal: to help PR job seekers locate the numerous PR jobs that are finally becoming available.

I started thinking about all of the interviews I’ve conducted with public relations professionals who were seeking jobs over the years.  It’s hard to say how many people, in the last 12 years, visited with me to discuss a position with my agency.  Whether it was 50 or 250, one thing was consistent pre- social media.  Somehow that little newspaper advertisement (and later it was an ad on Monster.com) didn’t always match the right person for the position or my agency’s culture. Read the rest of this entry »

By, and originally posted by, Heather Huhman

Even though I help students and recent graduates in all fields find, land and succeed in internships and entry-level jobs, my journey down this path started with my first career: public relations. In 2003, I founded EntryLevelPR.com, which became EntryLevel-PR.com in 2005 when the original domain name was “stolen” (I apparently didn’t lock it) and put on sale for $200,000. Unfortunately, the site became too much for me to keep up, and is now simply housed on LinkedIn as #PRintern | #EntryPR. I actually think the site is more helpful than ever, featuring great discussions, wonderful reads, and of course, plentiful PR internship and entry-level job opportunities. Read the rest of this entry »

By (and originally posted by) Danny Brown

There’s an event taking place on Friday February 19 called Help a PR Pro Out, or HAPPO. Organized by two people I’m proud to call friends, Arik Hanson and Valerie Simon, the aim of HAPPO is simple and does exactly what it says on the tin – helps a PR professional out.

Specifically, helps a PR pro out when it comes to finding a new job, or putting them in touch with an agency that may be looking. And I want to help a PR pro in Toronto find that new job that’s eluded them so far, and with your help I think we can do something really cool. Read the rest of this entry »

By Mike Schaffer (originally for www.thebuzzbymikeschaffer.com)

OK, PR Pros, let’s be honest with each other for a few minutes.  How many times have you told someone you’d let them know about any job opportunities that you hear about?  It could be a former intern, someone you are mentoring or even a peer out of work.

And how many of those promises went unfulfilled?  More than we’d all like to say. Read the rest of this entry »

From Kellye Crane’s Solo PR Pro

PR consulting is the best life there is. In fact, just today the Wall Street Journal stated we’re in the “Age of Going Solo.”

But this month, I’m issuing a call to Solo PR Pros to participate in an upcoming Twitter event called “Help a PR Pro Out” day. (#HAPPO for short), designed to help PR job seekers locate the growing number of PR jobs that are finally becoming available.

So, why is an independent gal like me participating in this “real job” event? First, it’s being organized by Arik Hanson and Valerie Simon, two great people who have recruited HAPPO champions for all regions of the U.S. Read the rest of this entry »

For any of you who missed Friday’s announcement, the next two leading up to what should be an amazing 4 hours on Friday February 19th.

This new project, spearheaded by Arik Hanson and the amazing Valerie Simon, this amazing project looks to put together job seekers with those with job openings.  For the full background and inspiration, including inspiration from Dave Mullen, be sure to check out Arik’s post, linked in the first sentence.  For those of you looking for the short version, and what you can do to participate in HAPPO day, take a look below: Read the rest of this entry »

Do you have a friend or colleague who lost their job in the last six months? Chances are, the answer to that question is “yes” for most folks. And typically, the response most folks have when they find out that friend or colleague lost their job: “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

Well, folks, I’m here to say there is something you can do. Let me explain.

About a month ago, I received an email from an organization named TalentSeekr. A representative from the company was pitching me on ads to post on my blog. While the offer was intriguing, I passed for a variety of reasons (mostly personal). But a few days later, my friend David Mullen got me thinking again wth this thoughtful post. Maybe those ads would actually help our fellow PR colleagues who were on the job hunt. Maybe I had acted hastily.

After giving it some additional thought, I decided to stick to my guns and pass on the ad offer. But, in re-thinking the proposition, I came up with an alternative idea.

What if we created a community-based “Help a PR Pro Out” Day?

An obvious play on HARO (big fan, by the way; hat tip to Mr. Shankman), Help a PR Pro Out Day will be a one-day event designed to help PR pros find jobs.

Like many of you, I’ve noticed a few more PR jobs opening up lately. In fact, I’m sure some of the agencies or organizations you work for or represent are probably looking right now. And, we all know there are many people (even a few friends) out there looking for a job right now. Why not take action and help by playing recruiter and connector for one day?

On Friday, February 19, from 10 am – 2 pm CT PR bloggers, agency leaders, and PR professionals from across the country will donate their time and talents to help fellow PR pros connect with employers as part of the first-ever “Help a PR Pro Out” day.

• Are you a job seeker? Prepare a creative blog post, pitching yourself to prospective employers and share it via Twitter during the event on Feb. 19 using the hashtag #HAPPO. The HAPPO “market champions” (see below) will help by retweeting and connecting you with potential employers in your specific market (or markets you’re willing to relocated to).
• Are you an employer looking for talent? Follow the hashtag #HAPPO on Friday, Feb. 19 and share your openings. Market champions will do their best to connect you with talent they think matches your specific needs.
• Are you a PR blogger/Twitter addict? Yes? Then share the #HAPPO tweets with your personal networks and lend your support to those in need. Help your market champion identify job seekers and pair them with potential employers. This is your chance to make a difference!

Of course, we realize not everyone looking for a job can do so publicly online. So, for those candidates who wish to be more discrete about their job search, please contact one of the local HAPPO champions who can help facilitate the appropriate introductions through the Twitter back channel or via good old-fashioned email.

I realize we don’t have all the major markets covered in the list below, but please realize this is a volunteer event. We’re all donating our time and efforts. And we all want to help. But, we also wanted to put some kind of definition around this event. If you’re in one of the markets we didn’t cover below, please don’t let that stop you. Reach out to myself, Valerie Simon (my partner in crime) or any one of the market champions to see how you can help. This certainly isn’t meant to be exclusive.

Below is a list of HAPPO champions. Over the next two weeks leading up to Feb. 19, these folks will be posting and tweeting about the event. Make sure to connect with them if you’re a job seeker or an employer looking for PR talent. That will help us all connect the dots on Feb. 19.

For a current list of Champions please visit this page

• Jeremy Porter (Atlanta)
• Kellye Crane (Atlanta)
• Doug Haslam (Boston)
• Jennifer Wilbur (Southern CA)
• Gini Dietrich (Chicago)
• Lauren Fernandez (Dallas/Fort Worth)
• Richie Escovedo (Dallas/Fort Worth)
• Justin Goldsborough (Kansas City)
• Arik Hanson (Minneapolis/ St. Paul)
• PR Cog (New York Metro)
• Deidre Breakenridge (New York Metro)
• Valerie Simon (New York Metro)
• Heather Whaling (Ohio)
• Danny Brown (Toronto)
• Mike Shaffer (Washington, DC)

There are also a number of other folks who will be supporting the event in different ways, including Sarah Evans, Dave Fleet, Allan Schoenberg, David Mullen, Shonali Burke, Rachel Kay and a few others.

If you’re a job seeker, I hope you’ll consider posting and participating. If you’re an employer, I hope we can help you identify candidates for your openings. And, if you’re a PR practitioner who’s happy in your current role, please contact myself, Valerie Simon or one of the market champions to see how you can help.

You can find more information and ongoing updates leading up to the February 19 event at www.helpaprproout.com (we’ll be updating this site more next week).

I hope you’ll consider getting involved in one way or another. Remember, this is your chance to make a difference. Jump on it.