Help A PR Pro Out

Posts Tagged ‘HAPPO’

Today was great. A little crazy, but great. Lots of creative posts. Interesting positions. Professionals who care. But now what? If you want to make the most of your #HAPPO experience, you’ll need to do more than tweet out a post.  You’ll need to do more than participate in a one day event. At the heart of the #HAPPO initiative, is relationships. Remember? The purpose is to use social media to develop and leverage relationships to help those seeking a career in PR. And relationships require time and nurturing.  So you met some people today. A phenomenal student. A successful practitioner. So what does that mean? Nothing… or everything.

Take some time to go through your Twitter stream. Your replies, DM’s and the Tweets that used the #HAPPO hashtag. Identify people you met, or would like to get to know better.  Get strategic and get to work.

1. Listen Follow them on Twitter and set up a special twitter list or a Hootsuite/Tweetdeck column to assure their tweets don’t get lost in the stream. Connect with them via LinkedIn (do write a personal note, requesting to connect).  Subscribe to their blog.

2. Be confident, not shy One challenge of social media is that no one can see you standing in the corner. If you want people to talk with, you’re going to need to make an effort.  So reply to their tweets. Offer thoughtful comments on their blogs and LinkedIn status.  Ask questions. Share. Say thank you. Not much different than what your mom told you before sending you off to kindergarten, is it?

3. Be respectful, not pushy Keep in mind that everyone has their own agenda, goals, priorities, pressures and stress. And time is a limited resource. Even your greatest supporter, may not always have the time to share advice or help.  Be thankful for what people are able to offer… and understanding of what they are not

4. Be a resource What can you offer those in your network? Is there a project you can help with? Don’t say you are dependable,  hardworking, etc… be creative and look for ways you can support your network

OK, your turn. What do you plan to do before the weekend is up? How do you intend to make the most of your #HAPPO experience?

By Abbie Fink

To prep for tomorrow’s #HAPPO event aimed at college grads, I asked my twitter following what’s the best advice you’d give a grad looking for a job in PR….  Check out the responses from Phoenix #HAPPO champ Abbie Fink at the HMA Blog

This just in…. check out a few of the many posts from the community to make the most of your #HAPPO experience.  Written a recent post that you’d like to share? Leave a comment and a link!

• Attention Class of 2010… Sarah Evans wants to help YOU find a job. Be sure to read and take advantage of this #HAPPO opportunity
• Job Hunting Lessons From #PRStudChat Student Moderator Brittany James shares the lessons she learned during last week’s #PRStudChat on the blog of #HAPPO DC champion, Mike Schaffer
• HAPPO Job Seeker Profile: Sharise Crumley looking to profile someone you’d like to help? A great example from Michigan Champ Nikki Stephen

• #HAPPO intro Nate Knox emphasizes putting the “help” in #HAPPO… and that even if you are looking to find a job, being a part of the community includes helping others

• Help a PR Pro Out Tabish Bhimani reminds everyone Canadians Can HAPPO too!

• HAPPO: The Freshman Edition DC #HAPPO Champion Shonali Burke offers a must review checklist for those participating in HAPPO

• ROFLMAO at ‘the (potential) intern from hel’l via @gawker. #HAPPO hopefuls  don’t do this! Shonali Burke shares how NOT to get the jo

• A Tip for Tuesday Phoenix #HAPPO champion Abbie Fink gives advice on how to make the most of the final days/weeks before graduation
• Come on, Get #HAPPO Publicity Club of Chicago guest blogger Stephanie Florence offers an overview of HAPPO and encourages

• HOW TO HAPPO (April 30th addition) Our quick action points to answer all of your questions regarding how to participate

by Katie Wall

On February 19 I was on an airplane. I was not at a computer and I do not have a smart phone. I don’t have my own blog and I didn’t know of any prospective employers. But what I did have that #HAPPO Friday was a link to a video and an incredible network of people who were willing to advocate for me.

Just over a week ago I started a new job at 360i (which I am loving so far!) and it’s all thanks to #HAPPO and my Twitter community. While I was on that airplane my video link was being re-tweeted by dozens of people using the #HAPPO hashtag and ended up being seen over 100 times on that Friday alone.

Thanks to my friend and Atlanta HAPPO Champion, Kellye Crane, I was connected with a number of local employers and was invited to interview at a handful of places before finding a perfect fit at 360i.

I consider myself very fortunate for finding my HAPPO ending (Get it? Haha!), but beyond just reaching that end goal of employment, I cannot even begin to tell you how valuable continued conversation with the HAPPO community has been. These people are brilliant – from my local champions Kellye and Jeremy, whom I was lucky enough to have met prior to the February HAPPO event; to the incredible Arik Hanson and Valerie Simon whom I have since met – and you should really take the time to be in conversation with them and pick their brains!

So my advice? Do it. Put yourself out there and be genuine. Start conversations early and have them often. You will be absolutely floored by the support of your community, I know I was! And don’t even be afraid to ask for help – you’ll be amazed by how much people truly want you to succeed.

Not sure how to #HAPPO? Click here for details to help you make the most of the April 30th event!

By @helpaprproout

With our 4/30 #HAPPO just a week away, we wanted to remind everyone of how they can participate. This time, we’ll be focusing on helping the Class of 2010.  As Arik wrote in his post last week “This is your chance to make a difference. Pay it forward. ‘

EMPLOYERS: Got a job for an entry-level pro? Please post the job in our jobs section on LinkedIn. We have recently started a LinkedIn Group (which we invite all to join!) We want to make the most of this platform and the easy opportunities it offers to network and identify connections. Please also tweet the opportunity Friday, April 30th, between 12 Noon and 2pm ET using the #HAPPO hashtag

JOB SEEKERS: Use Social Media (a blog post, video, slideshow etc) to provide a creative response to the “Why would I hire you?” question. Please tweet it to your local champion and @helpaprproout using the #happo hash tag on April 30. Be sure to let your network of supporters know to share you response as well. After all, #HAPPO is not just about tweeting with a hashtag… it’s about using social media to leverage relationships. And don’t forget, just because you are looking for a job, doesn’t mean that you can’t help someone else. See a position that’s not right for you? Consider whether you know anyone who may be a match.

PR PROFESSIONALS/ BLOGGERS: Use your blog to help us share news of this event. Feature a senior you have gotten to know, or an organization that you know would be a terrific place to work. Offer some space on your blog for a guest post. Help us spread the word so we can help as many college senior and recent grads as possible. Refer great jobs you know of or students that you know. And, help promote students and recent grads on HAPPO Day next Friday.

EVERYONE: Follow the #HAPPO hashtag on Twitter Friday, April 30th between 12 noon and 2pm eastern. Set up a column in Hootsuite or Tweetdeck. Use TweetChat or TweetGrid to easily participate and not miss a tweet! Join us on Facebook and LinkedIn… both platforms offer different advantages to help us facilitate new connections. Help us to identify and promote the outstanding members of the Class of 2010, as well as the employers seeking to fill positions. If you do have personal experience with an individual or organization, share! Help us to make some great matches.

Here are a few additional  tips regarding “How to HAPPO” we offered before our first event

Thank you to our incredible team of champions, for again volunteering their time and using their social media skills and relationships to help make such a difference. And thank YOU for being a part of the #HAPPO community. It is truly inspiring to know you.

Valerie & Arik

Embedded below you’ll find a stellar video from a student at Auburn who’s all set to graduate in August.  This one is definitely worth a look by students and employers alike.

HAPPO Community,

What a day!

Thank you to our incredible champions–all veritable PR rock stars, whose time, commitment, creativity and efforts, made today such a special day.  And thank you to the more than 1,000 fans and followers, along with everyone who demonstrated their commitment to Help a PR Pro Out on Twitter, both publicly and through private DMs.

We hope that today provided you with an opportunity to begin building new relationships. While we all know that relationships require a serious investment of time and energy, it seems that some of the new connections are already giving way to opportunity. A big congratulations to Christian Betancourt who tweeted “I just set up an interview w an agency I’ve had my eye on for a while b/c of #Happo today.” We look forward to the many stories that we believe will emerge from today’s event and ask that you share them with us here.

On that note, if you have time today or over the next few days, please take a moment to leave a comment below. Let us know about your #HAPPO experience and whether you made some new connections or found a “HAPPO Hero.” As we review the tweets and posts from today, we’d also like your input on what HAPPO looks and feels like going forward. After all, HAPPO Is really all about YOU!

Thank you again for taking the time to help a PR pro out.

Sincerely,

Arik and Valerie