A cricket: don't be one.

Reaching out to other folks for career help and advice is a wonderful thing, but be sure you’re giving back, too.

If you email someone and ask them to critique your resume, be sure to thank them for their time and follow up with a note (or several) about your success. PR peeps do this with me all the time and I really appreciate the fact that I’m not just a one-and-done to them; the majority keep me posted on their job hunt and lessons learned. It’s nice.

There will also be times you’ll want to email folks and ask for advice in general. “How do I move to a new city for a gig?” or “How do I know I’ll like PR?” and “What books and blogs should I read to learn more about social media?”

I get these questions a lot through LinkedIn and my blog’s comment form. I love that people–especially recent grads–understand how important it is to solicit advice and such from folks who’ve been around the block before. But these general question-ers tend to also be the folks that hit you with 10 questions, get an immediate response from folks like me, and then…

{crickets chirping}

It ain’t right and it makes us feel used.

If someone can take the time out of his day to help you, you can take time out of yours to thank him.

Public Relations is all about the follow-up. It’s about relationships. It’s about customer service. If you are asking a PR pro for PR career advice, you receive it and then don’t follow up, it’s clear to me that you’re lacking the skill set that would make you a good flack.

You may think that’s an unfair assessment, but we know your inability to follow up means you’re a few fries short of a PR happy meal because we learned to look for the warning signs. Like a canary in the coal mine or brown M&M’s in a bowl.

So, don’t be a cricket. Learn the art of the follow-up–and rock it.