Check it out, ya’ll: I’ve put up a Flacks jobs board to make it easier for me to alert you to the career opportunities total strangers, co-workers and friends send me to share with you. What? Well, you get it.

If you are a job seeker, click on the new link to the “Jobs” page up there in the top navigation. From there, you may view current and past listings, subscribe to future listings and sign up to receive alerts via email.

If you are an employer or recruiter, I welcome your job postings in search of public relations, communications and new/social media talent. Please upload your job description and contact information (your name and email remains private) and choose either A) the free, 15-day listing, or B) pay a small fee for a 30-day listing to be featured on the FlackRabbit home page and promoted via the relevant Flacks Meetup listserv. FlackRabbit readers tend to be a transient bunch; although the current listings reflect DC-area opportunities, job openings in all major US cities are encouraged!

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For all of the entertainment, information access, and cross-country connections technology affords us, it can really do a number on your soul and psyche. In the September issue of Her Nashville magazine, I offer up three ways to keep technology from re-wiring our brains and zapping our productivity. A teaser:

Force your focus:”While new media multitasking is great, science studies show it may not always be best for our brains. In June, The New York Times reported that scientists have discovered that online multitasking may lead to fractured thinking and lack of focus when offline.”

Stop stalking: “The inherent compare and contrast — and the tendency to dwell on it — that accompanies constantly reading about others’ lives isn’t healthy for you, and it isn’t fair to your friends.”

Leave a morsel of mystery: “Lean on your actual friends and family for help, attention, advice, and encouragement. Meanwhile, share just enough online to keep virtual friends updated, making sure not to upload your entire diary.”

Read the full column here!

When someone asks you, “what do you do?” What do you say? If you’re like many folks, you reply with your title and place of employment. And you know how I feel about that: communicating your title is not really answering the question and certainly doesn’t promote your talents. It’s time to create your personal boilerplate; your own thirty-second elevator speech; a verbal “About Me” that is sincere, to-the-point and purposeful.

This is an exercise in consistently and confidently communicating your own skills, talents and line of work. Without apology! Without shame! Even if you have a title that you view as demeaning or wrong! This is especially important if you are a jack-of-all-trades and it’s hard for you to explain what you do!

I’ll go first. When someone asks me, “What do you do,” I say something like:

I manage public relations at a national policy shop in D.C.—helping very smart and often long-winded folks succinctly and confidently communicate with media and policy makers. I’m also a technology and productivity columnist, and a go-to gal for the social media curious. And I blog about PR and geek stuff on my personal blog, FlackRabbit.com.

Now, it’s your turn. Warning: it is harder than it looks. The good news: you don’t have to memorize it; it can in should be organic. And it may change according to your audience.

When creating your personal boilerplate, try to think about the following:

What do you do? Notice that I did not ask what your title is. Explain to me what you do in a way that I’ll likely understand, even if I don’t know anything about your line of work. For instance, most folks know what public relations is, but not many folks understand what it means. That’s why I include some detail to nudge them in the right direction. Additionally, you should include skills and interests that make you, you. I don’t write a technology column or pen a blog as a part of my day job, but both are a relevant part of my professional work and skill set, so I include them in “what I do.” Read More…

I’m so happy I have a contact form on this website. I get a steady stream of mail from you folks; mostly with questions about breaking into the public relations industry, how to handle various PR issues or a comment about one of my Her Nashville columns.

Today’s question comes from new reader JM:

I’m a recent graduate who just moved into the Nashville area from California and have found myself to be one of the millions of fish in the employ-me-sea. Any advice/tips for a upward minded new guy?

FlackRabbit says:

Dear JM: You’ll love Nashville. I was born in raised there. I moved to D.C. a year and a half ago, but Nashville will always be home. Family and friends are still there; I still write for Her Nashville magazine; many Nashville folks believe I still live there. Here’s three ways a recent grad can stand out in Music City:

Talk to strangers: many fantastic job opportunities are discovered by word-of-mouth, so start meeting folks! A great way to meet fellow recent grads and potential employers is through Meetup.com. That’s where the Nashville Flacks PR happy hour lives; the first meetup is Tuesday, August 10 in downtown Nashville.  If you don’t find a Meetup group that suits your fancy, start your own. That’s what I did when I moved to D.C. and DC Flacks now has 270 members! After you meet someone new, stay connected with them with LinkedIn. Read More…

I frequently hear from in-house PR pros that their talents are underutilized at work. The truth is that unless your manager is or once was a communications professional, she probably doesn’t actually know how to best use your skill set, let alone take your career to the next level. Don’t take it personally; one doesn’t know what one doesn’t know. Rather than be sad about it, you should view this as an opportunity to “manage up.”

The most successful PR folks I know have paved their own career path by respectfully teaching their boss, boss’ boss and team members how to make the most of a communicator’s talents. Here’s how:

Show up with your own agenda, get buy-in; then, get to work: you are a professional communicator, which means not an hour goes by without you thinking about something creative, strategic or worth investigating. Take the time to map out those thoughts and put them on paper. Be specific about your goal, tactics, timeline and deliverables. Then, schedule a meeting with your manager and present your plan. I’ll bet you a latte that memo gets the greenlight. More importantly, you’ve proven you are proactive and thoughtful. And if your ideas are successful, you’ll make your boss look like a rock star–and she didn’t have to lift a finger. That means the next time you present a memo, she’s even more likely to approve it.

Take care of your boss(es): managing up is only successful when your manager trusts you. Your actions must prove that you are always acting in her/the company’s best interest. It’s often the little things, like reminding her of deadlines and helping her avoid office drama, that will assure her you’re not trying to take her job; you are simply striving to be fantastic at your own. I can’t stress this one enough. If your managing up is seen as an attempt at mutiny or to disable company hierarchy, you will fail. Read More…

The July issue of Her Nashville magazine is here! For those of you unable to hop over to Nashville and pick up a copy, surf on over to the Her Nashville website. There, you’ll read my/the Chic Geek’s thoughts on the importance of surrounding yourself with positive people:

I have an incredibly kind and encouraging foundation comprised of my husband, family, friends, bosses (past and current), and mentors. The power of their kind gestures and encouragement is immeasurable; it has made me the confident, positive person I am today, and I experience that positive power nearly every day.

Do you?

If you almost said “yes,” then thought “not really,” and then quickly started defending the intentions of negative folks in your life, I encourage you to begin seeking out and surrounding yourself with kind and encouraging people. Read the full column here!

I hope you’ll find this column just the motivation you need to wash away negative influences and bathe your soul in the uplifting people who know and love you. I promise your heart, career and health won’t regret it! Read More…

I’ve been tremendously fortunate to have smart, candid folks looking after my best interest early on and throughout my PR career. Here’s a list of six statements various mentors–including bosses, friends and family–have made to me. I’m ever so grateful; I would not be where I am today had they not uttered these words:

“Your writing sucks”–if one of my first bosses had not been so honest, I would not have made it my mission to become a strong, confident writer. I promise to keep working at it, SH.

“You interrupt people too much”–I like to talk. Thankfully, one of my early mentors told me to take a breath and listen to folks more often. That Lady is a one smart lady. But um, I’m much better with not interrupting folks at work than I am at home…sorry, honey!

“You are memorable”–when hear these words, it is always an “ah-ha!” moment. It’s true, folks I work with usually don’t forget me–for better or for worse. Now I realize that my memorable personality is half of what makes me a successful public relations professional; once you understand your unique skill set, you can then learn how to leverage it to achieve your goals. Hat tip to Barbara, Dave, Joe and John for helping me figure this one out.

“If someone asks for your opinion, give it”–you are a PR pro, not a “yes” man. If someone asks for your opinion in a meeting or your edits to a document–give them. With confidence. If you truly don’t have anything to contribute, re-assess your role in the project. Wise words from a wise gal. Thanks, Jen! Read More…

Nothing brings out the worst in folks quite like anonymity. Under the misguided belief that the Internet was created to catalog negative comments and painfully poor grammar, Internet trolls rant and pillage the Web–and leave in their wake you, with a helpless, panicky feeling.

Every public relations person has a different theory on how to handle ridiculous, demeaning and downright false comments; here’s mine:

Don’t delete: folks have the right to disagree with you–even they are snarky and mean-spirited.  As long as the comment isn’t a threat, patently offensive, spam, bigoted, libelous or keeping you awake at night, leave it be. These are comments from trolls, not statements from the Pope.

Count to 4,567: as bad as the troll’s comment is and despite how angry/hurt/sad it makes you, it’s not the end of the world. Take a deep breath, step away from the computer and think before you respond.

Just the facts, ma’am: should you decide to respond to the the troll in a comment of your own, do so with a level head, refuting the troll point-by-point using factual statements with as little emotion as possible (Trolls hate that). Under no circumstances are you to fight with the troll or engage in it in sarcastic comm-versation.

Use your real name: transparency is key when responding to an Internet troll. When you respond, it should be under your real name. In my book, if your comment is anonymous it doesn’t count–and you’ve become a troll, too. Read More…

If you are a professional communicator, you MUST maintain your own personal slice of the Internet. (You can’t convince a client, boss or co-worker of the importance of online reputation management if you don’t even manage your own online reputation.)

More than a blog, you should have an online portfolio to communicate to the world your talents, skills and experiences. Creating an accurate, impressive web presence is especially important if you are on the lookout for a new job/client. And let’s face it, if you’re a good communicator, you’re always networking for the next opportunity.

Before you panic–or send me more emails about how you don’t know how to create a website, nor have the cash to pay someone to build one for you–I’ll remind you of a little something called Linkedin.

Linkedin is free, it boasts a fabulous Google Page Rank and now features most of the bells and whistles you’d want on your website (like syncing with your Twitter account). So, mosey on over to your Linkedin profile and start spreading your news. And please, don’t be so humble; tell the world all about your irreplaceable skill set and achievements. Seriously, tell us. Because if you don’t, who else will? Read More…

{In today’s guest post, Stacey Viera asks how you feel about bringing gifts to an interview. Is gifting brown-nosing, ignorance or smart marketing? Participate in the poll after the jump.}

Recently, I learned from a colleague at LyonsPR, a Washington, D.C.-area firm specializing in radio, that an interviewee for their summer internship slot brought brownies to the interview.

I thought such a gesture was a fluke, a desperate attempt to get hired in an incredibly competitive industry in an even-more-competitive town. I’ve hired and been hired for jobs and internships since I was a teenager, and never once have I come across a similar situation.

But then journalist Jeff Sonderman at the new TBD.com news organization noted on Twitter that a potential hire sent flowers after an interview. I wondered aloud what the accompanying card read. “You had me at ‘hello!’” was my snarky guess. Read More…