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!
Read More…
Introducing Dallas Flacks
Congrats to my friend Rebecca for founding the new Dallas Flacks Meetup! If you know a public relations or PR pro in the Dallas area, tell’em to join the group and mark their calendars for the first happy hour on September 28.
Nashville Flacks first Meetup a Tremendous Success
If you declare it, they will come! Congrats to Jena, Mary Beth, Rob and Cindy on their first–and fabulous–Nashville Flacks happy hour! View the photos here. And if you are a Nashvegas PR pro, join the group and attend their next event on September 27.
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…
The past few weeks ushered in milestones, lessons learned, odd requests and fun events. July was busy and productive! Here are the highlights:
My niece was born!
Check it out, folks! The world’s cutest baby, Beverly Emmeline, was born on July 19 and I get to paint her toenails pink VERY soon! Congrats Pavis and Dave; I can’t hardly wait to teach her show tunes and jazz hands:
Photo Credit: Dave Cone or Jon Fletcher; not sure which one of those guys took this, but I’m sure Pavis will let me know when she reads this.
My MacBook died.
I was minding my own business, watching an old episode of Bones on Netflix when my beloved MacBook just up and died. And with it, took every photo, document, file and Christmas card list I’ve ever had. Even our honeymoon pictures. The fault is all mine; Dave has often encouraged me to run a copy of my data on an external drive, but I never did. Lesson learned: back that asset up, people. Read More…
The August issue of Her Nashville magazine is out! This month, I give a few tips on how to approach and respond to angry/stupid/snarky/creepy blog post commenters. I know you hate them and want to fight back, but think before you type–and please, don’t stoop to their level. Here’s a teaser:
Don’t Delete
Folks have the right to disagree with you, even if 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. The same criteria apply to newspaper story comment sections; don’t bother asking a paper to take a comment down just because it’s untrue or written by someone who is a complete loon. These are rants from trolls, not statements from the Pope.
Count to 4,756
As bad as the troll’s comment is and despite how angry/hurt/sad it makes you/your company/your mom, it’s not the end of the world. Take a deep breath, step away from the computer, and think before you respond. I know it feels like it, but the entire world at this very moment is NOT actually reading the comment section. Trust me.
Read the full column here!
And as always, if you have ideas for a column topic, please send’em my way by emailing me at Margie (at) FlackRabbit (dot) com.
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…
There are many, many great iPhone 4 reviews piling up, so I’ll spare you another one. But I am getting asked one question over and over again: folks want to know if they should dump their new Droid Incredible and formerly new iPhone 3Gs for Apple’s shiny new toy. You’ll find my answer over at HerNashville.com
I will add here at FlackRabbit that from the public relations practitioner perspective, the iPhone 4 and devices like it could allow us to use use new media to tell our clients’ stories in a much more nimble and timely way.
For instance, I think it’s freakishly cool that you could shoot quality video of a client event, edit it with iMovie, add a caption and relevant key words, and then upload it to YouTube–all from your iPhone 4. If you don’t have time to get back to your desk between meetings, it’s okay. And your client will think you’ve cloned yourself. 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…
