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…

You guys call, IM, email and DM me with lots of questions! It’s humbling. And the wonderful thing about being the go-to geek for the technologically curious is that I have the opportunity as a PR professional to do two of my favorite things: teach you how to be a better communicator while increasing your self-confidence.

However, it’s often challenging for me to give a “correct” answer when asked questions like, “can you tell me the best tools for non-profits?” or “can you tell me what blogs to read” or “can you tell me how to convince my boss we should Twitter?”

My answer, as many of you have recently discovered, will likely be: “it depends on who you’re trying to reach and/or what you want out of it.”

Good PR–no matter the medium–isn’t one-size-fits-all. The use of new media should be strategic. Be it technology that advances your client’s cause or enhances your own personal craft.

Any flack worth her salt knows you can’t go communicatin’ before considering your audience and overall goal.So, when you ask me these questions without giving me this context, it’s difficult for me to answer. I’m just not capable of giving you a generic response without feeling uncomfortable. Read More…