The Job Search: Balance Your GPA With Life Skills

I just read an "evergreen" article that appeared on Ragan's PR Daily, "Students: The 9 things that matter more than GPA," by Becky Johns, Nov. 29, 2011. The advice from this article is worth passing along, with a few bits of my own advice. I agree with Becky's observation that every student should take classes seriously, work hard, learn something, and achieve the best possible outcome in terms of grades; but many other factors outrank GPA when it comes to preparing for and succeeding in a professional career.

Yes, grade point averages (GPAs) are important when applying for a job. As a former recruiter and public relations practitioner, I can assure you that one of the first things a prospective employer looks for on a resume is the GPA. However, the GPA is only one of many things an employer considers before inviting you in for an interview. As a college professor, I constantly remind my students that what you learn in class is much more important than the grade. However, students usually reply, "But I can't get a job if I don't have a good GPA!"

Think of a GPA as you would a college-entrance exam like the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). You need to achieve a certain score to move on to the next stage in your life. However, outcomes on an SAT exam measure only certain skills and can be influenced by a student's test-taking ability (or ability to afford SAT preparatory courses). Likewise, GPAs tend to reflect a student's test-taking ability and how well a student performed academically in college. And what contributes to a student's success in college does not always equate to the skills required to succeed professionally in the work force.

Recognizing the fallacy of overemphasizing standardized test scores in the admissions process, many colleges have adopted an "SAT optional" policy. This allows admissions officials to consider other factors in a well-rounded applicant's package that may be better predictors of success in college (e.g., ability to lead, follow, and interact with others). In 2007, former Sarah Lawrence University President Michele Tolela Myers observed, "The information produced by SAT scores added little to our ability to predict how a student would do at our college" (click here).

So, too, many employers have learned from experience that an applicant with a high college GPA will not always experience success in a professional career. A recent Christian Science Monitor editorial ("Qualities that could solve America's budget crisis," by Diane Lim Rogers, April 26, 2011) quoted columnist and author David Brooks on this point. According to Brooks, "When we raise our kids, we focus on the traits measured by grades and SAT scores." Rogers added, "Then we elevate people to positions of great authority based on those great scores rather than on their abilities to understand and communicate well with others."

Based on my experience, a strong work ethic will always trump test-taking ability over the long run in a professional career. So, if I were to choose between two job applicants, all other factors being equal, I would readily hire a student who had to work hard for a good GPA over a student with an outstanding GPA who could ace an exam with little or no study time.

Getting to the point, what counts more than a GPA when preparing for the job market? Well, here's where I pass along an abbreviated list of "what matters" factors provided by Becky Johns (click here to read the entire list and click here to read Becky's blog).

1. Knowing how you learn
2. Applying theory to real-life situations
3. Time management
4. Relevant professional experience
5. A portfolio demonstrating your work
6. Ability to give and receive feedback
7. Presentation skills
8. Writing skills
9. Your network

In summary, students, work hard to earn an impressive GPA. Just remember, though, it's not the grade that counts. What counts is how you develop the professional qualities and traits that help you earn that grade. Others (and perhaps even you) will soon forget your college GPA. You will be defined by your professional qualities and traits for the rest of your life.

What Is PR? Let's Help Define It

Congratulations to the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) for leading a collaborative, global effort to redefine public relations. On November 21, the PRSA announced on its blog, ComPRehension:

"Starting today, PRSA is embarking on an international effort, in collaboration with multiple industry partners, to modernize the definition of public relations. In a small way, we seek to rebrand the profession." (Click here for the full blog post.)

This initiative is long overdue. It's impossible to create a profession out of a field that cannot be defined. Our field has struggled for decades with this identity crisis. We teach our public relations students that they are preparing for employment in a field that has over 500 definitions (see the latest edition of the classic Effective Public Relations text by Cutlip, Center, and Broom). The PRSA also admitted its official definition of public relations, “Public relations helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other,” was last updated in 1982.

My preferred definition of public relations comes from Jim Grunig and Todd Hunt's 1984 text Managing Public Relations, "The management of communication between an organization and its publics" (p. 6). Granted, this is but one of 500 +/- definitions of public relaitons, but it seems to resonate the most closely with what I have practiced and taught for decades. I must admit, however, I think this definition should include management of relationships as well as communication, since the outcome of excellent public relations should be to establish and maintain long-term, mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and key publics (see the excellence theory in public relations).

So, I have updated my personal definition of public relations and posted it on the PRSA's "Public Relations Defined" web site. I encourage others to do the same. This is a unique opportunity to join public relations scholars and practitioners around the world in an effort to define our profession.

Help us answer the question, "What is PR?"

Examining U.S. Military Public Affairs and Strategic Communication: Information or Influence?

Joint Publication 3-0
Joint Operations

Through my work this week at the U.S. Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership, I engaged in an interesting exchange of ideas about U.S. military public affairs and strategic communication roles – or how to integrate public affairs, information operations, public diplomacy, and even psychological operations (recently renamed military information support operations) in strategic communication. This dialogue is not unlike the discussion among communication professionals in the private sector who are trying to figure out the best ways to harmonize public relations, marketing, advertising and other organizational functions in the form of integrated or strategic communication processes

I recently published a post on the Center for Leadership’s official DIME blog (see “Social Media in the U.S. Military: A New Information Center of Gravity?, Sept. 21, 2011). The DIME blog provides a forum for discussion related to elements of U.S. national power: diplomacy (D), information (I), military (M), and economics (E). My post contended that communication channels like Twitter, when used effectively by military communicators, can exert such influence that social media becomes a “new information center of gravity.”

This week, a student at the U.S. Army’s Command and General Staff College commented on my post and disagreed with my characterization of social media as a center of gravity. The student, a military officer applying knowledge gained from his studies at the College, claimed that U.S. public support of the national and military strategy and policy was the real center of gravity. This comment prompted a response from Professor Dennis Murphy, professor of information operations and information in warfare at the U.S. Army War College. Click here to follow this commentary on the DIME Blog.

Prof. Murphy made an excellent point about the U.S. military’s responsibilities to inform rather than persuade U.S. publics. According to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Principles of Information the U.S. military public affairs function (PA) is responsible for making “available timely and accurate information so that the public[s], Congress and the news media may assess and understand the facts about national security and defense strategy.” The DoD is also responsible for making available a free flow of information, “without censorship and propaganda, to the men and women of the Armed Forces and their dependents.” The principles explain, “The sole purpose of such [information] activity is to expedite the flow of information to the public: propaganda has no place in Department of Defense public affairs programs.”

This policy, which guides the flow of public information intended for U.S. domestic audiences (including Congress and the news media), should not be confused with the doctrine and principles that guide U.S. strategic communication (SC) efforts intended for audiences abroad. Joint Publication 3-0 Joint Operations (11 August 2011) defines strategic communication as focused “processes and efforts to understand and engage key audiences to create, strengthen, or preserve conditions favorable to advance USG interests, policies, and objectives” (p. I-7). Also, the strategic communication process “occurs through the use of coordinated information, themes, plans, programs, and actions synchronized with other elements of power” (p. I-7).

Furthermore, according to Joint Publication 3-0, “The term strategic communication, an aspect of strategic guidance, applies to USG-level department and agency activities. CCDRs [combatant commanders] are the primary interface for implementing SC in the context of their theater strategies during specific joint operations. The US military plays an instrumental role in SC, primarily through IO [information operations], PA [public affairs], and DPSD [defense support to public diplomacy]” (III-15). Of note, unlike DoD public information activities that simply educate and inform, joint strategic communication efforts are designed to affect joint military operations by “gaining or maintaining the support of the relevant population” (III-15). The public affairs responsibilities in the context of joint operations extend beyond domestic public information and command information activities to include “community engagement activities directed toward both the external and internal publics with interest in DoD” (p. III-17). The PA function is also assigned responsibility for “countering adversary misinformation and disinformation” (p. III-17).

I’ll end with a final word of caution and a few questions about the evolving nature of global public affairs and strategic communication, which I hope will stimulate further discussion. First, the caution: The boundaries that have historically delineated PA, IO, SC and other military communication functions are gradually eroding. In his landmark book, Socialnomics, Eric Qualman described the fragmentation of Internet Age publics. Qualman pointed out, for instance, that the pervasive nature of social media and the proliferation of communication outlets (blogs, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) means that “we no longer search for news; rather, the news finds us” (p. 9).

Now, the questions:

If news “finds us,” how can U.S. military strategic communication specialists using social media channels (e.g., Twitter) to transmit messages intended only for Afghan citizens (or even insurgents) in Kabul manage the risk that those same messages will reach unintended audiences in the United States (e.g., via re-tweets)?

Joint Publication 3-0 identifies national will as an essential instrument that supports application of national power (p. I-4). The publication also assigns responsibilities to the joint public affairs function in strategic communication for promoting and maintaining the support of U.S. national and military policies among key publics (p. III-17). Considering the combined importance of national will and international support of U.S. national and military policies, should the U.S. Department of Defense continue to limit its public affairs principles to simply informing and educating U.S. domestic audiences? Or should U.S. government officials consider integrating DoD principles of information, joint public affairs efforts, and strategic communications in ways that simultaneously foster U.S. national will, promote support of audiences abroad, and deter adversaries?

Please offer your comments.

Still Looking for a PR Job? Consider Latest Employment Stats

Andrew Worob

Two recent discussions on our Marist College Public Relations Alumni & Student Group caught my attention. The first was posted by Andrew Worob, manager at Ruder-Finn in New York City and publisher of the popular PR at Sunrise blog. Andrew’s post from PR at Sunrise, “Want a Job in PR? It All Starts with the Cover Letter,” was authored by contributor Lisa Hutchins (on Twitter @lisahutchins).  



Lisa Hutchins

In this discussion, Lisa offered advice on landing a job in the public relations field, beginning with the cover letter. Before offering some very useful advice, she described a cover letter for a job application as “the first step in branding your package and who you are as a public relations practitioner.”

Shortly after reading Andrew and Lisa’s post about finding a job, a saw group member Andrew Clinkman’s post, “Unprepared for PR in a Social World?,” which appeared on his blog, The Blog: Someday This Will Be Famous.

Before elaborating on factors that might make a difference between success and failure in public relations, Andrew began with the following narrative:

College rocked, don’t get me wrong. I studied hard, did well in school, and developed lasting relationships. I traveled abroad to Morocco, studied difficult material, and learned of concepts that challenged the mind. As I walked from graduation, I had a sense that I was the most marketable person ever! I had a Communication degree with concentrations in Public Relations and Communication Studies from Marist College. I was ready to sit back and watch companies come crawling to my doorstep. Six months later, that hasn’t happened.

Both of these posts made me thankful for the good fortune many of our Marist College graduates have experienced in the job market. A quick review of our LinkedIn group members list reveals a bank of employers that reads like a Who’s Who in public relations. However, I am mindful that many of our talented graduates, like Andrew Clinkman, are still looking for a job. As I reflected on what makes the difference between those landing a job and those still looking, I ran some numbers.

First, I checked the annual Survey of Journalism and Mass Communication Graduates conducted by the James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Georgia. Results of the most recent survey were just reported in the November 2011 edition of AEJMC News, the newsletter of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

According to the survey, "The job market for graduates of journalism and mass communication programs around the country showed signs of improvement in 2010 and the first half of 2011, though the improvements are tentative and the market has not yet returned even to the level of two years ago."

The report also noted:

The 2010 graduates were more likely than graduates of 2009 to report having at least one job offer on graduation, more likely to report being employed at the benchmark date of the end of October of last year, and more likely to hold a fulltime job six to eight months after completing university studies. The jobs the graduates held were more likely to be in the field of communication in 2010 than they were in 2009.

Click for enlarged view. Courtesy of AEJMC News.

The survey found that median annual salaries for entry-level jobs, which hover around $30,000, haven’t changed since 2006. This statistic, factoring in inflation, means “graduates in 2010 reported salaries with significantly less purchasing power than did graduates in 2006.”

Click for enlarged view. Courtesy of AEJMC News.

On a brighter note, the survey report’s authors indicated, “Graduates in 2010 who found jobs were a bit more likely to report those jobs matched their goals and to be satisfied with the jobs overall than were graduates a year earlier.” Also, “A clear majority of the graduates reported they had been prepared for today’s job market by their courses, but large percentages did not report obtaining skills that now seem important for those seeking jobs in the changing communication occupations.” This latter finding seems to track with Andrew Clinkman’s post about the changing nature of the public relations field and the need to develop skills that often go beyond what we teach in the classroom.

I then reviewed the latest U.S. Department of Labor employment statistics, which predict significant growth in demand for public relations professionals through 2018. According to the department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (see the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook online):

Employment of public relations specialists is expected to grow 24 percent from 2008 to 2018, much faster than the average for all occupations. The need for good public relations in an increasingly competitive and global business environment should spur demand for these workers, especially those with specialized knowledge or international experience. Employees who possess additional language capabilities also are in great demand.

The recent emergence of social media in the public relations is expected to increase job growth as well. Many public relations firms are expanding their use of these tools, and specialists with skills in them will be needed. 

After digesting all of these figures, I concluded that graduates can improve their chances of finding a job if they follow Lisa Hutchins’ advice to brand yourself and your application in a way that sets you apart from other applicants for a job.

Also, following up on Andrew Clinkman’s advice, which is supported by recent statistics, find your niche in the changing world of public relations. That niche seems to be associated more and more with social media skills and expertise. I’m impressed with Andrew’s efforts to promote his social media brand through his blog, posts on Twitter and LinkedIn, etc.

So, for those still looking for a job, take heart. The job outlook in public relations is looking brighter. Find your niche, polish your skills (even if it means publishing your own blog and remaining active on the social media scene), and promote your brand.

Now, how about other practitioners who have succeeded in finding jobs and advancing in their careers? What can you share with us in terms of the public relations employment outlook in your sector? And what advice can you offer to those still seeking employment? Please comment.

NOTE: For members of the Marist College Public Relations Alumni and Student Group on LinkedIn, you are invited to comment on this in our discussions forum at http://linkd.in/tI0CiI.