Public Relations In The Modern Era

Drew Titus

Daniel Alburger

English III

22 February, 2018
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Drew Titus

Daniel Alburger

English III

22 February, 2018

Public Relations In The Modern Era

The general consensus around the field of marketing states that this field serves as the

cornerstone of business. Without marketing, the audience of a company would remain unfound,

leading profits to a halt and success to a diminishing factor. Factors such as these inspire

students and professionals abroad to take up this role in a company, providing many avenues to

success. The profession of marketing and public relations has grown with businesses as more

students become educated on the subject and enter the workforce.

Preparing for university during the time spent in high school remains as one of the most

important parts to getting into the ideal collegiate institution. Activities such as planning the

courses taken, stylizing one's resume, and participating in extracurricular activities pertaining to

the desired major get referred to as non-negotiables when preparing for higher education. Along

with proper planning, exemplary advertising of personal abilities often resides as a deciding

factor for universities in the process of selecting students (“The”). With fundamental

requirements such as this, the question of how one should go about picking classes arises.

Currently, educational administration in government and within the private sector urges

all students to attend a college that has the best programs for their major. Roughly 5,300 colleges

exist within the United States of America, eagerly anticipating student commitments (Selingo).

For those unfamiliar with making important decisions, deciding on the ideal college to pursue
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enrollment in remains as an overwhelming and intimidating task. Luckily, a number of

professionals, ranging from counselors to scholars, have come forward recommending ways in

which students can gain admission to the college of their dreams.

During the fourteen years spent within the education system, students set themselves up

for the rest of their adult lives. For better or for worse, children face many requirements in order

to deal with the harsh truth that their early lives can and dictate all that follows. Making

intelligent choices early on can have an influential impact on the sustainability of one’s career.

Along with all of this though, the discussion of how to read the situation arises. Fortunately

enough, the query can dismiss itself rapidly, for its simplicity provides the wise with a hasteful

answer.

Strategically picking classes has proven to act as the key that opens the door to higher

education for some. A common question asked regarding making such a decision would follow

the guidelines of how to go about making such a decision and the answer falls in line with this

statement; conducting research on the desired field of study needs to take place in order to

comprehend the common knowledge in that field. For public relations in particular, community

managers and press secretaries face statistics, understanding what the consumer wants prior to

the consumer's knowledge of any desire of certain traits, and reversing the polarity of a negative

statement and turning it into a positive (Weinclaw). Keen classes such as statistics, psychology,

and marketing 101 all fit within these constraints. No matter, research and comprehension

stupendously aid in the uncovering of where importance may lay.

Students coming from high school and advancing into university often worry about the

increased workload they face. Each and every student, whether they reside in high school or
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university, struggle or thrive under pressure. Such pressure and stress can and will break a person

unless properly trained to handle such colossal amounts of stress. For better or worse, invaluable

traits such as time management or focus retention come sparingly to the current generation.

Time management has proven itself as an essential skill one must have to succeed. With

its specialties, a person gains the ability to properly plan out the entirety of their day along with

properly stay on task. A great way to improve time management skills would contain the

investment in a planner and consistently updating it as different assignments and activities

appear in one’s schedule. Currently, a number of “high-tech” planners exist that allow someone

to simply take a photo of the paper and that image will then apply itself to any online service

desired by the customer. Novelties such as this remain in high esteem with many, enabling

countless individuals with an immeasurable amount of utility and optimization for the consumer.

Focus retention coincides with time management due to the fact that without a clear and

concise day, the ability to lose focus and derail oneself becomes ever so evident. Though

scheduling and blocking sections of time can provide aid when a number of tasks emerge,

diminishing returns come along with it. Many believe that the practice of isolating oneself in

order to remove distractions consists of many benefits and the ability to remove distractions from

immediate contact. Simply cutting off all ties to the distractions in life consistently provides a

sense of dedication to the task at hand. Skills such as these provide the ability to complete

assignments and generally enhance the understanding of the content currently getting studied by

students.

With colleges generating exponentially more rigid challenges pertaining to their

acceptance rates by the year, students must build their resumes as strong as dams for college.
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This unfortunate truth has forced the necessity of experience programs onto students. Fortunately

though, due to this growing necessity, many different programs have developed with the intent to

help aid students in their pursuit of higher education (Staff). Some prime examples of popular

programs would consist of simple things like internships and apprenticeships, or more complex

things such as FIRST or the Google Online Marketing Challenge.

In 2008 Google introduced a new educational program to students called the Google

Online Marketing Challenge (GOMC). Participants receive an advertising budget of $250 and

instructed to generate an advertisement campaign for a business or non-profit. According to a

study released by Guido Lang, “Several students highlighted the benefits of working on a real

project, with real money, and making a difference for a real client”(Lang). Students looking to

gain much-needed experience in their desired field benefit greatly from an experience such as

this. Google’s program an example of a number of programs available to those who wish for a

fun experience and knowledge in the field.

Internships have become a widely popular form of hands-on learning. For many, all of

the experience that one will surmise over years prior to entering the workforce falls to this.

Nearly every company in the United States offers internship opportunities to students and those

new to the applicable field. According to an article released by the Huffington Post, having

anywhere from one to three internships at once leads to job offers 90-95% of the time

(Chatterton). With this information, those unfamiliar with a particular field can gain confidence

that the process of getting a position at a company has, often times, proven an easier task than

originally believed.
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Apprenticeship stands as another form of education in many fields of study.

Unfortunately, this practice lacks prevalence within the United States and exists as a much more

popular practice in the United Kingdoms, but the Carolinas have exemplified leadership by their

rebirth of apprenticeships in the modern era. Simply put, apprenticeships offer a path into the

workplace through a hands-on education and a paycheck. Though this practice hasn’t gained

popularity outside of the Carolinas or in the field of public relations, a vast number of analysts

suspect a burst of popularity in coming years.

When moving into college, the requirement of dedicating to a major by junior year

remains as an ever so daunting task. The issue lies therein, discovering which classes ideally suit

one’s needs. Fortunately enough, thousands of people have gone through these exact steps before

and discovered what classes fit into an appropriate schedule. No matter the case, discovering

where one's passion lies continues on as the single constraint that will make life bearable in

oncoming years of life.

Trisha Ostrowski one such person; as a consultant to many companies and elected

officials, no stone that has gone unturned. To quote her, “There are many options, but I would

recommend trying to find a program that at least offers a concentration in public relations or

some courses.” A common recommendation among professionals such as the idea to simply

spread oneself across majors such as communications, journalism, and public relations. Classes

such as these make a significant amount of sense to enroll in as well; classes in journalism and

communications offer a perspective of what the media wants and how one should go about

discussing information with different media outlets.

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Entry level positions often require little to no experience outside of a quality college

education. Older companies that get seen at international levels won’t dare to lay a finger on

fresh meat, rather put those with a fair amount of experience into an assistant position. As for

times earlier in life, many will start with roles in small businesses, working for legislators, and

less important members that reside in the public eye. Over the years these college graduates turn

from budding seeds to growing flowers, developing through time into the future leaders of the

field.

Honesty within one’s resume remains as one of the most desired and exemplary practices

within the workforce. Citing previous education on a resume continues on as an obvious

procedure, but dishonesty cannot occur whatsoever due to the vetting process each candidate

goes through. Those hiring will consistently look for any history that has the ability to harm the

company when hiring, considering any and every interpretation for the most relative pieces of

information. Thinking outside of just honesty, this document will list everything someone

knows, whether the understanding level remains at a novice or proficient level, from job

experience to random skills. Truly fitting every last piece of information in a document such as

this will provide benefits in salary, workload, and even position.

Prior to an interview, one must “study up” on a companies habits. Knowing both the

general information about the business along with the finer history can have tremendous

advantages when competing against other interviewees looking for the same position. Along

with this, having a deep understanding of the business's current marketing behavior will have

invaluable effects in the same context. Either way, possessing knowledge on a subject, and not

going in with little to no insight, has outstanding benefits in nearly every fashion.
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When it comes to interviews, the vitality of knowing the current climate surrounding the

office remains one of the most crucial things one can do in preparation for an examination.

Following the companies habits in the public eye and knowing ways to improve them for the

sake of the public has the chance to make an everlasting difference, launching a companies

approval ratings into the sky (Kranias). Along with this, searching news headlines on the

company can give a taste as to the current weather occurring. No matter the case, doing some

research ahead of time will, without fail, provide a leg up to any person looking for a position

with any company in the United States.

PR Consultants hold many positions at a time and often get credited as some of the most

engaged thinkers around (Ostrowski). Gaining skills such as these require not only proper

education but a novel full to the brim of experience. Gaining such experience requires working

the common day-to-day and putting in the hours to “climb the ladder” so to say. For better or for

worse, this ascension in the ranks takes time and dedication, not to mention an entirely hectic

schedule.

Flexibility endures as one key luxury that PR consultants, press secretaries, journalists,

and many other careers have the ability to reap. A variety of activities completed in the field such

as the drafting of a press release, producing a public statement, and even writing a simple article

all contain the ability of creation in any location, providing the option of mobility to anyone in

the field. With such great maneuverability, a notable trait such as the ability to drop everything

and put all attention on a separate issue consists as a necessity. At times professionals will have

an irrational amount of tasks to complete in a short time span, though this occurrence rarely

comes to light, the more prevalent case would involve lengthy periods of preparation for a
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plethora of tasks. Nonetheless, if someone has a hectic schedule laziness cannot occur in any

field of work and Public Relations doesn’t exclude itself from this rule.

One thing that many professionals, more specifically PR Consultants, suffer from

managing a workload. The main downfall of this profession would, without a doubt, retain to the

amount of planning and thought put into each companies image. Working for multiple

companies at once will often provide a challenge to workers, forcing them to multitask and

quickly tackle issues that may or may not appear. Whether stress such as this can occur, it can

prove to form the demeanor of a member of society very quickly by filtering out the weak from

the strong.

The corporate ladder often comes up in conversation when discussing the concept of the

American workforce. Without fail, this topic will come with some claim of corruption or foul

play, but to climb to the top one must get their hands dirty along the way. When working for a

company, political figure, or celebrity knowing everything damaging to their image can help

when preparing a rebuttal towards accusations made by the public or press. Trustworthiness will

decide ones worth in this career path and a reputation will construct itself from the actions one

makes.

With an ever-growing spotlight on the process of marketing and public relations,

education has become vital to the oncoming workforce expected in impending years. Students in

modern day society the benefit from having many different capabilities when it comes to

experience programs in any particular field of study. Not only this, but the ability to succeed falls

far outside of education. Many individuals have demonstrated an ability to thrive in the

workforce through the age-old practice of punching the card. Putting in the extra effort prior to
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an interview exemplifies not only the benefit of going the extra mile but also that determination

and perseverance echoes across all ponds one dips their toes into.

Works Cited

Chatterton, Brooke. “What Job Statistics Say About the Value of College Internships.” ​The

Huffington Post,​ TheHuffingtonPost.com, 27 May 2014,

<​www.huffingtonpost.com/southwestern-university/what-job-statistics-say-a_b_5399641

.html​>

Kranias, Kristen Frink. “The #1 Thing Hiring Managers Are Looking For.” ​The Muse​,

<​www.themuse.com/advice/the-1-thing-hiring-managers-are-looking-for​>

Lang, Guido and Wendy Ceccucci. "Working with Real Companies, Making a Real Impact:

Student Perspectives on the Google Online Marketing Challenge." ​Information Systems

Education Journal,​ vol. 12, no. 3, 01 May 2014, pp. 18-29. EBSCO​host​,

<​http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1140781&site=ed

s-live&scope=site​>

Ostrowski, Trisha. Personal Interview. 2018.

Selingo, Jeffrey J. “How Many Colleges and Universities Do We Really Need?” ​The Washington

Post​, WP Company, 20 July 2015,

<​www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/07/20/how-many-colleges-and-u

niversities-do-we-really-need/?utm_term=.92b4dde4f43c​>

Staff, NACE. “Study Shows Impact of Internships on Career Outcomes.” ​National Association

of Colleges and Employers,​ 11 Oct. 2017,

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<​www.naceweb.org/job-market/internships/study-shows-impact-of-internships-on-career

-outcomes/​>

“The Effect of Personality Traits on Undergraduate Dental Students’ Performance in Multiple

Mini Interviews.” ​US National Library of Medicine,​ Electron Physician, 25 May 2017,

<​www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5498695/​>

Wienclaw, Ruth A. "Public Relations." ​Research Starters: Business (Online Edition)​, 2013.

EBSCO​host,​

<​http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ers&AN=89163939&site=eds-l

ive&scope=site​>