Over the last few weeks, I’ve worked with the internship committee on helping our interns update their resumes and begin a portfolio. A resume and portfolio should complement each other like peanut butter and jelly. A resume will help you get your foot in the door for a face-to-face meeting but a portfolio gives you an opportunity to really showcase what your experience is. It can truly set you apart from your competition and putting one together is not an easy task. Over the last few years I’ve received some great tips from my mentors that I will share with you here, and hopefully learn some news ones from you. Continue reading
All posts by Christina Khoury
Blind Leading The Blind
I am a young PR professional and while no longer entry level, I am by no means seasoned either. I joined the social media world to learn more about my career and the industry. I’ve had the opportunity to meet great people along the way, mostly beginners but also some veterans, both of which have taught me more than I ever learned in school. I’ve participated in the many PR chats that our community moderates like #pr20chat, #prstudchat, #u30pro, and #journchat. I always walk away learning something new. But recently I’ve noticed more of my peers giving advice on issues that aren’t so black and white and it’s frequently in instances where they don’t have enough experience to back it up. My generation gets a bad reputation for being “entitled” and it’s because we feel we know everything. Well we don’t. My name is Christina, I’m in my mid twenties and proud to say I don’t know everything and hope I never do. Continue reading
Christina’s Coffee Talk with Alex Aizenberg
For this week’s Coffee Talk I had the opportunity to chat with Alex Aizenberg, a successful PR professional, avid coffee drinker (just make sure it’s regular coffee with 2% milk), beard enthusiast and musician. I have gotten to know Alex through his rather entertaining Twitter stream, a nice blend of business and pleasure. I’m always learning something new from Alex as he is a savvy professional, currently working with one of the leading global public relations agencies, Weber Shandwick for 5+ years. I guess you could say he knows what he’s doing ;). In addition to PR, you can find Alex relaxing with his supportive wife, adorable dog, and playing on one of his eight guitars. Bet you didn’t know that A) Weber Shandwick has a house band named “Webster’s Sandwich” for an annual event called Agency Idol and B) that Alex has been the lead guitarist since the start! I hope you enjoy this chat as much as I did and learn something new along the way. Continue reading
40 Days 40 Nights without Facebook
Chocolate. Alcohol. Cheese. Cursing. Typical things that one would give up for Lent. I’ve tried to all of them for the full forty (read: forty-six when including Sundays) for Lent. In the Christian faith, Lent is to remind us of the temptation that Jesus endured in the desert from Satan. Lent is a time for us to give up one of our vices. I’m not religious. I go to church on the “important” holidays but this year I really wanted to give Lent a valiant effort. For the first time ever, I can truthfully say I survived Lent without cheating. I gave up Facebook. When people heard I was giving up Facebook there were a lot of questions: Why not Twitter? What do you miss most? Obstacles? Will you go back? etc. I can tell you this, life was better without Facebook. Continue reading
Job Performance Review
I feel like an adult. I recently had my first job performance review in my PR career. The only other job performance review I’ve had was as a resident assistant in college. Those were intense and formal. Surprising right? I was required to evaluate my strengths, weaknesses, what areas I’d like to improve on and goals I’d like to achieve. I did very well in past reviews and as a PR pro, it’s not like I’m a stranger to evaluations so why was I dreading this review? Continue reading
Free Labor or Priceless Experience
Internships are a vital part to any student’s college experience, especially a communications student. What we can learn in college classes is limited. Don’t get me wrong my professors had successful careers in the PR world ranging from an FBI Public Information Officer to a senior vice president at Fleishman-Hillard. They blended their classes with information from the books and anecdotes from real life experiences. But in my opinion, to really learn the most about PR, students need to really experience it through internships. Continue reading
Take the next step: Meet in Real Life
How often do you talk to your closest friends? Once a day? On the phone or via text? For me, I talk to my closest friend probably every other day. Now think about how often you converse with your Twitter community. I talk to PRBreakfastClub and #prbc on a daily basis. The great connections I’ve made from Twitter have moved on to other platforms like e-mail and G-chat.
It is amazing the bonds that are built without ever meeting someone in real life. I bet you may not have known that PRBreakfastClub was started with some members having never met each other in real life. Last week was the first time we could say we’ve all finally met in person. However, I do want to reinforce the importance of face-to-face communication and how to take these connections we’ve made online into “real life.” Continue reading
Christina’s Coffee Talk: Rob Guerrera
Over the last six months, Coffee Talk has taught me and hopefully you, about the many sectors of public relations. We’ve learned about agency and corporate life, entertainment, and consumer PR, juggling careers and a family, and how to go solo and much more. PR is so diverse that we can learn something new about it everyday, but what about the rest of our communications professionals? We work with media professionals on a daily basis, yet we never really get the chance to see what a day is like in their life. So I’ve decided to open Coffee Talk to media professionals too. I will interview hard working professionals from all different levels to give us an inside look at their daily life. First one to bat, Rob “Stats” Guerrera, production assistant for ESPN’s “Mike & Mike in the Morning”.
Mythical Vs. Real Life Role Models
Unless you’ve been in a coma over the last few months, it’s safe to say you’ve read/heard/seen about Tiger Wood’s sex scandal and the many women who’ve played with his club. I’m not here to dissect his recent press conference; you can read about that anywhere. I’m disappointed that we feel he owed the world an apology and with the hype that surrounded the whole debacle. I’m not here to condone adultery. Instead I will explain why we weren’t owed an apology, and why we must be realistic when choosing our mythical role models. Continue reading
The Social Media Balancing Act
At least once a day my brain goes for the e-brake to prevent me from putting my foot in my mouth on Twitter. Honestly, who cares about the guy snoring/drooling on me during my commute? I also make a mental note to check Facebook on Sunday nights to see what pictures need untagging from the weekend. Trust me, they aren’t reminiscent of Girls Gone Wild but the pictures from the latest PRBreakfastClub karaoke night aren’t very flattering either. For the people who think I sound ridiculous I suggest you read Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuck. In it he explains that our resume is much more than a piece of paper. Continue reading