For this assignment in PRCM 2400, you will choose and interview a public relations professional.
In our course in Canvas, submit a Word file with your 500-word (minimum) recap of the interview. In addition to the recap, you’ll need to provide me with the PR professional’s contact information (name, title & company, phone number and e-mail address) at the top of the first page, before your recap of the interview.
Due Date: See our course in Canvas
You may conduct this interview face-to-face interview, via Zoom or phone. An interview that is e-mail or text-based only is not acceptable.
Schedule your interview at least a week before this assignment is due, preferably two. PR professionals sometimes have unpredictable schedules, and it’s possible that you may need to reschedule.
Include an introductory paragraph that introduces the PR professional, including title and company, educational background, etc. Mention your connection to the professional (how you found him/her) and how you conducted the interview (face-to-face, Zoom or phone).
After the interview is over, send your interviewee a thank you note. Handwritten and snail mailed is preferred; emailed is acceptable.
Questions/Topics you need to ask/include:
- What’s a typical week like? (If no week is typical, then what was last week like?)
- Tell me about a project you worked on that you are especially proud of.
- What do you do to keep current in the PR industry?
- What do you wish you would have known before starting your career in PR?
- How important is writing in your career?
- What are your thoughts on the importance of thank you notes?
- What three tips would you offer someone just starting out in PR?
- Additional required information to include in your paper
- After interviewing this person, are you (the student, not the practitioner) more or less likely to want to have a career in PR? Why?
- What did you write to your interviewee in your thank you note?
Some questions you may wish to ask:
- Did your education prepare you for working in PR? How?
- What has surprised you the most about working in PR?
- How has PR changed since you entered the field?
- How does technology affect your daily work?
- When your company is hiring for an entry-level PR position, what makes a candidate stand out?
- What professional organizations are you involved in? (For example, PRSA, IABC, etc.)
- Ask for feedback on your resume
Some things you may wish to do:
- Include a photo of your interviewee. (This can be a photo he or she provides or one that you take yourself.)
- Link to your interviewee’s LinkedIn profile and/or blog.
Questions?
[NOTE: This must be an informational interview that you conduct this semester. Do not “recycle” an interview that you conducted during a previous semester.]
