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Making the Most of a Phone Interview

telephone dial by Leo Reynolds.In these days of travel budgets being slashed to bare bones, many companies are doing more phone interviews than ever. One of my PRCA 2330 students was just invited to a phone interview for an internship. She asked for some tips specific to phone interviews. Here’s some of my best advice:

  • Know the details of the interview. For example, do you call the interviewer? Or does he or she call you? Be prepared at least 15 minutes ahead of time, and be aware of time-zone differences.
  • If possible, make or take the call from a landline telephone, rather than a cell phone. You don’t want to have to worry about your call being dropped part-way through. If you must use a cell phone, be sure you’re in an area with exceptionally good coverage.
  • If the interviewer calls you on your cell phone, be sure that he or she hears a “regular” phone ringing, rather than a snippet of your favorite song. Call tones (or ring tones, depending on the lexicon of your phone provider) are sometimes confusing to callers who expect to hear just a ring.
  • Whether it’s a cell phone or a landline phone, check to see that the battery is fully charged before you begin to speak.
  • Do your best to be in a quiet place, away from chatty roommates, barking dogs, etc.
  • Prepare your interview area carefully. Be seated at a clean desk, and have a copy of your resume in front of you. Also have information about the company printed and available for you to refer to if you need it.
  • Have a cup of water with a straw nearby. It’s best to have no ice. 
  • No gum chewing. Though I love to chew gum, I know how awful it sounds to others at times.
  • Dress professionally, even though you know the interviewer cannot see you through the phone. We tend to act more professional when we appear more professional.
  • Avoid typing while talking, especially if you have long nails like I do. The sound of typing may make it sound like you’re not interested enough in the discussion to give it full attention.
  • Take notes as needed during the interview.
  • If the interview is done via Skype (or other) video chat, check your equipment with a friend ahead of time to ensure you know how to make or answer the video call. Make eye contact with the camera just as though you were talking face-to-face with the interviewer. Practice this with a friend! It feels quite awkward the first time you try it.
  • Immediately after the phone interview, send a short (yet professional) thank you e-mail to the interviewer. Then follow up that e-mail, the same day if possible, with a hand-written thank you note.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/49968232@N00/9257237/

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Wag the Dog :: A Critical Analysis (for PRCA 2330)

On Monday, February 16, before class,  your critical analysis of the movie Wag the Dog is due. You will need to answer the following questions as fully as possible. Questions can also be referenced in your book in Chapter 3.

Questions:

  • Of the three basic value orientations (discussed in Chapter 3 of your textbook), what basic value orientation does the PR practitioner embody? Provide at least one example.
  • According to the PRSA Code of Ethics, how is the PR practitioner unethical?
  • What is the logic behind the phrase Wag the Dog, and how is it relevant to the situation involved?
  • In your opinion, what positive or negative stereotypes has the PR practitioner confirmed in his role in this movie?

Additional Information:

  • If you paraphrase or quote another source, give credit to the original writer. (Not doing so is plagiarism, just like it would be in a traditional paper.)
  • Use hyperlinks in your blog post, where applicable.
  • Assign the category of Assignments to this post.
  • This assignment is worth 30 of the “Instructor Discretion” points in this class.
  • If you haven’t already done so, look at the Blogging Feedback: Take One that was posted on February 9 for more tips.
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PRCA 2330 :: Blogging Feedback, Take One

I feel good! by Pulpolux !!!.In my PRCA 2330 class, students have created their blogs and have started blogging. Here are some tips for them based on  me reading their One Week of Twitter posts.

Things Done Well

  • You wrote conversationally.
  • You spoke your minds.
  • You backed up your assertions with examples.

Things to Watch Out For

  • Typos: Avoid at all costs. 
  • Avoid LOL and other acronyms. (That’s fine for text messages and Twitter, but not for blog posts.)
  • Long paragraphs: Especially when writing for the web, it’s important to keep your paragraphs short. Long paragraphs are hard on the eye and make things much more challenging to read.
  • Create new Posts, not new Pages, for your assignments. (And if you already have your assignments on Pages, simply copy the text from the page, and add a new Post.)

Things to Try Next Time

  • When you mention a website, provide a hyperlink to the site.
  • Consider adding a complementary image to your posts. I tend to find the images I use at Flickr, using the CompFight service to find ones that are licensed for use through Creative Commons.

As always, if you have questions  . . .

barbara_is_listening

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Blog Checklist for PRCA 2330 :: Week of 2 February

checking them off the list by numstead.There have been several questions about what’s expected with the blogs for our PRCA 2330 class up to this point (4 February). Here’s a checklist for you:

  • Create blog at WordPress.com
  • Let me know your blog URL. (Note: Most of you have already done this.)  
  • Visit my PRCA 2330 Blogroll to ensure I have noted your name.
  • Replace the blog title of your blog with something else. (For example, if your blog’s address is bnixon13.wordpress.com, the default blog title would be “bnixon13’s Weblog.) 
  • Replace the default tagline “Just another WordPress blog” with something else.
  • Create or edit the About page to have a brief bio of you.
  • Post your “One Week of Twitter” assignment; this should have been at least 250 words. Remember to use the category of Assignment. (Due 2 February)
  • Post your PR History recap. Use the category Reading Notes. (Due 4 February)
  • Check your Dashboard and check for comments you wish to approve.

Questions? Check this blog first, then if you’re still unsure, ask. Please.

barbara_is_listening

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The Ethical Public Relations Professional

This week, I had the opportunity to share some of my thoughts on ethics in the field of public relations with classes from Georgia Southern. I promised the students that I would post my slides here, and since the presentation was on ethics, it made lots of sense to follow through on my promise — so here are the slides.

The Ethical Public Relations Professional (Slides / Notes)

(Note: Information in this class presentation was gleaned from various sources, primarily the textbook for the Introduction to Public Relations course, Public Relations: Strategies & Tactics.)

Something that intrigued the students was this image. What do you see here?

What do you see in this image?

Now tilt your head to the right . . . do you see anything different?

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Ethics & Professionalism in PR

In the Wednesday, February 4, PRCA 2330 class, we’ll be discussing ethics and professionalism in public relations. 

The Ethical Public Relations Practitioner  

(Note: Information in this class presentation was gleaned from various sources, primarily the textbook for the Introduction to Public Relations course, Public Relations: Strategies & Tactics.)

Something that has intrigued the students in the past was this image. What do you see here?

What do you see in this image?

Now tilt your head to the right . . . do you see anything different?

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How Twitter Changed My Life :: Thoughts by MinXuan Lee

As many of this blog’s readers already know, I am a huge fan and heavy user of Twitter. It’s challenging for me to explain to others what impact Twitter has made on me. Then, I discovered this blog post and presentation by MinXuan Lee: How Twitter Changed My Life. 

 

As MinXuan Lee says,
My intent was not so much to convince, but to share how creativity and imagination has injected so much life and variety into a technology I once thought frivolous. It took me nearly two months to figure the real value in twitter and how to use it effectively, and my aim was to bridge that gap for others, under an hour. As we all know, converts are the greatest evangelists.
Two slides in this presentation are especially wonderful. Be sure to see slide #4 (“The Five Stages of Twitter Acceptance”) and #5 (“What has your attention?”).

View more presentations from Minxuan Lee. (tags: live casting)
You can connect with me on Twitter by going to http://twitter.com/BarbaraNixon or with MinXuan Lee at http://twitter.com/minxuan

 

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The Future of Journalism?

“Imagine, if you will, sitting down to your morning coffee, turning on your home computer to read the day’s newspaper,” says the KRON anchor.

Here’s a view on the future of journalism . . . as I might have seen on the evening news if I’d lived in San Francisco in 1981, the year I graduated from high school.

What do you find the most interesting about this news report? For me, it was watching them use the modems. 

barbara_is_listening

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The Evolution of Public Relations :: A Discussion Exercise

Tony Michetti at Watson Cafe by eqqman.Before our class discussion on the Evolution of Public Relations

In class on Monday

In Era Groups

  • Break up into groups based on your chosen (or assigned) era.
  • Each person states one important thing to know about the era, one person speaking at a time. Continue round-robin style until you no one has something unique to bring up.
  • As a group, come to a consensus on five or six important things from the era.
  • Each group member should write down the group’s consensus. You’ll need this for the next part of the activity.

In Mixed Groups

  • Break up into groups so that there’s one era representative for each era. We may end up with as many as 15 groups in our class.
  • Each era rep should hold a brief discussion on the 5 most important things/people from their eras.
  • Remember to take some brief notes on what your classmates mention from their eras.

After class, create a blog entry of about 250 words regarding the evolution of public relations, using these three questions to guide you:

  • What did you learn?
  • What surprised you?
  • What do you want to know more about?

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/91273409@N00/260394731/