How are you faring during these challenging economic times? I’d like to hear from you — and to remind you of the benefits you have available. I am hearing that the current economic downturn is affecting PRSA members in different ways and to varying degrees. Practice specialties serving the financial services industry are going through tough times, while members in disciplines influenced by federal regulation are being sought out as clients react to policy shifts being telegraphed by the Obama administration. Regardless of the circumstance, Thomas Carlyle’s description of economics as “the dismal science” is ringing true for far too many people.
Periods of economic uncertainty are an especially opportune time to take stock of the professional resources at your disposal — including those that PRSA offers. Here are a few that you might call upon today or file away for use at a later time:
Learn something new — for free. PRSA will be providing free professional development programming in January and February, the lessons of which apply in good times and bad. “Don’t Be Faceless: Seven Essential Social Media Techniques for PR Success” will be led by Rohit Bhargava, a founding member of Ogilvy PR’s 360o Digital Influence and author of the best-selling book, “Personality Not Included.” In addition, Tom Gable, APR, Fellow PRSA, CEO of Gable PR and author of the popular “PR Client Service Manual,” will conduct a session on “Choosing the Right Agency for Your Public Relations Needs: Building a Mutually Beneficial Client/Agency Relationship.”
Know who’s hiring, and who’s looking to be hired. PRSA’s Jobcenter matches the resumes of qualified job seekers with agencies that are hiring. You can browse hundreds of postings, review the salary survey and receive timely career advice.
Tap your network. One of the best ways to advance or safeguard your career is to stay in touch with peers and mentors. Our Membership Directory can help you identify contacts by their geographic location or practice specialty, while our LinkedIn and Facebook groups and local PRSA Chapters can help you foster, leverage and maintain important industry relationships.
Join the discussion. PRSA’s comPRehension blog can help you, whether you need”Signs That Indicate Your Office Days May Be Numbered,” “Five Tips for Avoiding a Layoff” or suggestions for “What to Say When a Colleague Has Been Laid Off” and some helpful tips if you’ve been laid off.
Take refuge in best practices. Clients and managers everywhere want to know that their public relations efforts are delivering an appropriate return on their investment. Our Professional Resource Center (PRC) provides access to a database containing hundreds of groundbreaking campaigns and profiles of Silver and Bronze Anvil Award-winning programs that you can refer to and cite as you build your plans.
Stay current. Unlike other news feeds, PRSA’s Issues and Trends is a handpicked summary of articles of special interest to public relations professionals — perfect industry intelligence for impressing a client or your boss.
We hope that you will find these benefits especially relevant and useful during these tough economic times — and let us know how you are faring.
– Bill Murray
By William (Bill) M. Murray, president and chief operating officer, Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the world’s largest organization for public relations professionals, with nearly 32,000 professional and student members. Prior to joining PRSA, Bill was executive vice president and co-chief operating officer of the Motion Picture Association (MPA); he has also served on the board of a number of media-related organizations such as the International Federation of Film Producer’s Associations (FIAPF) and the International Video Federation, has served as senior fellow at the University of Southern California (USC) Center for the Digital Future, and served as president of William Murray & Associates where he consulted for governments and digital media companies about digital content protection, audiovisual regulation, and cultural policy.
Join Tom Gable, APR, Fellow PRSA, FREE for his FREE webinar webinar presentation “Choosing the Right Agency for Your Public Relations Needs: Building a Mutually Beneficial Client/Agency Relationship” on Wednesday, February 11, 2009!
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