Assignment: Introduction to Public Relations

Career Plan Project

Goal: Develop a better understanding of PR careers and find your own path in this field.

Objectives:Conduct an investigation of various types of public relations practice areas. Research 3 practice areas to familiarize yourself with career expectations, options, and opportunities. Personally evaluate which types of PR practice areas most interest you and why.

Formatting: All parts of the assignment must be typed in 12-point font, use 1" margins, double-spaced. Cite sources using APA style. The assignment will be submitted as a printed hard copy in class only.

Part 1: Understanding the Options

Part 1: Research and describe, in your own words, three public relations practice areas.

In the section you will begin exploring different options for your future career. Use online and personal resources. PRSA website, networking events, Klein and Temple career centers, the textbook, friends and family members in the career field, and employees at your internships.

NOTE: If you are comparing and contrasting PR with other careers you may expand this to be 3 different career fields instead of 3 areas within PR and corporate communications.

This part of the assignment should be three - five pages, with at least one page for each practice area. You can use the textbook as a source for descriptions of practice areas such as community relations, employee relations, public affairs, etc., or you can use it as a guide while searching other sources. You may also informally interview professionals in the field to get insights and descriptions of their work lives. Put all the information you learn into a single page for each practice area that describes the nature of the work, job activities, opportunities for career growth, benefits and drawbacks of each practice area, and the area you feel most interests you at this point. Make sure you clearly label each page with the practice area (e.g., publicity, media relations, etc.).

NOTE: You are NOT comparing economic sectors (e.g., non-profit, public, private, agency). You are comparing and contrasting different specializations within all the sectors (e.g., crisis communication, publicity, event planning, media relations, etc.).

Be sure to discuss interesting findings about specific jobs or tasks within the different practice areas your research, as well as your overall perceptions of jobs opportunities and options.You may also include which industries you would like to work within (if you know).

Part 2: Which Path is Right for Me?

Part 2: Evaluate the three specific jobs you find interesting from the practice areas you identified in Part 1.

NOTE: Here you are finding 3 jobs that look interesting to you. Then you are assessing what is needed for those jobs and whether you have those skills or education. PICK JOBS YOU WOULD LIKE TO STRIVE FOR IN 10-15 YEARS - DO NOT PICK ENTRY LEVEL JOBS FOR THIS PART OF THE PLAN.

In this section you will now begin to focus on specific jobs within the three specializations (practice areas) you compared and contrasted. To do this, you should only be looking at the practice area you found most appealing. For instance, imagine you examined media relations, crisis communication, and event planning in section 1 and decided that crisis communications is the most appealing to you. Now you will find 3 different types of jobs in crisis communication and analyze them in detail following the directions below. If you are still undecided, then it is okay to look at one job from each of the practice areas you used in section 1. If you have narrowed it down to a favorite (e.g., you really like employee relations) then you should look for 3 jobs within that area. If you are unsure - ask me.

You must find job announcements online to help assist you with this task. The best place to look is the PRSA job bank. The jobs can be from any industry and at an upper level, but they should fall into at the practice area you focused on for Part 1that was MOST appealing to you for a potential career. The following parts must be included:

1. A list of positives and negatives you found for each job. The page ofpositives and negatives should include at least three positives and/or negatives per practice area. These are specific to the job ad you found. Make sure you do a separate list for each job ad!

2. A list of key skills and minimum qualifications you need to be successful in each practice areas. Use the job description to identify the needed skills and requirements. Check off the skills you already have for each job. Place an "x" next to the skills you still need to acquire. This can be done in a Table or an organized list. Make sure you do a separate list for each job ad!

3. Finally, you will write a one-page summary of what your overall impressions are of the job ads you found. How were they similar? Different? This is personal to you. What surprised you in your research, what worried you? Did anything get you thinking about your potential fit for these jobs? Tell me what you think about this career-finding journey you are now taking.

Part 3: Preparing for your Career

The purpose of the final section is to self-evaluate and prepare your resume. Now that you have looked at 3 potential jobs within 1 or 2 areas of specialization, its time to take stock of yourself and see what needs improving.

Map your future:

A. In this section you will conduct a self-SWOT analysis. This should include the following:

1. Identify your strengths and match them to specific job requirements, practice areas, or industries.

2. Identify any weaknesses you have and develop a plan to strengthen them. This should include plans to improve skills such as writing, as well as plans to gain additional experience or educations such as graduate school or entry-level jobs/internships/volunteering you can do.

3. Identify at least 5 opportunities you have. This can range from a network/connection to a location or special skill set that can help differentiate you in the workplace.

4. Identify your threats/limitations, as well as how you might overcome them or adapt to them. This can range from personal limits such as having to care for a child/parent/etc. to environmental threats such as a poor job market. Make sure you think of at least one way to adapt or overcome each threat.

NOTE: Most SWOTS are done as a Table. You can google swot analysis to see examples.

B. After you have completed you SWOT analysis, you will develop 3-5-7 year career and education goals. To do this, you should think about reasonable and obtainable goals. You should use the SWOT analysis and your missing skills identified through the job ads in part 2 to develop these goals. For example, a MBA or law school might be part of your 5-year goals so that you can be qualified for a particular type or level of job in you 7-year goal plan. Or, perhaps you have volunteering abroad or on a political campaign in your 3-year plan because it will help you achieve something in your 7-year plan. Overall, this exercise is about building a map.

Note: You should create a grid or table that shows all your goals. For each year (3,5,7) you must have at least one of the following in your plan (These are the 5 types of goals)

1. Educational or continuing professional development goal (mental goal)
2. Networking or community involvement goal (good human goal)
3. Financial planning, saving, or budgeting goal (financial goal)
4. Stress reduction or conflict management goal (emotional goal)
5. Career improvement or job obtainment goal (career goal)

Get started:

Identify 3 potential internships that personally interest you in your favoritepractice area you researched. Write a resume and cover letter for them. You may not include internships you have already had. You may include study abroad internship for 1 of the three.

1. Include a copy of each internship (program or job description) with your paper.
2. If the internships differ, then your resume should be tailored for each job.
3. Write a tailored cover letter using business letter writing format for each job.
4. You will submit a one-page paper along with your resume and 3 cover letters. The paper will summarize what you learned about yourself in this project.

Career plan score then you can do the following:

1. Go to the Klein College career center and have your cover letter and resume reviewed and approved. To get extra credit send a copy of the day/time of your appointment or something to show you went.

2. Create a wix free digital portfolio site. Add your cover letter and resume. Then you can use this site to add work examples from future internships and jobs. To get credit send a TA the link to your site.