Come work with me at iostudio. You know you want to.
iostudio is experiencing rapid growth and is seeking a talented and experienced public relations professional. iostudio has a growing portfolio of fast-casual restaurants, nonprofits and charities, and B2B clients in need of public relations services. We are looking for someone to oversee client projects, create fascinating and innovative promotional tactics, and position iostudio as an industry leader as a full-service marketing communications agency.
This position requires an expert ability to remain organized, work independently and think on your feet. The candidate we are looking for will:
Create and execute PR plans for a diverse array of clients and iostudio’s own program.
Independently build relationships with media to promote our clients’ and iostudio’s internal programs.Generate and maintain media lists using Vocus.Develop, plan, organize and initiate grassroots marketing efforts.
Write and edit news releases.
Travel up to 20 percent.
The above statements describe the general nature and level of work being performed by individuals assigned to this classification. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and duties required of personnel so classified.
Minimum Requirements:
B.S. or B.A. in public relations/advertising/marketing or related field.
3–5+ years of PR experience (agency or company).
Previous restaurant and nonprofit experience preferred, but not required.
Effective and professional verbal and written communication skills are essential. Ability to communicate ideas to employees, vendors, applicants and others in a clear and concise manner.
Strong proficiency with Word, Excel and PowerPoint on a Mac or PC platform; PR programs (such as Cision, Vocus, MyMediaInfo, etc.); and other applicable software.
Knowledge and ability to research information on the Web.
A wide degree of maturity, independence, creativity and latitude is expected.
Ability to pass a thorough background check as per the iostudio handbook guidelines.
*Other factors and work experience contributed to ultimately getting hired, but the tweet got me noticed.
Guest Post by Jenny Weigle
When you find a job opportunity you’re truly excited about, it’s almost like the butterflies-in-your-stomach feeling on a first date. You’re hoping to impress somebody and that they’ll want to see you again, or in this case, hire you. That’s how I felt in October 2010. I was looking for a job in social media marketing or communications. At the time, I was lucky to find a number of these openings and had even lined up some interviews. A friend of mine emailed me a link to the listing for social media manager at CareerBuilder, and the butterflies grew as I read each bullet point in the description. “I can do all of this!” I said aloud in my apartment (alone).
Immediately, I started to work on my cover letter, which was my least favorite part of being a job seeker. My cover letters had never been my strong suit. I knew I needed an intro that would truly stand out. I decided to hold off on writing the intro and focus on the rest of the letter, discussing why I was qualified for the position and what I could bring to the table. In a few short hours, after many revisions, the letter was complete, minus the intro.
Since I wanted to work in social media, I considered that perhaps posting about my excitement on social media would work to my advantage. Or would that be considered tacky? Is it even appropriate to tweet about a job you’re applying for? Would the hiring manager even see it? And if so, would he/she be impressed or annoyed? I decided to go for it anyway. I posted the tweet below:
Then, I suddenly had a brilliant idea for the intro to my cover letter:
Dear Hiring Manager,
When my friend emailed me a link to the job description for Social Media Manager, I was so excited to read over it that I immediately tweeted “I have found the PERFECT job opportunity! Oh @CareerBuilder, I hope you like my resume and cover letter! #HopingtoImpressHiringManager.” As someone with a great passion for all-things-digital, I believe I would be an excellent candidate for this opportunity and could execute a brilliant social media strategy for CareerBuilder across multiple platforms and audiences.
I reviewed the cover letter and resume one last time and then submitted it to CareerBuilder. Less than two hours later, I received a tweet from the hiring manager:
The next morning, I had an email from the hiring manager, asking to set up a phone interview. After two more in-person interviews, I was offered my dream job! The most interesting aspect of all of this is that I didn’t even think to tweet about any of the other social media jobs I was interviewing for. (I guess none of them excited me in the way this one did.)
Lessons learned from this experience:
Don’t be afraid to connect with an employer’s public social media accounts (or send them a tweet)! Facebook and LinkedIn may be a bit too personal to connect on, but Twitter and Google+ would be fine.
Find a way to make your cover letter stand out from others.
Don’t rely on social media alone. I still had to make a good impression – in person – at every interview that followed.
Social media rocks.
Jenny Weigle is the social media manager for CareerBuilder. She shares her job seeker tips and social media marketing advice on Twitter and Google+.
I am NOT a recruiter. I am not in human resources. I am not a hiring manager.
But over the course of the past year, I’ve come across about 100 resumes of people looking to enter the PR and/or social media fields.
What I’m about to share with you is what I personally do when I’m sent a job application AFTER it’s been vetted by the proper folks in my organization. And remember, this is ONLY for those in the communications world.
- While applications should be emailed, I like to print out applications and take them with me to read out of the office. I like to go to a coffee shop where I can turn off the phone and focus on the task at hand. As such, if you can, it’s nice to put the cover letter and resume in the same PDF document. It requires printing ONE document instead of two. Not a big deal, but a nice thing.
- I will check your Twitter. I don’t care about Facebook. I’ll cross-check your LinkedIn to make sure it matches your resume. But I will read your Twitter feed. I’m not looking for anything in particular, but it helps me understand who you are. There is no formula or scoring system or anything like that. However, if you protect your Tweets, that doesn’t make me like you.
- I’ll took for when you graduated college. Does it matter? Yes and no. I want to make sure your professional experience is commensurate with what we need from that position. If we have an entry level job and you graduated in 2006, we may not be the right fit.
- I look for how long you were at each stop in your career. Everyone has a job they didn’t like and can consider a mulligan. Heck, I was with one company for just four months. But if you have bounced around many times, that may raise a red flag. You’d better be able to explain the constant job-jumping, because we’re looking for committed team members. If we don’t think you’ll stick around for a while, do you think we’d offer you a job?
- In my office, there are usually three steps in the interview process: written applications, phone chat and in-person meeting(s). Make sure you are well-prepared for all three, because if your application stinks, you likely won’t get a phone chat. And if you bomb the phone chat, you aren’t likely to get a face-to-face interview.
- Not getting a second interview isn’t always about you. Take heart – you can do well on the phone chat and not make it to the next round. If the person doing the interviews doesn’t think you’d be the right fit, they may not pass you along, no matter how much they like you. Feel free to ask them why you didn’t advance.
- Not all processes are created equal. Some positions can take days to fill, while some can take months. It’s a fact of life that can sometimes be out of the hands of the company.
- End well. Sometimes when you are interviewing for one job, the company may envision a slightly different role for you. Or may alter the job description to suit your talents if they really like you. Always finish the interview process positively, because you never know what possibilities may be out there down the road.
In the PR/HAPPO world, we always talk about being creative when searching for a job. Present yourself differently, make a splash, be remembered.
There is a great case study going on right now, as former DC101 (WWDC-FM) DJ Flounder found himself cut loose after over a decade of on-air and behind-the-scenes work at the station. He was a sidekick on the insanely-popular syndicated morning show and hosted his own Saturday night mash-up show, which became a listening staple in the DC market.
He teamed up with another DC101 alum, Kyle Benham, to announce his job hunt VERY creatively. Take a look at the video, then read the release below. Definitely check out BootcampLights, a marketing company on the rise.
Here you go, from a news release:
Former DC101 Employee, Bryan ‘Flounder’ Schlossberg Takes to the Air with ‘Hire Me’ Campaign
Washington, D.C. (August 4, 2011) – Last Friday, EITM Fans broke the news of Bryan Schlossberg’s (better known as Flounder) exit from DC101 after twelve years with the Elliot in the Morning show.
Flounder stated via Facebook, “Friday was my last day working at DC101. Over the last 12 years, I have met some amazing people and have done amazing things. Thanks to my friends and family for their amazing support.”
With his sights on the future, Flounder has already begun searching for his next opportunity. He teamed up with former DC101 employee, Kyle Benham to launch an innovative “Hire Flounder” campaign.
Benham launched Bootcamp Lights earlier this year, reaching 80,000 U2 fans at M&T Bank Stadium with a custom built R22 Helicopter, outfitted with a 36-foot digital billboard.
Authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to fly digital advertising over metropolitan areas, the Bootcamp Lights Helicopter, operated by co-founder, Robert Schapiro displayed “Hire Flounder – DJFlounder.com” above rush hour traffic on I-270 and I-370 just outside of Washington, D.C.
Kyle Benham stated, “It isn’t easy finding work in this economy. Flounder is a creative genius with the discipline needed to succeed; I hope this campaign will help him discover a fulfilling career.”
One commuter tweeted, “@DJFlounder, even though you slowed down traffic this morning on 270, I thought that was some great advertising.” In response, Flounder commented, “Get used to it because I am not going away.”
Bootcamp Lights has a full service video production team; using the latest technology to capture campaigns in 1080p. Creative services director, Dan Yar says, “Our digital videos provide original content which can be shared across multiple platforms.” To watch Bryan ‘Flounder’ Schlossberg’s “Hire Me” campaign, please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjwKMqXX4oE.
About Bryan ‘Flounder’ Schlossberg:
After twelve years, Bryan ‘Flounder’ Schlossberg exits DC101. Flounder was the station’s creative services director, on-air personality and hosted/produced a weekly two hour show called “Flounders Mash Ups.” Flounder owns a full service DJ company; hosting concerts, clubs and private events. For additional information about Bryan ‘Flounder’ Schlossberg, please visit Flounder’s website: http://www.DJFlounder.com.
About Bootcamp Lights:
Bootcamp Lights is an innovative advertising company, utilizing a custom built R22 Helicopter, outfitted with a 36-foot digital billboard. The Bootcamp Lights Helicopter can hover directly above prime locations or fly customized flight plans, targeting multiple areas. For additional information on Bootcamp Lights, please visit the Bootcamp Lights website at http://www.bootcamplights.com.
Photo via http://www.flickr.com/photos/dm-set/ (Creative Commons Licensce)
Congratulations, Class of 2011!
You’ve graduated! Hooray! Huzzah! Whoomp, there it is!
Now you’ve got to find a job, move out of your parents’ house and start your life for real.
Well, my dear PR and Social Media folk, there is a secret to help you speed up those processes. (Even though we like mom and dad’s home cooking as much as anyone, you need your own space. Trust us.)
The secret is so simple that it’s shocking that it’s not embedded into all college textbooks.
But it isn’t. So you didn’t hear this from me:
Industry professionals want to help you, but you need to help yourself first.
I can’t speak for EVERYONE, but I have yet to meet a PR or Social Media professional that wouldn’t at least let an aspiring professional pick their brain for a few minutes.
Why would we help you?
Easy: We need smart people. For our companies, for our clients. We all want to work with the “best and the brightest.” For the most part, at least.
So, we are here waiting to help you. But like I said, you need to help yourself first. Here are five ways to help you connect with PR and Social Media pros:
1) Read – Like a lot. Like…more than Mashable. Sign up for blog e-mailing lists, so content can be delivered to you. One can’t-miss is Spin Sucks, by the good folks at Arment Dietrich. And if you aren’t getting Sarah Evans’ #Commentz newsletter, you are behind the times, friend.
2) Join the Community – So much of our collective industry is happening online right now. Be there. One great community you should be a part of is Help A PR Pro Out (HAPPO). It launched in February 2010 as the brainchild of Arik Hanson and Valerie Simon to help match job-seekers with potential employers. Between Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, this community is EVERYWHERE and is made of a network of pros from around North America.
3) Reach Out – Yes, we are busy. Busier than ever, in fact. But we will take some time to answer questions, maybe grab a cup of coffee or a quick lunch to talk about our profession. Pros that want to be reached out to don’t make it hard to find their contact information. Try looking at blog contact pages or LinkedIn profiles. (And speaking of LinkedIn, keep that profile updated! Paradigm Staffing, a top PR recruiting firm, uses LinkedIn profiles like resumes!)
4) Come Armed With Questions – If we do take time out of our day to meet with you, come prepared with smart questions. The basics like “when did you know you wanted to Tweet for a living?” are fun and all (in all seriousness, that would be the best question EVER!) , and we can definitely talk about ourselves non-stop. But, help us help you. Ask us about your potential career path. Last week, I met with a young woman looking to get into online analysis. Her questions allowed me to give her to answers she was looking for.
5) Stay In Touch – Once you’ve met/chatted/e-mailed with us, stay in touch. While there is no fun Bat-Cave we all retreat to after our days at the office and compare notes and job openings, us communications pros are a chatty bunch and often listen to recommendations when making new hires. And in the crazy world we live in, opportunities sometimes do pop up overnight. You never know!
I probably shouldn’t have made the secret and tips so public. So, before a PR/Social Media cops make me remove this post and administer the lashings (“Thank you sir, may I have another?”), go do these things, make connections and launch your career!
Have you always wanted to work in the PR, marketing or social media industry?
Are you job-hunting?
Do you want to mentor aspiring professionals?
Are you looking for your next team-member?
If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, then you need to attend the Washington, DC #HAPPO Hour on Thursday, February 24th! It’s all part of the Help A PR Pro Out movement that has been helping foster a network of PR pros and job-hunters of all experience levels for over a year now.
(Click here to read other HAPPO entries on this site.)
There will be live events in cities across the USA, and it’s up to DC to show why we are the most powerful city in the world!
We’re meeting at Ping Pong Dim Sum in Chinatown (1.5 blocks from Gallery Place Metro) from 6-8pm (or later…their kumquat mojito is amazing!) for an evening of networking, advice-sharing, and maybe even some resume critiquing, if you bring a few copies!
Spread the word, be there, bring friends – it will be the social event of the season! (Mega-bonus points for getting the reference!)
For the Twitterfolk, use hashtags #HAPPO and #HAPPODC to discuss and show what DC’s all about!
