Who was it that said, “Finding a job is like eating a box of chocolates. If you’re good enough, the job will find you”?

Oh, right, that was me…and to this day I’m not sure what I meant by it.

What I do know is playing your cards right on the job search will result in a big payoff. I would like to be the first to congratulate our Founder, Managing Editor, and community leader, Erin Caldwell, for allowing Edelman PR (DC) to hire her. Excellent work, Erin. As Pepper said in your blog post, they are “lucky to have you.” A few details:

• Title: Assistant Account Executive
• Joining: The team with Mike Krempasky, Marshall Manson (the Wal-Mart blogger relations campaign), and others
• Relocating: To the Edelman office in Washington, D.C.

So let’s review this success story and let it be a lesson for many of us. There’s no doubt that hard work, determination, and some creative smarts lead to job offers. But what else? I asked Erin a few questions about all this so we could understand how it worked for her. Surely Forward had something to do with it as well as her insatiable thirst for knowledge. Also, like many of us, Erin is geek in all the best ways. Could that be it?

Like Richard recently said having a specialized skill set really helps. Is that something those recruiters were looking for?

“They were all interested in the work I was doing with new media,” Erin said, “especially what I was doing with NewComm.” And there can’t be a better endorsement for new media than that. The For Immediate Release Podcast # 91 (December 5, 2005) highlighted the future of public relations in this ever-changing and forever-altered communication landscape. One of my favorite episodes still. It demonstrated that public relations needs to catch up to survive and keep up to thrive.

The point is that practitioners are looking for candidates with complementary knowledge. Let’s face it, not every agency or corporation has time to keep up - all the more reason to hire fresh blood with new skill sets. On the other hand, there are agencies, like Edelman, who have kept up and do know what’s going on. They’re hiring like-minded graduates who can dive in, full-force, and get their hands dirty.

So how did they find out about Erin? As Ashley wrote earlier, doing a little PR for oneself is a great idea. Erin has been on the frontline of new media from the student perspective and it shows. In fact, Erin’s personal PR and curiosity led to recruiters finding her. She made it clear what she was capable of doing and professionals noticed.

And, well, you can bet the prominence of Forward really helped. “I think it was extremely beneficial to have an online presence complete with the online resume/portfolio to complement my blogging,” said Erin. “I think the resume/portfolio helps to complete the picture.” There’s no doubt about that.

So, congratulations, Erin. We look ahead to you using your upcoming experience to shape the thinking and direction of Forward. Let this be a lesson to all of us, hard work actually pays off. And just when I was coming up with another nefarious get-rich-quick plan…

Share This: Email or bookmark the post