Young Pr Pros

Only a couple days left before Christmas. The exams are done for the semester, holidays are here where much needed family time and relaxing await you. Following suit from last's years Christmas break to do list, Kristine D'Arbelles and Julia Kent decided to share some ideas on what young professionals should be doing over the holiday break. No surprise, the first thing on our hosts' lists is reading. Some of our listeners gave some excellent suggestions like: Michèle Simpson suggested Half Broke Horse by Jeannette Walls Sarah Raphael suggested Lean In: Women, Work, And The Will To Lead by Sheryl Sandberg; and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. We can't forget William Johnson's suggestion from episode 45 to read Nelson Mandela: Portrait of an Extraordinary Man by Richard Stengel. William mentioned that he learned a lot of lessons he could apply to his PR career through this book. We also talk about the importance of pop culture in a PR and communications world. That is why Kristine finally gave in and

This week, Kristine D'Arbelles and Julia Kent talk about the post-PC world - the world of mobile. Our topic idea was fuelled by a Globe and Mail article called We’re post-PC and mobile-everything, but where’s the love? written by Navneet Alang. Kristine and Julia compare the companies they work for. The Canadian Automobile Association integrates mobile in a lot of their strategies, while MHPM doesn't. However, that doesn't mean one is better than the other. We discuss how different organizations have very different audiences, which warrant different communications strategies. Although mobile may not be mandatory for all audiences out there, as we are becoming an increasingly mobile world, it should always be in the back of our minds. We want to hear from you? Have you been in a recent communications strategy brainstorm at work? Has mobile come up? What about the student listeners? Are you learning about mobile strategies? You can post your comment below or on our Facebook Page, or on our Google+ page, or in o

This week, Kristine D'Arbelles and Julia Kent talk about the PR chaos surrounding the mayor of Toronto, Canada's largest city, Rob Ford. We explore the controversial drug videos and press conferences, to the puzzling amount of Rob Ford supporters. We ask ourselves, who is running his PR strategy and what is their plan? Then we play Julia's favourite game: what would be your advice if you worked for Rob Ford. And Julia's only rule was that you cannot say "I Quit". A nice recap of the situation was nicely captured by Bill Walker, general manager of the PR firm Fleishman-Hillard's Toronto office, in a CBC article: "It just continues to be one of the most unconventional and mind-boggling communications strategies that I've ever seen in my life," says Bill Walker, general manager of the PR firm Fleishman-Hillard's Toronto office. "I don't know how in one day you go from your brother demanding that the police chief resign, to you admitting that you smoked crack cocaine, and you calling a press conference where eve

This week, Kristine D'Arbelles and Julia Kent are actually sitting face to face for the recording. You can just hear the excitement in their voices. A more human connecting recording deserves a chat about being human. How to be a social human organization to be exact. A couple of days ago, Gini Dietrich posted an article about how Home Depot tried to mitigate a social media crisis. Although it may seem that they followed the step-by-step process of how to get out of a social media crisis, the company left one tiny factor out: they forgot to be human. This conversation leads Kristine and Julia to remind young professionals of the importance of being a human behind your social media accounts. We also debate what is considered a fireable offence. Home Depot ends up terminating the social media agency and the employee who sent the Tweet. We all make mistakes, did Home Depot go to far? Julia shares with us some social media bloopers of her own. We want to hear from you? Share your social media bloopers with us? Do

This week, Kristine D'Arbelles (no, this is not a new host - remember, Kristine got married) and Julia Kent talk about peer pressure. Often times as young professionals we feel intimidated in a meeting room with senior managers and vice presidents. When asked our opinion, we might bite our tongue and go with the room to please everyone. However, this is not always good for you and your career, or even for the company you work for. We got this week's topic idea from Big Leap Creative in their article titled What 5th Grade Peer Pressure Can Teach Us About Achieving Success. Lisa Gerber shares the story of how her sister went against her whole classroom because she knew she was right. She was proud of herself back then for taking the risk and being the only one in the room to raise her hand for the right answer. It’s too bad, she said, that she only did it 80 percent of the time, but she couldn’t muster the nerve all five times. It’s much easier to go with the majority and she had run out of energy. Kristine a

Kristine Simpson and Julia Kent are back recording. The big news this week is Kristine just got married! She had a beauitful wedding and couldn't be happier with how things turned out.  Now that she is married, she has decided to changer her name and assume her new husband's last name: D'Arbelles.  Julia interview Kristine and asks her about the opportunity and challenges of changing your name. We also explore some tips and advice if you happen to decide to one day change your name too. 

Kristine Simpson and Julia Kent are back at it this week. After completing a four-part series called Take uOPRA to Work Day, we learned you can apply your communications in a variety of different fields. In this episode, we talk about how those communications skills might be worth more - or less - than you thought. The popular online PR news site, PR News, published an article called The Surprising Ways PR Compensation Is Not Keeping Up With Emerging Skill sets, which talks about how some of the popular skills used in today's communications role, might not be the essential element for career advancement. Here is a brief recap of which PR skills are perceived as most important for career advancement. However, remember, as Julia and Kristine discuss, these numbers might change as our generation advances. You can post your comment below or on our Facebook Page, or on our Google+ page, or in our LinkedIn group, or on Pinterest, or send us an email at youngprpros@gmail.com, or send us a message on Twitter @youngp

This episode sponsored by the University of Ottawa Public Relations Association (uOPRA) features Nicolas Ruszowski of Fleishman-Hillard alongside uOPRA President Sharon Cheung and Young PR Pros host Kristine Simpson. Releasing the fourth and final episode of our 4-episode podcast, Take uOPRA to Work Day, we were thrilled to sit down and chat with the cool, calm and collective Nicolas Ruszowski, the esteemed senior vice president, partner and general manager of the Fleishman-Hillard's Ottawa office, to discuss public affairs and what is expected of students in the government relations industry. His honest telling of what to expect gives great insight to students on portfolios, contacting professionals and even in health communications Being a conservative government city, Ottawa offers many public sector job opportunities. Take advantage and lead the crowd through listening in on Nic's solid advice. Thank you for listening in our special podcast series, Take uOPRA to Work Day! This is the last episode to our f

This episode sponsored by the University of Ottawa Public Relations Association (uOPRA) features Ian Capstick of MediaStyle alongside uOPRA President Sharon Cheung and Young PR Pros host Kristine Simpson. Releasing our third episode of our 4-episode podcast, Take uOPRA to Work Day, we were thrilled to sit down and chat with Ian, who has published works in the Ottawa Citizen, the Globe and Mail and PostMedia newspapers across Canada, to name a few, and is a regular on CBC’s Power and Politics. Sharon asks Ian what MediaStyle looks for when recruiting new team members. Ian mentions government relations and we discuss unpaid internships. A unique feature of MediaStyle is that they offer workshops for clients and students to learn about various topics such as video production and social media. Join in on the episode to learn more and make sure to listen in to our last edition to the podcast series. [insert video] Take uOPRA to Work Day will send you all off featuring Nicolas Ruszowski of an international leading

What does it take to succeed in the PR Fashion Industry? Since joining the Ottawa Fashion Week (OFW) team in 2011, Operations Manager Payton Kennedy has seen many changes in the PR Coordinator role. One thing remains true: the position involves an industrious character. OFW invites Young PR Pros into the world of publicity and catwalk preparation as it celebrates its 10th season for our four-part series, Take uOPRA to Work Day. We talk about some skills that come along with the position. With 17 designers currently on the Spring/Summer 2014 roster, Payton gives Young PR Pros hosts Kristine Simpson, Julia Kent and uOttawa PR Association (uOPRA) President Sharon Cheung some insight on how this volunteer-based event flourishes. To read the full article, visit our blog at youngprpros.ca.

As the summer comes to a close and a new semester begins, students start gearing up for the back to school rush and prepare for a successful year of studies. For the month of September, Kristine Simpson and Julia Kent, hosts of Young PR Pros, have teamed up with the uOttawa PR Association (uOPRA) and executive member Sharon Cheung to discuss PR in four industries within the profession. Take uOPRA to Work Day is a four-part podcast series that serves as a resource for better understanding the industries of technology, lifestyle and entertainment, communications agencies and government relations. This week, Kristine, Julia and Sharon kick off the series with MediaMiser’s HR Manager, Shirley Schiavo, who will be giving some insight into the recruitment process and important skills and experience. Located here in Ottawa, MediaMiser specializes in media monitoring and analysis. MediaMiser’s software collects and manages news coverage from traditional (newspaper, television) and social media (Facebook, Twitter) sou

This week, Kristine Simpson and Julia Kent talk about Gini's Dietrich blog post about Six Tips for Better Public Speaking. Julia starts with her pet peeve: death by power point. Julia stresses the important of less text and more images on your slides. Kristine shares her advice that each slide should represent one idea. She encourages professionals to look at their presentation and figure out what the main messages, or the key take aways. Then make sure to have a slide per take away. It is okay to have only three slides for a 45 minute presentation. And, when thinking of take aways, Gini Dietrich encourages professionals to think in tweets when they present. Julia says she still remembers key take aways from Gini's presentation about Marketing in the Round because her messages were clear and concise. And finally, Kristine and Julia discussed the importance of a title and a good description for young or young at heart professionals doing presentations at events or conferences. What are your tips for the perfec

What if the rules we've been taught to live and build our careers and companies around were no longer valid? A heavy and scary question for some, that could mean the complete overhaul of how we look at life as we know it. This week, Young PR Pros hosts, Kristine Simpson and Julia Kent, explore the new life rules with Mitch Joel. Mitch is the author of Control Alt Delete: Reboot your business, Reboot your life, Your future depends on it. Mitch, named the Rock Star of Digital Marketing and one of North America's leading digital visionaries, is also the president of Twist Image, one of the largest independent digital marketing agencies in North America. We start the episode off by taking about how the way we work and do business is moving faster than most of us can follow. Mitch offers his insight in to how we can navigate and adapt to the fundamental changes in society today. As a follow up to a question Gini Dietrich asked in an Inside PR episode, where Mitch shared a story about a professional who had it all

This week, Kristine Simpson and Julia Kent welcome William Johnson back to the show as a guest host to talk about morning routines. William, or better known as @socialeccentric on Twitter, surveyed more than 20 young professionals in the Ottawa, Canada area and asked how the best of us start off are days. The Results About 30 per cent of the respondents reported being up by 6:00 a.m. or earlier, as a result of an alarm or perhaps a pet or a significant other. William was surprised to hear that a plurality of them workout first, before anything else when they wake up, including Kristine (when she is not too tired). Julia and Will think Kristine is just crazy! Consuming coffee, walking dogs, and checking emails and social media also rank first in many of the task lists. Over half made note of specific breakfast dishes they prepare, with eggs, fruit, yogurt and smoothies listed as the food items of choice. And 35 per cent claimed to check their work email before they actually get to work. And as expected over 60

This week, Kristine Simpson and Julia Kent talk about the power of body language and how it can shape who you are. We pull this week's topic from a TED Talk by Amy Cuddy a social psychologist and a professor and researcher at Harvard Business School, where she studies how nonverbal behavior and snap judgments affect people from the classroom to the boardroom. Body language is a powerful thing, says Cuddy. The facial expression of a politician can affect 72 per cent of his or her vote outcomes, emoticons used in online negotiation can lead you to claim more value from that conversation if used properly. But more importantly, our body language affects how we feel about ourselves and then reflects that image back to the world. First we discuss how your body posture during an interview can make or break your chances of getting a job. We then discuss Cuddy's concept of power posing. In her TED Talk, she talks about how there is a slight gender gap when it comes to nonverbal cues. Cuddy watches her students walk in

Do you ever get a random connection request on LinkedIn? It is from someone who have never heard or. Or perhaps it someone you don't remember meeting. Are you the type of person who just hits accept, or are you more guarded with your LinkedIn network? Young PR Pros' good friend William Johnson, Mr. @socialeccentric on Twitter, recently wrote an article in Career Options Magazine about what to do with LinkedIn requests from people you’ve never met. Kristine Simpson and Julia Kent discuss the subject and give their experience with adding the unknown LinkedIn connections. We also discuss the difference between a valuable network online network versus a large empty network. But we want want to hear about your experiences. What do you do when you get an unknown LinkedIn connection? Post your comment below or on our Facebook Page, or on our Google+ page, or in our LinkedIn group, or on Pinterest, or send us an email at youngprpros@gmail.com, or send us a message on Twitter @youngprpros, @kristinesimpson or @kentjul

This week, Kristine Simpson and Julia Kent respond to a question from our good friend and devoted listener Sarah Bustard. She asks: Sarah Bustard @sarahbustard@YoungPRPros Looking for topics? I'd be interested in hearing @Kristinesimpson and @kentjulia's thoughts on this bit.ly/12eeREz The article entitled Communications Strategists Deliberated on 60 Million in Cuts at Environment Canada, talks about how communicators were invited to attend a c-suite and major business meeting in order to be better prepared. First Kristine and Julia talk about the positives of having communicators in these meetings. They also discuss how young communicators can work their way in to these meetings. “This allowed an analysis of communication issues, stakeholder reactions and public perception to be weighed during the consideration of each and every proposal and had the added advantage of having communications staff familiar with the proposals, and ready to hit the ground running once the decisions were announced.” Then, Kri

This week, hosts Kristine Simpson and Julia Kent talk about the ways the job search has changed. Your parents may have instilled job searching lessons in you as a child, but some of those lessons no longer apply. In a Huffington Post article written by Joshua Waldman called 10 Ways The Job Search Has Changed, it says job searching has changed dramatically over the past few years. If you want to succeed, you’ll have to take a much different approach than you did previously. Kristine and Julia comment on a few points in the article: Google has replaced the resumé. SEO is more important today than it ever was. Kristine shares some tricks on how you can make sure you look good on Google. A summary of your work history is enough. As mentioned in episode 53, there are 2000-3000 new PR and communications graduates every year in Canada. It is a competitive world out there, so summarize in a cover letter or at the top of your résumé why you should be the chosen candidate. Relationships come first, resumés second. Jul

This week, Kristine Simpson and Julia Kent add another episode in the bank of our Who to Follow series, where we profile young and young at heart PR professionals that deserve your follow on Twitter. Today's profile is not of an individual person, but of a hashtag called #Jobline. Jobline is a highly targeted and effective job advertising service for Communications and Marketing professionals in Ottawa. The positions posted can include opportunities in communications, marketing, public relations, government and media relations, writing, editing and translation services, and more. The hashtag #Jobline, created by IABC Ottawa - more specifically, Kristine, who also happens to be the Director of Jobline - is more than just tweets of job openings in Ottawa, it also has links to résumé building articles and interview tips. In fact, Young PR Pros tweets have been featured with the #Jobline hashtag before. While Young PR Pros looks at the PR and communications industry as a whole from the eyes and ears of the young

Hosts, Kristine Simpson and Julia Kent, are really excited about this week's topic. Julia introduces this week's topic: a TED Talk by Meg Jay called Why 30 is not the new 20. Lately it feels as if 25 is just a bit too young to get serious. In her psychology practice, her book The Defining Decade, clinical psychologist Meg Jay suggests that many twentysomethings have been caught in a swirl of hype and misinformation about what Time magazine calls the "Me Me Me Generation." The rhetoric that "30 is the new 20," she suggests, trivializes what is actually the most transformative period of our adult lives. Forget about having an identity crisis, get identity capital. Do something that adds value to who you are and make every experience count. Don' fall in to the urban tribe. Avoid hanging out with the same people all the time, expand your network. She says weak ties are where real opportunities arise in life. A weak tie is a friend of friend of friend. As Young PR Pros has preached in the past, this strengthens t