[To comment: larry@larrylitwin.com]

First, here are former “official” definitions for the term public relations. Please note, for years, Professor Richard Earl, counselor Jim Lukaszewski and I have been promoting a change — or at kleast the inclusion of — to strategic communication. Now, here are former definitions and the new one from PRSA:

Former:

A management function that helps organizations and their publics mutually adapt to one another.

Former:

[To comment: larry@larrylitwin.com]

From Ragan’s PR Daily: [To comment: larry@larrylitwin.com]

By Michael Sebastian | Posted: February 14, 2012

Are you sending emails after lunch?

Bad idea, says a new study.

The best time to send an email—if you want someone to, you know, open and read it—is around 6 a.m., according to research from Baydin, which makes the email plugin Boomerang.

The company analyzed its database of more than 5 million messages and came up with some useful insights about email communication, among them the words that you should—and should not—include in your subject lines.

The best words to provoke a response are:

1. Apply
2. Opportunity
3. Demo
4. Connect
5. Payments
6. Conference
7. Cancellation

And the words that likely won’t get you a response:

1. Confirm
2. Join
3. Assistance
4. Speaker
5. Press
6. Social
7. Invite

I wouldn’t recommend eliminating these words from your subject lines if they’re working for you.  [To comment: larry@larrylitwin.com]

Do you have a choice: [To comment: larry@larrylitwin.com]

To comment: larry@larrylitwin.com

From PR Daily:

Editor’s note: As many readers know, this isn’t the first story PR Daily has published on signs you work in PR. Though there is some overlap with this rendition and other versions, we have a feeling readers can relate to many of the items listed below.

Public relations is a notoriously stressful career.

This year it earned the rank of seventh-most stressful job in America, a drop from last year when it was No. 2—ahead of airline pilots. To which I beg to differ. Lives are not in our hands, after all.

Of course, PR can be stressful. We are, for the most part, at the mercy of forces beyond our control. The right pitch has to edge up against the right timing and the right reporter for any great placement to happen.

It takes a certain kind of personality to thrive in public relations. Read any PR job listing, and you’ll see requirements such as: detail-oriented, excellent writing skills, multitasker, organized, energetic, blah blah blah…

Yes, PR people must embody these traits, but excelling at PR requires a number of intangibles. It’s a gut feeling we’re looking for when we interview candidates; it just cannot be quantified in a job posting.

To provide a better sense of what those intangibles are, here’s a list of 33 signs that you work in public social media and PR:

1. The five scariest words you fear all day are, “Why aren’t we in this?” (from the hilarious @lmokaba)

2. In grade school, your teachers noted that you were a “social butterfly” on your report cards (not in a good way).

3. You’ve disabled all your notifications on your mobile devices and your computer. You don’t need them. You know you have at least 50 emails, five direct messages on Twitter, and 10 texts.

4. When you see a great story in the press, your first thought is, “Who placed that story?”

5. You scrutinize every word you write. Yes, there is a difference between “over” and “more than!” (Just ask Steve.)

6. You’d never buy a gift for a reporter, but you would retweet him or her to show that you are paying attention.

7. You’re surprised to hear that people still use desktops.

8. When the iPhone first came out you sacrificed function for image. Yes, you had to figure out a new way to manage your tasks because they no longer synced the way they had on your BlackBerry, but it was worth it.

9. You know what a “muscular verb” is.

10. A “day off” means only checking email every 15 minutes while you are physically out of the office.

11. In your personal life, when people try to help you stuff invitations, assemble gift bags, etc., you take over the project because you can do it more quickly.

12. When a friend tells you an amazing story over drinks about how she saved a lost dog or saw an ostrich along the side of the highway, you say, “I could get that on TV.”

13. Your grandmother wants to know when your article will be published in The New York Times. You just tell her “soon.”

14. Your friends ask you to compose their apology letters.

15. You can identify people at meetings, tradeshows, and on the street based solely on their Twitter avatar photos (h/t @lmokaba).

16. People assume you attend parties and meet celebrities for a living (and you let them think so, because it’s better than the reality of being chained to your phone and laptop).

17. You could easily hold the record for the most lists on Twitter, but there’s no formal way to measure that yet.

18. You still have Google alerts set up for past clients just to see what type of coverage they are getting (again, h/t @lmokaba).

19. You might use terms such as “boilerplate” and “hashtag” during happy hour conversation.

20. Caffeine and alcohol, in that order.

21. You have a running list of jargon that you ban from all writing. And you judge others who use those terms.

22. You are perfectly capable of writing a press release while tweeting, updating Facebook, and watching “Mad Men” at the same time.

23. You justify new clothing and accessories by telling yourself and others that you are “in the image business.”

24. You believe that all customer service reps will give you what you want if you approach the conversation the proper way. If that doesn’t work, there’s always Twitter.

25. You use Google+ because it increases the SEO for your content and all of the reporters you work with are on there—not because you like it (at least not yet).

26. If you are unable to find a piece of information, it’s not findable.

27. You take pride in finding typos in the novels you read (and you consider notifying the publisher).

28. You know and use proofing marks.

29. You have entire conversations with your colleagues using buzzwords just to crack each other up (another great one from @lmokaba)

30. You sleep with your iPhone.

31. Your answer to most questions that begin with, “Do you think it’s possible to…” is “yes.”

32. You write headlines in 140 characters (actually, 120 is ideal—to leave room for retweets).

33. “Speechless” is a foreign word.

Beth Monaghan is a principal and co-founder of InkHouse Media + Marketing. You can follow her on Twitter at @bamonaghan. A version of this story first appeared on the InkHouse blog.

To comment:  larry@larrylitwin.com

(Reprinted from Ragan’s PR Daily)

To comment: larry@larrylitwin.com

With a nod to Tom Chambers’s post on five things to know before dating a journalist, here’s a similar guide to embarking on a relationship with a PR professional.

Here are four things you should know about dating a PR pro:

Our relationships are our top priority.

Because our job involves satisfying the needs of multiple people, we’re good at relationships. We’re good at mediating, moderating, and making things happen. “Fantastic,” you’re thinking, “this all sounds lovely.”

Oh, wait, did you think we meant our “relationship” with you? Oh, goodness, no. We have vast networks of contacts; we have more “relationships” than Richard Branson has islands. (Actually, that’s a rubbish comparison—he has only one.)

The fact is, we are people people, inherently social, and we will undoubtedly know at least three times more people in the bar than you do.

We’re very positive.

Come to us with a problem, and we will always give you a solution. We like turning situations around—so much so that sometimes you might forget how things actually were in the first place.

Some people call this spin, but we don’t. We prefer to think of ourselves as incredible storytellers; there will never be an awkward silence over dinner when we’re around, ever.

We know what’s hot and what’s not.

We are very much on the ball in terms of what’s hot or not. We work six months in advance, so we live that way. Early adopters, some might say.

When you think something’s cool, chances are we’ve been there and done that—most likely at an industry event. Some of these industry events require us to exist on a diet of champagne and the odd canapé, normally handed out at the latest “unbookable” restaurant. We can be a little tricky to wow at dinner.

We’re incredibly efficient.

Returning to the “everybody” of my first point, we have a lot of people to stay in touch with, so we are rather good at organization.

However, this makes for an incredibly packed schedule, so you could find yourself being allocated a time in the ever-present BlackBerry calendar, possibly as a weekend or evening activity.

You could also find dinner interrupted by the red flash of the BlackBerry, alerting us to an essential social media checking appointment. Please just allow us to ensure each of our social networks is up to speed; it won’t take a minute. The world could end if you prevent us from doing this.

With that, you are fully briefed on what to expect from your other-half—the good, the bad, and the sometimes-baffling traits of PR people. Treat us well, and you’ll become like a favorite client: We’ll want to spend all our time with you.

Anything to add?

Laetitia Redbond is an account executive at Flagship Consulting in London. A version of this story first appeared on the company’s blog.

To comment: larry@larrylitwin.com

According to Tribune Media Services: “Good interviews aren’t always based on basics – less obvious action can help raise your profile.”  To comment: larry@larrylitwin.com

When interviewing for a job, it’s important to speak clearly and to be honest about your past

and potential. It’s also essential to research the company beforehand so you’ll be able to successfully navigate the interviewer’s specific questions about the company’s industry. But not all jobs are won or lost by following the most obvious of interview rules. Here are five secrets of a successful interview:

1. Don’t turn down a glass of water or cup of coffee if offered. It puts you on a more personal level with your interviewer and gives you a minute or two to scope out the office for possible clues on talking points, as well as a chance to regain your composure. Also, the cup or glass will give you something to do with your hands during awkward quiet moments. And, you will be able to attack that dry-mouth more effectively if a drink is nearby.

2. Ask questions, but don’t insult the interviewer. In other words, you won’t need to tell your interviewer the obvious with thinly veiled questions like, “Why are there so many open positions?” Questions about the company’s performance should be handled Carefully, as well. Consider asking, “How will this new hire be able to contribute to the company’s future growth?” is more subtle and effective than, “Are you guys still losing money?”

3. Whenever possible, give specific examples of the ways the company or company’s product already has impacted your life or how it will impact it in the future. If you’re interviewing for a position with a grocery store or department store chain (WawaTarget, Walmart, etc.), mention your weekly trips to one of their store locations. If you’re courting a furniture company, mention how you’re looking forward to decorating your new home with a specific couch or table. (Get the idea? Work your personal experiences into the interview – but do NOT overdo it.)

4. Don’t rush. Most interviewers block out at least an hour of time for each person they speak with. Don’t feel the need to tell your life story in the first 10 minutes. Instead, find ways to attach important pieces of information about yourself with various answers. You won’t lose points by taking your interviewer on occasional detours. In fact, he/she may be more interested in your explanation of how you learned the importance of personal responsibility when you worked your way through college than your routine answer as to whether or not you prefer to work in a team setting or alone.

5. Give your interviewer something to remember you by. At this point in the candidate selection process, most job seekers are fairly similar, considering they’ve all been called in for an interview based on separate resumes. Your interview is your chance to stand out. Mention something exciting you did over the weekend or ask about a photo or object on your interviewer’s desk. Aside from striking a personal note, you’ll be able to reference this in your Thank-You Letter — something as simple as, “Hope you’re able to catch another large-mouth bass this weekend.” This gives your interviewer something to remember you by, hopefully further separating you from the others that he interviewed for the job.

The Philadelphia Inquirer  (Nov. 20, 2011) carries a Monster Worldwide, Inc. full page on “Using your looks for career success (without going overboard).

You can link to it right here. Please read it and heed Robert DiGiacomo’s words (for Yahoo HotJobs). He knows of what he speaks. [To comment: larry@larrylitwin.com]

http://career-advice.monster.com/in-the-office/workplace-issues/using-your-looks-for-career-success-without-going-overboard-hot-jobs/article.aspx