One year ago today, I packed up everything I could fit in my car, took my last final at USF, and hit the highway to Orlando. I spent the night at my parents house and hit the road first thing in the morning for my new life in Chicago. Okay so technically my anniversary with Chicago is on the 19th, but I officially checked out of my life in Florida on the 17th. So today, I celebrate.

It’s been one hell of a ride, I tell you.

I took my last final on June 17, arrived in Chicago on the 19th and started my internship at Weber on the 22nd. Time flies when you’re having fun. And working your face off. And networking like a machine.

I have been blessed with incredible opportunities, both personally and professionally, in my first year here in the Windy City. I’ve traveled to ten different cities, visited home six times, had one super-awesome-thought-it-would-only-happen-in-my-dreams speaking opportunity, several opportunities to teach colleagues about social media, been to what seems like a cajillion networking events, driven thousands of miles, made snow angels for the first time in ages, and eaten in some of Chicago’s most spectacular restaurants.

I’ve also had some moments where I questioned the entire move. Moments where I was pretty sure that moving to Chicago was not a good choice. I’ve freaked out, calmed down and freaked out again. I had moments sitting in my studio where I was pretty sure that my student loans would swallow me whole. I had moments at work where I felt like I was just one step behind where I needed to be, where I questioned why I spent tens of thousands of dollars on a college education because they sure as shit don’t teach corporate in college.

I have been blessed with mentors and mentees around the country. I write about that a lot because I have a sick love affair with all things mentoring. It’s single-handedly the most important part of my career as I continue to navigate and understand just what exactly I want that path to look like. I’d have to say that this has been my favorite part of living here, being in the real world, and being thousands of miles away from home. The people who have taken me under their wing have provided an incredible amount of support and guidance and to be honest, that’s what keeps me sane.

I’ve never had so many sub-groups of friends in my life. I have work friends, social media friends, friends of my roommates and now my skydiving friends. It is a totally different experience. In Florida, I had work friends. In Kansas, I had school friends. I don’t know if this comes with living in a big city or just being outside of college, but I like it. A lot.

Chicago, you’ve done me proud so far. You better keep it up.

A year ago today, I was in “the cove.” It’s the dining room at Charley’s Steakhouse in Tampa that has all the fishing rods on the ceiling. I was an opener, in the middle of stuffing blue cheese olives and replenishing (read: stealing from the servers) the to-go boxes for the bar when my phone rang.

312 number. Shit. That’s Chicago.

I ran into the private dining room and shut the door and answered as calmly as I could possibly muster:

“This is Sydney.”

Rewind.

I had previously been at SXSW, came home, sent my resume to my new-found contact at Weber Shandwick and applied for an internship after graduation. I had been through phone interviews (FIVE!) and a writing test. This was them, calling me back.

Resume.

“Hi, this is Erin from Weber Shandwick, how are you?”

::cold, sweaty palms::

“I’m excellent Erin, how are you today?”

And so the small talk continues.

::jumping up and down, silently squealing in my head, and a little tear because this was actually (finally) happening::

I was offered the internship in Chicago. All of the dreaming and researching and Googling “things to do in Chicago” and Weber Shandwick-client-related-work stalking and probably-too-soon-apartment searching was bubbling over and becoming a reality.

It was April Fools Day.

This wasn’t a joke.

I hung up and called my mom. Who called my dad. Who called my sister. And I broke the news on conference call. I was moving to Chicago.

That was a year ago. It blows my mind how much I’ve learned and how much my life has changed since then. After I accepted the internship, things moved even faster than they had before. I was supposed to start in August, but started in June instead. Suddenly, my birthday weekend wasn’t for celebrating, it was for flying to Chicago and finding a place to live. I didn’t know what would happen after 16 weeks but I was ready and willing to find out.

Thank God I did.

Thank God I broke the rules and answered my phone at work.

April Fools Day will forever be remembered as the day my life sped up.

Try telling your family, friends, colleagues and boss that you’re moving to Chicago on April Fools Day. It took some serious convincing that it wasn’t a joke.

I’ve talked about how important it is to find a mentor, in fact, it happens to be one of my favorite topics. Without the handful of people that are invested in my success, I’m not entirely sure that I’d be where I am today.

I can tell you that without Penelope Trunk, my resume would be boring and plain. Actually, without Penelope, I wouldn’t be sitting where I am right now, because I wouldn’t have gone to SXSW, I wouldn’t have met the people that I met, and I wouldn’t have seemingly stumbled into the amazing opportunities I’ve had since SXSW. So thank you, Penelope.

Without Aaron Strout, I might not understand the business world nearly as much, and I might have fallen down a couple times if he hadn’t been right there with an answer when I needed it. I remember when I met Aaron – we were at the Mashable party at SXSW and I dragged him away from his group to do an interview with me for my blog. Shortly thereafter, he became one of my favorites, responding quickly, concisely and always having great advice.

Without Bryan LeMonds, I would have only had Penelope’s version of my resume, and I’d still think that the point of PR is what I was taught in school, not the very simple answer of “making people realize why they matter”. Meeting him shaped my trip at SXSW, and he gave me a new outlook on the industry.

Without Adam Keats, I’d still be in Florida, probably still bartending and content with half-assing the job search (okay we know that isn’t true, but I’d still be in Florida, for sure). Adam is a man of his word, and I am thankful to have the opportunity to be working with him in my time at Weber Shandwick. I remember when I met Adam, I was rambling like an idiot about what I wanted to do when I graduated, why I love social media and PR, blah blah blah, and he said “funny, that’s what we do everyday where I work”. And the rest, as they say, is history.

So, to be approached by not just one, but three students in PR in the past couple weeks is really exciting, and definitely a change of pace. This time around, I’m the one deciding when and how to respond. I’m the one with answers, and if I don’t have the answer, I have a bunch of people I can call on to get it.

I’m taking all of my mentor-mentee experiences and rolling them into one so I can do a bang-up job at mentoring these up-and-comers. This makes me want to call my mentors and ask them a million questions. While I know there are a lot of PR students out there, there are very few that actually seek out advice, let alone students that follow up. Of course I’m happy to help because I was there not even a year ago, hungry for knowledge and guidance. And I still am. It’s interesting, being the one answering the same questions that I had a year ago. That’s how I know these students are going to do big things. They have the same drive that I did, and I turned out okay.

::note to self, thank mentors and hug them::

It’s amazing how fast my world has turned around from when I started out on this journey. But that’s another post on its own. 

Do you have mentors? Are you a mentor? Have you learned qualities from your mentors that you pass down to the people you are mentoring? What is your biggest piece of advice for mentors? For those seeking a mentor?

Today I experienced a phenomenon that I didn’t really anticipate. Today I felt like a rookie. 

For so long, I’ve kind of been the go-to gal for various things. At school, I was the go-to gal on my team for my capstone course because I was the account exec for our client. So everyone came to me. At work, servers would come to me if they didn’t know how to ring up a drink, or they couldn’t think of what high-end scotches we had, etc. They came to me, because I knew. And I was nice about it. My first week at the internship, there was a lot of learning going on, and I felt pretty awesome at the end of every day.

Today I felt like a rookie.

Today, I was asked to pitch various social media outlets. That was the task at hand. No real direction, which left it totally open to my interpretation. So my first inclination was to reach out to my Twitter network and see if my big-players would send out a tweet or two next week on my behalf. That didn’t go over well. My approach was to ask them casually if they would reach out to their network. Five out of seven didn’t respond, and the two that did, one told me it was an odd request. So I backed off that approach as fast as I started it.

That’s the thing, it’s all about learning. Do I have a solid network? Yes (still growing, but solid). Is it appropriate to ask them casually if they’ll reach out? No. If (and the key word in this sentence is “if”) it is appropriate, then I need to do it like I would anyone else. Formally. But not too formal. These people don’t have to write anything. They’re in social because they want to be. A wise man told me I need to add value. 

So I did. Well, I tried. We’ll see how it goes. 

This whole experience is new. Yes. As far as the social media stuff goes, I’m honored that people in the office are asking for my point of view, let alone listening to it. It’s awesome. So I guess when I had my little “oh my god this is not the way to do this” moment, I felt like a rookie. But it woke me up.

So that’s the new balance I’m trying to find. I know I’m not a know-it-all. That being said, I appreciate people coming to me with questions about social. I just hope that when I don’t know an answer, they remember that this is my first agency rodeo, and I’m still learning too. I just really don’t want to let anyone down.

I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. Until then, I’ll keep on keepin’ on.

Let me preface this post with this. In order to maximize your success, you need a mentor. Read up on how to get one and then actually put in the leg-work. Part one of this series talked about building your network. Use those principles when finding a mentor as well.

Part Two – You have to want it.

This is where the fun begins. Now, keep in mind, you aren’t going to build a network overnight. It’s going to take some time. I’ve been working on my network since November and I haven’t even scratched the surface. But it’s getting there. Make time to bring meaning to the lives of people in your network. It comes full circle.

Before I went to SXSW, I made a list of people I wanted to see speak and people I wanted to meet. I followed them on Twitter, friended them on Facebook and asked if they would have time to grab a drink in between sessions. Out of all the people I contacted, I actually met up with a good deal of them, probably half. 

Connections lead to conversations which lead to opportunities for employment. It all comes down to this: you have to want it. I could tell you my story and go through the exact details but I think that knowing what you want will lead you to success. 

First, you have to know what you want before you can want it.

1. Make a list. Everything you’re good at. Everything you suck at. Things you are working on. Things that cannot be fixed. Be honest with yourself. Make it like a pros and cons list. Pros and cons of why someone should hire you. If you lie about your talents, this exercise is null and void and won’t help you. But if you sit down and think about it, I mean, really get critical, you will learn something about yourself. And learning about yourself is always a great thing.

2. Write up a job description. I took my list of everything I was good at and wrote a job description based on my qualities. It really helped me visualize my dream position. It also helped me realize what areas I need to work on developing while I get ready to be hire-able. Example: I want to know more about Photoshop, so I took on an internship with my friend who is a photographer and I help him do his post-production work. 

3. Don’t settle. So many of us (graduates, or soon-to-be) are scrambling to find a job for after graduation. That means we settle for whatever we can get to escape the panic attacks that come with the thought of being unemployed. As long as you have a way to keep a roof over your head, don’t settle. If you’re in an industry like PR, oftentimes it’s an internship that opens doors to full-time employment. If you can swing an internship and still keep yourself fed, do it. Just because you aren’t paid a lot (or at all) doesn’t mean you aren’t working. I even hesitate to call internships by that because the intern part should only refer to the pay scale, not what you can do. Of course there are exceptions to every rule. Example: I’m going up to Chicago next weekend in search of a bar that will hire me so I can supplement my intern income.

4. Earmuffs around the negative people. Don’t succumb to their doubts. If you are given an opportunity that you know can do wonders for you professionally, take it, prepare for it, and then run with it. And don’t you dare stop and turn around. Be confident in yourself enough to know that you make good decisions.

5. Decide on something and own it. Because you have to believe it. If you want to make it happen you have to just do it. Is it scary? You betcha. But you can’t let the fear squash your opportunities for success. I know I’ll be employed as an intern until December 4th. My parents think I should sublet in case it doesn’t work out. It’s going to work out. Whether or not it’s with the company I’m interning at, who knows, but I am committed to my career and am committed to making something of myself. If I went up there and half-assed it, I wouldn’t get hired, guaranteed. But because I’m doing this, really doing this, I am confident that someone will want me on board full-time by December.

With all of that in mind, once you know what you want and you decide to go find it, a mentor can help you reach out to people. Having a professional in the industry who knows your work and knows you personally puts you at a great advantage, and the reasons why are pretty obvious.

Do you know what you want? Does it change? Did you settle for the position you’re in now or is it your dream job?

I’m currently reading Putting the Public Back in Public Relations by Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakenridge. In the first chapter, titled “What’s Wrong with PR?”, Brian and Deirdre list 20 reasons why PR doesn’t work (a list with reasons from Guy Kawasaki, Jeremiah Owyang and Dave McClure). After reading this list, I realize that there are some problems here, and I believe I can be instrumental in changing the perceptions of PR as we know it.

1. The client and the PR person or PR firm are not a good match. I, Sydney Owen, do solemnly swear to ensure that I am a good match for my clients, and vice versa. If there isn’t a great chemistry between the client and the person/people handling their PR, the campaign has already taken two steps back. And nobody likes to start from behind. That being said, if I feel that I am not a good match for the client, I will say something. Because life is too short and money is too tight to be half-assing anything. And if we aren’t a good match, there will be sacrifices made somewhere that result in less than 100% from both ends.

2. The PR firm doesn’t understand the product or technology. This is important on all levels, especially to me, as a fresh face in the industry. I bring it upon myself to understand my client and their message, be it a product, a service, whatever they are trying to say or sell. I also challenge my peers and coworkers to strive for the same level of understanding, since we are all in this together. I’m here to learn, and I will ask questions. I will not pretend to know it all.

3. The PR firm hasn’t been properly trained on how to communicate with bloggers or social media. This is the whole reason I’ve been involved in the social media scene before I enter the work force (obvious Twitter addiction aside). Social media is shaping PR in ways that are going to revolutionize the industry. I am engaging in that change before I enter the world outside of the classroom. I will start my career in PR with a solid understanding of just what exactly can be achieved through the use of these tools. I have started to establish relationships with influential bloggers that will play an important part in the future. This is why I’m investing so much time and effort into my blog and my web presence in general. This will help a client someday. The connections I’ve made will enhance a campaign that I will some day a part of. And that’s exciting to think about.

4. The PR firm prefers working with a few big traditional media instead of lots of smaller online media and online channels. Going back to number three, this is why I’m creating relationships with people in different industries online. The way multimedia journalism is emerging is exciting. Knowing how to target those media in different channels online is what puts you (and your firm) ahead of the game. There are a lot of firms that get this. There are a lot that don’t. I hope to help expand media lists to include these online markets. Integrating the new media with traditional media is what will blow the reach out of your campaign out of the water.

5. Marketing (and communications) is not just facts (the when, what, and where), but it’s telling  a story, engaging the community, and being “human”. PR has always been about relationships. Why do people (the client) matter? How can we show that they matter? Who is listening? Now, with social media, we have the means to monitor what people are saying. Social media is about the conversations. The conversations will influence your campaign strategy. Conversations will make or break you. Telling the story in a creative way is always what works. Now we just have more ways to deliver that story.

First of all, if you haven’t read this book, you should (especially if you’re in PR, a PR student, or have any remote interest in where the industry is headed).

What are you doing to better understand the industry? What do you think is wrong with PR? Why doesn’t PR work for you? If you are in PR, how are you tackling these concerns?

The coolest thing about being a candidate for a position that you’re relocating for (minus the thrill of a new city, new people, new life) has got to be a phone interview. I have recently gone through a total of six phone interviews for my newest position, and I’m here to tell you, it’s not scary. I used these tips to prepare, and now I have compiled a list of my own. (Thanks, Penelope, for getting me all squared away!)

1. Go somewhere quiet. For me, this was my car, for all six interviews. A lot of important business happens in my car, because it’s a quiet place away from the classroom, work and my apartment. I can’t get a good silent spot on campus unless I’m in my car. If I tried to do an interview at work, I’d have servers yelling about medium-rare steaks, which is not the best background noise.
2. Dress the part, if you want. For me, I’m not comfortable in super-formal business attire. I never have been. So I wore what I am comfortable in, business casual. I wore something that I look great in, I was having a great hair/makeup day, and you could tell. You can hear confidence on the other end.
3. Have water handy. I get wicked dry mouth when I’m talking for a long time, so I had water handy. I also am prone to little cough-attacks, the little tickle in my throat comes up at the most inopportune times, (think finals in a 1200-seat auditorium… are you SERIOUS?) so I was prepared. But not slurping it. Don’t slurp water, or chew gum, or smoke, etc when you’re on a phone interview.
4. Smile. If you’re smiling, your voice sounds upbeat. Really. It’s a huge difference. Think about when you call a friend and you know they’re upset. It’s the same thing. You can hear emotions.
5. Don’t be afraid to think about your answers. Yeah the pause will feel like forever since the person on the other end can’t see you thinking as they would if you were face-to-face, but don’t just jump into an answer because you’re afraid of the pause. Believe me, they’d rather wait for an awesome, well-thought-out answer than to hear you ramble while you try to gather your thoughts.
6. Ask questions. The normal interview rules still apply. Everything you do in an in-person interview needs to be done on the phone, with twice the enthusiasm. Ask questions about the person interviewing you. Make sure your questions are relevant to the conversation. An interview should be about two-way communication, so help facilitate that. Don’t just answer, ask as well.
7. Follow up. Immediately. The best thing about my iPhone is as soon as I got off the phone with my interviewers, I sent them an email thanking them for the opportunity to learn more about the company and for the experience. Be sure to include something that you found particularly interesting. It shows that you were paying attention.

Do you have any other tips for phone interviews? What is your preferred method of interviewing – in person or on the phone? Do you rock interviews or do they scare you?

Okay so this series has now extended into the realm of Twitter’s number one trending topic on Monday nights: #journchat. Founded by @PRSarahEvans, #journchat is a mix of journalists, PR pros, students, bloggers and whoever else wants to participate.

My question was featured in tonight’s session: “Question #6: What is 1 tip for college seniors about to graduate into PR/Journalism?”

Here are some responses:

To wrap up the individual posts about my new friends and their tips for the Almost-Grad, I present to you, Brian Camen. He works in higher education PR in Arizona. Brian graduated college in May 2007 so he can still relate to those of us about to finish up our education. To find out more about Brian, check out his blog, The PR Practitioner.

What is your one tip for the Almost-Grad?

One main tip for new professionals: Don’t pretend to know everything. Many times students come right out of college into their first position and pretend they know everything about media relations, about writing and even the company they work for. It’s an unwritten rule that when you are in an entry-level position you are there to learn, develop and grow your skillset and knowledge about the PR industry. Mistakes happen, but learn from them and don’t pretend you are an expert when you’re really a newbie.

Are you speaking from experience?

I made that mistake when I first entered the workforce. I had 4 or 5 internships and thought I was king. That was very foolish of me. My attitude quickly changed for the better and I’ve grown so much in my first two years in the PR world.

Anything else you’d like to share with the class?

• Network, Network, Network
• Use social media to your advantage, not disadvantage
• Interviews = practice makes perfect
• Create opportunities by doing pro bono freelance PR
• If you don’t have one already, find a mentor (I’m a big fan on mentors. I am where I am today because of mine)
• Enjoy the time while you’re still in school and looking for a permanent position – your life is about to change!

Thank you Brian!

Are you in your first job and feel like you know it all? Has someone called you out on it? Do you think that people are afraid to seem unexperienced so they pretend they know all of the answers?

There has been a lot of talk lately about whether or not Twitter is going to get you anywhere. Jamie Varon wanted to get hired – she set up a campaign, and though she didn’t get hired by Twitter, she did land a job as Community Manager for TechVenture. Case in point – when used correctly, Twitter can absolutely get you somewhere.

My story? I was at the “Old Media, New Tricks” panel at SXSW. I was tweeting live all of the points that I thought I would want to remember, since I was using it as a way to take notes, and I was participating in the virtual discussion about what was being said in the panel. Adam Keats from Weber Shandwick saw my feed, liked it, followed me on Twitter, which lead him to my blog, where he commented on my series about SXSW and self-discovery, and I emailed him after he posted the comment. We emailed and texted back and forth the rest of the day, met up later that night, and he took me under his wing, introducing me to everyone I needed to know.

Because of that connection, I have had two rounds of interviews and a writing test with Weber Shandwick’s Chicago office. Now I wait. In the next two weeks I’ll know whether or not I’m going to be uprooting my life to Chicago in August. If I get hired, no doubt it’s because they believe I am qualified for the position – but the connections made on Twitter are what got my foot in the door. Had I not been on Twitter during the panel, Adam may not have met me, and I would have been another resume in a stack of hundreds. Networking with him allowed me to make an impression before he had even seen my resume. Now that is what social media is all about.

Regardless of whether or not Weber Shandwick brings me on board, I learned valuable lessons. I went through a total of six phone interviews (post on how to rock a phone interview coming up). I took a writing test – demonstrating the skills I could offer the team. And that’s what life is all about.

I think the people that think you’re wasting your time on Twitter are either not understanding the true value of building a social network or they are upset that it hasn’t gotten them anywhere. And Twitter isn’t for everyone – I know that. But being a senior, about to graduate into the world of PR, where social media is starting to revolutionize that industry, Twitter is for me. And I thank Twitter for opening doors I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to explore.

Now cross your fingers and think good thoughts!

What are your thoughts? Have you made valuable connections on Twitter or other social networking sites that have helped your career? Do you think Twitter is a waste of time? What is the best way to use social networking to your advantage?