-Katie Dillon
As a very determined and decisive student entering my first year of college, I thought I had my whole plan figured out. Tinged with a bit of naivety, I embarked on my journey studying at a very global-centric school in the heart of Washington, DC. Next to my name on every place card I received at orientation read “International Affairs Major.” At the time, it made perfect sense. I was so interested in the way the world worked and how its people communicated with each other, and I wanted to further my understanding and global view. While I still have a passion for international relations, I realized early on that my true passion was really writing.
I quickly delved into the seemingly endless journalism classes my school had to offer and found a common ground between my love of news, media and writing stories of all sorts. It was mentioned in passing to me that my communications and writing skills would serve me well in a public relations career, so I changed my major. Luckily, I have found through my internship at Buchanan PR that your major is simply a header on a diploma and your career choice will go far beyond it. From my own personal experience, I’d like to share some qualities that I believe public relations professionals – and industry professionals in general – value much more than your major.
1. Creativity. When asked to type up an executive cheat sheet for my coworkers’ meeting with a new client, I added the executives’ pictures as well so my coworkers would know who they were meeting before they even made it into the conference room. It’s not a surprise that everyone loves fresh, never-thought-of-before, promising ideas. However, something I’ve picked up is that it’s not always the big amazing idea that everyone falls for, but rather, it’s the little extra special touches here and there that make a big difference when completing a task.
2. Interpersonal Skills. Of course, college students will (most of the time) make sure they look good on paper before heading into a job interview, but half – if not more – of the battle when interviewing for a job is that your potential co-workers are trying to figure out if they actually want to work with you. Regardless of how amazing and qualified you may be, when working in a 9-5 environment nobody wants to be surrounded by unpleasant people. I’ve found that paying attention to your manners and kindness a little more than usual will be recognized much more by your co-workers than your GPA and accolades ever will be.
3. Fearlessness. Doing something for the first time is always scary. Fear can be a good thing, but it can also keep you from enjoying a sense of accomplishment from something like securing your first pitch from a reporter, or getting complimented on how great your 50-person-long media list was. I’ve learned that when given a task that seems daunting just because it’s something new (i.e. figuring out a new PR computer program or calling a reporter), it’s best to take it on completely with the knowledge that your coworkers are more than willing to help you out along the way.
Can you think of any other things you’ve learned beyond your college major? Let us know in the comments.