Airfoil Public Relations

Essential tools for the new PR professional

As a new professional with Airfoil, each day brings with it a new barrage of items and information to learn about, tasks to master and old habits to kill. Thankfully, this is an agency that values best practices and embraces the technology that allows us to work at the most efficient and successful level possible.

Smartphone: A growing staple of the business environment, this is one of my favorite and most utilized tools. Running on the Windows Mobile platform, I am able to send and receive emails at nearly the same speed as when I am tethered to a desk. Even more important and valuable to me, I can, at a quick glance, see where I am supposed to be and at what time with the schedule function that automatically syncs with my Outlook calendar.  It’s also a valuable resource when attempting to locate the nearest Starbucks cafe.

Laptop: All team members at Airfoil are equipped with laptops and for good reason. We can, and do, work from different locations throughout our wireless office regularly and don't have to sacrifice our access to a PC because of it. A great example of this benefit occurred just a few weeks ago when I was able to instantly respond to a client's request even though I was on the opposite side of the office from my desk. 

Twitter: My colleague Tim Wieland wrote a great post last week talking about how the PR profession is embracing the utilization of Twitter (or at least they should be). The reality is, this is such a great tool to get more entrenched into the "conversation." I utilize the tool to understand what the reporters are focusing on, to gather news items that often never get featured by mainstream media and of course, to complain about odd-ball items that I experience in my daily life. Feel free to follow me at: @cglapoint

Instant Messaging: For those situations when you are too lazy to pick up the phone but don't want to email for a quick response. I guess a point could also be made that it allows us to work more efficiently…yeah, let us go with that.

-- Craig LaPoint

Interview tips you won’t find on a job board

As an account supervisor here at Airfoil, I have the opportunity to interview many of the intern and entry-level candidates. Here are some tips before you walk through the Airfoil door beyond the “do your homework, send a thank you note and wear a suit” standards:

1. Bring your portfolio – When an intern candidate says he/she forgot or does not have their portfolio, this translates to me as “my dog ate my homework.”

2. Be able to story tell – Without fail, you will be asked to walk us through a challenge or success in the workplace. Be prepared to tell stories – this conveys to us that you will be proficient at pitching our client “stories.”

3. Don’t wear anything distracting – Have your own style but don’t do anything completely distracting with your hair or clothing. I interviewed a candidate one time that had wild hair hiding one of her eyes. I couldn’t stop staring at it as I interviewed her and it completely took my mind of what she was saying.

4. Be confident, not cocky – The people interviewing you don’t want to hear that you think you are smarter than them. Talk about how your brilliant mind will complement and enhance our brilliant minds.

-- Elin Nozewski

Transition from student to professional includes a lot of logistics

Let me start by introducing myself, and what I’ll be blogging about.

My name is Craig, and I am one the newer hires here at Airfoil PR. I just recently graduated from Wayne State University with a degree in public relations and political science. I am active with the PRSSA, especially with the 2008 PRSSA National Conference in Detroit in October.

I plan to chronicle and share my transition here from the student to professional.  I’ll share with you my day-to-day experiences and try not to bore you in the process.

My first week at Airfoil was wonderful, yet challenging. It took me nearly a day to locate the bathroom, and I still constantly can’t figure out which conference room is which. That said, the folks I work with are incredibly helpful and professional, and I am certainly not afraid to ask them questions (which is how I found out where the bathroom is).

My revelations for the first week: 1) I sure can’t figure out how an office functioned before the dawn of e-mail and 2) It’s amazing how the culture of a company can impact everything, including the day-to-day operations of the agency.

That’s it for now; more to come later.

-- Craig LaPoint

New PR professionals in the spotlight

When new professionals start a first job out of college or move into a new field, they usually have a lot to say about what they are learning and observations on how processes and functions could be improved.

It always helps to have a fresh, new perspective, which is why we’re adding a category here called new professionals.

From time to time, you’ll hear from the latest and greatest hires at Airfoil and hear how they’re adjusting to and impacting public relations.

We hope you’ll enjoy hearing from them, just as much as we value learning from innovative ideas and additional viewpoints from our colleagues.

-- Tonja Deegan