I love recruiting for our sports group – I don’t get to do it too often since we rarely have openings in that practice area due to demand, but we’re currently looking to add an experienced VP-level sports PR professional to our St. Louis team.  Feel free to shoot me a copy of your resume if you have 10 years of PR agency experience mixed with sports league/franchise (NFL, NHL, NBA, NASCAR, etc.) and beer/spirits sponsorship experience. Our clients include AT&T, Papa John’s, Gatorade, Crocs, the United States Golf Association, Western Golf Association, and teams from MLB, NHL and the NFL, among others.  Click here if you would like to view the full job description.

Here are the links to some positions that I am currently working on:

VP, Insight Creation (New York)

Managing Supervisor/Vice President, Public Affairs (D.C.)

VP/SVP, Digital Strategists (St. Louis)

Director, SEM and Online Advertising (Cleveland)

Project Manager, Digital (Cleveland)

Web Developer/Designer, Digital (Kansas City)

Account Supervisor/Managing Supervisor, Digital (Kansas City)

Phew!  Our digital group is really hopping right now.  Check out the postings and shoot me a copy of your resume if you’re interested in learning more!

Here’s the link to our digital portfolio: www.fhdigital.net

Q:  OK, so I took your advice and set up the daily job alert from indeed.com, but the results are less than stellar.  I’ll be graduating from college in May, so I set my daily search to return entry level public relations positions across the country.  It’s hard to sort through all of the fluff to find the real agency, non-profit, and corporate positions.  Do you have any suggestions?

-Jane College Student

A:  I have a great solution for this problem!  I’m assuming that your current key word search is very general, probably just: “public relations”?

Write down all of the fluff companies that are clogging up your results and put them in your key word search with a minus sign.  For example, if three specific companies are really messing up your results – let’s just say these repeat offenders are Fluff International, Clutter Company, and Trash Bag Enterprises, your search string would look like this:

“public relations” –fluff –clutter –trash

Any job description with the words fluff, clutter, and trash will be filtered out.  Just one word of warning – don’t filter out any general public relations words.  For example, if you want to filter out The Media Relations Group, don’t filter out the words “media” or “relations” because you will definitely filter out a lot of great positions since “media relations” shows up on almost every posting.  You may just have to live with The Media Relations Group in your results since it’s such a generic title.

I hope this tip helps!!

Q:  I am thinking about changing careers and I would like to explore opportunities in the public relations field.  How easy or difficult is it to get a job in public relations without industry or agency experience?
 
-Joe Candidate

A:  That is a fabulous question, Joe.  I’m going to be completely honest – you’re going to have a hard time finding a public relations position in a mid to large sized agency without any applicable experience.  That being said, lets focus on what you can do to make yourself more marketable in the PR field!

-Transferrable skills.  The core competencies of public relations consist of writing, writing, media relations, writing, client service, and more writing….so, are you a good writer?  OK, that’s a great start.  Do you have a Journalism, Communications, or Public Relations degree?  Even better!  Someone with a non-traditional background can actually be a really great fit in a specialized role.  For example, a person with very strong human resources experience could be a great fit for internal communications.  Similarly, a person with specialized pharmaceutical experience could be an excellent fit for healthcare public relations.  It really boils down to whether or not you like to write.

-Boutique Firms.  The best way to get your foot in the door in PR is to join a boutique firm and start gaining direct experience.  You can also go the corporate or non-profit route, but choose wisely and research the organizations before applying.  

-Internships.  If you are still in college or just out of college, I suggest applying for a paid internship with a large firm or joining a small boutique firm in an entry level position.  Here’s the link to our internship application process – http://www.fleishman.com/careers/internships.html

-Networking.  Join networking associations like PRSA and IABC, and be sure to attend the meetings and get involved.  Also, create a LinkedIn.com profile, if you haven’t already, and start linking and networking with PR professionals in your city.

-Research, research, research!  We’ve all seen the flashy PR job descriptions advertised on the job boards – don’t be fooled by gimmicks.  Go to Google and research which reputable large, medium, and boutique PR firms are in your town. 

-Get referred into a company.  If you know anyone personally at the companies you are targeting, email them with your resume and ask them to refer you for an entry level position.  You can also email a recruiter directly with your resume if you can find their work email address.  This can backfire if you are too pushy, so use your best judgment when contacting anyone directly.  Also, check the company Web sites to see if you can submit a resume online.

-Indeed. Not all companies advertise their openings on monster.com, so I suggest having an indeed.com job alert emailed to you daily.  Indeed pulls all of the jobs from all of the job boards and company sites into one list and sends it directly to your email inbox.  How easy is that?

-Don’t worry, be happy.  Listen, if you’re going to be working at a company for at least 38.5 hours a week, you should really love the company and the work that you’re doing! In your search, be sure to really drill down to find the types of organizations that are aligned with your interests. If you hate writing, then public relations would probably not be the best profession for you to pursue.  However, if you love writing, teamwork, current events, media relations, working with large clients, and interesting international assignments – you would probably be a great fit for F-H!  To learn more about our current positions, check us out at www.fleishman.com.  You can also check out our digital work at www.fhdigital.net.

Fleishman-Hillard, St. Louis
Senior Creative Director

Position Overview:

Fleishman-Hillard Creative is currently seeking a talented and resourceful Senior Creative Director. We are currently looking for a gifted designer with strong project management, people management, presentation, consulting, and design skills.  You will have the opportunity to work on a large variety of high-profile projects for our Fortune 500 clients, which include hands-on collaboration with designers, writers, and clients in creating internally and externally focused corporate materials. You will be working with senior managers on a regular basis regarding workload, client needs, budgeting, and staff development.

Responsibilities:
• Master a portfolio of creative assignments that are varied and complex
• Contribute to the development of design and visual communications strategies for our Fortune 500 clients 
• Design and manage miscellaneous projects/materials for clients
• Work with vendors and freelancers on behalf of clients
• Contribute conceptually to the development of new business proposals
• Assist in establishing estimates and budgets, and demonstrate an ability to work successfully on deadlines and within budget
• Act resourcefully, offering a variety of resources and alternatives solutions to creative problems
• Resolve most questions and problems independently, seeking counsel, where appropriate. and making recommendations on complex issues
• Direct the work of interns and other designers

Qualifications:
• A minimum of 8 years of hands-on experience in a design leadership position
• Agency background (advertising, PR, marketing, etc.) is strongly preferred
• A strong design portfolio showcasing your best work
• Experience in print and presentation design, primarily working with account executives and clients to design various materials that successfully convey strategic communications messages
• Ability to carry out all phases of the design process
• Expertise in the areas of consumer marketing, informational graphics, identity development, and branding
• Ability to translate concepts across multiple mediums including video, online and dimensional formats
• Experience with all the latest design programs including Adobe InDesign

We are open to relocation for the right candidate and offer an excellent compensation and benefits package including medical/dental, disability, paid holidays, sick and vacation days. To be considered for this position, please submit your resume and samples from your portfolio to betsy.beard@fleishman.com.

We are an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. M/F/D/V.