CPC Hosts Summer Career Camp at Girls Inc.

This summer, the CPC team has been volunteering and hosting a career camp at Girls Inc., an organization which works to make sure at risk girls and young women receive the education and encouragement needed to reach their full potential. C. Pharr’s four-week camp is structured to explain the process of finding a job by deciding what you are interested in, identifying an opportunity, completing an application and acing an interview. Additionally, each week we have chosen to focus on a certain  job industry – science, technology, engineering and math (STEM); hospitality; retail and real estate/construction – to introduce the girls to a variety of possibilities and to get them thinking about careers they may not have heard of or considered. 

In the first few weeks, the girls were given a personality assessment to help pinpoint a few things at which they might excel. They also learned about where to find a job, filled out sample job applications, discussed what kind of work environment they would enjoy and learned what should and should not be included on a resume. We just completed the third week, and in the final session, the girls will learn about the importance of a professional appearance and tips to survive the interview process.

Although the main objective is to raise awareness of the different types of career opportunities and to help prepare the girls for a future in the workforce, the C. Pharr team has equally benefitted from the camp. We enhanced our team building skills and challenged our creativity. Each week of the camp has been taught by two members of the C. Pharr team who by working together, took on the challenge of engaging a tough group – 12 to14 year-old girls on summer vacation. Each team collaborated to create PowerPoints with interesting content and videos, and fun handouts for the girls to work on and take home. 

At C. Pharr, we are always looking for new and creative ways to give back to the community where we live and work. It’s important to our company that we are hands on and find opportunities where we can physically engage with the people we aim to help. Girls Inc. was the perfect fit. Our team has really enjoyed working with the girls, and I am personally impressed and inspired by their dreams and ambition. Through asking the girls questions, we found that they were eager to speak up and give their opinion or share what they hope to be in the future. We heard from a few who aspire to be FBI agents, choreographers and veterinarians, to name a few. 

The ultimate goal of Girls Inc. is to empower girls to become strong, smart and bold women who positively contribute to our communities and who understand, value and assert their rights. In a world with endless possibilities, but that sometimes can deal a tough hand, it is important to have role models who can help steer girls like those at Girls Inc. in the right direction. 

This post was contributed by Kathrine Brody @Kabrody

CPC Hosts Summer Career Camp at Girls Inc.

Do's and Don'ts for Your Next Media Interview

Great news! The media outlet your PR team pitched is interested in your story and wants to schedule an interview this afternoon. Before you psych yourself out and mentally come up with a list of reasons why you can’t make the interview, read my handy list of do’s and don’ts that is sure to get you through your first or fortieth interview.

Do prepare for the interview. No one knows this story better than you, but it never hurts to have stats on hand, key messages and thoughts on paper just in case you to need to reference them during the interview. You should have this information with you whether your interview is over the phone or in-person. The reporter understands that you may need to reference material during an interview and will appreciate you taking the time to make sure you have the most recent statistics or facts on hand rather than giving old or incorrect information.

Don’t think anything is “off the record.” While it’s true that reporters will sometimes allow sources to go on background and not be directly quoted in a story, this is the exception, not the rule.  So if you don’t want to read about it in print, don’t say it. Even if the camera is off and the reporter is just casually talking to you, everything you say is fair game to the reporter.

Do understand that most journalists are just people who are trying to tell a good story and get home to their families. They are interested in your story and think that their audience would be interested too. The best way to help them tell your story is to provide clear information and limit the number of details you share. Think about the one thing you want the audience to take away from the story and drive that point home. A reporter will only quote a small fraction of what you say, so if you can explain your message simply and clearly it’s more likely to be a quote or sound bite. All of the other details and background you provide will be told by the reporter as further explanation throughout the story.

Don’t get too technical. When giving an interview always think of the intended audience. The way you would explain something to your coworker is different from how you would explain it to someone who doesn’t work in your industry.  It’s likely that the reporter isn’t as well-versed in the topic as you are and may not understand the industry jargon. This could lead to your message getting lost, or even worse, misinterpreted. Stating information as simply as possible will help to ensure that both the reporter and the audience understand what you’re trying to say.

Do let the reporter know if you don’t have an answer for their question. It’s better to get the right information to the reporter later than to give incorrect or misleading information that can hurt your credibility. Reporters understand that you may not have all the answers and will appreciate you finding the correct information and sending it to them after the interview. The majority of interviews are not live and there are usually a few hours between the time the interview takes place and when the article or segment is submitted to an editor for review.

Don’t ask to review an article before it’s published. Occasionally journalists will fact-check an article with the source to ensure the correct information is included. It is perfectly fine to volunteer that you’re available to answer additional questions if they need to verify information while they’re writing their story, but don’t ask to review their work before they publish it.

Just remember these tips before your next interview and your message is sure to be received.

This post was contributed by Krystal Morris.

Do's and Don'ts for Your Next Media Interview

A world without PR?

This spring Leah and I had the opportunity to meet with Sabrine Ben Ali, a 2014 Women’s Initiative Fellow, and small business owner from Tunisia. The purpose of this Fellowship program, which is supported through The Bush Center, is to empower and equip women to become effective leaders, so Leah and I were honored to share with her a little about what we do every day.

Sabrine is the sales manager and co-owner of Edisciences, an advertising and editing agency in Tunisia. As part of her trip abroad, Sabrine’s mentor, Diane Paddison, planned a full day for her in Dallas, which included stops at D CEO, Hart Advisors and C.Pharr. The goal during each of these visits was for Sabrine to learn as much as she could about ad design, social media, public relations, marketing and networking. These are all things still very new in Tunisia, and in fact, public relations is pretty much unheard of.

That fact more than anything was the most surprising part of our visit with Sabrine. While there are two to three large, and several small, advertising agencies in Tunisia, the idea of strategic, non-paid publicity was completely new to her. In the course of our conversation we explained a lot – the importance of establishing solid working relationships with media, thought leadership positioning, business development and other basic PR principles.

As Leah and I tried to understand a world without PR (gasp!), we learned that in Tunisia journalists simply do their own research and investigating for stories. They don’t have PR agencies like C. Pharr that pitch them story ideas and help facilitate necessary interviews. The idea that we help journalists do their jobs was enlightening to her, and it is a strategy I hope she will be able to implement at her agency back home. As part of media relations, we explained the importance of building working relationships with key reporters, especially in areas like Tunisia where media is somewhat limited.

Finally, we talked a lot about the importance of business development and networking. Leah shared a little about her experience as president of PRSA Dallas, as well as her involvement on the boards of several local organizations in order to help explain how networking and business development go hand in hand. This was something we also learned was foreign to Sabrine.

As summer gets in full swing and many workplaces begin to welcome college student interns, I was reminded of our mentoring experience with Sabrine, and wanted to reflect on the importance of sharing knowledge to empower others. 

This post was contributed by Shelby Menczer

Twitter - @shelbymenczer

A world without PR?