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Feb 05
2010
Gini Dietrich

Help a PR Pro Out

A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from my friend Arik Hanson. He had an idea that he thought would help out-of-work PR professionals network with the jobs that are becoming more readily available at both agencies and companies.

The big idea:

On Friday, February 19, from 10 am – 2 pm CT, PR bloggers, agency leaders, and PR professionals from across the country will donate their time and talents to help fellow PR pros connect with employers as part of the first-ever “Help a PR Pro Out” day.

  • Are you a job seeker? Prepare a creative blog post, pitching yourself to prospective employers and share it via Twitter during the event on Feb. 19 using the hashtag #HAPPO. The HAPPO “market champions” (see below) will help by retweeting and connecting you with potential employers in your specific market (or markets you’re willing to relocated to).
  • Are you an employer looking for talent? Follow the hashtag #HAPPO on Friday, Feb. 19 and share your openings. Market champions will do their best to connect you with talent they think matches your specific needs.
  • Are you a PR blogger/Twitter addict? Yes? Then share the #HAPPO tweets with your personal networks and lend your support to those in need. Help your market champion identify job seekers and pair them with potential employers. This is your chance to make a difference!

During the next two weeks, I will be working with agencies and companies in and around Chicago and in the Midwest to create a list of jobs available. I’ll also be working PR pros to create a list of those available for work.

If you know anyone who fits either side of this coin, please help me help them by posting a comment here.

For more information, check out Arik’s blog post.

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Ed - it's for all communication pros!

Hello: Great idea and I plan to participate. Perhaps it can be augmented for some of us: Help an Accredited PR Pro Out. (HAAPRPO). Edward M. Bury, APR

Gini -
FH St. Louis and Chicago are hiring. I would love to help and share our openings.

This is great, thank you! I have been struggling to find a new position in the Chicago area and I am confident this will be a success! Looking forward to the 19th, thanks!

Very excited about HAPPO! I am even more excited that someone from Chicago has agreed to participate. As a job seeker Chicago is without a doubt my first choice of relocation. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to help us out!
-Kim

@knallen

Hello! I would love to help out! I've already been in contact with the HR folks at Edelman, but please do let me know how else I can help with #HAPPO!! :)

Thanks, Gina, for thinking of us PRos. This is a great opportunity for me and, I'm sure, many others like me who fall short of the experience level needed to land an Account Coordinator/Executive position at a good agency
(typically, 1-5 years). With seven months of full-time agency internships under my belt, I know I can succeed as an Account Coordinator or Executive. I just need a hiring manager to put their trust in me and know they're doing the right thing.

This could be my chance, Gina. Thanks again.

Sean

PRVille (North Florida PRSA) will actively participate too....we've got a wealth of great resources throughout Florida and the Southeast. Let's do this!

I also think it is a great idea. How is the work going? Would it be international?

I have another blog post, on the topic, coming on Thursday. If you have job opportunities, please let me know by Wednesday. Thanks for your help!

Gini -- This is a terrific idea and one I'd love to see every PRSA chapter across the country should implement. I'm passing this along to my local folks here in the Triangle region to see if we can move it forward. Will also share this note via my networks, as well. Thanks!

Excellent idea -- I had seen Arik's original post. Our local PRSA and IABC chapters both run job banks. Am going to check in and see if there is something we can do here in the Phoenix area.

Gini-This is a great opportunity to help others! Thanks for doing this! I'll be sure to spread the word!

-Ryan

This is so great! I'm so thankful that you all are doing this!

I'll be sure to whip up a post about myself! There's got to be someone out there who needs someone like me! :)

-Katie
@goktgo

Gini,

Great idea. I love the 'Help a PR Pro Out' concept. We can all use a little help now and then. I'm trying to identify a PR or corp. communications opportunity right now where I can apply my 20 years of experience gained on the agency and corporate side. I am the former director of PR at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of R.I. I'd love to stay in healthcare but I also have high tech and P&C insurance industry experience too. Looking forward to 2/19. Thanks.

Chet Lasell (profile on Linkedin)

Gini,

I saw this one posted on another blog that I follow - http://www.socialmediaexplorer.com/2010/02/05/wanna-neat-job-in-public-relations/

Nathan

Trackbacks

  1. Social comments and analytics for this post…

    This post was mentioned on Twitter by ginidietrich: Introducing Help A PR Pro Out (HAPPO) http://su.pr/2DWAVR...

  2. [...] you’ve missed the hub-bub around HAPPO, click on the link above, or visit last Friday’s FADS post about it. You can also fan HAPPO on Facebook and/or follow on [...]

  3. [...] Help a PR Pro Out | The Fight Against Destructive Spin [...]

  4. [...] you’ve missed the hub-bub around HAPPO, click on the link above, or visit last Friday’s FADS post about it. You can also fan HAPPO on Facebook and/or follow on [...]

  5. [...] your first job. That’s the hope at least. And, it a part of the reason HAPPO exists. However, HAPPO isn’t all about jobs. It’s about helping other PR pros. That can mean, providing news and information. Connecting [...]

  6. [...] job. That’s the hope at least, and it’s a part of the reason HAPPO exists. However, HAPPO isn’t all about jobs—it’s about helping other PR pros. That can mean providing news and information, connecting [...]

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