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The first stop on the JMU chapter of PRSSA’s trip to Washington, D.C. was Crosby~Volmer, which is a smaller sized Public Relations firm. They have a wide range of clients, but their D.C. office primarily works with the media. The President of the company, Rob Volmer, looked through our resumes and gave us some tips on how to make them stand out to hiring managers at a first glance. Lastly, they gave us some sample interview questions and students had to answer them. This was especially helpful and gave us a better idea of what kind of questions to expect in an interview. The next agency we visited was Edelman, one of the largest independent Public Relations firm that exists in the industry. We got to hear from a panel of employees that work in different departments there. We also got to meet Katie and Joe, the intern coordinators. They talked about the application and interview process and gave helpful tips. Lastly, they held a resume workshop where Edelman employees volunteered to review our resumes and gave us feedback on them. After visiting Edelman, we took a pit stop for lunch at a popular restaurant called Founding Farmers. This rustic-chic restaurant was the perfect place to grab some southern style comfort food. They had a wide variety of options, friendly staff and an inviting atmosphere. After refueling, our next stop was CRAFT. This agency was smaller than the others and has more of a political background. In recent years they have begun moving away from politics and have acquired other clients in other industries. The employees described their roles in the agency and emphasized the benefits of working for a small agency. Some of the advantages include having more opportunities, picking up more responsibilities and building skills that will allow you to move up the ladder faster. Last but not least, we visited Porter Novelli. This is another large Public Relations firm that has multiple locations and deals with a variety of clients. Their D.C. location primarily works with politics and healthcare. We got to meet some of the employees and they described the ideal candidate as well as gave us helpful interviewing tips. Lastly, they talked about the timeline for applying there and the interviewing process. After a long day of agency visits we ended our trip with a happy hour at Barcode, a popular spot in the city. Some of the agency employees as well as other JMU alumni joined us. This was a great opportunity to get to talk with them more one-on-one and hear about their jobs and experiences in D.C. All of the information from the agencies was very helpful, whether you are actively seeking a position or not. I would recommend it to younger students as well so you know the right steps to take in college to make yourself more appealing to potential employers. For those that are actively seeking an internship or full time position, it is a great way to make connections and get your name out there. By Bailey Garrison |
ContributorsAll content on this blog is created by current JMU PRSSA members. Archives
November 2017
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