Digital Dirty Laundry Hurts Prospects

Digital Dirty Laundry Hurts Prospects
You know the old joke about what happens if you Google yourself? Well, ignore the warning and go ahead--it's better to uncover what you might find now rather than later, perhaps when you can't figure out why recruiters won't respond to your resume or why you were passed up for a sure-thing promotion.
Because such things are happening with increasing frequency, finds a survey released Aug. 14 by ExecutNet, the Norwalk, Conn., headquartered executive recruiting firm. Since February 2005, the percentage of recruiters who say that they use search engines to learn more about job candidates has grown from 75 to 83 percent.
Furthermore, the number of recruiters who have eliminated a candidate based on what they found online jumped from one quarter (25 percent) to nearly one half (43 percent).
Increasingly, report these recruiters, having damaging information or a lack of professionalism online is a deal breaker when the candidate pool is tight.
"For better or worse, the Internet provides recruiters and employers with a wealth of unfiltered information that's used to help evaluate candidates," says Dave Opton, CEO and founder of ExecuNet.
"From a candidate's perspective, there's no question that managing your reputation online is as important as it is offline."
A separate survey of 218 executives revealed that though most (76 percent) candidates expected companies and recruiters to conduct a search of their name online during the hiring process, a whole 22 percent had never entered their own name into a search engine to determine what personal or professional information would be uncovered.
Not only that, but 11 percent of executives admitted that they feared that would be found out if a recruiter conducting a name search about them would ruin their chances of landing a job. One-fifth had made an effort to increase the positive information that could be found out about them online, up from 13 percent the year prior.

Join Us for Walk the Red Carpet with YP - August 15 Meeting

Los Angeles is known as the entertainment capital of the world, so it's no surprise that some of the most seasoned and successful entertainment PR professionals reside in this city. This month we have a diverse panel of speakers who will be sharing some of their insights and experiences from working in entertainment PR and offer some tips for young professionals interested in breaking into the industry. Join us for an evening of friends, food and entertainment!

August 15 , 2007
6:00-6:30 P.M. - Networking
6:30-7:30 P.M. - Program
Rogers & Cowan
8687 Melrose Ave. 7th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90069
Rogers & Cowan's Website

• Rick Scott opened GREAT SCOTT P.R.ODUCTIONS in 1991 as a public relations, marketing and management firm. He designs and executes full-service publicity campaigns specifically for recording artists to support album releases, concert tours and special events on the national, regional and local levels, including specialty markets (i.e. urban, jazz, adult pop, modern rock, dance, etc.). He has also created successful media campaigns for record producers, songwriters, independent record labels, magazines, and a variety of other entertainment industry and sports entities, events and brands.
• Laura Ackermann is a publicist at Much and House Public Relations in Los Angeles where she has been for the past two years. She works on accounts in various fields including entertainment, wiith an emphasis in tween/teen accounts, events, and lifestyle public relations, specializing in fitness and brand building.
• Sallie Olmsted brings with her twenty years of technology, telecommunications, entertainment, digital media, consumer product/consumer service marketing and corporate public relations experience to her position as Executive Vice President at Rogers &Cowan. She oversees the Convergence unit that manages the intersection of new technologies with consumer electronics, entertainment, digital media and health care products and services. She has dedicated her career to helping technology companies make their core services and product offerings relevant to the entertainment industry and consumer marketplace.
• Karina Tang is a Senior Account Executive in the Convergence Group at Rogers & Cowan, and brings five years of public relations experience with print, broadcast and interactive media forms. She supports agency clients in the video game/digital entertainment space.

Parking: Enter on San Vicente between Santa Monica and Melrose Avenue at Pacific Design Center Drive (signal at intersection). Proceed to garage and bring parking ticket in for validation. Walk through building to information kiosk and then turn right into Green Tower section of the building. Walk down corridor to elevators on left side adjacent to glass doors. Take elevator to 7th floor. Enter through brown double doors into Rogers & Cowan lobby.

Cost (pay by cash or checks at the door):$10 YP Members; $15 for Non- members; $5 for PRSSA Members

RSVP:To RSVP, please reply to yp_prsala@yahoo.com.

If you have any questions, please contact Phyllis Hu at phu@iwgroupinc.com or Bonnie Berkes at bberkes@jmprpublicrelations.com.

We Hope to See You There!

Phyllis Hu (IW Group) & Bonnie Berkes (JMPR, Public Relations)
Program Co-Chairs, PRSA-LA's Young Professionals

In Case You Missed It: July Meeting Recap

July’s YP meeting was a great opportunity for attendees to gain valuable insight into what it takes to succeed in this industry. Our four panelists shared their backgrounds briefly before opening the floor for questions from the audience. Read on for some highlights from the question and answer session.

Q&A

Should I get my masters degree?
Work first and get some experience under your belt to help you decide what to pursue your masters in.

How do I move from an in-house position to an agency?
Play up any client service experience, even if it’s only internal clients.

What are some skills I should develop in order to get ahead?
Be a strong planner and organizer – train yourself not to do anything without a plan.
Develop long-range thinking skills.
Know your strengths and work on your weaknesses.
Earn a solid reputation for delivering what you promise.
Be a goal setter. Always keep your goals in mind and work on them often.

How can I build my confidence in the work place?
Find a mentor - someone who you trust that can look over your work and guide you or that you can bounce ideas off of.
Learn what motivates you and ask your manager for opportunities to pursue those interests.

Remember:

Don’t rush into your first job. It’s ok to intern after you graduate. Don’t feel like you have to get the account coordinator or assistant account executive position right away.

Don’t focus only on getting your next promotion. Learn as much as you can and excel in your current position and your next move will happen naturally.

BE PATIENT. You will be working for many years. Once you get past the fundamental years, you will have a lot more choices.

If you attended the meeting, please share a piece of advice that you found helpful.

We Asked, They Said

What do you like most about your job? Tell us and see what your peers are saying!

Meet Janice Huang

Janice Huang

Company: IW Group, Inc.

Hometown: Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

College: University of California, Irvine

What is your role at IW Group? What clients do you work for?

I work with directors and senior level management in strategic planning, coordination, execution and account management on campaigns and programs for agency clients, including Fortune 500 corporations, government entities and non-profit organizations. Specifically, the accounts that I manage are: Nissan North America, Wal-Mart, First 5 California and The California Wellness Foundation.

What has been your favorite PR moment?
There are two moments that jump to mind as my favorites. In October 2006, IW Group was awarded three PRism awards and an Award of Excellence from PRSA-LA. It was a clean sweep in all the categories the team entered. I am proud to be a member of the IW Group team that produced such great campaign results for clients and that the successes were recognized within the industry.

In 2007, IW Group counseled First 5 California and implemented the first-ever childhood obesity prevention campaign for the Asian Pacific Islander American community. The initial campaign included a media roundtable in Los Angeles and a community-based organization symposium in the Bay Area. While people know that obesity is a problem in the U.S., they often overlook the growing problem in the APIA community. The team and I worked very hard to make the campaign a success. At both of the events, it was very rewarding to receive positive feedback from both members of the media as well as the community, praising First 5 California and IW Group for taking the initiative to address the growing problem in our community. Moments like these make all the late nights worthwhile. I am proud to say that the success of the campaign has opened discussions to expand the campaign with a second media event in the Bay Area and additional CBO symposiums in Southern California.

What do you think your next career move will be?

I plan on growing with IW Group to reach management level positions, but am also interested in gaining experience in mainstream general market agencies.

What advice can you give to current students? recent graduates?

I’d encourage current students to take on as much internship experience as they could. Internships not only teach valuable skills that students may transfer to their schoolwork and later in their careers, it also helps them get a head start in figuring out their career directions.

For recent graduates, I’d advise them to keep in mind their interests and long-term goals when searching for jobs. Many recent graduates search for high paying positions instead of keeping in mind the skills and experiences they could gain from the position. Although entry level pay in our industry isn’t high, the knowledge and experience one could build up are worth the investment.

Application for 2007 Trevett Award is now available!

If you are fully-employed in public relations with no more than three years of full-time experience and in good standing with PRSA-LA, then you are eligible to apply for the chance to be honored as an outstanding young professional. First-place is $1000 and second place is $500. As an added bonus, winners will be recognized at the PRism Awards and will have the opportunity to be exposed to industry professionals.

For more information and application, visit http://www.prsa-la.org/ ("Awards & Grants") or contact Trevett Award Chair, Gesuina Paras at gesuini@hotmail.com.

Applications are due on August 31, 2007.