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    • « Shouldn’t brands care more about a second chance to talk to consumers than their Super Bowl ads’ first impressions | Main | #HAPPOKC Job Opps »

    Get by with a litle #HAPPO from your friends

    By Justin Goldsborough | February 11th, 2010

    NOTE: On Friday, Feb. 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.

    Short story 1

    My older brother doesn’t work in PR. He’s a finance guy. Very smart, very successful. Long-time employee at Accenture in Chicago and has several collegiate degrees. A few years ago, he started talking about Harvard. Three years ago, he took leave from his job to attend the Kennedy Government School in Cambridge. One-year program, Harvard degree, going after his dream with the full support of his company.

    His dream came true — he got the degree. I’m very proud of him for that. A Harvard degree is a big damn deal. But when he went back to Chicago, Accenture didn’t have a spot for him. So they asked him to wait. He was still en employee, still getting benefits. But his career was on hold. It would just be for a little while.

    Then the market dropped. Business entered the world of layoffs and hiring freezes. More waiting. Opportunities appeared and it would seem like my brother would be headed back to work soon. Then like a desert mirage, they were gone. Accenture wouldn’t win the contract he was supposed to work on. Or the new headcount wouldn’t be approved. About a year after he walked across the Harvard stage in cap and gown, Accenture said they had to let him go. He’d been on leave too long.

    This is the economy we are living in today. A guy with a Harvard degree, two Northwestern degrees and an MBA is still looking for a job. Times are tough. I bet some of you know someone like my brother.

    Short story 2

    In late 2003, I moved back to Kansas City from Chicago to take a job with Sprint. My soon-to-be-boss told me to get back to KC as fast as I could. If I could get home by the end of the year, he said, the position was mine.

    Well, I got home by the end of the year. Late November actually. And I waited. And I waited. Waited for a month until finally I needed a letter of intent to hire so I could move into an apartment. And that’s when I found out the job had been frozen.

    It took me three months to find another job. But I learned a lot in those three months thanks to my local IABC chapter. A former colleague encouraged me to go to a job fair and the people on the board helped me set up informational interviews at local agencies and corporations, reviewed my resume and portfolio and walked me through mock interviews.

    I didn’t get my job through IABC…except that actually I did. Because if those people on the board hadn’t helped me out,who knows how I would have fared in my interview at Applebee’s, where I was eventually hired by one of my current colleagues at Fleishman-Hillard?

    Short story 3

    There’s a part at every KC/IABC monthly luncheon where we give attendees the opportunity to stand up and share if they are looking for a job or if their company has a job opening to offer. Until November of last year, we were averaging about 5-10 of the former and maybe one, but often none, of the latter. However, in November, we had six people looking and three people hiring. I remember because I thought “maybe this thing is turning around.”

    I do think the job market’s improving. More companies are hiring. I hear about more opportunities offline, see more on Twitter and we have more postings in our KC/IABC job bank. But that said, Heather Whaling (@prTini) and I created a poll during #pr20chat Tuesday night and asked the following question: “Are you or someone you know currently looking for a job?”

    So far, we’ve had 36 respondents. 36 yes, 0 no.

    I don’t tell these stories to be pessimistic, but to show that if you’re having trouble finding a job, you’re not alone. And that there are people who can help, who want to help. And thanks to Arik Hanson (@arikhanson) and Valerie Simon (@valeriesimon), #HAPPO is a great way to start meeting those people.

    #HAPPO stands for Help a PR Pro Out Day. As the poll showed, we all know someone in our industry who’s out their looking for a job. Maybe that someone is you. Or maybe you’re looking to hire.

    Speaking of #HAPPO champions, it’s our goal to help you worry less about finding a job or tracking down that ideal candidate from a source you trust. So ‘Don’t worry, be #HAPPO!” And contact one of the #HAPPO champions if we can help you make a connection:

    The #HAPPO Champions

    (make sure to connect with the person in your area to discover PR pros/agencies)

    If you’re a job seeker or an employer looking to hire in the Kansas City area, feel free to reach out to me anytime this week or next and I’ll do my best to help you make a connection or provide recommendations. Or if you just want to help spread the word about this effort and be a part of the team, I can help with that too.

    And remember, you can follow the hashtag #HAPPOKC on Twitter for conversation local to Kansas City, or the #HAPPO hashtag for the latest on the overall event.

    Finally, KC folks, here are some resources to get you started if you’re job or candidate searching:

    Do you know someone #HAPPO can help? Let’s continue the conversation in the comments.

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    4 Responses to “Get by with a litle #HAPPO from your friends”

    1. uberVU - social comments Says:
      February 11th, 2010 at 9:54 am

      Social comments and analytics for this post…

      This post was mentioned on Twitter by mikeschaffer: RT @JGoldsborough: 3 short stories on why #HAPPO is important to me. Do you know someone #HAPPO can help? #HAPPOKC http://bit.ly/anJz6S…

    2. Heather Whailng Says:
      February 11th, 2010 at 1:48 pm

      Justin, I think this is the best #HAPPO post I’ve read so far. I don’t know why, but it gave me goosebumps. I’m just so happy to be part of such a cool project. Like you, I can’t wait to be “all hands on deck” next Friday to see how many people w can help!

      Heather

    3. Get by with a litle #HAPPO from your friends | Justin case you … | NetworksLinks Says:
      February 11th, 2010 at 3:09 pm

      […] Read the original here: Get by with a litle #HAPPO from your friends | Justin case you … […]

    4. Justin Goldsborough Says:
      February 11th, 2010 at 6:31 pm

      Heather, thanks for the kind words. It’s amazing what a little motivation, community and passion can do, huh? Always read/said PR peeps have the “help gene” engrained in us. Exhibit 1: #HAPPO.

      Btw, I wrote my grad school essay on why I wanted to be a journalist. The main point was that I had always loved writers/broadcasters growing up that could tell the human side of the story so well it gave me goosebumps :). Not kidding.

      So you just made my day. Thank you.