By: Peter Girard
Last week, fellow Account Coordinator Tim Viall and I attended an event hosted by the University of Rhode Island Chapter of the PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America). It was an odd feeling being back on campus. Not sure if my colleague Tim feels the same way, but there’s a certain strangeness to going back to a place you work so hard to leave.
The event was sponsored by the Harrington School of Communication and Media and consisted of a main speaker, a panel discussion, and an ice cream social/networking to end the event. (How could we not go? Networking and ice cream? It’s a PR person’s dream…)
The main speaker was great. Rafael Sulit is the Director of U.S. Brand Strategy and Implementation for National Grid and was a pleasure to listen to. Now, when you think National Grid, your mind probably doesn’t jump directly to social media, but they’re active on a lot of platforms and doing it really well. From my point of view, the most beneficial aspect of the entire event was the networking afterward. But for the students, I’d have to say they got the most out of the panel discussion, which was “unfortunate”.
Let me first say that the panel was great. Moderated by Adam Roth, an awesome professor in the Communication Studies department, the panel consisted of Rafel Sulit, Giselle Mahoney – manager of communications and media relations for the Tech Collective, Lauren Bettencourt – brand manager charity by design for Alex and Ani, and Kerri Hicks – manager of web communications for URI. Audience members had the ability to ask questions out loud or submit them via tweet through a live-tweet wall. All the speakers were very knowledgeable, possessed different strengths, and worked in different environments.
But it was the networking after where students would have gotten the most bang for their (free) buck. Please understand, I came out of URI, by definition I am a product of URI and the Communication Studies department specifically. I understand probably better than most that of the students who attended, there were those who really wanted to be there, saw it for the opportunity that it was and took advantage of it. Then, there were likely students who were either asked or told to attend the event for a class they’re taking, write a paper likely shorter than this blog post about it and hand it in for some points.
As soon-to-be new grads, I think the better value for them would have been to stick around after the event and network. Here’s where the blog post opens up and becomes applicable to everyone. The bottom line is you’re never too old to continue growing professionally. While networking events can sometimes be hit or miss, if you make even one contact or exchange business cards with just one person, it’s worth it. Specific to this event, I held a conversation with three out of the four panelist, including the main speaker, and exchanged business cards with all of them. You never know if the contacts you make at an event like the one I attended last week will yield anything but it’s always better to have them than not.
Aside from ultimately making new connections, networking events provide a lower pressure environment to socialize with other professionals and this is undoubtedly a required skill whether you’re about to enter the work force, or you’re already a professional. ESPECIALLY in public relations. I would rather attend 10 networking events to hone in on my networking and socialization skills than underperform say, at a trade show or in a new business meeting. Use networking events as an opportunity to spread your social butterfly wings and flex your gift of gab and the return on investment could be tremendous.
If you have any questions about networking, or are looking for some tips, please feel free to connect with me via Twitter.
pete_girard 