Public pillow fights at Yonge-Dundas Square.
I stopped by Saturday afternoon with a friend to watch as random strangers pulled out their pillows for some fun. We laughed ourselves silly as people enthusiastically returned to their childhood days and participated in a good-hearted pillow fight.
It wasn’t violent. Some people were dressed up. A few little kids happily and safely participated. And it lasted a very long time.
Good job Newmindspace!
In an effort to get out and enjoy my Spring Break and explore the city, I went out to the Natrel Skating Rink at the Harboufront Centre today.
Skating there has been a part of my Canadian winter memories for about ten years now. Each winter I would go skating with my high school band or with a group of friends in the evening. Skating at night, we would enjoy the magical feeling of skating by the lake on the rink, lit up by Christmas lights and spot lights and listening to some oldies but goodies.
Today I did something different. I went by myself during the day and was pleasantly surprised. I was able to skate for more than an hour in the bright, soul-warming sunshine with only six others on the ice. At first it was quiet but half way through they turned the music on.
Either way, it was both refreshing and relaxing. I enjoyed the rush of the cold (but not freezing) air as I skated and watched couples – both young and young at heart – skate, dogs run by merrily with their owners, and some stray planes land over the water at the City Airport in the distance.
When I finished, I was happy that I took a chance. I got over my reservations about exploring on my own and got over my lazy desire to stay on the couch with my computer and the tv (which was great over the weekend but now it was time to move on).
Afterwards, I enjoyed a nice warm drink at a nearby coffee shop, as per tradition. I was happy I came and even happier to know that I’m taking two of my international friends from school there tomorrow.
I spent a lot of my time over the past year wondering what direction to take when I finish my undergraduate degree this year. My mind was all over the place but in the end, I looked at what experience I have, what interests me, and the logical choice that flows from that.
In January, I will be starting the Corporate Communications + Public Relations post-graduate certificate program at Centennial College. I am so very excited about the program, the experiences I will have, and how it will prepare me for a career that I know is right for me.
What is Public Relations?
It seems that the PR community can’t agree on a definition. The Critical Perspectives in PR course I took last year told me that, but even after roaming around the web I can’t seem to find an exact definition.
The Canadian Public Relations Society defines PR as:
“the management function which evaluates public attitudes, identifies the policies and procedures of an individual or organization with the public interest, and plans and executes a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance.”
My working (and broad) definition, which will change as I go through the CC+PR program, is:
“the practice of managing strategic relationships between a company or organization and its employees and the public. It is about allowing for a clear communication channel between two or more parties in order to develop and maintain a brand, message, or cause.”
According to Inside PR, there are five major segments of PR: Media Relations, Government Relations, Stakeholder Relations, Investor Relations, and Internal/Employee Communications. Within each of these segments, various PR tactics such as writing, event planning, and image management, are used.
Why Public Relations?
When I flipped through my current resume and a few of my older ones, I found common themes that all pointed me towards PR. The most obvious cues in this direction are my internships.
My first internship through UWO was with Big Brothers of London. There I helped organize the ‘Bowl for Kids’ Sake’ fundraiser and communicated with the media, local companies, and current members to raise funds and find participants. My second internship was with IBM Canada as a Corporate Communications intern. It was sixteen months full of amazing opportunities and experiences that had me creating various communication media, working on two different conferences (one which sent me to Japan), and a lot more. My most recent internship, and my part-time job now, is as a Knowledge Engineer with IBM. It is not directly associated with PR, but I am editing technical documents by adhering to publishing and company standards. I see the impact of my work on the relationships between the company and the customers it needs to support.
My other related experiences include being a communications student-at-large for the University Student Council, acting as a communications officer for a club on campus, and helping organize an orientation event in high school.
The more I dig, the more examples I can find that lead me to believe that PR is what I should be doing.
Why more school?
I may have related experience but I am not a fool. I haven’t learned enough about the various PR functions or tactics. I don’t know how to put together a communications plan or handle media relations or write to persuade. I know that in order to succeed in this industry and to be at the same level as my fellow job hunters, I need to take a practical college program that will equip me with all the tools and knowledge and connections that I need.
Why Centennial?
Beyond its great reputation for successful graduates and a quality program, Centennial is recognized for its additional focus on social media and online PR.
Not only am I interested in social media because of my technical background, but I have been active in one way or another online since 1997. At IBM, I worked with some great people who are proponents for social media and are enthusiastic about recognizing the benefits of social media practices for companies. From all that I have learned (and I will write about this at another time), I believe that it is a mistake as a PR practitioner to ignore the Internet and its impact on communications. There are many great tools that can be used online and there is an ever-increasing expectation that new PR students are able to use these tools successfully.
To quote the Inside PR team:
“Social media gives us another really powerful tool to use … [as] media relations is tougher now than it has ever been. There are fewer cameras chasing more stories, and certainly in the Toronto market and in other large urban centers, it’s really tough to get media coverage unless you have a really good story. So why not explore those tools that allow us to reach beyond the narrow confines of earned media and take our message directly to the audience that we’re trying to reach … It gives us more control to reach a better-defined audience with a message that we can deliver on our own terms. … In five years, those who don’t know social media in the public relations space will be the equivalent of those, currently, who don’t do media relations in PR”
So now what?
I have been following PR-related blogs for a while now and as I finish off my last undergraduate semester, I would like to start participating in the online PR conversation. I used to write a lot in the past and I think I need to start writing again to document my thoughts and experiences, as well as to participate in these interesting conversations.
I have pulled together some old blog posts from some of my old blogs but from this post on, I will be writing new material here.
Hopefully not all my posts will be as long as this one, but I welcome all comments and suggestions.
“The last of one’s freedoms is to choose one’s attitude in any given circumstance” – Victor Frankl
Many people who have spoken to me or read some of my previous blog posts know that for more than a year now, I have continuously debated over which career and life path I should be following. I have worried about the choices I have, whether I will select the right options for me, and whether it will work out. I’ve also worried about various other factors that come along with each option, mostly financial issues as well as the opinions of my parents.
Then, in a comment to one of those aforementioned blog posts, Tristan pointed out that I need not worry; I’m just going through what many people call a Quarter-Life Crisis. According to Webster’s Dictionary, a Quarter-Life Crisis is “an emotional crisis in one’s twenties with anxiety and self-doubt after leaving academic life.” My “crisis” may not be as intense or critical as that, but I definitely was spending a lot of time (too much time) wondering what to do next. I realized pretty quickly that many people in their 20s are going through the same thing.
Since then, I’ve decided that I need to stop worrying and put together a potential plan instead. I have picked up books about the Quarter-Life Crisis (like 20 Something Manifesto by Christine Hassler) and am working on a way to calm myself and figure out a proper, realistic plan.
One step in that process was to meet with some of my mentors. These are people who I may not have officially created a mentorship relationship with but I feel that I can talk to about their experiences and my goals. I will admit that so far they are all people who I worked with during my last internship, but they each have their own stories and opinions.
One mentor spoke to me about the long, rapidly changing career path that she followed to get to where she is now. After graduating with a graphic design degree, she worked for corporations doing graphic design, then freelanced with her own company, then moved back to corporations, then went into event planning, then finally into communications where she is now. Her biggest advice was to be open to anything and to approach everything with an open mind. You never know where you may end up.
The second mentor I met with spoke to me about not giving up on your dreams and on working towards finding the job that you can be passionate about. A Computer Science master and PhD holder, the former manager of a corporate research department, and now an information sciences professor at a university, she seems to have finally found something that she loves to do. She is incredibly happy and passionate about the research that she gets to choose and take on herself. She shares and encourages the mentality that we all have to make the best out of every experience and to make each step on my journey, whether positive or negative, a learning experience. She believes that by doing that, you make success and luck happen. You create your own opportunities.
I’m embracing those words of wisdom. Through all of my co-op placements, I have found what I do and do not like to do. I have started to narrow down the next few steps of my career/life plan. I am consciously taking any negatives from what is going in my life now and using them as lessons to prepare me for the next step.
This includes finding out which field of work I’m more interested in working in. It involves clearing up financial issues and making a set financial plan. It also involves reading books, blogs, and articles that will encourage me and push me to be more optimistic about the next steps in my life.
It’s definitely better than sitting around and feeling down about a future that isn’t even here yet.