by Uma Chandran, Class of 2009

When Sabita Singh starts work each morning at Sun Life Financial, she feels a great sense of pride.  As the director of digital communications, Singh leads the company’s global digital communications strategy – a rare role for a Toronto-based communicator.

“It’s exciting to have the ability to shape the digital footprint of an international company,” she says.  “I’m proud of my work because it has a global impact on our web presence in the US, the UK, Asia and other regions around the world.”

Singh, an Accredited Business Communicator (ABC), graduated from the Corporate Communications program at Centennial College in 1989.  She entered the PR field through her internship and, since then, has worked in many different sectors including real estate, pharmaceutical, high tech and financial services.

Singh spent more than 10 years doing internal communications in various roles, including three years as a manager at Sprint Canada.  It was there that she first had experience with digital communications, managing the company’s intranet site, and quickly realized that she had found her niche.

“Digital communications is great because it’s always changing; it’s easy to measure and it’s never boring, especially with the introduction of social media which is revolutionizing the way we communicate.”

With her new interest in digital communications, Singh took her expertise to AstraZeneca Canada, iStudio and to her current position at Sun Life Financial.

“I’m always thinking about what I want to do next,” Singh says.

Singh’s determination and initiative have been recognized by her peers numerous times through awards including an IABC Ovation Award, a CPRS Creative Excellence Award and an IABC Gold Quill Award. An award-winning project she is most proud of is the redesign sunlife.com in 2008.

Using the strategic planning tools that she learned years ago at Centennial College, Singh led the transformation of the company’s international website. The website is now user friendly, incorporates social media and, because of improved search engine optimization, now ranks higher in search engines like Google.

“In one year, we’ve come so far in the digital world. It’s exciting to be a part of a company that recognizes the importance of the web in communicating with its customers, employees and other diverse audiences. We’re moving from behind the times to leading the way in a short period of time.”

Singh attributes her impressive successes to her strong will and hard work. However, she also enthusiastically credits the Corporate Communications program for teaching her all the right skills.

“Everything I learned at Centennial, I’ve used in the workforce. It’s all practical – writing, editing, graphic design, strategy… I really do credit my success to Centennial,” she says. “I have a lot of respect for the program. It’s a great starting point for the field.”

It’s already been four months and my first semester at Centennial College is over. It’s hard to believe that it’s over considering how much we had to do.

Our courses were:

• Project Management
• Introduction to Corporate Communications
• Public Relations Writing 1: Writing to Inform
• Canadian Business Practices
• Event Management
• Media Relations
• Copy Editing

These courses were interesting and engaging and gave us the chance to learn a lot of the basic skills that we need to go forward into second semester and then into the field of communications.

On top of writing, editing, planning and presenting, we also did a lot of strategic thinking, participated in intelligent and creative discussions, and took part in a few role-playing activities (including a mock news conference and making mock agency pitches to a fake client).

I learned a lot this semester but there are two things that really stand out:

We can do anything

I realized that as a group of students, we really do have the skills, drive and talent to succeed. I say this because for our Event Management course, we were split into groups and had to put on events in the community with a budget of $0. With a lot of hard work, initiative, creativity and support for each other, we put on three really successful events. Two of which raised more than $1,000 for charity (combined) and one that brought down the house at a retirement centre. It’s hard not to be proud of my peers and the work we’ve done.

This is for me

I love that communications is creative and involves writing, editing, designing and planning. However, before starting this program, I had no idea how much strategic thinking and problem solving communicators do. That aspect is something I love and it makes me realize, even more, that my decision to pursue the field of communications was a good one.

What’s next?

I have this week off between semesters and I plan to spend it exploring my goals for the next few months. I want to think about who I’d like to do a client project with and where I may want to do an internship.  Of course, I’ll also spent a lot of my time resting before the next set of courses start.

Photo Credit: BookMama – Creative Commons Licence (BY-NC-ND)

During our very first meeting, I suggested that we set up a wiki.

All of my group members had heard of wikis before but maybe only one or two of us had ever used them. So I quickly set up a private wiki on pbwiki and invited them to use it.

I had only briefly gone over why we should be using a wiki and so I think I will go into a bit more detail here.

What are the advantages of using a wiki?

• For the most part, using a wiki doesn’t really require any special technical skills. Even if you need the brief how-to session, it’s pretty simple to use.
• It allows you to collaborate with a group of people (regardless of how many people) without having to e-mail documents and files back and forth, and without having to worry about losing an important e-mail in your crowded inbox
• It’s a great way to keep all information related to a project in one central place
• Everyone can add and edit information and it’s easy to track changes
• You can always revert to previous versions of a page
• You can record and access current information from anywhere, whether or not you have the files and regardless of what system you are using
• You can receive notification when a page or information has changed
• You can lock the wiki so that only a select few can view and/or edit the pages

What are the disadvantages?

• For some people, there is still a learning curve (even if it is much smaller for wikis than other options)
• If you are using a public wiki service, it may not be as secure as you would like it to be
• If you are meeting your group in person and you won’t have access to a computer, you will still need to print off the important pages

Right now, it seems as if most of my group members are doing ok with the wiki.  I understand that there is a little bit of frustration because a wiki doesn’t function the exact same way as a word processing program, but I think that will pass over time.

I’m sure that once we split up our duties, the wiki will be really useful for recording our findings and activities for each other to see.

Are there any other advantages or disadvantages for using a wiki? How do you use wikis?

Photo Credit: teemow – Creative Commons License (BY-NC-SA)

This semester we’re taking Introduction to Corporate Communication, PR Writing 1, Event Management, Project Management, Media Relations, Copy Editing and Canadian Business Practices.  While I loved my combined program at Western and I tried to ensure that all my courses there were interesting, I can’t remember a time when I was this engaged with my classes. I realize it’s early and I still haven’t been hit with the crazy workload, but hopefully this continues.

I find the content interesting and relevant and I love the way the teachers include current examples and their personal stories.  It keeps me engaged and I know that I’m already learning a lot about the field.

Now that the program has begun, I’m looking forward to networking with other students and professionals in the field.  I plan to look into CPRS and IABC student memberships and also to start branching out online.  I have spent the past six months or so adding numerous PR blogs to my RSS reader and reading along.  Unfortunately, I’ve been too shy to comment and join the conversation.

My next step is to stop hiding in the shadows and start participating in these lively conversations.  Part of that is commenting on other blogs, but it also means writing more blog posts myself and tweeting more.

Let’s see how it goes.

Photo credit: James Sarmiento

I know I haven’t posted in a long time and this is because school has been hectic. I just finished the craziest week of the semester (so far) which included something due every day of the week.

One of these major projects was my Media, Information, and Technoculture honours seminar project. I am enrolled in the The Art of Commentary: Editorial Cartooning and the Role of Dissidence in the Press seminar class in which we study editorial cartoons and the history of cartooning. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the class but it is now one of my favourites. We not only look at editorial cartoons, but we also learn about the political and historical events that were occurring at that time and see how the cartoonists engaged in political commentary through their work. It’s amazing how powerful and strong the cartoonists’ messages can be.

Along with attending lectures, we each worked on a research project throughout the semester and then held a half-hour seminar for the class to present our work. For my project, I looked at the topic of genocide – something I became very interested in and passionate about since I took the Century of Genocide class last year. I started by researching all editorial cartoons that deal with genocide and then slowly put together a theme.

I ended up talking about the phrase “Never Again”. After each genocidal event starting from the Holocaust, we (the public, the international community, and the United Nations) said “Never again”. However, we all know that genocide has happened and is happening again and again.

What I found through my research is that editorial cartoonists criticize the United Nations, the western nations, the western media, and the public for their lack of interest, lack of action, and inability to do something to save people (an inability that comes from conflicts of interest, veto powers, etc). It has now gotten to the point where the cartoonists look straight at the words “Never Again” and show how empty the words are. “Never Again” is just rhetoric.

In my presentation, I used these themes and worked through information and cartoons about the Holocaust, Rwanda, and Darfur. I was nervous about not giving the topic enough time because it is very important but I feel like it went well. I want to highlight here two of my favourite cartoons, both of which I think have powerful messages:

And finally, I finished the presentation with the following animated editorial cartoon (you have to click through to view the flash video). I look forward to your comments.

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.

At the same time, today I talked to a few different counselors and realized that achieving the next few stages of my “plan” is going to be a very complex procedure.

I want to take on so many things and go down so many avenues, that I seem to get overwhelmed sometimes. I know as well as anyone else does that I should take things a step at a time, and make each achievement one by one.

But sometimes it’s hard to just sit down and make my hyperactive brain stop so that I can focus. I’ll have to work on that.