The Triangle

Issue date: 5/22/09 Section: Ed-Op

Finding a job after graduating college is not easy for most students. In April 2009, the U.S. Department of Labor reported an unemployment rate of 8.9 percent, a reflection of the current stagnant economic climate students are faced with that only increases the challenge presented to them. With factors such as hiring freezes, layoffs and college graduates now entering the workforce, finding a job in the already competitive field of public relations becomes exponentially more difficult.

In the most recent annual report released by the National Center for Education Statistics, of the 1,524,092 college graduates in 2007, 74,783 earned a bachelor's degree in a field of study classified as communication, journalism and related programs. The number of bachelor's degrees issued in the business field of study, which according to the report includes degrees in marketing, were 327,531.

These two degree classifications make up 26 percent of the total degrees earned in 2007. Based on the consistency in the amount of the degrees earned in these two fields of study over the past 20 years, 2009 can be projected to be no different.

In a series of three articles, public relations executives from three prominent firms in Philadelphia will share their advice for graduating students going into the public relations field, the role of technology and how it has shaped public relations and the economy's effects on the public relations field.

In the first of this three part series, Michael Guzzo of Simon Public Relations Group, Dana Lombardo of Cashman and Associates and Tracey Santilli of Tierney Communications share their advice for students going into this field to help make their job search more productive by becoming a more prepared and attractive candidate.

Santilli, senior vice president of public relations at Tierney Communications understands better than most the frustration of finding a job after college.

"After I graduated from West Virginia University, I moved back to New Jersey to live with my parents. After many months of mailing resumes and cover letters and going on dead-end interviews, I was finally offered a job at Ketchum in New York City and was really able to work my way up there," Santilli said.

Santilli advises students to, "Be prepared for anything. Bring references, writing samples, anything that shows any relevant work that you have done. Even if they don't ask for it, bring it and offer it."

Continued...

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