I have finally fallen in love!

I never truly thought that I would love the career choice that I would make. I had always been told to choose something I love; however, looking around at all of the people who hated their jobs, I thought this would be impossible. Confucius, the Chinese philosopher, said to “choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”.  It wasn’t until I found public relations that his words came true for me. Western Kentucky University gave me the skills I needed to become successful in public relations, while fueling my passion for what I would be doing in the real world.

Nothing is better than working with real people!

It gives me such pride to become a part of my first real-world public relations campaign. Through my JOUR 300 class, we were given a project to work with the local Bowling Green Jr. Women’s Club to create a campaign to improve their organization and brand. What an experience this has been! As a part of a team, my work involved the SWOT analysis – strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities within their organization. Discovering each of these areas within the BGJ WC took extensive research and communication. When our group talked to one of the core members of the organization, we discovered what they saw as strengths and areas they thought could use improvement. After receiving this information, I then looked over the website and Facebook page and tried to put myself into their target audiences’ shoes. I also looked at media coverage of the organization, other nonprofits in the community, and prime demographics for the organization.

Never assume you know anything.

One of the biggest problems I faced when forming the SWOT analysis was how the community felt about the organization. From secondary research I uncovered the lack of awareness the community had about the organization despite all that the BGJWC did. Upon reflection, in my next public relations campaign, I will spend much more time in the research phase. I learned that even if a person thinks they know how the community feels or acts, this could be very wrong. To assume the thoughts of individuals is to open yourself up for failure. Also, working with a team for a campaign has both pros and cons associated with it. While working on the campaign, communication within your team is vital to success. Having one member slacking can affect your overall campaign. On the other hand, each team member can help each other out and bring many ideas to the table. By having a team, each member can build on another’s work to improve the campaign as a whole.

Remember to never give up

Throughout this experience I became aware of the faults within myself when using my public relations skills. I realize that experience is one of the main factors in maturing as a professional, and I look forward to the work I will do in the future.

Preview our FINAL campaign book: BGJWC_plansbookfinal!