I knew that graduating from college and starting my first job would be both exciting and nerve-racking. Throughout the semester I told Nicole some of the things that worried me, and I asked a lot of questions. I am so thankful for her guidance during the past few months and I cannot wait to turn my tassel next week! Recently, I sat down with Nicole for a little Q & A session where I asked her questions that I know a lot of other PR students have.

Q: Now that I have started working at my first full-time job, I am happy. Before I made my decision however, I worried that I would choose the wrong path. Did you ever experience this anxiety? How do you recommend overcoming this?

A: I would say to go with your gut feeling. If you feel good about the situation during the interview process, and like what the job has to offer, then it’s probably a good job for you. Also, don’t be afraid of the unexpected. You may be working somewhere you never thought about working but that’s ok. Just try to get as much experience as you can.

Q: What activities were you involved in after college (or are currently involved in) that you would recommend using to stay up to date with current PR trends?

A: I would recommend getting involved with your local Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) chapter to stay connected to the PR community and stay abreast of current trends. It’s also important to expose yourself to things you don’t have experience in or wouldn’t normally do. Take a photography class. Attend seminars and webinars. Utilize every opportunity, especially if your boss is willing to pay for it to help your professional development.

Q: If a young professional eventually wants to do what you’re doing and run their own business, what steps do you recommend taking to get there?

A: It helps to have a diverse resume. I worked in healthcare non-profit, television and corporate PR, so had a lot of experience when I started NEA Group. I also had a strong network, so I relied on them (still do) for business. Most important, be passionate about what you do. As a small business owner, there are great times and there are hard times, so you have to be willing to roll with the punches. But if you truly love what you do, it makes everything manageable.

Q: What additional advice do you give students who are coming out of college? What do they need to know and what trends should they be aware of?

A: These days, new grads already know a lot about social media, so that’s definitely a plus. But I can’t stress enough that they should also know how to write. PR people need to know how to write effectively, even in the world of social media. A good writer is like gold, so having strong writing skills gives them an edge in the business world. I also think new grads should be prepared to pay their dues. You have to put in your time before you make it to a place where you want to really be. I’d also suggest finding a good mentor who will help you navigate the post-college business world.

Peter Shankman’s blog – He’s all over the place and right where we want him at all times (via Twitter and Facebook). The guy who’s career took off selling t-shirts after the movie “Titanic” came out that simply read, “It Sank”. He knows brands, publicity and how to get in people’s faces in unconventional ways.

PR in Your Pajamas – The best place for practical, simple PR advice for entrepreneurs. Sometimes people actually think you can do PR successfully in your pjs… that’s the irony of the title. You can’t.

PRSay – The official blog of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). They tackle the real PR issues, highlight newsworthy items with a PR angle and feature contributors from all chapters of PRSA. We are members of the Tampa Bay Chapter.

NYC PR Girls – This blog is a little bit of a guilty pleasure. Working at a big PR firm in NYC would’ve been a dream for some of us at NEA Group. We love reading about the PR girls’ journey post college and taking notes on NYC hotspots in the process.

6 AM – Richard Edelman blog – The president and CEO of Edelman PR, one of the top PR firms in the country. He and his staff have worked with national and global clients from Starbucks to UPS. They know what they are talking about and we should be listening.

Throughout college, I’ve taken advantage of every opportunity to learn about public relations and communication outside of the classroom, as well as inside. One of my favorite things is social media, so I was thrilled to have the chance to attend a Facebook for business training seminar at the Learning Resource Center of Polk County. This seminar was the first in a series so most of it was fairly basic. However, one thing I didn’t know much about was Facebook’s algorithm, the coding behind the status updates. The algorithm determines what shows up the most in your homepage feed. It is based on three things:

Affinity between user and content – This relates to how frequently we engage (also called edge rank). If someone looks at, comments or “likes” your content every day or a couple of times a week, your content is going to show up much more on their homepage compared to someone who only engages with you once a month.

Weight – Everything that you create carries weight. Pictures have more weight that words and they are also more “sharable.”

Time decay – How long has it been since the content was created or shared? When you first add a photo you might get 20 comments within an hour and a few over the next day or two but then it goes dead. This is because of time decay. The longer it’s been since the original post, the less it is going to show up in your fans homepage feed. However, if someone finds your picture 6 months later and interacts with it, the photo or post will most likely start showing up again because someone had re-engaged with it.

This is something that has bothered me for years – dressing the part at the office. Throughout my career, I’ve been shocked at the number of people who do not put any thought or care into their appearance. This is troubling to me, not only because I love clothing and fashion, but I believe it speaks volumes about a person, whether we want to admit it or not. For those working in the PR/marketing or any communications fields, it’s even more important. Why would a company trust you to represent it if you  cannot represent yourself by tucking in your shirt? In today’s world of work from home and casual days, we have lost touch with what it means to really dress well at the office. It’s trickling down to college students, who are getting out of school and believing hoodies are acceptable attire in a professional setting – they are not! I was pleased to see PR Daily thinks the same way I do in this article about dressing for the PR business. We judge books by their covers, wine by the labels and people by their attractiveness. It’s a fact of life, and the sooner people realize this is how the world works, maybe they’ll get that job or promotion. I plan to spread this message as much as I can, one hoodie at a time.

Coco Chanel said it best, “Dress shabbily, they notice the clothes. Dress impeccably, they notice the woman.”

Social media grows in both use and variation every day. Learning to use it successfully can promote your business, special cause or event, and it will help you communicate with your target audience more efficiently. This infographic serves as a helpful map to start creating social media content.

Set goals ahead of time – Plan a meeting at the beginning of the internship to discuss goals so both people know their responsibilities. Talk through what both sides want to accomplish and learn during the internship.

Set aside time to meet – After the initial meeting, set aside time each week to discuss progress on assignments and future projects. If goals and tasks change throughout the internship, roll with it. This business is constantly changing, and as long as lines of communication are open, it will work out in the end.

Allow for creativity – Whether you are taking on an intern for the first time, or if this is your intern’s first internship, there may be a certain amount of hesitation at first. Start slowly to determine tasks and how much freedom to allow. Remembering to allow for creativity is important for both sides. A little creativity can go a long way!

Give them constructive criticism – You need your intern to produce quality work for you which will require a correction here and there. A good intern will appreciate constructive criticism and work to improve their skills and work for you.

Ask questions – This is very important! Ask your intern often about their work and ask for their input. Most of all, encourage them to ask you questions so that they can improve the work that they do for you while gaining knowledge that they will use in the future.

Create a mutually beneficial relationship with your intern and hopefully you will accomplish your goals in a timely manner at little cost to you.

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice.” – T.S. Eliot

It’s about that time of the year when we are finally getting used to writing “2013” when we date items. We are also hard at work meeting our New Year’s resolutions, right? Maybe not. Like all resolutions, the communication goals you set for your business can fall to the wayside without the right kind of knowledge, planning and perseverance. There are numerous factors that can affect the success of a company’s communication. However, with some thoughtful preparation, a few solid communication efforts can see you through to the year’s end.

Work from the inside out.

Successful communication begins internally. Employees should understand the corporate message. What does the company stand for? What is the main purpose? Once they understand this message themselves, they can begin to communicate it to others.

Know where you want to go.

Where do you want to be professionally at the end of the year? Your communication goals need to be measurable and attainable. It is good for goals to make you stretch past old comfort zones, but make sure they are not impossible. You also need to be able to find a way to measure your progress throughout the year.

Who do you want to reach?

Learning about your target audience is one of the most important things you can do for any communications plan. If you don’t know your audience, you won’t be able to figure out the best way to reach them, which could cost money and waste valuable communication efforts.

Do not be afraid to try new things in 2013. With new technology and a heavier emphasis on social media, there are so many cost-effective tactics that can help implement any communications plan. Use your plan to reach those resolutions!