#apex pr

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How to request an interview with a PR person

Recently a call came into the APEX office from a student who was looking to interview a PR professional for a school assignment. I immediately recognized this task as one that I had completed while doing my post-grad degree in PR and offered to give said student a call back to chat. I wanted to help. 

The student thanked me for calling her back and proceeded to set up an in-person interview time. I explained that while I wasn't available to meet her for three hours on a Friday afternoon, I thought we could probably do an effective interview over the phone. She panicked: the interview had to be in person, and the assignment was due on Monday. I apologized that I couldn’t help her and went back to my work, but I couldn’t help think of all of the things that were wrong with her approach.

Here's some tips on how to request an interview with a mentor, prospective employer, or for a school assignment.

Don’t leave it to the last minute

In any company, but especially in a profession where your day is accounted for in six-minute increments, it can be difficult to drop everything for something non-billable. If you’re looking to set up an interview, give it a good two to three weeks to come to fruition so proper plans can be made.

Be respectful 

You don’t know the position of the person on the other end of the line, so every point of contact should be respectful and pleasant. Large companies get requests for informational interviews all of the time, and it’s easy to drop a call from someone who is rude and disrespectful.

Keep your reputation in mind

If you’re a student with an internship program, or you’re doing an informational interview with a prospective employer, you want to put your best foot forward. If people remember you as the rude person with poor time management skills, you’re not getting hired. Period.

Something is better than nothing

If what you want is a three-hour sit-down meeting with someone in your desired field, keep in mind that they most likely do not have that kind of time. Three hours is nearly $500 in billable hours that that individual will have to make up on their own time. If they can spare 20 minutes over the phone, take it. If they suggest sending an email over with your questions, do it. And if they can’t accommodate your request, thank them for their time anyway.  

It’s on you

Remember that this is your request, benefiting you. It’s not really anyone else’s problem if your assignment is due the next day, if you’re desperate for information, or if you can’t plan far enough ahead to make it happen. 

Here’s the thing. The assignment isn’t just about the interview, it’s about the whole process: networking, making connections, and learning something about your desired field. The ultimate goal of a post-grad degree in PR is to get a job in PR…so be nice. It goes a long way.

Robyn Hunt is a Consultant at APEX Public Relations. Follow her on Twitter.

(Photo by THEfunkyman/Flickr.)

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15 years of APEX Public Relations

A note from our CEO:

15 years. How did that happen? One minute I was moving into our 1,000 square foot sublet on Bloor Street by myself and the next planning for our new move to 10,000 feet of open concept space at Bloor and Sherbourne. While we’ve stayed in the same 'hood, a lot has changed.

We are 30 people strong with a myriad of talent. Their expertise has grown exponentially – it’s not just about media relations anymore. We have experts in social, experiential, CSR, digital, event planning and reputation management. We’ve moved from counting clippings to measuring the impact through MRPs, a system that was born at APEX. And while we’ve always been a very social group, that word has taken on a new meaning, now integrated into everything we do for our clients and for our firm.

But a lot has stayed the same. When we met to celebrate our anniversary the other day, the chorus is the same one I have heard over and over again. Fabulous people. Amazing clients. Challenging work. And that doesn’t just happen…we’ve worked hard to sustain that culture.

We started with name brands – Netscape, Fuji, BMO and Adobe in year one and continued to build that brand experience throughout the years with prestigious clients such as Absolut, Coca-Cola, Coty, Johnson & Johnson, Kellogg’s, Levi’s, Molson, Nestle, Samsung, UPS and Walmart.

And we successfully transitioned our leadership as I stepped back to focus on philanthropic initiatives. APEX is expertly led by our President Linda Andross with support from the best agency management team in the city.

I don’t usually brag, but there is an amazing dynamic at APEX and it hasn’t wavered for 15 years. I couldn’t be prouder.

Pat McNamara is the CEO of APEX Public Relations. Follow her on Twitter.

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Corporate culture and its ripple effect

How many of you reading this truly enjoy your jobs?

Considering that a lot of us have been guilty of sending work emails during dinner and spend more time with our colleagues than our families, it’s an important question to consider. Even as I write this, I can’t help but notice that it’s 11:45 on a Thursday night and this post is one of several work-related things on my to-do list this evening.

Am I griping? No. I certainly enjoy what I do, but I recently learned a little bit more about why. 

Last month my colleague Alex Thomas, a Consultant, and I attended a presentation by Interbrand for the American Marketing Association that took a look at the importance of meaningful employee engagement, and how bridging the gap between internal engagement and external communications can have a very positive effect on a company.

But what is “employee engagement” and how do you know it’s meaningful?

In Interbrand’s terms, it’s “the connection an employee has with an organization and the emotional commitment he/she makes to it”. Sounds intense, like a serious relationship or an all-consuming hobby, but it confirmed what I suspected all along: no one wants to just ‘go to work’ anymore. Myself included. This got me thinking about the ripple effect of corporate culture and why some things are too important to overlook.

Per the presentation, the dollar amount of lost productivity due to the 70 per cent of employees who are unhappy at work (in the U.S.) is $550 billion PER YEAR. That’s a s-t-a-g-g-e-r-i-n-g loss, so what can employers do to ensure their staff is excited and invested? You might be surprised to learn that it doesn’t take much.

Though titles and salaries play a role, tactics like organizing social initiatives, offering flexible working arrangements and eliciting feedback are what make people feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves. These little investments make all the difference because, when you’re spending an average of 36.6 hours per week at work, who doesn’t want to feel connected to their co-workers? Who doesn’t want to feel like they can step out for an appointment? Who doesn’t want to have their opinions heard?

Companies with an engaged workforce will outperform their peers, so it’s worth making sure that everyone at your organization is getting out of it what they’re putting into it. DO NOT take your employees for granted (your people are your greatest asset), and treat them with feedback, group activities, recognition and understanding whenever you can.

Our staff gets together every Friday for an end-of-week drink and I promise you I’m there religiously. I will work tirelessly to ensure that I’m finished everything beforehand. Is it because I love a good glass of wine? No – I can get that anywhere. What I enjoy is the time spent connecting with my colleagues on a personal level and how, over the years, they’ve come to feel like family.

Daina Astwood-George is a Senior Consultant at APEX Public Relations. Follow her on Twitter.

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How to remove LinkedIn connections

A few things that are easier to figure out than how to remove LinkedIn connections:

Bradley Cooper's mass appeal

Why fax machines still exist

The plot of Inception

I've never understood why LinkedIn has made it so hard for us to tighten up our networks and delete people we are no longer in contact with or who no longer add value to our experience.

I want to remove connections all the time, usually because when they pop up in my feed my first reaction is "Who are you?!" This is because at one point I thought it would be a good idea to add all my email contacts, even that acquaintance I emailed once back in 2009.

The good news: Culling your LinkedIn contacts can be done. It just requires going through a few steps. Bear with me.

1. In your top navigation bar, click Network. Then click Contacts.

2. Once you're in Connections, in the top righthand corner you'll see a Remove Connections option. Click that!

3. Now comes the fun part. You get to search through your entire list of connections, listed alphabetically by last names, to find the person you want to remove! (For me this is always a huge pain, as I often can't remember how the person spells their last name, or even what their last name is since I don't even know who they are.) 

And boom! You've successfully pared down your LinkedIn connections. Why a Remove Connection option isn't included on profiles (like the easy-to-locate Unfriend option on Facebook) is beyond me.

So if you care more about building a list of quality contacts than having "500+ connections," take these directions and start the cull!

Follow APEX Public Relations on LinkedIn.

Amanda Factor is a social media consultant at APEX Public Relations. Follow her on Twitter.

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This year, we won a few awards. While great news, this has created a few problems.