The economy may not seem as shaky as it did a year ago, but we haven’t made it as far as we would have liked, either. During our time of economic recovery, the job market seems to be doing all sorts of crazy things, with certain career paths being considered now for a variety of reasons. The profession of public relations is an area particularly close to the cause ere at EverythingPR, and the upcoming “Help a PR Pro Out” day is surely worth a mention.
A play on HARO (Help a Reporter Out), HAPPO is geared towards another profession that has been largely affected by the fluctuating economy. As with the journalism field, the introduction of the Internet has changed the way in which the profession can be considered and monetized.
With so much of our market moving towards online representations, a good deal of public relations professionals have also turned to the web for fulfilling their job duties. This has created some level of opportunities for positions to emerge, but it has also streamlined aspects of what a single employee can do.
Nevertheless, the two-edged sword of the Internet can be used to help a PR professional, especially if they’re a friend of yours. If you know of a PR pro that’s looking for a job, mark your calendar for February 19th. Help a PR Pro Out” day is designed as a single-day event where you take the time to connect those looking for a job with those that are hiring.
Whatever you happen to know about a company, and whoever you know that is looking for a job, this could be your chance to make a difference in their lives. To a certain extent, our jobs are outward-facing representations of ourselves. Our jobs say a lot about us as individuals, and without a job many of us feel out of step with ourselves and our social contributions.
As the Internet has made it even easier for us to build out our networks and remain in regular correspondence with our acquaintances, it’s simple enough to connect our friends with potential job opportunities. An email intro, the exchange of an @mention tweet or a Facebook share could set two people on a path towards a successful working relationship.
Even as are economic values begin to play out on the web, so too are our social values. Combining the two for a good cause is putting our social graphs to good use. For PR pros in particular, the use of the web for this purpose can return outstanding results.
As we’ve seen with PR guru Kelly Cutrone, the traditional mechanisms around working as a PR professional are waning. Using the unexpected and the efficient possibilities that our social web has to offer can be good for everyone involved.