JobStar--Ask Electra--Public Relations Job Search

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You ASKED Electra

Dear Electra,
I am looking for networking ideas, connections, job postings for public relations in the Bay Area. Could you help me get started?
Ready to Job Hunt

Here are some links to resources in Public Relations to get you started.

Associations

Public Relations Society of America Western District
This district represents 10 chapters in Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii and Nevada.
Public Relations Society of America Headquarters has a site with resume posting service and information about the Professional Interest Sections.

PRSA's list of California Chapters. These chapters in your own backyard may just be the best job hunting resource of all. Local chapters offer newsletters, meetings, job announcements, opportunities to meet others in your field (potential colleagues or bosses), not to mention tips on who's hiring and which are the best companies to work for.

Classified Ads

Search JobStar's San Francisco Bay Area Newspaper Job Ads, JobStar's Los Angeles Area Newspaper Job Ads, JobStar's San Diego Area Newspaper Job Ads, or JobStar's Sacramento Area Newspaper Job Ads. Take advantage of the online format! In addition to searching for "public relations," search for "press releases" or combine terms such as "multimedia" and "presentations."

Networking

There is a Mailing List for Public Relations you may wish to join:
The Public Relations Forum
Send email to: LISTSERV@INDYCMS.IUPUI.EDU
In the body of the message, type: SUBSCRIBE PRFORUM (insert your real name)

Job Ads on Company Websites

You may find a job ad or "employment" section on many of these websites.

Yahoo! - SF Bay Area - Business and Stocks: Companies: Corporate Services: Public Relations has links and brief descriptions of some Bay Area P.R. firms.
O'Dwyer's Directory of PR Firms
Large public and academic libraries subscribe to this annual directory that covers almost 3,000 US PR firms. Use the geographic index to locate firms in a specific city, then visit the agency's website for any employment listings.

Other Public Relations Resources

Google - Directory - Public Relations Agencies
Browse PR firm websites by sector served or alphabetically by agency name.
Yahoo! - Business and Economy: Companies: Corporate Services: Public Relations
Massive list of PR companies. Unfortunately there is no way to tell WHERE these companies are located.

But you have only asked Electra HALF a question! The other thing you're going to need to know about is the INDUSTRY in which you plan to work.

For example, some public relations professionals (your occupation) work IN the public relations industry (meaning for a public relations agency.) Many, many others work in other industries--manufacturing, environmental research, hospitals, state government, biotechnology, public utilities industry, museums, etc., etc., etc.

As you explore resources, be sure to investigate BOTH your OCCUPATION (public relations manager) AND your INDUSTRY (television stations, HMOs, whatever..)

It works this way on the Web too! You will find networking resources, job ads, and other useful information at Television sites (if this is the industry you are targeting.) By searching BOTH OCCUPATION & INDUSTRY you will have mapped out a tidy set of connections to help you run a very SMART job search!

To learn more about mapping out your industry, see JobStar's Step-by-Step Plan for Using the Internet to Go Beyond the Want Ads.

Electra

Page last updated: 9:24 PM on 5/22/09