This past Thursday Rachael McKee- an Ohio Northern alum and PR superstar- came to speak at our weekly PRSSA meeting. Rachael is certainly no newbie our PRSSA meetings- she has been back multiple times to ONU to help guide and mentor students along their college path.
But this return visit was a little bit bittersweet for both parties; Rachael is getting ready to make a move. And I don’t just mean to another organization or across town. At the end of the month, Rachael is jumping on a plane and moving to Singapore! So in order to share a little bit of wisdom before she puts a 9600 mile difference between her location and ONU, our PRSSA chapter ran a Q&A session. Below are 3 words of wisdom that really stuck with me:
1. Be willing to go global.
Maybe not as global as Singapore. But Rachael has a point. Our world may be getting bigger in terms of people, but the distance- physical and communicational- between these people is getting smaller by the minute. You can get halfway across the world in 1 day with a plane ride, 1 hour with an email, or 1 minute with a Skype call. Global relationships are now key- they broaden company reach, broaden a consumer market, and most of all, broaden our general outlook. Companies have been taking their businesses oversees for years- isn’t it time we took our relationships there?
2. If you don’t love it, don’t work there.
Seems like such common sense, right? But I really think this is a rule that is both extremely important and easily forgotten. As a college job hunter who is a little overwhelmed, sometimes it seems easier to just take a job to end the process. But how fulfilling would that be? I do my best and brightest work when I’m doing what I’m passionate about- no quality work would be done for an organization that doesn’t have my heart. It reminds me of some of the backbone rules of ethics we have been covering in my PR case studies class- if you don’t fully believe in a cause, your motives aren’t in the right place.
3. I don’t really do social media.
Ok, this wasn’t exactly a piece of advice as much as a personal pet peeve Rachael voiced. At first my mouth dropped- you don’t do social media? But it’s the truth. No Facebook. Twitter. LinkedIn. Considering that we often judge people’s influence by their social media power, Rachael McKee probably doesn’t even exist. But I promise my 20/20 eyesight is accurate- she was sitting right in front of me, a successful PR professional. One that built up a strong career and extensive network in Columbus from the ground up by always maintaining a can-do attitude.
She did all that-and didn’t use social media. Don’t think I’m knocking social media- we all know I’m a ridiculous social media enthusiast. But Rachael was a refreshing reminder that while social media is certainly a powerful vehicle to communicate a message, it’s not the only vehicle. You can drive the sporty, souped up social media model off the car lot, or you can take the traditional, Model-T model that represents face-to-face communication. Social media is a strong tool when used properly. But it’s certainly not the only option for building relationships.
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