What do PR Recruiters REALLY want?

7/06/2015 Unknown 0 Comments



An early morning focus group of industry PR pros organized by BIC Board Member Donna Renella gathered on Thursday, June 25th, to discuss the most current and desirable recruitment profiles for in interns and full-time hires. This lively discussion was hosted by Danielle DeFabbio at DeVries Worldwide and included PR experts Maya Kalkay of Burson MarstellerSheridan Falco of Cohn WolfeKristen Pairano of Golin, Shazzia Khan of HavasElizabeth Adams of KetchumAllyns Melendez of QuinnKeri Watkins of Ruder FinnBryn Davis of Weber Shandwick as well as CCNY Professors Lynn AppelbaumAngela Chitkara, and Nancy Tag. There was great agreement that ideal candidates needed to have passion that was not just displayed during the interview, but in the work itself. Outstanding candidates also must have an ability to discuss industry trends and how they relate to specific agencies, positions, and tasks -- in other words, a clear ability to "connect the dots." Because BIC is a portfolio based curriculum, participants exchanged ideas for style and substance of student portfolios as ways for BICsters to distinguish themselves from other graduates receiving more a more traditional public relations education.