Last week I went out to dinner with two close friends.  We spent a little over an hour eating dinner and updating each other on life, work, and relationships, with our iPhones sitting next to our plates as if they belonged there – like our forks and napkins and knives.  When my phone lit up or vibrated, I looked down. Two or three times (or maybe more) I picked it up to look closer at an email or text my sister back.  My friends did the same.  Nobody was offended, even if we stopped paying full attention to the conversation for a minute or two and then looked up and said:  Wait, what?  Can you repeat that?

Sometimes I stop paying attention to people and things happening around me because of my little piece of technology.  Although it wasn’t until recently that I thought: I can sometimes be addicted to my iPhone.

When Eric called me to discuss his latest initiative with Mark DiMassimo I thought: YES!  It’s brilliant! I mean, I work for and with the two, so I know they’re brilliant and full of smart ideas that make people react, but this one couldn’t come at a better time. Eric explained to me the new endeavor, Offlining, Inc., will urge everyone to turn off their mobile devices and computers, and devote real attention to the people that matter most in life.

We launched the new Offlining, Inc. campaign on Wednesday to coincide with Father’s Day – how perfect. On Monday, two days before the launch, the New York Times came out with a series of articles about our brains on computers.

So far, it’s been interesting to hear people’s reactions – as media, they’re completely connected during their 9-5s.  One reporter explained to me:  Whew, it’s nice to see Eric and Mark do something like this.  I’ve started completely disconnecting when I leave work – disconnecting from the Internet, that is.  I keep my phone on but just for phone calls.

Since my mind has been consumed with details about the launch of Offlining, Inc. (writing a press release, reviewing ads, status meetings, talking to media), I’ve been more conscious of how much I’m on my phone, or staring at my computer screen during “off work” hours, and trying to cut my time spent online — way down. And I encourage you all to take the challenge – go offline with us!

With May almost here, once again thousands of young adults who have worked hard for 4 years to get their degree are graduating, and facing the harsh reality of our economy.  It is not easy getting a job right now.  And it’s even harder to get job in the exact field you studied in college.  But it is not impossible.

I worked very hard, and was lucky to land my job with Ericho Communications.  Within 3 weeks of graduating college with a Public Relations degree, I moved to the only city I wanted to live in and was hired by Eric.   I’ve had a lot of friends ask me to give them advice on how to land a job right out of college.  Thought I’d share that advice with you!

First, set a goal.  If you do not really know what you want to achieve, it is hard to achieve it.   A lot of people I know apply to any and everything, hoping to get a job anywhere.  Most of those jobs have nothing to do with their resume or experience.   If you get just any job, just for an income, chances are you wont be as happy as you would be if you got a job you really want.  Its important to love what you do and seek a job you think you’ll love.  Set a goal and go after it.  Things are more tangible that way.

Second, don’t be intimidated by the millions of news articles that seem to run every day describing the state of the economy.  A lot of people I know have decided to not even apply to jobs until the economy gets better.  Yes, the economy is tough, but there are people hiring now.  You just have to do your research and find them.

Third, intern as much as possible, and keep in contact with everyone you worked with.  The old saying, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know, actually applies.  With thousands of college students all graduating at once you need to have an edge on the competition.  If you have already interned with several companies, you have already made relationships with people in the field you want to work in.  If they are hiring, chances are they will consider someone who has already had experience in their office and has already been trained with them as opposed to picking a random resume submission from Monster.   Even if your internship is not hiring, they know the industry and the people in it.  If do you well and ask them, they might be willing to pass your name along to companies they know that have entry level positions available.

Everyone knows that it’s not easy landing a job in your field right out of college in this economy.  But with a solid game plan and hard work, it is certainly possible.

A little over a year ago I was a junior in a small college in Pennsylvania looking for my first internship in New York City.  Despite many of my professors suggesting I keep it realistic and look for internships in Pittsburgh, I was determined to go to Manhattan.  I worked on getting my resume out by any and every means possible.  After some diligent job searching, Eric Yaverbaum got in contact with me to discuss my resume.  A few interviews later, I accepted a summer internship at Ericho Communications, and I was the happiest girl in PA for landing a NY internship.

On my flight out to New York City I was imagining what my internship would be like.  Although I hoped not, I was half expecting my experience would be similar to my fellow colleagues’: filling paper, making coffee, and mastering the Xerox machine.  Imagine my surprise when I found myself pitching our clients to editors and producers by week two!  By the end of the summer, I not only secured a few placements, learned how to draft up a media kit, and accompanied my supervisor to interviews at Fox and Condenast publications; I also made some great professional relationships with my co-workers who taught me more in those few months then my 3 years majoring in Public Relations!

After leaving NYC that summer I went back to PA for my senior year. And what was the first thing I did after graduation? I packed up and moved to New York City.  After chatting with Danielle about finding a job (yes for better or for worse I moved to New York without a job) she offered me an opportunity to freelance for a few months at Ericho. I have now been working here since June and I am on board till November to work on a couple campaigns we are doing. Working at Ericho has been an amazing professional experience.  They expect their interns to do real Public Relations work and in the process, it is impossible not to learn about a million new things a day.  It is so refreshing to work amongst co-workers that are willing to help you, and truly want to see you succeed.  Not to mention a CEO who has the rare traits of approachability and a great sense of humor.

Deciding to move to New York City was probably the best decision I could have made for my professional career.  I truly do not believe that any other Public Relations experience could have taught me so much and have gotten me to where I am now as a PR Professional so quickly then Ericho.

What was your first PR job like?

To avoid interview mistakes like those displayed in the video below, here are a few tips to help prepare for news interviews. The more prepared you are, the better:

1. Before an interview, ask questions: Find out as much as you can about the opportunity before the interview. Things like…What’s the story angle? Will anyone else be interviewed? What’s the reporter’s deadline? If the interview is broadcast, will it be live or taped, in-person or over the phone? How familiar is the journalist with your company?
2. Get acquainted with the journalist’s style: Make sure to watch or listen to the journalist’s show or segment or read some of his / her articles prior to the interview to get a sense of the interview style. Lou Dobbs and Kathy Lee Gifford are very different.
3. Understand key messages and develop proof points: Depending on the topic of the interview, be sure to understand what needs to be communicated and how. Understand the tone of the interview and the audience and prepare yourself with key “proof points” (i.e. statistics, stories, examples) to support your statements.
4. Stay positive and on topic: In your answers, don’t speculate, don’t speculate and don’t speculate. (Ever!) Don’t let any other participant in the interview, be it the journalist or another guest, put words in your mouth. Don’t speak for anyone else; only speak to personal experience, knowledge and opinions. Most importantly, remember nothing is “off the record!”
5. Be clear, concise and compelling: Avoid jargon or technical terms, and don’t ramble. Remember, time is of the essence (especially for broadcast interviews). So, answer questions with your conclusion first to make your point, then follow with a supporting explanation.

Have your own interview tips or memories from “lessons learned?” If so, share them below. Thanks for reading!

Written By Daisy Murillo

Many of us have different ways of interpreting what Public Relations really is. In Sex and The City, we see PR professional Samantha Jones book clients, models, actors (who can forget THE HOTTIE Smith Jared).  Samantha tackles everyone with her way with words and expression, yet always stays true to her individuality, and that’s what you really need in this field!

Learning about Public Relations from reading a book in class and experiencing Public Relations from a professional perspective is a totally different thing. No offense to those that write and/or teach PR, but it’s better to experience it first hand, and see for yourself what PR is all about…which is what I did by interning with Ericho this summer.

Being at Ericho definitely shed some new light for me. I thought coming into this internship it was going to be just another “internship experience,” but it wasn’t. No one makes you feel like an “intern.” Everyone has been so nice to all of us no matter what. We’ve shared laughs, jokes, stories and I’m sure we all bonded in some hilarious, yet professional type of way…right ladies?!  Ericho is my second internship that I’ve completed, and it has made me feel even more confident in why I decided to study Public Relations in the first place.

I started out the internship feeling scared and thinking I might do something wrong, but eventually became confident. As time goes on, you get the hang of things, and realize that everything is going to be alright — you can get the job done!  I am going to miss interning here, but I know that once I walk down the aisle for graduation this coming Spring at Marist College, it will be an experience that I will never forget!

Is it possible to NOT check your phone frequently? Between emails, voicemails, text messaging, black berry messenger, FB and Twitter, I always check my BB Storm when I hear my phone go-off.

Some of my clients call me. Some send me emails. Eric likes to send text messages and I BBM with co-workers (Mary Clare, Lauren, etc.) and friends/family. I upload pictures on TwitPic mobile and I respond to wall posts and leave photo comments on my Facebook Mobile. I guess I’m addicted?!?

So is there such a thing as having too much access to technology? Work and personal lines have become blurred. People send you emails at 8:00 pm because they KNOW you’ll see it. Employees ask questions on the weekend’s b/c they know they’ll get a response…almost instantaneously. Is not responding rude?

How do you know when your day officially starts and when it ends? I respond to emails before I get to work and I’m still sending emails hours after the “work day” is over. Sometimes clients will start a whole conversation about a topic at night, in which I’m sitting on my living room coach watching TV and responding to emails!

Can you actually go a whole weekend without using your cell phone? Maybe we should do a little experiment. =)

Our Summer interns are wrapping up their last two weeks with us.  We’re very sad to see them go — they’ve been rock stars since day one, and we’ll miss them terribly.

Here’s a blog post from Arielle, who will be heading into her Junior year at the University of Indiana this Fall.

1) How I learned to pitch
My palms were sweating and my heart was racing as if I just swam a mile in a race. I was so nervous to pitch for the first time, my voice barely wanted to let a word come out of my mouth. I picked up the phone and prayed that no one would answer, but I guess I didn’t pray hard enough because the guy picked up the phone on the second ring. At the end of the conversation he asked me to e-mail him more information on our client because he was interested in what they had to offer. My first pitch was closer to a success than I ever thought it would be. Now that I have been working at Ericho for almost 3 months, my pitching has made a tremendous improvement. I am much more confident talking to different people on the phone. Pitching has inspired me to never give up because you can get voicemails one day and the next day you can get many people on the phone/getting emails from the media.

2) What it felt like to get a first placement
Getting my first placement was indescribable. I was so excited when the business brief ran in the newspaper I couldn’t help but smile. It reminded me that all my hard work was definitely worth the sweat.  So far, I’ve secured three placements!

3) You will go nowhere, if you are not organized
The first few days I started working at Ericho I focused mainly on setting up my calendar, which organized my schedule for the entire rest of the summer. Being organized is so important, especially working in the field of Public Relations. Whether it’s finding an old e-mail in my sent documents, a to-do-list or remembering which business editor or producer is in what time zone, organization is the key to all my accomplishments and success.

4) Networking is Key
I learned that people will remember you if you give them a reason to. As I started getting more comfortable talking to media, I realized I was building connections. After the second, third and tenth time talking/exchanging emails with the same people, we formed a “work relationship,” and it was so much better than having to “reintroduce myself” each time.

5) How writing in PR is different from writing in my English class
During my internship, I received a glimpse into a different style of writing – press releases and media alerts. Public Relations writing is definitely more structured than I would have thought, and is written in a tone that differs from any English paper I ever had to write – it is short, concise, to the point and offers information that is of interest to media and their audiences (or at least it should be!).

What is your most memorable experience working in PR?

As you know, Eric’s got quite the wardrobe.  Last week, he showed up at FOX studios to tape The Strategy Room — moments before the show went live, I received a text from him: Strategy Room set has been changed … which means an hour of my sneakers on air!

Curious to see what that looks like?  Ladies and Gentlemen, this is what style looks like.

I participated in a fabulous webinar yesterday from HubSpot called “How to Use Social Media for Lead Generation.” It was great for several reasons.

It not only reminded marketers about the importance of inbound marketing (HubSpot’s specialty, so of course it did), but it explained ways to DO inbound marketing. It did not just say, “Inbound marketing is important and you need a strong, layered presence on the Web. The end. Now figure it out.” It actually gave tips and examples of ways to do this. And, no one had to pay for the information and expertise, which is a great example of what they preach…a company being open with its audience and sharing valuable content to draw more customers in.

One really cool tool they introduced to me (sorry if you know about it already) was Twitter Grader. It grades your performance—or presence—on Twitter, and you can search it to find leaders in different industries to see what they’re talking about and / or connect with them…which is the point. Simon Salt from Mashable (obviously someone who knew about it before me) wrote a great article on it a few months back. Click here to read it.

I scored 93 out of 100, which isn’t too bad, but I’m a perfectionist so…I’m working on it. Help me improve my rank by following and engaging me on Twitter. It’ll help your grade too!

Follow me @k_duque. Danielle, Mary Clare and Eric can be found at @DNpublicist, @maryclarejensen and @RealYaverbaum, respectively. Check out HubSpot @HubSpot, yesterday’s webinar presenter, Rick Burnes, @rickburnes, Mashable @mashable and Simon Salt @incslinger.

Want us to follow you? Share your Twitter handles and tips below.

With all the social networking sites out there – Linked-In, Twitter, Facebook, Digg…how can we keep up with all the chatter? Unless we hire or dedicate one person to be in charge of social media.

So, when we came across a really great blog posting that was under PR Week’s Blogs & Forums by Paul Armstrong, we were really excited. It has REALLY great social media monitoring tools. Check it out.

Here’s our favorites:

Definitely subscribe to BackType. It is a conversational search engine. They index and connect millions of conversations from blogs, social networks and other social media so people can find, follow and share comments. It allows you to go deep into forums and discussion boards.

And for monitoring traffic trends, we have signed-up for Compete’s free service.

Compete.com is the only online competitive intelligence service that combines site and search analytics in one site to help you quickly master online marketing. The free access allows you to compare up to 5 sites.

We have also bookmarked (to keep on our daily to-do list) two great sites.

Spy and Addict-o-matic. You can search keywords on Spy to capture the social media conversations you’re interested in. Addict-o-matic gives you a snapshot of what is being said on sites like Bing, Yahoo, Google, DIGG, etc. as it relates to your search and keywords. All on one page!

If you have been using these social media monitoring tools, love to hear what you think of them. And if you have any other suggestions, please share with everyone.