im random, who are you?

I just got home from the 2010 Public Relations Student Society of America’s National Conference in Washington, D.C. Now that I’m all settled and caught up on my homework, I wanted to share a few things I loved about this year’s conference.

Other than being in D.C. during the fall, touring the White House, and trying out different types of food, the conference provided me with a lot of information about PR. It is hard to choose what to discus because there was just so much valuable information from each of the guest speakers.

I think that my favorite speaker was Lauren Berger, also known as “The Intern Queen.” At only 25-years-old, she is the CEO of Intern Queen, Inc., a website designed to help college students find and apply for internships. She completely wowed me with her ‘life story’ and how she participated in 15 different internships during her 4 years of college. Most people only do one, if any at all. Her enthusiasm, excitement and dedication to helping other’s just like her find internships made me want to jump on her site ASAP and apply to as many internships I qualify for. She also had really good advice for when you do finally sit down and apply.

First, make sure you have a well-written cover letter. Berger says that “it’s where you connect the dots to your resume” and fill in any information that you haven’t already listed. The cover letter is where your supposed to sell yourself, so make sure you explain what makes you the best candidate for the internship or job you’re apply to.

Second, there are the two MUST haves as she puts it: business suits and thank you cards. Make sure you dress to impress, and you can’t go wrong wearing a nice suit. Have your thank you cards ready, and HAND write them. It says so much more if it’s hand written. Bring them with you to the interview, and find the nearest mailbox and drop it in. That way it gets to them quickly.

And lastly, if there is anything you should learn from Berger, remember this, “Put yourself out there. Take initiative. Tell people what you want or you may never get anywhere.”

Don’t be afraid to take risks, because until you do you won’t know what you’re capable of achieving.

I also really enjoyed our Keynote speaker Jim Margolis also known as “Obama’s Media Man”. Margolis spoke about how he worked on Obama’s Presidential campaign in 2008 and discussed the major strategies and tactics. He mentioned that they “wanted to create a movement, not just a campaign” and they did just that. One of their tactics was to embrace technology, so they took their campaign to the Internet. They invested in social media such as Facebook and Twitter to get their messages across, even creating an iPhone app.

Margolis had a lot of valuable information about PR and politics and how you can really get your message out there if you stick to it.

Those are just two of my favorite speakers, but there were so many more. I learned a lot inside the sessions, but I think that my most memorable experiences happened outside of conference with my wonderful PRSSASDSU friends. We were able to take D.C. by storm and experience the city together and I will cherish those memories forever.

I think our chapter president Robin Canedy sums up our wonderful trip by saying on her Facebook, “I can’t believe I woke up in Virginia, went to three Smithsonian museums, saw the White House, flew over some lightning storms and returned safely to San Diego all in one day. I love it!”

Thank you everyone for a safe and wonderful trip!