Earlier this week, I (very excitedly) attended my orientation for the Public Relations Postgraduate Certificate program at Humber College. The session was led by program coordinator, Annette Borger-Snel, as well as professors Kalene Morgan (Social and Digital Media) and Edward Wright (Corporate and International Public Relations). Orientation wasn’t mandatory, but I personally found it extremely helpful to know what was expected of me (and what I could expect) prior to the first day of classes.
While there was a plethora of useful information discussed for the upcoming 2014/15 school year, I picked the 5 most useful sound bites for incoming students looking to succeed in the program. Enjoy!
1. “Wave goodbye to the flexibility you enjoyed during your Bachelors degree.” Remember those carefree B.A. days of sleeping through your 8:30AM lit lecture or mid-day lunches with friends in lieu of your mandatory sociology conference? Well, hold onto the fond memories of those days because they’re gone. The program is only 8 months so every class counts, and there are only 80 students accepted to the program (subtext: the program coordinator and your instructors will know if you’re absent).
2. “Read the newspaper.” Besides the obvious advantages of being well-read and informed about what is happening in the world at any given moment, you’ll be taught and tested on these current events through the lens of PR in both your Writing Lab and Social Media classes. Recommended outlets include The Globe and Mail (which you’ll need a monthly subscription for) and The Huffington Post.
3. “Join the relevant clubs.” And I don’t mean intramural volleyball or zumba (although, yay fitness!) Sign up for memberships with The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and/or The Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS). Memberships to these organization open doors to networking, volunteering and mentoring opportunities, but perhaps most importantly, solidifies your place as an ambitious and rising practitioner in the PR world.
4. “Show off your Z factor.” There is an expectation that you won’t simply be a wax statue or passive recipient of information during class. Annette, the program coordinator, called it a “Z factor”, which comprises 3 important things: being engaged, being energetic, and collaborating, not competing with fellow classmates. Now is not the time to fade into the background or to be shy or lazy, folks!
5. “Your brand starts today.” Hide those Facebook albums chronicling your first tramp-stamp or propensity for taking body shots. Delete those tongue-in-cheek or flat-out offensive tweets. Create a LinkedIn page or professional website to showcase your skills and experience and to connect with other industry professionals. You are your own advocate, so get out there and market the best you, babe!
There you have it – the five most salient sound bites from this year’s #humberPR orientation. I’m a crazy person, so you better believe that I’ve already written these points on Post-Its to be placed inside my laptop and agenda, and on my bedside table.
Good luck to all those future PR practitioners! I leave you with four important words from the program’s internship coordinator, Sara Taylor: “Don’t panic. Be awesome!”
A previous version of this blog posted attributed the “Don’t panic. Be awesome!” quote to program coordinator, Annette Borger-Snel. The author of this post apologizes to the clever and pithy Sara Taylor for this mistake.
Millennial Abroad 
Well done!