An All-Around Expert

One of the benefits of being a PR student at DePaul is that you have the opportunity to listen to speakers, visit agencies and network like there is no tomorrow.  If I get the opportunity to ask one question of these PR professionals, I try to ask why they got in industry and what is their favorite aspect of PR.  There is one answer that I typically receive- "no day is like the next."  This component of PR makes the profession so appealing because you never have to worry about being bored or doing the same old thing. However, what particularly attracts me to PR is the usual follow-up to this answer- "you become an expert in so many things."

Dan Edelman could certainly attest to this comment.  By the late 1960s, Edelman had already represented home hair permanents, a political candidate, cheesecake, lemon juice, bowling machinery, California wine and Finland.  He didn't just represent them; he knew them back-to-front.  Edelman made an entire presentation to the Wine Institute without any notes or film. He convinced the Institute through his knowledge on the organization, California wine and the types of media/consumers that would best fit.

In order to pitch a media outlet something about your product, you have to be an expert not just on your product alone, but on the entire industry. You don't just become an expert overnight; it takes a lot of time and research. However, once you know everything there is to know, you're the better for it. Working as a PR intern at 3rd Coast PR this past fall, I found myself becoming an expert in smoke and CO safety.  One of their clients, Universal Security Instruments, produces smoke and gas alarms.  I can honestly say that knew very little about smoke/CO technology and safety precautions before my internship.  But after writing blog posts and researching the latest safety legislation, I left an expert.

It's not every profession that can allow you to test the waters in areas you never dreamed.  Dan Edelman probably never thought he would be a hair stylist, a politician, a chef, a bowler, a wine connoisseur or Finnish, but he did.  It's true what they say- "no day is like the next."

Colleen Baker is a junior at DePaul University studying Public Relations & Advertising and Communications & Media Studies.  She currently manages the website and all social media for Seward Sales Corporation, a marketing and sales agency for top building material companies.  Baker hopes to work in agency or entertainment PR.  She can be reached at cbaker17@mail.depaul.edu or follow her at @crbaker03.