Generation X: How to Hire Them
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Prepared for August 16, 2000 edition of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All
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Free Press: Christie’s Publicist
When Susan Young was a news anchor at a radio
station, she would get a hundred faxes a day, most of them useless.
Maybe just three of them might get on the air. Worst of all was when
she was on minute-to-minute deadlines for morning drive news —
and the newsroom fax would get tied up by a picture of a CEO and a
caption saying the stock had jumped a fraction. At best, this fax
was futile. At worst, it could call the credibility of the publicist
into question.
Now — with the experience of 10 years in radio and three years
in the governor’s office — Young aims to teach entrepreneurs and
would-be publicists how to write for the news, effectively pitch
stories,
and handle crisis communications. Susan Young Media Relations presents
a three-hour workshop, “How to Get Free Press: Tips and Techniques
for Strategic Media Relations,” on Thursday, August 17, at 9 a.m.
at the Ramada on Route 1 South. Cost: $295. Call 732-613-4790.
Young majored in mass communications at Quinnipiac University in
Connecticut,
Class of 1984, and started out in radio as on-air anchor and news
director in New Jersey and New York. “I won awards from the
Associated
Press and the New Jersey Broadcasting Association for my feature on
Dick Zimmer, who had just won a seat in Congress. I got some tape,
and he gave me such good comments that I made it into a feature that
ran in two segments,” says Young.
For WMQR in Somerset, one of her favorite sources was Christie
Whitman,
then a county freeholder. “She went on to different things and
I went on to different things. I had her home number, she called me,
I called her, she was always very forthright with information. She
was always nice and still is,” says Young. When Whitman was
elected
governor, Young served a three-year stint from 1994 to 1997 as head
of the governor’s office of radio and television. “We used to
call her One-take Whitman. Our office was above her office. They
scheduled
her for 15 minutes for a taping and in 60 seconds she was out the
door.”
Then Young co-founded a software development company, took a
self-directed
crash course in sales and marketing, and sold the product on the
telephone
across nine states. That was an eye opener, she says, and excellent
experience for any writer, freelancer, or publicist because,
as she points out, “you are basically selling your stories.”
After working as public relations director for the New Jersey ARC,
she has opened her own business (www.sueyoungmedia.com).
So what will her students learn about what makes news? “What
affects
a lot of people, what is interesting, what has a creative hook to
it,” says Young. “I give them insight.”
Find a creative angle. Is there something unusual aboutthe people, the selection process, the impact on the community?”Ifyou think it is ho-hum, so will everyone else,” says Young.Use statistics. In a story about an award, say therecipientswere selected for the honor from 1,000 applicants.Use something current in the news. On the anniversaryof the Columbine tragedy, tell good news about good kids in ourbackyard.Relate to a date. “If it is national Save Your VisionWeek, maybe something is going on in the schools or in nursing homes,such as a public screening. Or use a glaucoma statistic.”Learn to describe your topic or yourself in 20 secondsin a way that will make someone want call you back. For instance,Young’s card has the inscription “Spin Doctor,” and her voicemail says “We make headlines and beat deadlines.”Use short sentences, not rambling sentences with commas.Key your press release to the medium. “Broadcastingis a totally different animal from print,” says Young. For radio,use sound bites. For television, use visuals, such as an old man goingto the eye screening.Hell hath no fury like a former reporter turned publicist, andeven as a reminder that even the most skillful publicity campaigncan go awry, Young tells — with vitriol — about a dailynewspaperreporter who attended one of her press conferences and, says Young,”totally destroyed” the story. “They missed the wholepoint,” she says. “She missed the whole lead.”In addition to samples of her work, Young’s hand-outs will includesamples of a media advisory, press release, and letter to the editoror op-ed article, plus instructions on how to write a press releasethat she says publicists should tape to their walls. What she won’tinclude in the course packet is her own list of media contacts,carefullyaccumulated over the years. Says Young: “I just don’t give itaway.”— Barbara FoxTop Of PageFor Job HuntersSome companies offer extended job search services froman outplacement agency to their downsized employees. Some do not.If you are conducting your job search without the armor of expertadvice, you can sign up for free three-day workshops sponsored bythe Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Greater Mercer County.People in managerial, technical, or professional fields can attendthese workshops taught by specialists from the New Jersey Departmentof Labor at the JFCS conference wing, 707 Alexander Road, Suite 102.The program is open to the public and is free (thanks to a grant fromthe United Way of Greater Mercer County) but preregistration isrequired.To register call 609-987-8100.The seminars are Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, August 21, 23, and24, from 9:30 to 3 p.m. On the agenda: How to plan and conduct a jobsearch, how to use job-finding resources, how to cope with themultiplestresses of job loss, unemployment, and job seeking, and how to assessone’s opportunities and skills.Top Of PageGet a Job Or Get a BusinessIf you are collecting unemployment benefits you maybe eligible for an intensive six-week, 60-hour daytime trainingprogramfor would-be entrepreneurs at Mercer County Community College. Fundingfor this course may be available. The Self Employment Assistanceprogramincludes these topics: Developing Business and Marketing Plans, Taxes,Record Keeping, and Legal Formation. Call 609-586-4800, extension3530 or extension 3602.Those who do not qualify for financial assistance pay an $800 feefor the course, and its credits can apply to the Certificate inEntrepreneurialManagement.Top Of PageGeneration X: How to Hire ThemIn today’s job market, recruiting can be tough. Nomatterwhat the scale of your recruiting campaign, the basic elements ofthe campaign are the same and the goal is simple: Deliver the mostcompelling message to the largest concentrations of potentialemployeesin order to draw them into your applicant pool, says RainmakerThinking’sBruce Tulgan, author of a new book, “Winning the TalentWars,”The four basic elements of an effective campaign are:Try to get some news or quasi-news coverage, which isconsidered unpaid media.Advertise with a paid print advertisement, radio slogan,or television commercial.Mail, fax, E-mail, or telephone all possible applicants.Try to call 100 times the number of applicants you want. To minimizeyour recruiting work, think about paying existing employees cashbountiesfor new recruits.Sponsor or have someone sponsor an event with an effectivenews/publicity tie-in in order to intrigue your target audience.Once you have a list of applicants, don’t let the right peopleslip away. Create a skill or performance-based description of thejob. Ask the applicants to turn in proposals that will predict howthey will add value to your business. Get a “sample” of eachapplicant’s work.If possible, design a try-out preview, to give applicants an honestlook at what the job will be like.”In the workplace of the future,” says Tulgan, “you arenot looking for people to join the family and climb the ladder.Rather,you need people who bring specific skills to the table, are able toget up to speed quickly, and can begin making contributions rightaway. And you can’t trust letters of reference, because everybodyis afraid of getting sued.”Previous StoryNext StoryCorrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
