The post-grad PR persuasion

So, where did I leave off? Oh yes, the internship.

Lucky for me, I got the big envelope this time. What a relief, for both me and my parents.

I start May 31, just 10 days after I walk across the stage.

Landing a job post-graduation is something I have been losing sleep over for many, many moons. Now, however, I drift off before those sheep can even think about trotting into my subconscious pasture.

Change is good.

I have, in the past month, encountered a new phenomenon surrounding my post-grad plans...how to explain to people what exactly my new job IS.

Conversations go a little like this:

Well-meaning friend, acquaintance, co-worker or family member: So, Cait, what are your plans after May 21?

Me: I got a great summer internship, I’m totally excited. It’s with a public relations agency in Sacramento, and they work with mostly food and wine clients. It’s going to be a blast.

Right after the words “public relations” leave my lips, my co-conversationalist’s eyes glaze over.

Well-meaning friend, acquaintance, co-worker or family member: Oh...that’s nice.

<---------------------long pause---------------------------->

Well-meaning friend, acquaintance, co-worker or family member: What exactly does that mean?

Fact #1 of life as a public relations practitioner: the general public has little to know idea about what we do, aside from the “whole Charlie Sheen thing”.

The ironic thing about this profession that works so hard to make its clients transparent is that PR itself has an image problem.

Often, the general public views the gatekeepers of reputation management as purely damage control. The superhero’s that rush in when Lindsey gets arrested (again) or Britney drives-thru with her kid on her lap, sans seatbelt.

First of all, aforementioned people are publicists, which represent a teeny, tiny portion of those in our profession. The general graduates of PR programs across the country will never defend Paris Hilton’s honor or manage Zach Efron’s Twitter account.

Most of us will lead quiet lives of media outreach on behalf of our clients. The majority of the class of 2011 will spend our days meeting with our clients, doing everything we can to get the positive things they are doing covered in the media.

Public relations professionals are very much storytellers. We package our clients so the general public can see what they are all about. We build media lists so we can pitch stories to local papers, news stations and these days, bloggers.

Basically, we get people not on our client’s payroll to vouch for our clients--tell the community who they are and what they do. We aren’t advertisers. We are the liaisons between our clients and the public they serve.

At least, this is all what my education and internship with Tehama Group (see below) has lead me to believe my chosen career will entail.

A week from today, I’ll find out if it’s true. I'll keep you posted.