If you are thinking about or on your way to becoming a Public Relations professional, one of the best things you can do for your future now is to attend conferences. Conferences are important to attend because of many reasons, but the most important is to build your Network. When going to conferences you get to meet so many public relations professionals that you would never know otherwise. Some student’s here at Western Carolina have met many professionals on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook and have been able to finally meet face to face with the professionals from those sites. Another great reason to go to conferences is the seminars that are held there. They have seminars such as “How To Write A Resume,” “How To Get Involved In Social Media, “and “How To Interview For Jobs.” With these seminars, you can work with professionals to get their feedback. Conferences are a great way to learn from the PR professionals you are striving to be, not to mention you can get a chance to travel all over the country!
So, how can you find out about these conferences? First off, join your campus PRSSA chapter. PRSSA stands for Public Relations Student Society of America and it is a great way to gain real world experience in public relations. Your PRSSA Chapter should let you know where a lot of the PRSSA conferences are, both regional and national, but you can also check out PRSSA.ORG and PRSA.ORG.
Some conferences coming up are listed below:
Feb. 10–11: “Transforming Traditional Into Digital: The New Ways of PR,” DePaul University
Feb. 11 — “Find Your Fit: Applying Your Strengths to the PR World,” Lee University
Feb. 25–26: “So You Want To Be a PR Professional,” California State University Fullerton
Feb. 25–26 — “A PR Life Is the Life for Me: A Guide to Becoming Successful in the Professional World,” East Carolina University
Feb. 26: “PR Advanced: Be the Change,” Boston University
March 4–5 — “PR Where U R,” Georgia Southern University
rch 24–25 — “2011 Mountain West Regional Public Relations Conference,” Utah State University
March 25–26 — “The Reality of PR: A Survivor’s Guide to the Public Relations World,” Penn State University
March 31–April 3 — PRSSA 2011 National Assembly
April 8–9 — “Get Social: A Blueprint for Social Media Strategy,” Indiana University
April 8–10: “The Power of Making PR Connections,” University of Nebraska at Omaha
April 16 — “PR Capital: Gateway to a Career as a Young Professional,” Ohio State University
Becky Howard, WCU PRSSA Fundraising Chair
