Just passing along another great event happening in the valley! This is a great chance to meet local professionals and learn more about the technology skills employers are seeking!

Happy Hour + Technology

Tuesday, February 2, 2010 5:30 – 7 p.m.

Many employers assume that because we are young and live most of our lives online that we are born Internet and computer savvy, which is just an over-hyped myth. Come join other New Pros, and learn how to improve your employment desirability by knowing the skills communication employers are seeking. George Couch, Phoenix PRSA Technology Co-Chair, will speak on the benefits of learning Adobe software and include some tips on the programs. (Please RSVP to Sommer Caraway atsommer.caraway@smithgroup.com; Cost: FREE for PRSA/PRSSA members, $5 for non-members – cash only)

Are you looking for another way to grow professionally this year? If so, look into the Phoenix PRSA Mentor Program. This program aims to bring our community of professionals together by matching new and experienced people in PR together. Regardless of stature (or lack thereof) in the valley, we can all learn from each other!

If you are interested in signing up for PRSA Phoenix Mentor program please check out this blog entry from the Valley PR Blog. The program is a 4 month time commitment, starting in February. This program was not widely announced so be prepared to submit your paperwork to Sommer Caraway (sommer.caraway@smithgroup.com), the deadline is January 27th, 2010.

Today Maggie and I attended Social Media AZ and saw many familiar faces.  The raw materials, organic conversation and slate of industry professionals created quite the impact on our young minds. I am sure you were all affected in some way or another, it might have been the delicious Quiznos cookies or the unlimited Einstein’s coffee, whatever flighted your fancy is all that matters.

If you were unable to make this event today, here are a few tips and tricks we learned. I for one, learned the most from the “Social Media for Small Business” panel featuring @jaybaer @kinchie @joemanna and moderated by @kathysacks. The panelists covered a variety of topics from what social media tools they find most useful to blogging tips. I value their opinions and realize that a lot of their suggestions are meant for each individual to interpret.

• Trial and error –  take into account what someone else says and apply it to your own knowledge. We should take advantage of social media and the endless possibilities. Try things on your own, find out when your messaging is most effective (8am, noon, 2pm, 9pm?). It is not just what you say, but when you say it!
• There are definitely faux paus of social media (i.e. -not tweeting the same thing 40 times), but who says you cannot bounce back? We are all in this together. Try rewording your message, instead of re-tweeting the same thing,
• Simply put, “You need to care about what your audience thinks, and if you don’t then you’re an “ass”  - Jay Baer
• Utilize tools like Seesmic, HootSuite, Tweetdeck - for multiple accounts. And while your at it, check out  phone apps too, they can make your social media presence known from anywhere!

I could rant for hours about my interpretation of that session, but instead I encourage you to check it out yourself!

I unfortunately missed the entire Jay Baer blogger session after this panel. If you are not already following his blog (which I highly suggest you should) check it out! Also, a complimentary post written about the event by @LindaVandaVrede on ValleyPrBlog today! Remember, know your audience (and hopefully they have a sense of humor).

Since June of last year I have been carrying a fortune cookie note in my wallet that says “If you put up with small annoyances, you will gain great results.”  For quite some time now this has really rung true to me. I haven’t looked at the fortune for sometime now and it really hit me tonight on how important it is to put up with the small annoyances. As easy as it is to look at the glass half empty and pout about the, for lack of a better word: crappy economy, its better to look at this as a time to prepare  to launch yourself out of this recession.

Network with professionals, follow up on any job lead you can get, even if it is for a job you are under qualified for. You never know when a job that you are qualified for will open up and the person hiring will remember who you are. Attempt to meet the people who are hiring for the job you DREAM of having. Talk to them about the industry, the job they are hiring for and how you can get it or something like it. Pick their brain on how they broke into their industry and make sure they know you are interested in whatever they might have available, even if it is part-time, unpaid or contract.

Get over the unpaid part Generation Y, Z, P, whatever we are, this is the new world we live in. Prove yourself first, then get the pay check.  And I’m realizing: the ones who work hard now and don’t whine about it, will get a pay off later in life.

And yeah I’ll stop the whining

Hello all,

We hope you all had a Happy New Year and are sticking to your new year’s resolutions so far! We have a lot of events coming up in the next few months and we are looking forward to sharing them with you! I personally am looking forward to starting this year off right with networking and gaining more members and contacts for our group!

Don’t forget the next AZPRC meeting is coming up this Tuesday, January 12th, 6:30pm at Hob Nobs Coffee House near downtown. Aly Saxe will be our guest speaker and we will be planning out the next few months of networking events. You don’t want to miss all of this information!

Please email if you have any questions.

See you Tuesday!