This Blog Is Moving

Sorry for the hiatus everyone - this blog is moving to www.EntryLevel-PR.com once the brand new Web site is done on May 11. I have been working hard to secure the designers and programmers for the site, which is why I have not written. Again, the blog will be back in full-force starting May 11.

What Salary Can You Expect?

Often, when asked to provide salary requirements, entry-level folks will use data from sites such as Salary.com. However, take some advice from someone who has applied for entry-level jobs all across the country - those estimates are very, very high.

As an entry-level practitioner with 0-1 internships, your salary range will fall somewhere between $25,000 and $27,000. If you had 2 internships, your salary range will be $27,000-$30,000. If you had 3+, expect the low $30s.

So, when you go to include this information in your cover letter, keep this in mind. At my previous job, when I served as a hiring manager, we tossed any outrageous salary requirements without even looking at the resume.

Turning Your Internship into a Full-Time Job

As a follow-up to my last post about how it's ok to accept a summer internship to start off your post-college career, I have a piece of advice about how you can turn that internship into a full-time job.

In addition to the obvious - doing great work - keep a daily diary/journal of everything you do at your internship and what you learned that day. Keep a notebook at your desk to record this information and type it up in the evenings. The reason I say to type it is because at the end of your internship you are going to turn it into a full report about all the great work you did, what you learned and why you should be hired full-time. Also, keep any news clips you helped place, reports you helped draft, press releases you wrote, etc.

If your organization is not at a position financially where it can hire you on full-time, you've just created a stellar portfolio you can present to other organizations.

For those of you who get entry-level jobs in May, do this same thing and present it when it's time for your annual review. Your superiors will be impressed!

Do I Really Need Experience?

The short answer is yes, you do. Hiring managers look for real-world experience on your resume - not that you worked as a manager at Victoria's Secret for the last 4 years.

That being said, all is not lost if you're graduating in May and don't have any experience. (If your graduation date is in December 2007 or later, pay attention so you can get a leg up on other people in your class!) There are several options:

• You can apply for summer internships. While most of the larger firms have already stopped accepting applications, there are plenty of great small agencies and other types of organizations that are still hiring. See my post about Indeed.com for finding these opportunities. If you do a great job at this internship, the organization will likely hire you or at the very least recommend you for an entry-level position somewhere else.
• You can volunteer to do PR work for free at a local organization or nonprofit. I did this at my local hhumane society during my final semester because I didn't have enough time to devote to a regular internship.

Your goal at the end of all this is to not include your management position at Victoria's Secret on your resume. As someone who made hiring decisions and reviewed resumes at my previous job, I can tell you that will send your resume immediately into the trash. Ask around, volunteer and apply for a summer internship. This might seem like your first real job out of college is that much further away, but I guarantee you will like the opportunities that open up for you after a few months of experience.

I would love to review your resume for you, so contact me off blog to have this done!

Entry-Level PR is on Facebook

Thanks to some great feedback, Entry-Level PR is now on Facebook. Continue reading the blog and leaving comments, but find job postings and discussions on Facebook.