Remember that reporter who you ticked off when you kept calling to ask, “Can you tell me when the news release I sent you will be printed?”
Or the editor who won’t talk to you again because you promised him exclusivity on an article, then turned around and gave it to a competing magazine?
Both of them might help decide whether you get your next job in PR. That’s because people who make hiring decisions at PR agencies and elsewhere are turning to a helpful source to find out whether you’ll do a good job in media relations: the media people who you contact day in and day out in your current job.
In the “Expert Advice” column in the January issue of PR Week, Agnes Gioconda, executive vice president, senior partner and “chief talent officer” of Fleishman-Hillard, says the agency goes to reporters not only as a source of job candidates, but also for references.
“Reporters can offer insight into candidates’ news sense, depth of industry knowledge, and responsiveness, as well as their overall professionalism,” she said.
When I worked as a newspaper editor, I can’t ever remember taking calls from PR people who wanted to know what it was like to work with people they considered hiring. But media people are such a logical source of references that I’m surprised more PR agencies aren’t taking that approach when hiring.
It’s just one more reason, as the old saying goes, not to pick a fight with people who buy their ink by the barrel.