If you have the ability to write, writing articles is an excellent means to obtain publicity, exposure, and eventual job offers. The topic that you select to write about is important. It must be relevant to your work. It could be an opinion about the best way to do things, a special technique or some method you have developed or adopted, or even a survey pertaining to your field. Some journals prefer shorter articles, some more extensive ones. The following books in your library will give you a list of publications that may be interested in publishing an article written by you.
Initiating Your Own Publicity Releases
Every major firm and a number of knowledgeable smaller firms give publicity releases to newspapers, interested magazines, and other publications whenever they can. This publicity usually results in additional business for them.
In the same way, you can initiate your own publicity releases for whenever you do something. This will demonstrate your ability, make you look good to your present boss, and also get you noticed by others in your field, who may then regard you as an expert Now, you may be thinking, how can I give a publicity release on anything if I am working for a company that handles publicity itself? Most companies have a publicity department or at least someone handling this task. You may be able to persuade your company's publicity department to do an occasional release. But remember, the company's purpose is different from yours. The company's objective is to publicize the company, not to provide the personal publicity you are going to use to help you get a superior job. Therefore, you shouldn't depend on your company's publicity department entirely, but should send out your own releases whenever something happens to you or you have something to say that (1) demonstrates expertise and (2) may be of interest to someone and would therefore be published by a newspaper, magazine, or journal of your industry.
What might the topics of such publicity releases be? Well, for one thing, if you succeeded in publishing an article or giving a speech, you might want to publicize something you said or wrote about if it is of interest to other people in your industry. You can then indicate that this was said during such and such a speech or in such and such an article. This publicity will expand your opportunities for additional speeches and articles, as well as expose you to opportunities for a superior job. If you are doing something outside of work which has nothing to do with your current job but which is in the same field, publicity here will help you also. Perhaps you are an engineer and have designed something outside of work that does not interest your own company. A publicity release under these circumstances is perfectly legitimate, and it will gain publicity not only for your invention but also for your expertise-while not offending the company that you are currently working for.
Writing a publicity release is not difficult You simply write at the top "For Immediate Release" and then go on to describe whatever it is that has happened that you wish to have publicity on. If you have a photograph of yourself to include with the release, this can sometimes be printed as well and will definitely help to publicize you and make more people read the release.
If you wish, you may use a cover letter with the publicity release, addressed to the editor of the magazine or newspaper, or the editor of the department in which you are seeking publicity. However, this isn't strictly necessary. A publicity release by itself can be extremely effective as a single enclosure.
How do you know where to send your publicity release? One excellent source is Standard Rate and Data Service (or SRDS), which publishes a number of different directories periodically and can be found in your library. These include directories of business magazines, consumer magazines, and newspapers. There are literally thousands of publications available, so, again, you must seek your target market and send the publicity release only to those that serve your target audience of PEs who may be interested in hiring you at some time in the future.
Presenting Papers at Professional Meetings
Mere attendance at professional meetings is a good thing for your career, since it in itself is a method of exposure and contact with other executives who may have the power to give you the superior position that you seek. However, a far better way is to present a paper at such a meeting, since, again, this establishes your expertise and also exposes you to many more people through your presentation than you would meet in the normal course of events at a conference or professional meeting. Once more, this is both a long-range and a short-range proposition. In many cases you can actually meet contacts immediately interested in hiring you for various positions. For the long range, many executive recruiters use conference papers and lists of attendees as sources for potential candidates for positions they are seeking to fill.
In summary, advertising yourself should be only an adjunct to your main campaign. But such a campaign can be an effective adjunct if you follow the following advice:
- If you are going to advertise in media, advertise in media that your PEs are likely to read.
- Make your ad a display ad, in effect, a mini sales letter.
- Construct your ad in four parts: headline, pitch, credibility, and call to action combined with address.
- List the telephone number and/or a box number.
- Prepare for your search for a superior job by using all six long-term means of advertising: writing articles, making speeches, active memberships in organizations, initiating your own publicity releases, giving seminars, and presenting papers at professional meetings.
