This week, I made my bi-annual pilgrimage to Winona, Minn., to my alma mater. I head down there twice a year to speak to classes about the PR industry–trends, skills, the job search, my experience, etc.

I haven’t worked on the client/agency side of PR now for almost four years. But, when I was, I was typically one of a handful (and in a few cases the ONLY) guy on my PR team.

Starting a new series today: HAPPO Questions. In my work with HAPPO over the last few years, there have been several questions that have come up that it seems like I keep answering.

A few months ago the good folks with the Puget Sound PRSA chapter asked me to keynote their PRSA Pro Conference on June 12. The topic they wanted me to speak to? What skills does tomorrow’s PR pro need to be successful?

Last week I spoke to a PRSSA chapter at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Really motivated and organized bunch, it seemed. Afterward, one of the young ladies introduced herself and said she’d be following up soon.

Recently, we held our first HAPPO chat of 2012. The topic: Tips for the first 90 days on the job. It was a great conversation punctuated by tips and advice from more than 15 HAPPO champs across the country. Smart PR counselors like Anne Buchanan, Abbie Fink, Richie Escovedo and Shonali Burke weighed in. As [...]