Over the past two months, we have been trying to hire either an account executive or assistant account executive. The hiring process, to say the least, has been an interesting exercise. That said, I was prompted to capture our experiences in an article I wrote for TechieCrossing.com, a portal that claims it has the largest collection of tech jobs in the world. The gist of the piece is the importance of “please and thank you” during the interview process. PR Pros with one or two years under their belts and recent or soon to be graduates, please read this one carefully. "Please" enjoy the article and feel free to share your comments, especially if you like the new corporate headshot included in the piece. "Thank You" very much!

http://www.techiecrossing.com/article/index.php?id=370097

John Paul II was one of most dynamic historical figures of our time because he was not only a great Pope, but a humanitarian who was not afraid to take risks, especially in his campaign of peacefully defeating Communism that began in his native Poland. One of the resounding themes of his papacy was “Be Not Afraid” and that phrase can be applied within public relations. I am in no way comparing John Paul II to public relations.

As I enter my 20th year in this hazy crazy world of public relations, I can probably count on one hand the number of times an editor has commended me for my writing. I first learned to write in the “PR” style from industry legend Julian Lee, a curmudgeonly type who would tear apart a news release and make you re-write it countless times – on a typewriter no less. He taught me that flowery prose gets you demoted to the trash can and that “just the facts, Jack” will provide the most universal appeal. This school of thought followed me throughout my varied career choices. Now, as I see the young PR practitioners graduating from such esteemed schools as Rutgers and Seton Hall with communications, marketing or journalism degrees and aspirations of writing, I channel the writing spirit of Julian Lee. Instead of grabbing for the red pen, I turn on my red revision marks in MS Word and with one stroke (actually keystroke), I can eliminate one verbose sentence and replace it with one word.