student connection

Career and Industry Library

IABC strives to provide student members with resources and skills to research, apply for and land the most exciting jobs out there. Our Career and Industry Library features general information for job seekers, plus tips, techniques and career profiles for students preparing to enter the communication profession.

Career and Industry Library

IABC's Career and Industry Library features general information for job seekers, plus tips, techniques and career profiles for students preparing to enter the communication profession.

• Job search tips and techniques
  Including: Exploring work environments in communication; The art of networking; Marketing "Brand You"; Internships: How and why to find one; Benefits of volunteering
• Professional development
  Including: Social media and communication; Internal communication; Cross-cultural communication; Communication planning and measurement
• Communication career profiles
  Including: Communication Manager; Marketing Executive; CSR Communication Specialist; Senior Policy Consultant
• Member spotlights and other resources

Job search tips and techniques

Exploring work environments in communication

Gillian Silver-Rodis, ABC, Ph.D., has generously provided a series of articles for IABC students on what it is like to work in communications in a variety of industries.

• Professional Communicator Reflects on Educational Setting by Gillian Silver-Rodis, ABC, Ph.D.
  Increase your responsibility in a campus communications office
• Smaller Firms May Be Ideal for New Grads by Gillian Silver-Rodis, ABC, Ph.D.
  Diversify your experience in a small marcom firm
• What It Takes to Start a Career in Nonprofit Communication by Gillian Silver-Rodis, ABC, Ph.D.
  Support your passion by communicating for a cause
• Advice for Emerging Professionals from an IABC Chapter President by Gillian Silver-Rodis, ABC, Ph.D.
  Utilize your IABC membership in your job search

The art of networking: Leveraging your professional contacts to help you get ahead

• Power Networking Tips by Barbara Gibson, ABC
  11 easy tools to help you tap into the hidden job market
• A Pebble in a Pond, by Jan Thibodeau, ABC
  Relationship networking for career success
• Utilize Your Network: It’s bigger than you think
  How to build and use your professional network

Marketing “Brand You”: Conduct your job search strategically and creatively

• Internet Innovations: Try an Online Résumé and Portfolio by LeeAnne Kryder, Ph.D.
  How interactive online résumés and portfolios showcase your talents
• The Patterns and Principles of Career Success, by Peter Salt
  Spot and leverage on-the-job opportunities to advance your career
• How to Stand Out when Job Hunting, by Angela Franta
  What to do -- and what not to do -- to Be Heard in your job search
• Worth the Risk: Taking chances in your post-graduation job search, by Julie McCollough
  The safe bet isn't always the best bet when it comes to employment
• Tell me, who are you? ’Cause I really wanna know, by Brad Whitworth, ABC, IABC Fellow
  How to manage your personal online brand
• Diving in to Social Media, by Angelo Fernando
  Use Web 2.0 to help get you a job
• A Student’s Guide to Self-Branding, by Leanne James
  Set yourself apart from the crowd by crafting your unique personal brand
• How’s Your Résumé? Marketing ourselves in writing
  by Natalie Canavor and Claire Meirowitz (CW Bulletin, March 2008)
• Assessing Your Personal Skill Set, by Stacey Thornberry
  Evaluate your strengths and interests to gain direction in your career planning
• Your Interview Checklist, by Rich Young
  You’ve gotten the interview, now what?
• Interviewing is a Two-way Street: Questions to ask in every interview
  Impress your future employer with meaningful dialogue
• Perfect Portfolios: The ultimate tool to get the job you want and deserve, by John Trybus, IABC/Washington student member
  Set yourself apart from the crowd by creating a stellar portfolio
• Personal traits that help PR people be successful (external link)
  Les Potter's students on the ideal PR personality

Internships: How and why to find one

• Internships: 101, by Katherine Jenkins, ABC
  No matter how well we plan, conflict arises in the workplace.
• Getting Your Foot in the Door, by Tamara Gillis, ABC
  It’s a catch-22. How do you get a job without experience, and how do you get experience without a job?
• From Classroom to War Room, PR Internships Offer Value, by Keith Sheldon, ABC, APR
  From a grammatical perspective, the word “intern” has several meanings.
• Working 9 to 5: A Dose of Reality, by Kelly Ponce
  IABC intern Kelly Ponce on the benefits of internships
• Increase Your Chances of Being Hired: Get an internship (or two or three)
  Highlights online resources and directories

Benefits of volunteering: You get more than you give

• Giving Back: A case for volunteering, by Lauren English, IABC/Ouachita Baptist University student member
  Expand your horizons through volunteer opportunities
  
• Get Out There and Volunteer! by Jane Doku, IABC/Toronto student member
  Gain experience and grow your network by volunteering
  

Professional development

Social media and communication

• The Role of Peer Influence in Marketing on Online Social Networks by Rajiv Garg, Michael D. Smith and Rahul Telang
  How peer-to-peer sharing affects our brand perception
• Communicating Successfully Through Press Releases in the Web 2.0 World by Lisa Davis
  How to target your messages in the world of social media
• How to Help a Nonprofit Get Started with Social Media by Kivi Leroux Miller
  Three guidelines to help you help a nonprofit

Internal communication

• Modifying your prose to fit the intranet by Shel Holtz, ABC, IABC Fellow
  Key elements for effective employee communication
• A Difficult Message to Communicate by Rebecca Armendariz
  Communicating layoffs was a learning experience for this new grad

Cross-cultural communication

• LOL: From a professional mover by Meryl David, ABC
  The right attitude is key to successfully integrating into a new culture after a move
• Nonverbal, Cross-cultural Communication by Carol Kinsey Goman, Ph.D.
  If your actions speak louder than your words, make sure they're the right ones
• "Style-Switching" Is Key to Effective Global, Virtual Communication by Keiko Sakurai
  How to effecitvely work with colleagues separated across continents and time zones

Communciation planning and measurement

• How Well are Your Communications Working? by Angela Sinickas, ABC, IABC Fellow
  Use measurement to connect your work to the bottom line
• Communication Planning: The difference between leading and following by Tudor Williams, ABC, MC, IABC Fellow
  Strategize and execute an A+ communication plan

And more...

• The Media May Change, but the Fundamentals Remain the Same by Ed Barr
  Effective marketing tactics transcend media
• A Tale of Two Students by Justin Goldsborough
  Making social media work for your personal brand
• Integrating Print and Online 2.0 by Steve Crescenzo
  It's more than just copy-and-paste
• The Hard Work of Soft Skills by Carol Kinsey Goman, Ph.D.
  The "soft skills" of successful leadership that drive organizational success
• Canadians in San Francisco: Two students experience the IABC 2009 World Conference by Samantha Dumas and Tori McBride
  The benefits of attending World Conference as a young communicator
• With a Little Luck by Don Ranly, Ph.D.
  Today's communication students have a myriad of options
• How Will You Make Time to be Creative in Your Thinking? by Ed Bernacki
  Thinking creatively on the job isn’t as easy as it sounds
• Managing your Time: How to juggle multiple responsibilities, by Wilma Mathews, ABC, IABC Fellow
  Prioritizing and the balancing act of time management

Communication career profiles

• Communication Manager: John Mink at Harley-Davidson Motor Company
• Communication Manager: Jenny Nielsen at YouTube
• Corporate Responsibility Communication Specialist: Jessica Laiti at Cox Enterprises, Inc.
• Executive Search Consultant: Laketa Poindexter at Ropella & Associates
• Marketing Executive: Kate Bingham at Staging Connections
• Senior Policy Consultant: Doug Wolch at Alberta Justice
• Vice President of Communication: Aimee Boyd at the Kentucky Derby Festival
• SPECIAL: Working Perspectives | Communication and Education and Life After Graduation (various contributors)

member spotlights

• Sally Byun of Humber College and DDB Public Relations
• Laura Capp, co-president of IABC/Pittsburgh
• Daniella Cross, Gold Quill Award winner, of University of Guelph-Humber
• Sheng Huang and Charles Zhuang of University of California-Berkeley
• Chizzy Igbokwe of American University of Paris
• Mandy Marks of University of Pretoria
• John Trybus of George Washington University
• Christina Wu, Gold Quill Award winner, of Simon Fraser University

OTHER RESOURCES

• IABC Student Mentoring Program
  Get paired with a professional member working in your field of interest to advance your knowledge of the industry.
• O’Dwyer’s PR articles, directory and more
  The “Bible of PR” provides exclusive content to IABC student members.
• Communication World and CW Bulletin archives in the online library
  Supplement your academic reading or research a project with articles by and for communication professionals
• Student Connection archives
  Tips, tools and news just for IABC students