Coming out of Quarantine Smarter: Public Relations Tools for Professional Development

It wasn’t very long ago that I was entering the workforce and eager to hit my professional stride after graduating college— so I truly empathize with young people who are finishing the school year without proper goodbyes, skipping graduation ceremonies and confronting obstacles as they look for their first job. While the pandemic has disrupted many aspects of our lives, it has taught me to think more intentionally about my time and how I can be a stronger working professional when we come out of quarantine. This time can be spent taking a closer look at our skillsets, our strengths, our goals, and actively reflecting on how we will be more resilient, flexible and creative as we steer our way to tomorrow.

I put together a few resources for our team and thought I would share them with you to help you navigate the coming months to come out of quarantine stronger and smarter: 

To sharpen our skills:

• Google Analytics Academy is an online tool provided by Google. The instruction describes how analytics work, how to set up views and filters, and how to analyze the reports that are produced. It helps track important metrics and is a valuable tool in helping clients achieve the greatest ROI in digital advertising.

• Facebook Blueprint offers a series of free certification exams that help PR professionals learn the nuances of running paid ads on Facebook. This course focuses on measuring competency in using data, insights and measurement to make informed marketing recommendations. It has several levels and new users are recommended to begin with Professional 200-101.

• Project Management Foundations is a free online class offered by LinkedIn Learning and is recommended by many executive career coaches. This class focuses on analyzing project stakeholders, choosing strategies, and effectively establishing sound processes to achieve shared objectives.

• Online Marketing Foundations is another free online class offered by LinkedIn Learning. While described as a beginner class, it includes some high-level components of the digital marketing landscape, the characteristics that make a compelling website, and is led by Brad Batesole—a marketing thought leader who honed his skills with large brands like Warby Parker, Staples, Dickies, and Urban Outfitters.

• Become a Digital Marketer is free online class offered by LinkedIn Learning. The class includes search engine optimization (SEO) foundations, Google analytics training, content marketing, lead generation, growth foundation, as well as building an integrated marketing plan. This class also includes a certificate upon completion.

• The Public Relations Society of America offers a paid accreditation that has proven to be very valuable for professionals in PR. Additionally, PRSA is offering a series of paid webinars that include topics related to reputation management, managing communications in a time of crisis, creativity in PR, and managing a digital corporate reputation.

Additional Resources:

Podcast: How Covid-19 Will Affect The PR Job Market

New Efforts Unveiled To Help Jobseekers & Students During Covid-19