From {Young Minds}: Updating the Interview Process to Find Qualified PR, SM Pros

Posted by Laura Fernandex on Oct 14, 2009 in #u30pro, From {Young Minds}, Gen Y, PR 2.0, blogging, business etiquette, communications, public relations, social media, tone, twitter, under 30 professionals, young professionals |
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LAF Note: This Young Minds post was written by Heather Whaling. Heather might be a director of PR, but still under 30 – and offers an interesting twist to the series.

By now, we’ve probably all heard about companies that thought they hired a “PR 2.0″ rock star — only to discover the person signed up for Twitter last week … has never heard of a social media release … and thinks there’s no difference between blogger outreach and traditional media relations. It seems like some companies struggle to “separate the wheat from the chaff.”

So, where’s the disconnect? More often than not, companies ask traditional interview questions, despite looking for a new kind of PR pro. Hiring the unqualified candidate is an expensive mistake. In fact, some studies estimate the wrong hire costs a company up to 15 times the person’s base salary in hard costs and lost productivity. So, let’s help point hiring managers in the right direction.

Revamping Interview Questions

“Are you able to multitask?” is one of those interview questions I’ve never understood. Has an interviewee ever actually admitted that she can’t do more than one thing at a time? Replace that question with one about balancing time between online and offline responsibilities. How does he participate in relevant conversations, provide meaningful content and cultivate networks — without spending 8 hours a day online?

Instead of asking interviewees about their proficiency with PowerPoint and Excel, hiring managers should ask, “Do you have a basic understanding of HTML?

In addition to asking potential new hires to explain how they go about pitching reporters or asking what major placements they’ve secured, employers should be just as interested in community building. Separate the “talkers” from the “doers” by asking for an example. Have you ever built an online community? How? What were the results?

What else would you suggest to update the interview process? What questions should interviewers ask to ensure the qualified candidate gets the job? If you’ve recently gone through the hiring process, what kinds of questions were you asked?

Heather Whaling is currently the director of public relations for Costa DeVault, and will be launching her own company, Geben Communication, in December, where she’ll focus on integrating public relations, marketing and social media for small businesses and nonprofit organizations. Connect with her on Twitter or on her blog.

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  • SaraKate
    Great tips. "Multitasking" and "balancing time" are two different things. Arguably, balancing time is all the more important. If you can balance your time between projects, keep your eye on multiple questions or research endeavors, keep track of the little details and the big picture, THAT is what will make a great employee. As someone who has struggled with ADD and is constantly looking to better herself and improve efficiency, I have learned that "multitasking" is actually a bad thing (for me, at least). When I have multiple programs open on my computer, it tends to take me longer to get things done than if I set aside time for one task, complete it, then move on to the next.

    In regards to proficiency in computer-related things, most everyone who has graduated from a higher education institution has at least basic understanding of Microsoft programs such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. While these are important, they are not the end-all be-all of the working world. And most likely, with a little research and training, anyone can pick up the skills pretty quickly. A basic understanding of HTML is becoming more and more important as more and more people are communicating online. When looking for a PR/SM pro, other questions to think of could be familiarity with social media and networking sites - ask which the person uses for personal life and which they are familiar with in a business setting.

    As always and with any type of position, a great question is to ask what style of learning the person has, whether they read and research or learn by doing. Are they visual, aural, or kinesthetic learners? Which fits best with the people they will be working with and the positions they will hold.
  • heatherwhaling
    I love your idea about different learning styles. We're all constantly learning about how to improve PR and marketing. It's so important to understand how a new hire will best "digest" this kind of information to create a win-win for the everyone. Great suggestion!
  • SaraKate
    Thanks, Heather. It's something I've really had to learn and master as a young person and then again as a young adult. My learning style in school was always different and, because I'm smart, I overcompensated for my ADD in high school, leading teachers to believe that I was either lazy or disinterested. Once I was diagnosed with the disorder, I took a lot of time learning about time management, best practices for my own type of learning and had to experiment a lot with different circumstances and conditions for learning.

    As a young professional, I have had to take into my own hands the same process again with regards to the professional learning curve. I've learned to ask for what I need without sounding whiny or disrespectful. I always preface my questions or requests with how the process benefits me and the organization I work for. It seems to work well for me, especially when I need to ask for something out of the ordinary.

    It's important, not only that the person you're hiring is competent, but also that the new hire will benefit the work environment. If someone is grand ideas, but terrible with personal interactions, for example, it might not be the right fit for a particular PR/SM position. However, that same person might be a great fit for another position in the marketing department.
  • TJ Dietderich
    Yes to HTML. If you cannot make simple changes to a Wordpress site or a blog, then that's just not good.
  • Danny Prager
    Great post Heather,

    My company just dealt with this exact issue in our latest candidate search. We added a couple questions to our usual intern ad.

    What makes a site rank on page #1 of Google, Yahoo, and Bing?

    What blogs and websites do you read on a regular basis?

    Tell us about one of your favorite ways you've seen brands use social media.

    Based on the response thus far, these questions seem to be serving us well. Love your idea of asking for examples of community building. Really excited to see what you do in the future with Geben!
  • heatherwhaling
    Hey, Danny -- those are good questions to ask as well. Along those same lines, I like to ask people what they have in their Google Reader. It's a good way to understand if they're committed to ongoing learning about public relations and social media.

    BTW, thanks for the Geben well wishes. Much appreciated! :)
  • BGleas
    Any specific tips for interviewing entry level people for a PR/SM role? Chances are they haven't done community building or SM for business before. Would you direct most of the questions to their personal presence in SM? Doesn't that seem a little awkward?
  • heatherwhaling
    Good question. You're right, many new grads may not have implemented social media for a business before, but it's still important for them to demonstrate an understanding of the social web. Can they point to examples of their own social media use? Having participated in the #prstudchat (a Twitter chat between PR students, professionals and educators), it seems there are a growing number of college students looking for ways to incorporate social media into their skill set.

    An entry level person probably wouldn't be responsible for building an online community right off the bat. Perhaps there are others areas that are more relevant? For example, can they write a social media release, in addition to a traditional press release? Are they strong researchers who could build a traditional media list, but also identify appropriate bloggers to pitch? Tanks for reading and commenting!
  • Lisa
    Oh my goodness, usually it's the hiring manager who has not a clue about what's new in the industry. They WANT old fashioned press releases. They are completely lost when candidates go into social media, HTML, etc. This from Ivy League educated marketing managers. Yes.
  • marydemingbarber
    Good conversation here and post Heather. The question about balancing time between online & offline responsibilities is a wonderful one and really relates to the discussion on David Spinks and Sonny Gill's posts about the 9-5 work day. From my perspective it's all about achieving that balance because of engagement online and in real life relationships. Today's professionals need to be able to do both and know when to turn off the online relationships for real life ones, or personal life.

    Lisa -- if a hiring manager you're talking with doesn't understand social media and you very much want to work in that environment, the job might not be for you. There are professionals out there who still successfully work in an environment that doesn't include social media. Most have a tremendous amount of experience in the field but if a company isn't a good fit for you, don't pursue the opportunity. I've always felt an interview is a two-way street. It has to be a match for both parties.

    Looking forward to reading more of the comments here.
  • BGleas
    Actually it depends, although the hiring manager may not know much about SM, they're probably interviewing you because they want to get into that space. The job could actually be an excellent opportunity to build a company's social media presence from the ground up.
  • Rachel Esterline
    I know people who knew nothing about social media last year, yet their specialty at work is social media. Not only do I wonder how they got the job, but how the interviewer didn't see through it.

    I would love to have an interviewer ask me about my experience with HTML. I don't think they ever have asked that. I also think that they should ask about which communities I have experience in.

    It might be a good exercise for the interviewer to have the potential employee design a social media plan for a "client" to see how they think on their feet.
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