Ask Bob
Leaving TV for Greener PR Pastures
Originally Posted
Updated
Straight Stuff from the Other Side of the Bar
Move over Ann Landers and Miss Manners. Bartender Bob could care less about etiquette; he exists to pour drinks and dish answers to wayward PR folks who need a straight shot of truth.
Bartender Bob answers all career- and industry-related questions and does so with the bite of a drink laced with 151. His Italian, in-your-face responses may rub you the wrong way, but he means well.
Today's Question:
Bartender Bob: I am a television news anchor with ten-plus years of experience behind the desk. I've won dozens of awards for my news writing. I am also a Public Affairs Officer in the U.S. Naval Reserve. I'm sick and tired of working "in" television and want to make the switch to PR. I've mailed out more than 100 resumes but haven't gotten a single nibble. What's up out there? Is it the economy or me?
Signed,
Hello, is any one out there?
Dear Hello, is any one out there?
Can you make a slippery nipple? I'll hire you. No insult intended, bub, but the market's tighter than a speed-laced Jewish princess after six martinis.
Every industry seems to be taking a hit, except my little bar here, where no one seems to give a rat's ass. Quit wasting postage and start making calls. Start with the agencies that pitch you most. Make them understand your inside ties.
If they're not hiring, and you have the writing skills and connections to get story placed quick, consider working as a media rep for pay-for-placement media agencies such as Ink, Inc. They prefer to hire crusty newspeople, and their reps like Bill McAndrew, a former NBC don, are making nice jack.
Bartender Bob