Advice to a Recent PR Graduate

I wish I knew about these web sites and networking groups before I graduated from CSUF. Therefore, I would consider joining:

1) LinkedIn.com

it's like myspace, but for professionals. In my opinion, LinkedIn.com is one of my favorite places to network online. You can set up your resume and add your former classmates and employers.

2) Group Y Network (http://www.groupynetwork.com/)

I copied this from their web site: "group Y was found by colleagues and friends Liz Randall and Doug Schneider in Fall of 2006. We felt that despite the social nature of the action sports and youth marketing industries at events and tradeshows, that a vehicle was needed to bring people we knew together and create an open and casual environment through which people could connect.Our original goal, which still stands today, was/is to assist in fostering relationships between others within our sphere of Action Sports and Entertainment. These relationships can be a catalyst for a new job, a new working partnership, or just expanding your horizons.As we move forward, group Y will be providing more and more resources for its members. We believe that the more connected and educated our network is, it benefits not only our members, but our industries as a whole.group Y is currently run by Liz Randall, who is the Manager of Corporate Communications at Spy Optic and Mark Sperling, who is the Director of Sponsorship Sales at Live Nation and a veteran of the action sports & entertainment industry ."

Mark and Liz are two of the nicest people that you would ever meet. I consider them to be great mentors and friends.

If you live in California, this is a great group to join because of the group is composed of marketing, advertising and PR professionals within the action sports industry. The group meets at least once a month within LA, Orange and San Diego counties. As of right now, there are NO membership dues. But, in order to attend an event, you have to pay a small nominal fee.

3) Twitter.com

This seems to be a really hot trend on the internet as of late.

FYI, group y is on there as groupy! so, please look for them and other PR professionals in your area.

You should add these notable people: thebungalowpr, PressAbout, PluginPR, PRSanDeigo, PRLeap, CirtusPR, PRChannel, JPRPublicity, PRProSanDiego, and NPRNews.


Hopefully, this information is helpful. Please feel free to drop me a line at my LinkedIn.com or Twitter pages. I hope to see you at a group y event soon!

Take care,
JC