Confessions of a PR Girl Boss

By Andrea Aguinda

On Wednesday, May 20, PRSSA hosted a resume workshop with Whitney Lee. Whitney Lee is the owner of SocialLee PR & Media Co. She left the Hilton in March 2013 after her grad school professor opened her eyes to start her own business. Lee told us about the different types of services she provides to her clients. Some of them include; graphic design, social media, public relations, events and photos, and a top to bottom full-blown marketing team. Lee mentions how each client requires different services, which is imperative for a PR professional to know how to efficiently deliver accurate results.

With that, Lee begins by presenting the Resume Workshop by listing the 4 Must-Haves in a resume.

1. Numbers- Pack in numbers because that's when you really look next level, social media insights. An example would be that you managed 5 social media platforms with a combined following of 5k* how many followers, wrote over 50 press releases, it is all about how you position and word things.

2. Programs- Your resume should clearly list which programs you know and to what extent

(Wordpress, Constant Contact, Hootsuite, Canva, Slack, Asana) be honest in your abilities. She also recommended to section off on your resume and list program proficiency. (Beginner, proficient, expert)

3. Results- Intersects with must-have number 1. How many impressions did the content receive, how much traffic did the campaign create to the website/social media page. When you sent out a press release how many media outlets replied. It is all about the return on investment, make sure to include as many numbers and results as you can think of.

4. What’s your passion?- Start your resume with a position statement that adds a personal touch about your favorite parts of the Pr/Communications world. Ex. Passionate about content creation and social media campaigns Whitney added a bonus tip into her presentation for the PRSSA members.

Bonus Tip: Find a nonprofit that you can help and reach out to them. Pick something you are passionate about and find the development director. Step in and tell them your plan. Offer your services and your time. Whatever you tell them, make sure you deliver everything you promise. It creates a reputation for you and you can use these people as references.

After the workshop, Whitney did a small Q&A with our members. One of the questions that really stood out was what was one of the toughest moments in her career. She told us that she lost a client once and it became a fear of hers that all her clients would leave. She had to learn how to manage that fear and learn how to deal with things if they happen when they happen. One of her proudest moments was when her company took on a non-profit client. The client did a run every year, she decided to scrap that run and replace it for a new event, a pop-up wine and dinner. At first, the event looked like it wasn’t going to do very well but at the last minute, it all came together. She was able to get a partnership with Whole Foods, managed to collaborate with some fine-dining chefs, and got over $55,000 in donations. She said it is a feeling of pride seeing an event you put together to be successful and pop off.

Lastly, she gave us some tools and resources that we could use. Some of her favorite Instagram and Twitter accounts to follow are Mashables, Morningbrand, Pitch PR (podcast), Social Media Today. She said her favorite portfolio tools were Wordpress, Wix, and Squarespace. Overall, it was a great workshop filled with some great insight and advice for our members.