This Monday, we were visited by recent alumna and former chapter member Alyssa Hall (‘19). Alyssa majored in Journalism Strategic Communications, while also completing a social media certificate and a specialization in women’s gender and sexuality studies. Alyssa was very involved during her time at Ohio University as a member of 1804 Communication, an ambassador for the Career & Leadership Developmental Center and she served as the VP of Career Services for the PRSSA National Committee her senior year. During her presentation, Alyssa gave our chapter a closer look at what agency life really looks like, including her personal experiences working for two major advertising agencies since graduating from OU.
Alyssa entered the professional world after graduation as an intern at Ketchum in Chicago, where she quickly secured a full-time position and worked on the accounts of many household-name food companies. Alyssa described her time working at Ketchum as the epitome of agency life, fast-paced and full of learning opportunities. While at Ketchum, Alyssa said she worked with General Mills during a period of revival and nostalgia, taking part in projects like MilkBar x Cinnamon Toast Crunch to create “Cinnamilk.” Alyssa was also part of the revamp of Fiber One when the brand collaborated with the Real Housewives to bring new attention to the brand. Alyssa also, at one point, had to figure out how to get a 900 lb. bull statue from Atlanta to New York City. Alyssa definitely fulfilled the sought-after post-grad agency experience. But in 2020, Alyssa’s career shifted to a very different sector of agency life after she leaped into a career path with another major agency, Edelman-Smithfield.
Today, Alyssa serves as a Senior Account Supervisor at Edelman Smithfield, where her clients are now mostly homed in the financial sector. Some of Alyssa’s current clients include Nationwide and US Bank. While food and finance are seemingly opposites, Alyssa said that her daily tasks are still very much the same. Alyssa revealed that no matter what sector your clients reside in, the PR work you do will always revolve around media creation, thought leadership, keeping up with the competition, maintaining relevant knowledge on world happenings and social trends, working with famous personalities, along with general admin work and very random tasks (like the bull previously mentioned). After informing our chapter about what agency life really looks like, Alyssa gave us some career advice, which is listed below.
Career Advice:
- Translate your skills – Alyssa said you don’t need direct PR experience; your experience just needs to line up with the skills needed to work in PR.
- Interview Well – Like most professionals emphasize, Alyssa mentioned the importance of always giving any interview your best. Alyssa recommended going to the career center on campus to perform mock interviews and practice with friends.
- Know who is interviewing you – Alyssa said to do your research ahead of time. Find out if you have anything in common with the interviewer, or bring up something you found on their LinkedIn.
- Be willing to work – Alyssa highlighted that you cannot rely on AI to do your job, even if you can get away with using it for classwork now.
- Follow-Up Etiquette – Alyssa said to send a thank you after every interview and/or networking conversation and to always add a LinkedIn note.
Connect with Alyssa on LinkedIn here!
Ella Neighborgall is a second-year student majoring in Communication Studies and minoring in PR & Advertising. You can connect with Ella here.