I am PR student from Toronto who is going through the learning process. I can’t tell you how much I’ve learned from the information interview. I’ve been able to get a real sense of what the industry is like and the insight I’ve gotten has really shaped my interests. Luckily, there is a slew of professionals who are kind enough to take time out of there busy day to share their experiences.

Networking is obviously essential but the idea of putting yourself out there can be daunting. The best advice I can give PR students who are starting the process is to just do it. Take the plunge. Putting yourself out there hurts the first time but it gets easier. Confidence comes with experience so get out there!

In school, we are constantly preached to about the importance of social media in this industry. I believe it, I just don’t love it. From RSS feeds to Twitter, social media can be quite overwhelming. Luckily, I was required to set up a Twitter account in one of my classes. I must admit, I haven’t been on my account in some time now, but I’ve finally come to the realization that this has to change. I know that social media is the new way of communicating. I also know that it allows individuals and corporations to access and share information in a quick and efficient manner. What I don’t know is how to keep up with different account opportunities. There’s Twitter, Delicious, Flickr, LinkedIn and Zooomr, to name a few. Which ones are the most popular and which ones are the most important? I find it tiring to stay on the computer after checking 2 email accounts and Facebook! So I guess my question is: how do we decide which accounts to join and how do we make time to view them all??