Q&A: Abby Rankin of Barokas Public Relations
I got the chance to speak with Abby Rankin - a 23-year-old PR graduate of Rider University. Abby is currently residing in the Seattle area and is an Associate Account Executive at Barokas Public Relations. Lucky for me, Ms. Rankin took the time out of her crazy schedule to answer a few questions for me regarding her background in PR!
Where do you work? What is your position? Who is your current client?
I work at Barokas PR – a mid-sized PR agency servicing the tech sector mostly, but also branching out to service the up and coming cannabis industry. I am an Assistant Account Executive in the Seattle headquarters, where we have approximately 22 employees. We also have an office in Denver that has about 10 employees.My current clients are Unify Square, a Bellevue-based company that helps deploy, monitor, and manage Skype for Business to large enterprises of over 100,000 seats;FlowPlay, Seattle-based casual games developer; and the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA), an association dedicated to the tech industry in Seattle.
What does a typical day at work look like for you?
A typical day at a PR agency is busy. When I first get into the office, I settle in, make a cup of coffee, and check my email. I make sure and check my calendar pretty early on in the day so I know when I have internal meetings and client meetings that day. I check the HARO’s and ProfNets from the morning and coverage track for each of my clients. If any of my clients have any coverage from the night before or from that morning, I prioritize flagging it for the client as soon as possible.
That is my go-to routine for the first 30-minutes of everyday. Then, depending on what is going on with each of my clients that week, the rest of my day is used for differing initiatives and shifting priorities. I might start the day with an internal client meeting for client 1 where we spend 30-minutes talking through our plan for the week and making sure the agenda for our client call is all pinned up. After that, I’ll switch gears and dedicate an hour or so to building out a media list for my client 2’s product launch that is quickly approaching. Then I’ll carve out some time to do a briefing document for client 3 and send that over to my account lead to review. Once that is out the door, I’ll grab lunch and eat while reading relevant industry news for all three of my clients (Tweetdeck is my favorite for that). After lunch, I’ll send out some response pitches to relevant reporters for any of the articles I read and print out the agenda for client 3’s call. After client 3’s call, I’ll head back to my desk and put together the action items that resulted from the call and send those over to the client.
The list goes on!
What makes Barokas PR different from other firms?
Although I can’t directly compare BPR to other firms, because this is my first “real” job at a PR agency, I’ve heard there are notable differences. Our motto is PR Minus the BS – we strive to provide our clients with the best results and no excuses. Another motto that builds off of the first is that we don’t need news to make news. There are times when our clients don’t have the most robust pipeline of announcements like product launches, notable new hires, or funding news, etc., and that is when we put on our creative thinking caps and work to come up with proactive pitches to drive coverage in the meantime.
However, the most discussed difference between us and the big dogs like the Edelmans and Wag Eds of the world, is how much creative freedom we have. I’ve heard from a few former-employees of said “big dogs” that it is very cookie-cutter, black and white, fill-in-the-blank, type of work. You don’t have as much freedom to think outside the box until you work your way up the chain. None of my friends have direct communication with CEO’s at their jobs, which is another thing that I love about BPR. We are extremely collaborative – it doesn’t matter if you are a very green assistant account executive or a seasoned SVP, your ideas are valued the same and never dismissed. We have daily contact with C-Suite execs and are able to get stuff done at a much quicker rate than at the bigger firms where they have a very extensive approval process to put ideas into action.
What is your favorite thing about your job/PR?
My favorite thing about PR and my job especially at a smaller agency is actually two fold. I love that no two days are the same and that I learn something new every single day. I have three extremely different clients, which translates to me reading and digesting three extremely different industries on a daily basis. If I am not learning new PR things that day, I am at the very least learning new things about my client’s industry and technology.
No two days are the same. The day I shared during the previous question is completely different from what I did yesterday and from how tomorrow will shape up, and I love that. I love mixing things up. One day I might be reading for most of the day and the next day my plate will be filled with mostly writing projects. If I am getting sick of reading gaming news, I can switch gears and start reading about Skype for Business and what’s going on with Microsoft. When that gets old, I can catch up on the Seattle tech scene.
Do you have any advice for students that are planning to go into the PR industry? Any advice for the interview process as well as after getting the job?
Having worked on Barokas’ intern program where I was partly in charge of vetting candidate applications, interviewing candidates, and ultimately selecting interns, my biggest piece of advice is to spice up your “cover letter,” or introductory email if you will. Think about it – you are asking for a shot at a career where you will be pitching reporters for a living aka PR’s bread and butter – so if you can’t even convince them to continue reading give you a shot while pitching yourself, what makes you think they’ll read on?
Take a risk, be creative, and let your personality shine through even if it’s to simply tell them a little about yourself and why they should take the time to look at your resume and invest in you.
As far as the interview goes, make sure you research the firm/company you’re applying for and come to the table with some background knowledge that you can reference. Whether you name some clients they work with, or show interest in the sector they specialize in, it is great to show that you have done your research and that you are truly interested in their company versus just getting a job. Obviously making eye contact, speaking clearly and thoughtfully, asking questions, and other interview tips go without saying.
After you interview, send a hand written thank you note, or at the very least a thank you email to the people that took the time to speak with you. It truly goes a long way! I’ve actually overheard my boss say that they wanted to offer so and so, but they are waiting to see if they reach out to say thank you.
What would you do differently if you could do school over again?
Besides go back and learn how to code so I could keep up with Seattle’s tech scene and make six figures? Just kidding, I don’t think I would do anything different. I loved majoring in PR and all of my internships and I wouldn’t change a thing!
Were there any tough obstacles you had to endure after college to pursue work in your career path?
My post-college experience was not as tough as some of my friends. After graduation, I was lucky enough to return to BPR where I interned the summer before my senior year of college, which really helped me get my foot in the door. As I’m sure you’ve heard, it is all about who you know! I definitely recommend interning during college – you never know, it could be the start of a long career.