Going with the Flo

You can read the full post at the Publicity Club of Chicago's website.

 

The public relations industry is full of individuals paying it forward. We pass on resumes and recommendations as well as share advice and key learnings. PR thrives on the connections we make and the people we meet.

One movement is surpassing all expectations  – Help a PR Pro Out, known as #HAPPO is the ultimate networking opportunity, occurring from the comfort of your computer screen. Two trailblazers in the PR industry, Arik Hanson and Valerie Simon, began this initiative as a way to help connect PR job seekers with employers looking for top talent.

The first event was announced on Feb. 5 and held Feb. 19, 2010. In those two weeks, the initiative drew more than 10,000 mentions in social media, including 250+ mentions of HAPPO in blogs, 9,693+ #HAPPO tweets. By the day of the event @helpaprproout had 1,000+ followers, and there were 1000+ fans on the Facebook page, including 61 active fans.

Several participants, such as Katie Wall found a job as a direct result of #HAPPO (Katie’s #HAPPO post can be found here), while others such as Angela Minicuci attribute #HAPPO to getting the ball rolling.

The next #HAPPO gathering will convene at 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. April 30 CDT with the focus on graduating seniors. Valerie Simon, co-moderator of #PRStudChat, knows best of all how important networking can be for college students.

“We’ve all heard the saying that when it comes to getting a job, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.’ ” explains Simon. ” Arik Hanson, my #HAPPO co partner, and I believe HAPPO is a great opportunity for the Class of 2010 to make new connections, and to solidify and strengthen existing relationships making the overall engagement stronger.”

HAPPO introductions may begin online, but it’s up to you to turn those connections into real relationships. I’d love to hear about your HAPPO experiences, be sure to share here.

Feel free to connect with Stephanie via LinkedIn, Twitter and Posterous.