Millennials: We're not as selfish as you think

(Preface: If you haven't read the short article at The Next Great Generation, you really should read that before this entry. It's a great read, trust me.)

You know what's great? Being called a jerk on national television.

Ok, so I was not called a jerk directly. But that was a low blow by Kathie Lee Gifford. According to her, and a University of New Hampshire study, we are selfish jerks.

Don't know what a Millennial is? Well, we're born between 1982 and 1996. We crave technology and are social media pioneers. We're glued to our phones and if we don't check our e-mail we feel disconnected. Studies show we only care about ourselves. We lack employer loyalty and will leave no stone unturned to get higher in our careers. This is just a smattering of what describes the Millennial Generation.

I admit, there are many Millennials who do feel unwarranted entitlement. I know people who think a college degree guarantees a high-paying job. They are living in a dream world. Hard work, drive and real experience allow advancement.

Being a journalist for the past four years made me work hard. I would argue I did more than many of my peers in business and science fields. I worked hard at internships, traveled all around the Chicago area to cover stories and exposed myself to different people and cultures. I learned new writing styles and equipment. I hated settling for less than perfection.

Going into the "real world," I expect to work incredibly hard. I know I will start out with a lower paying job. That does not worry me. With hard work and dedication, I will eventually advance. Personally, most of my friends feel the same way. We know we will not be handed anything. We know how hard we have to work. This seems to go against everything Millenial-haters say.

This economy changed Millennials. Three or four years ago, selfishness and narcissism might have been prevalent. Today, that will not fly. We want to work and want to do the best. We saw our older friends and family lose jobs and life savings. We know companies are doing less with more.

Millennials are passionate about causes, diversity and technology. Sure, we might want more time off than our predecessors, but it keeps us refreshed and happy in our job. A happy worker is more productive than an unhappy one.

Give Millennials a chance. We'll prove you wrong.

Research is key

In a public relations class last fall, my professor said something I will never forget:

"Research is the most important step."

Whether coming up with a PR plan or trying to get a story in the news, research is key. Personally, I find this to be a no-brainer. Who would not want to research as much as possible before designing a plan or pitching a story? Surprisingly, research is routinely ignored or not done correctly by many PR practitioners.

I can not count how many press releases met the recycle bin at my WBBM internship. Most were either not interesting or irrelevant. Some of the irrelevant releases actually had merit, but our station was not the place for them. Pitches are deleted so fast it would make your head spin.

Let's say you have a client who made a cutting-edge flash drive. You want maximum exposure for your client, so you want to get the biggest audience. Let's not forget you have three other clients to work on too. So you pitch the top 50 media markets, major news sites and some tech blogs. All done, time to move on to the next client.

This is good enough, right? Wrong.

More in depth research is necessary if you want actual exposure, rather than hypothetical. For example, you might pitch the story to CBS 2 in Chicago. You have the product available, plenty of b-roll and have the inventor ready to talk about it. A cutting-edge flash drive might seem revolutionary to you and the client, but for a news director it probably will not even register on their 'care-o-meter.' With a little more research, you would find out that Ed Curran (unfortunately no longer at CBS 2) does weather and is a huge technophile. Pitching him ups the chance of exposure even more. I could go on with examples.

More research does not guarantee a hit. For example, I pitched a story on Catholic Relief Service's 'Fair Trade Your Home' campaign to various media outlets. My team members did our research and found specific journalists and bloggers. We read their writing and thought it would be a great fit. We did get some good hits. There were some, who we thought would love the concept, that did not cover it.

If you want coverage, make sure you pitch to the right people. Journalists will get frustrated if they get pitches that do not match their areas of interest. Believe it or not, media outlets remember the irrelevant pitches. Bloggers are even worse, they will call you out if your pitch is completely irrelevant. I have heard a story firsthand about one such experience.

Without in depth research, at best, you might get some hits or just get your e-mail deleted. At worst, you will be remembered as the PR person who has no idea what he/she is doing.

It's effin' PR

I have a secret.

I love former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.

No, not for what he's accused of doing. I love him for his media circus. It provides plenty of entertainment.

When police arrested Blagojevich in December 2008, I was finishing up final exams as a junior at Loyola University Chicago. Blagojevich was on his morning jog, which is where the above mugshot comes from. Prosecutors soon released secret audio recordings, much to the joy, and chagrin, of the Illinois public.

We heard great hits such as, "it's bleepin' golden." We enjoyed plays like "Rod Blagojevich Superstar."

But most importantly, we got to see the Blagojevich media circus first hand.

His whirlwind tour across America touting his innocence. His wife competing on "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me out of Here." Who could forget the former governor's innocence speech while talking with random strangers on "Celebrity Apprentice." What about his talk show stint at WLS-AM? Oh Rod.

But now, it's go time. Today, the court swore in the jury. This epic is just getting started.

I'm innocent, I swear!

Why would Blagojevich run around proclaiming his innocence? I mean, doesn't that make him seem more guilty?

Well, it might. Many people think he's guilty. I mean, he's accused of holding funds hostage for a children's hospital. He's accused of selling a U.S. Senate seat. You can't make this stuff up, folks.

But despite all this, he seems like such a nice guy. How could such a good-looking and charming person do these heinous acts? Why would someone who put children and senior citizens first do this?

It can't possibly be true!

That's exactly what Blagojevich wants you to think. This entire time he's been playing the jury pool. I mean, look at his wife when she was on the reality show. She seemed so compassionate and likable. Why would such a good person be associated with a corrupt governor? The Blagojevich's seem to care a lot for their children. Why would they jeopardize their future?

These public appearances are pretty convincing. If I was on the jury and wasn't so self-aware of the news or my civic duty to be impartial, I would have a hard time finding this guy guilty.

I give Rod a lot of credit. He knows how to play to the public. Whether he's telling the truth or not remains to be seen. A corner stone of public relations is two-way, truthful communication.

Regardless, we'll see what happens at trial. It's a shame I'm not still living in Illinois.

Do you think Blagojevich's PR campaign will work?

There is no 'I' in team (but there is a 'me')

I know, I know, what a groaner for a topic.

We've all heard the above adage sometime in our lives. To be honest, I always ignored it. I used to hate participating in team activities. I mean, I would get stuck with some slackers who always let others do the work. Why work in a team when I can work more better by myself? Right?

Wrong. I'll tell you why:

Team work is an essential part of life. Anything you do professionally comes from team work. Huge, insurmountable tasks cannot be accomplished with team work. TV newscasts, public relations plans, retail operations and dozens of other things could never be done.

Lack of team work leads to little or no progress. The Gulf oil spill? Suffering from a lack of coordination and team work. Can you imagine the progress BP, the government, environmental groups and others could make if they worked together? BP is going solo and, unfortunately, making the situation exponentially worse.

Team work leads to new ideas. I cannot count how many times I thought I had the best plan in the world, only to have it refined and made better by my team. For editing, a team will catch errors you just glossed over. A team will make tasks faster and on-point.

Why am I pontificating over team work?

Well, a visit to Ruder Finn changed my perspective. One of the senior account executives talked about the world of public relations. He emphasized the word 'team.' You need to be a good team player to get anywhere. If you don't work well on a team, why would anyone want you on their own?

I hated team work because I always focused on the negatives. Realistically, you will have people who don't try as hard. You will have people who don't pull their own weight. But you know what, that's life. The benefits of team work completely outweigh the negatives. You learn so much and grow as a person.

There is no 'I' in team. You need to be the 'me' in team. Turn that 'm' upside down and be the 'we.'

We is team.