Edward M. Bury, APR
I’m always pleased to hear successful endings to long job searches, so I was glad to hear from Edward Bury, who blogs about his job search and other PR topics at PRDude.
Edward’s earlier Culpwrit guest posts were 30-day Networking Case Study and 4 Guideposts for Unemployed PR Pros. In his latest post, Edward shares insights from his job search hoping they might help others seeking new opportunities. Without any order of importance, here are Edward’s tips:
- I established from the onset that I have value in today’s market. That was my guiding principle.
- Relentless and disciplined. That’s how I remained these past several months. I literally did something every day related to my search.
Advice was offered by many, and I absorbed it all. Didn’t always accept the advice, but always welcomed it. - Networking — face-to-face — should be paramount in a search, as well as throughout a professional’s career. I had a mandate: At least one out-of-the-office networking event weekly. Some weeks, I had four or five.
- Being passive and relying on job boards may have worked in the past; not today. I made cold calls to companies, followed up aggressively and took the initiative.
- A common phrase offered to those in a search (or “in transition,” as it’s now known) is: “When you get back on your feet …” Well, I was never “off my feet.” My days focused on my search, taking on freelance writing and consulting assignments, volunteering on behalf of PRSA Chicago and the Universal Accreditation Board and participating in in-person seminars and online learning.
- My friends and colleagues — those I’ve known for years and those I’ve know for months — were tremendous. They offered support, leads and advice. I reciprocated any way possible.
- What did I gain since last fall? A tremendous sense of self-worth, much more confidence, a greater understanding of social media and a cadre of new friends and colleagues. What did I lose? Not much, really, except for a couple of pounds!
Having achieved his goal, Edward will continue to blog about a variety of PR topics, but he’ll now weave in more posts about the “lighter side” of our profession. Congratulations, Edward!