Naturally, I was discouraged by family and friends. Four years after completing undergrad, I still hadn’t ‘made it’ in the PR world. However, that wasn’t going to stop from applying. If you want to run The Strip you have to have the right attitude.
Well that attitude helped me survive several months of interviewing, a drive cross country and helped me find an apartment the day before my first day on the job. The moment I set foot on The Strip, the comfortable stride I had in New Jersey turned into a sprint from meetings, to photo shoots, and back to office for pitch calls and more meetings. I must admit, the organized chaos has been very exciting.
Within the first two months, my basic PR survival skills were tested. I learned quickly that in order to keep up I was going to have to continue strengthening the following skills:
Getting to know Las Vegas Media
The connections with writers (my audience) such as Susan Stapleton, Al Mancini and more have helped. Knowing what writers and journalists are looking for can make or break you story.
Always Pitch
You can’t practice enough. Prior to accepting the position, I never pitched food. My background has been in sports. Having an open mind has been key. Interesting pitches about soybeans, holiday cocktails and adult desserts have resulted in great stories
Organization
You can never be too organized. Coordinating photo shoots for dining features has been a blast. Preparing the dining room and lighting to photograph a milkshake turned out to be tough task but it resulted in a full-page. Here are three links to other photo shoots I coordinated.
- http://lasvegasmagazine.com/2011/07/22/when-dry-is-good/
- http://lasvegasmagazine.com/2011/07/15/let-your-palate-flower/
- http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/news/2011/jun/22/sockeye-salmon/
Sixty-five days and counting! I can only imagine how interesting the next sixty days will be.
