5 Ways to Maximize Your PRSA Membership

PRSA offers tools to acquaint seniors and recent college graduates into careers in the PR industry

By: Zari Blount

Senior year can be the most stressful point of time throughout your college journey. PRSSA-LB allows students to attend helpful workshops, career tours, listen to guest speakers and build connections with PR professionals in the industries members are interested in. Then, graduation comes and goes and you might feel like you lost all your available resources for finding a job. What many people don’t know is that as a former PRSSA member, you have access to a discounted membership price for PRSA, the professional organization that oversees PRSSA, up to two years after graduation. So instead of paying $115-$325 for the other types of memberships, you would simply pay $60 annually! And according to the PRSA website, $60 could get you more than you ever expected. Here are five ways to maximize your PRSA membership:

1. PRSA Job Center
The job center has over 1,000 listings for available public relations jobs in various industries. It allows members to sort through listings based on location, job type, job function, organizational setting and industry. You can also upload your resume to the PRSA Jobcenter and apply to job listings directly from there. This is especially helpful when you need to narrow down what kind of jobs you would actually liketo apply for, rather than mindlessly scrolling through different job sites.

2. Resume & Cover Letter Assistance
Once you upload a copy of your resume and cover letter onto the Jobcenter, you will receive a free resume review from a PR professional. Under “Careers,” you are also able to create an updated resume using PRSA’s resume builder . Soon after the completion of your resume, it can be made public to be searched by employers or kept private to your profile.

3. Networking Events
PRSA hosts a multitude of exciting conferences and workshops aimed at educating and connecting members around the world. Most of these events do come with a registration fee, but it can definitely be a worthwhile investment in your future career and members receive a discounted price. Who knows? You might meet your next employer at one.

​4. Webinars and Online Courses
If money is tight to travel or you have a conflicting schedule, PRSA also offers webinars, Case in Point online programs and online courses called “On-Demands.” These are geared toward strengthening your skill sets and developing new abilities. Case in Point is a program that gives members the opportunity to read case studies from a variety of industries and topics.

5. Career Articles
Finally, with a membership, you can divulge into the many newsletters and blogs on the PRSA website. Strategies & Tactics is PRSA’s very own newspaper that stays up-to-date with new trends and information about implementing the best PR strategies.The PRsay blog also has articles with relevant and modern topics that focus on career advice, leadership, and PR training.

So, the next time college stresses you out and you feel like you are failing... Remember that you have more resources available to you now than ever before. Now it’s up to you to take advantage of them.