Anyone who has been job hunting knows it is an incredibly challenging task – one made infinitely more difficult when there is a shortage of jobs available. South Africa has a high national unemployment rate at 27.6%, and youth unemployment in the country stands at an all-time high of 55.2%.

Unsurprisingly, being unemployed comes with heightened levels of stress. Some of the more apparent stressors are financially based – the loss of income, for example – but others are not so obvious. According to the New York Times, if someone is still job hunting after 10 to 12 weeks, their physical health suffers and they experience increased rates of depression. In some circles, this is referred to as ‘job-search depression’.

The competition is fierce, as the average job posting receives about 250 applications and the current average that it takes for companies to fill a post is about 42 days. The longer you go without employment, the tougher it is on your mental and emotional health, and the tougher it becomes, in turn, to find a job. It’s a vicious cycle. So how can you overcome these barriers?

Cue ‘The Power of You’. This personal branding workshop was by the team in FleishmanHillard’s South Africa office as part of FH4Inclusion to celebrate Mandela Day. Each year Mandela Day serves as an occasion for all to act, inspire change and make an impact on the world. In honor of what would have been Nelson Mandela’s 100th birthday, we designed and delivered a programme for South African communications and public relations students who are beginning the search for their first full-time role. The trainings help up-and-coming professionals with job searches, providing them the best possible start.

Knowing how hard it can be to land a job and how demotivating it is to not receive feedback, especially in those first few months, we wanted to show young jobseekers that their story is the unique selling point they need to get their foot on the first rung of the career ladder. We take them through how to uncover and tell their unique story.

One of the big challenges with job searching is the effect it has on your self-esteem. In a lot of ways, job hunting is like searching for approval and it can be a big knock to the ego when you aren’t getting any positive feedback. Even though it may be hard, it is crucial to remain social, remain focused, network and learn new skills. It is important for young people on the job hunt to know who they are and the value they can bring to the workplace, especially in entry level positions. We help them understand their brand and how they can establish and promote themselves on social media and created eye-catching CVs with compelling cover letters. We also conduct mock interviews to give them some much-needed practice.

For this programme, our overall goal is to support 100 young jobseekers in the Communications and Public Relations field by the end of 2020. To date, 26 students have gone through the programme with an additional 30 students to come in the rest of 2019.

The Power of You is our South Africa office’s small way of using our unique set of skills to propel the next generation of consultants forward by harnessing the power of their own unique stories to jumpstart their careers.

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Angela Maciel is a member of the talent development team in the South Africa office. She is responsible for recruitment and helps lead the office’s diversity and inclusion and training programs.

When we started at FleishmanHillard’s Chicago office in 2016 after graduating from college, we both wanted to find ways to become involved with office committees and outside organizations to contribute to our new community. When our supervisors provided an opportunity to work on FleishmanHillard Chicago’s pro-bono, FH4Inclusion client, Foundations of Music (FoM), we were more than happy to jump in and help.

Foundations of Music is a licensed Illinois 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the leader in providing fundamental music education during the school day. For 30 years, the nonprofit has used music to strengthen Chicago communities by partnering with Chicago Public Schools in the most economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. FoM’s music curriculum aims to spark creativity and passion, teach critical thinking, support academic achievement and – most importantly – enrich young lives. Recent studies show that there is a direct link between music education and better math scores, computer skills, language learning, cognitive growth, emotional well-being and a positive self-image.

The organization works with professional musicians to develop and implement lesson plans that are inspired by a curriculum map which meets national arts learning standards. Programs include General Music Class, Songwriting/Production Class and other performance opportunities. During the 2017-2018 school year, Foundations of Music served more than 5,000 students at almost 40 Chicago Public Schools.

Given our love for music and passion for education for all, this project was a perfect fit.

While the organization is present at a lot of schools in the Chicago area, its visibility in the community needed a boost. FleishmanHillard was tasked with promoting fundraisers and creating content that would get the word out about all the great work this organization does and get others in Chicago, who also share this passion for music education, involved.

Since beginning our work with FoM more than five years ago, the team has supported the organization through leadership shifts, change in headquarters, re-brands of fundraising events and an updated logo, all to better match the organization’s forward trajectory and reach a younger audience with a passion for music. The team also worked with local businesses like Girl and the Goat and Goose Island Brewery to further connect FoM with the Chicago community. From Pitchfork (a local music festival) to the foundation’s annual fundraising event, team members of FleishmanHillard’s Chicago office not only promoted but also attended and volunteered at these events to make sure they ran without a glitch.

Through many iterations and changes, we’re now assisting the organization with a merger with another education-focused nonprofit in the city. This merger will allow both organizations to reach even more students, while also providing new areas of education beyond music—including art, cultural and literacy programs.

We’re looking forward to continuing our relationship with FoM and witnessing how the organization will continue to support the children at Chicago Public Schools who would not receive these education programs without them. The organization is excited to expand its work and presence, and we’re excited to contribute our public relations expertise to spread the word about the important mission to better our city and enrich the lives of its inhabitants.

Click here to hear one of the student group’s amazing songs created through programs put on by Foundations of Music!

Meg Patrick supports the Brand Marketing team and Genna Pirrong works with our Corporate Reputation team in FleishmanHillard’s Chicago office.

I’m writing this on a sunny Friday morning in London – coincidentally today marks the 50^th Anniversary of the Stonewall riots, a movement that reshaped the world and the push for LGBT+ rights. So, it feels right to be penning my love for the LGBT+ community but also my experience of working at FleishmanHillard as an openly gay woman.

A quick backstory for you, I moved from a small town in the northwest of England to London, to study and eventually land a job in PR. Having come from a financial background, I knew that PR would be quite a big step and change for me – not just the job, but the people too.

As you read (hopefully) this whole post, you’ll see why people are such an important part of breeding inclusive culture – there are even stats to back this up. A study by USAID and the Williams Institute at UCLA found a strong correlation between inclusion towards LGBT+ people and better performing economies, one that is quantified by approximately 3% of GDP for each policy that spearheads LGBT+ acceptance.

In my previous job, I had always kept quiet about my private life – 1. Because it’s nobody’s business, and 2. Because I didn’t feel comfortable with coming out at work.

Fast forward 9 years and I am working for FleishmanHillard, working as my true self, without judgment.

How did I overcome that uncomfortable feeling of not being able to come out at work?

People.

And opportunities.

The culture that FleishmanHillard breeds is absolutely one of acceptance, which was a very welcome change to my closeted days working in finance.

Since my first day at FleishmanHillard, I have been encouraged to be myself and been afforded the time to follow my passions and achieve personal goals of helping the LGBT+ community through important pro-bono work. From helping to establish OPEN Pride UK, which has quickly become a force of nature for LGBT+ employees in Omnicom agencies, to naming and launching a Thomson Reuters Foundation initiative, Openly, an impartial news wire dedicated to covering LGBT+ stories from all over the world, that no one else is telling.

FleishmanHillard has been a cornerstone of my career, and had I not come out within days of starting work here, I would not have had the opportunity to do the work that is helping make a difference for others.

Coming out is not easy, the fear of rejection is real and only you will know when the time is right. But what is likely is that you will do so when you truly feel comfortable with the people around you.

Christina Peach supports our brand marketing practice in our London office.

Bureau 42 is a modest, white-walled, fourth-floor room on the edge of the Palais des Festivals – simply furnished with a white rectangular conference table and 10 matching white chairs. What the room lacks in color is made up for by the panoramic window overlooking the Bay of Cannes. This unassuming room would in the course of four long, yet equally inspiring days give way to a collective point of view that effectively set the new creative standard for the PR industry.

We crossed the threshold as 10 perfect strangers, heralding from Brazil, Germany, Singapore, Sweden, Australia, UK and US. Seated elbow to elbow, together we studied and debated more than 350 pieces of work from 67 countries. And, as we did, something magical happened. The work made us smile, laugh, cry, and even feel ashamed or scared. It invited us to reflect on our individual experience and backgrounds. It made us care for, champion and defend work for which we had no affiliation. It made us debate and unpack religious, political and cultural beliefs. And when we did, minds were opened and sometimes even changed.

When it came down to awarding the work, we were guided by the words of this year’s jury president, Michelle Hutton. A protagonist for PR, Michelle states that PR is “a craft, not a channel. A craft that matters more today to businesses, to brands and society at large than ever before.” This standard was upheld as we ultimately awarded 26 Bronze Lions, 22 Silver Lions, 6 Gold Lions and the coveted Grand Prix Lion – each medal sending a clear message about why our craft matters.

PR is indeed a craft. For this year’s jury, craft means work that is intentionally designed to earn media attention and influence – or, designed with PR input, not just output. It is work that is grounded in research, insights and data that drives the work and strategy and has real impact, not just impressions. It means an idea that is earned-centric; one that tells a story, mission or purpose and is made to live and travel across channels. And, above all else, it is an idea that is a brilliant example of creativity, the kind that makes you jealous.

The concept of ‘craft’ is perhaps best demonstrated by the PR Lions jury’s Grand Prix winner, The Tampon Book – A Book Against Tax Discrimination. It is an excellent example of what modern PR looks like, combining creativity with the craft of public relations. The campaign has public affairs at its core, illuminating a well-defined problem around taxation of luxury goods, one that positions a tampon unfairly as a luxury. It offers a simple solution, putting the tampons in an illustrated book that is taxed at a lower rate. And, it is expertly executed across channels with the intent to make change and influence lawmakers.

The Tampon Book demonstrates that a campaign that sets out to change a tax law can be ‘super-powered’ though creativity. As a jury, we loved that this campaign acts as a call out to the creatives of the world to show public relations has some of the most interesting challenges to solve. In all, we were proud to show that an agency with public relations in its core, along with other creative disciplines, is able to use craft to deliver such a beautiful yet impactful campaign.

In China, last week’s insights can lose their currency in the blink of an eye. The market continues to evolve at an incredible pace as consumers constantly seek the thrall of the new. At last week’s Cannes International Festival of Creativity, four China marketing experts joined our own Rachel Catanach, president, Greater China, to debunk some commonly held but misguided perceptions about Chinese consumers in the Connecting Culturally in China session.

Myth 1: Chinese consumers like big Western brands

China marketing expert and author, Ashley Dudarenok, emphasized that the perceived wisdom among many in the West is that Chinese consumers are either cheap and favour Western brands or they are super-rich and just want to buy it all.

But, as she pointed out, in China, no one size fits all. “Chinese consumers are among the world’s most sophisticated and spoiled for choice. They are very digitally savvy and have high expectations of brands and products.  They care about quality and often less about price. They are also very different from city to city and region to region. Consumers in Tier 1 and 2 cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen have considerably more buying power. That’s why it’s important not to treat China as one homogenous market. You wouldn’t sell to Germans in the same way you would sell to Spanish, so why would you do this in China?”

Myth 2: Everything is digital

While it is true digital payment systems dominate and little cash is used by China’s netizens today, younger consumers are also interested in the offline experience, said Terence Chu, CEO and Founder of APAX Group.

“The younger generation is more willing to accept new things. Younger consumers will research goods online but are also attracted to memorable retail experiences that offer them exclusivity and something special. Offline retail experiences, events and activities help to build brand affinity, particularly in the luxury sector, where the current trend is for younger consumers to buy entry-level lux goods.”

Myth 3: Chinese consumers like to travel in groups

Marriott International’s (client) Chief Sales and Marketing Officer for APAC, Peggy Fang Roe, discussed that while tour groups still comprise around 50% of Chinese travel, self-guided travel is becoming more popular, particularly among China’s 1^st and 2^nd tier cities.

“Chinese travelers are especially interested in being the first to discover new places and to be the first to introduce new destinations, restaurants and experiences to their friends and family. Travel to Antarctica has been rising and more recently, Game of Thrones generated a significant wave of travel to Croatia.”

Myth 4: Celebrity KOLs work best

One of the most surprising trends this year has been the demand for down-to-earth KOLs. While celebrity KOLs can drive online sales, many consumers are preferring authentic endorsement from people like them.

Rachel Catanach said the shift to authenticity is “an opportunity for brands to build longer-term relationships with KOLs that can inspire greater consumer loyalty. But choosing authentic KOLs is an art and a science.  It takes longer and is sometimes more complex. This requires commitment from brands who often need to see results now, now, now.”

The last word from Peggy Fang Roe: “Behavior shifts can happen overnight. Relying on long research projects or last year’s data can easily take you in the wrong direction. Marketers must be living and breathing in the online communities every day to be effective.”

Over the past two weeks, work we have done regarding a stakeholder outreach project in Europe has become the subject of attention. The focus has been on planning documents we were asked to develop to prepare for outreach to stakeholders.  While we are open to critical discourse, a lot of the recent attention has mischaracterized our work.  It is important that you know what kind of work we do, and what we do not do.

Corporations, NGOs and other clients rightfully expect our firm to help them understand diverse perspectives before they engage. To do so, we and every other professional communications agency gather relevant information from publicly available sources. Those planning documents are fundamental to outreach efforts.  They help our clients best engage in the dialogue relevant to their business and societal objectives.

We realize and accept that some will never agree with our clients’ points of view. That is both normal and healthy.  Diversity of opinion through discussion and debate is the bedrock of a well-functioning democracy. It would be a disservice to society and to the policy-making process to stifle important information just because it may not be popular.

As we have said since this situation began, we work at the direction of our clients. We do so ethically and in good faith. Our employees are instructed to report any behavior they deem to be unethical. They are also encouraged to opt out of working with clients if they have personal objections to the work. If we find a client behaving unethically, we will walk away from the business.

We have been, and continue to be, a leading voice in developing codes of conduct for our industry through relevant professional associations. Every FleishmanHillard employee is required to complete ethics training when they are hired.

Our firm bears the names of two of the most principled and ethical leaders in the field of communications.  Al Fleishman and Bob Hillard spent their careers helping clients and communities address important issues through dialog and debate.  They were committed to ending racism, providing opportunities to people of all backgrounds and lifestyles, and ensuring fairness and equality in society. Their approach was cutting edge at the time, and more than 70 years later, their values-based approach remains at the core of our business philosophy.

FleishmanHillard is proud to support robust societal dialogues and informed debate on important issues. We will always do so based on the highest standard of ethics.  That is how our firm began more than 70 years ago and it will continue to define us.

This spring, FleishmanHillard’s San Francisco office partnered with 826 Valencia, a nonprofit created by author Dave Eggers that helps under-resourced students with their writing and storytelling skills. The organization is founded on the belief that when students are confident in and proud of their writing skills, they can unlock new opportunities. As they feel empowered to share their thoughts and celebrate their cultures, they help make the world a more inclusive place.

Our FH4Inclusion volunteers helped middle-school students tap into their creativity and amplify their voices by working with them to write and produce their own podcast episodes. The students were asked to write poems about their names or their identities, giving them a chance to explore and share more information about themselves. As the day progressed, they developed a podcast, recorded it in a professional-quality sound booth, and chose sound effects for their shows. The episodes were then uploaded to 826 Valencia’s podcast page, Message in a Bottle. With 29,000 listens last school year alone, the podcasting program provides students with an incredible opportunity to share their diverse perspectives with a wide audience.

Many of the students we worked with were apprehensive when they first began the writing exercise. Vulnerability is a necessary and powerful tool for writers, as stories packed with emotion tend to leave a lasting impression. However, for most middle-schoolers, vulnerability does not come easy. One of the students feared being criticized by his peers, making it hard for him to think outside of the box. After working through the provided toolkit exercises, the student was having enough fun to forget about his initial fears. He smiled through minor bumps, including slight writer’s block and feeling afraid to recite his poem in the audio booth. Once he and his tutor worked on techniques to overcome the fear, including the art of inflection and smiling while speaking, he truly shone. Encouraging these students to find the confidence for self-expression made for an extremely rewarding and inspiring experience for our volunteers.

826 Valencia’s podcasting program teaches students the importance of details and description, presentation skills and the basics of podcasting and sound editing – many of the same talents we use to help our clients tell compelling stories. We’re thankful that as communicators, our own skills and experiences could impact 30+ students in our local community, helping them make great strides in their storytelling and creative writing abilities, and setting them up for future success.

Sara Gong supports our corporate reputation practice and Christine Gatterman works for our healthcare team. Both are based out of our San Francisco office.

On the second day of my Fall 2018 intern orientation, a group of counselors from the St. Louis office discussed various ways that we could immerse ourselves in FleishmanHillard’s culture. One option was becoming involved with FH4Inclusion initiatives, and I was drawn to our partnership with Marian Middle School.

This Catholic all-girls school serves lower-income students from 26 zip codes around the St. Louis Metro. Its mission: educating its students for life. Marian focuses on breaking the cycle of poverty by developing students spiritually, socially, morally, emotionally and academically. Many of the girls enter at least a grade-level behind, but Marian works to ensure their success while at the school and well beyond. In fact, 96 percent of Marian alumnae have graduated from high school and 82 percent have enrolled in post-secondary programs to further their education and kick-start their careers.

Learning about this school and its students made me reflect on my own middle school years. I remembered the awkwardness, uncertainty and anxiety I faced each day as I longed to express my newly acquired independence, but lacked the confidence to do so. Middle school is especially tough for girls. As they struggle with self-esteem, peer pressure and external stresses, 7 in 10 girls feel they aren’t good enough or don’t measure up to their peers in some way. And those external pressures are that much more difficult for girls whose families fall below the poverty line.

As I thought about all that, it hit me. This was a chance for me to be the person I needed when I was their age. So I signed up to join this FH4Inclusion team. And I’m glad I did.

Marian Middle School’s education model is life-altering for these students at a critical point in their lives. The school places an emphasis on preparing students for the next step in their education, and that’s where our partnership comes into play. Upon graduation, many Marian students choose to attend high schools with strong college preparatory programs – schools that put candidates through an extensive interview process. Our team’s focus was to help them prepare for their high school interviews, but to also work generally on building their self-confidence and how they present themselves. We led monthly interactive sessions with a class of 17 seventh graders, teaching them about personal branding, body language, how to present themselves on social media and ultimately providing them with the resources to develop and deliver elevator pitches about who they are.

For our last session of the school year, we hosted the students in our office. Many of the girls had never been exposed to the communications field, or even a professional office setting. After giving them a tour, we shared some of our client work. By the end of the visit, one student actually asked me, “How old do I have to be to work here?”

Middle school is tough, and these girls’ environmental situations make it even more challenging. But I saw such drive, resilience and excitement in them each time we met; they left me inspired after each session. I really believe in these students and the work Marian Middle School does every day. Each session was about showing these girls that diverse women can take charge of their lives and choose a career that aligns with their interests and empowers them to be their true selves. This serves as an important daily reminder for me, too.

I hope this program made an impression on these students. They certainly made an impression on me. I wish them success in their school and professional careers, and hope to one day down the road see them again, perhaps as colleagues in the office they once toured in 2019 as students.

Alyssa Potter is a member of the Agency Marketing team in our St. Louis headquarters.

A short decade ago, flickers of hope were fleeting for aspiring writers. Overwhelmed by an explosion of emojis, a hailstorm of hashtags, a plethora of podcasts and shaky smartphone videos, writers were left with an existential question: Will anyone read anything longer than 140 characters?

Today’s young writers can take heart, however. Technological communications shortcuts like emojis and hashtags haven’t changed a simple truth: People still like to read well-crafted stories. There are an estimated 31 million bloggers today in the United States. More than 1 million LinkedIn users are posting articles on that platform. And a growing volume of research suggests that longer articles are increasingly sought after by online readers. Even Twitter realized that 140 characters weren’t enough.

Young writers can be confident that an audience exists for their work, even in today’s hyperconnected multimedia world. You just need to keep those digital distractions in mind as you write. It’s no secret that writing needs to be interesting to keep an audience, but with all those GIFs and viral vids out there competing for attention, the stakes are higher. Today, the average reader today spends only about 15 seconds on a specific piece of content. If you don’t pull them in quickly and keep them engaged, they’re gone.

Whether you’re an aspiring novelist or a budding corporate blogger, here are five top tricks of the trade that can help you in your efforts to create compelling content:

1. Read before you write. Every other article you read about writing tips will tell you to read a lot in order to become a better writer. I know this because I read a lot of those articles before writing this one. That’s why I’m going to share a different tip: When you’ve landed on a topic to write about, read what others are saying about it before you dive in. This will help shape your perspective on a topic or issue, and sharpen your approach as you look for angles that have not yet been explored.

2. Balance objectives and audiences. Every writing project starts with an objective, a point of view you hope to share, or information you want to convey. A common trap is to dive into a project without pausing to consider your audience. Who are you trying to reach? Why does the topic matter to them? What issues or concerns stand between your audience and your objective? Understanding the balance between your objectives and your audience’s perceptions will help you navigate an article or message that is much more likely to hit the mark.

3. Linger on the lede. Remember that 15-second attention span? That’s what you’re up against. If your headline and first paragraph don’t set the hook, readers will never reach your brilliant conclusion. A mentor of mine said he often spent half of his writing time on the lede, and the other half on the remainder of the article. That has been my experience as well.

There are many approaches to developing a strong lede. Hit them with an unbelievable “a-ha moment.” Draw them into a compelling mystery. Confuse the hell out of them with a seemingly absurd statement. Whatever you do, force them to break through that 15-second barrier. An internet search for great ledes will provide quick inspiration, and help you to avoid the been-there, done-that “It was a dark and stormy nights” of the world.

4. Back passion with proof. It’s great to have both a strong point of view and the skill to eloquently present it in written form. But these assets aren’t enough to convince an audience that is skeptical or uninformed on your topic, particularly in today’s environment where “fake news” is a daily topic of debate. Conversely, powerful data is a tree falling in the forest if it’s presented with the emotion of a spreadsheet. Don’t write a research paper (even if you are writing a research paper). Start with passion, then use strong data and third-party validation to back up your point of view and seek ways to blend these proof points into your work.

5. Embrace your editor. A good editor always makes a good writer better. It’s a tough pill to swallow, especially after you’ve devoted hours to your pristine prose, only to have it shredded by a shrewd editor. But more often than not, a thoughtful reviewer will identify a gap in logic, an opportunity to better articulate a key point, or even a buried lede. You won’t always agree with your editor – and sometimes you will even win the debates that ensue – but you should always embrace the editing process.

If you keep these tips in mind, you’ll be well on your way to developing written content that will hold its own against the online onslaught and keep readers enthralled to the very last word. Then, who knows? Those readers might even share your work on Twitter with a #awesomewriter and a few ?s.

Today commemorates International Women’s Day, a globally recognized celebration of women’s achievements and incredible contributions to our society, workplaces and industries.

At FleishmanHillard, we are proud to celebrate our women colleagues today and every day. For 73 years women at our firm have led, championed and excelled, making our business stronger with their perspectives and expertise.

Today we are delighted to launch a new series, Fleishman Women: Balance for Better showcasing the array of backgrounds, experiences and rich perspectives of 27 women across our global network. From Hong Kong to Los Angeles, you will hear the remarkable journeys of my female colleagues as they reflect on finding their passions, making big bets and leaving a lasting impact in the workplace and beyond.

Weekly during March, we will release fresh videos featuring their dynamic stories and sage advice. Please be sure to check our Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube channels.

Today, we kick off with Leela Stake and Dianna Kraus our San Francisco office. Dianna heads our Sports practice and Leela Stake is a leader in our corporate social responsibility group. Hear their perspectives here.

To the FleishmanHillard women and all of my colleagues around the globe, thank you for all you do each day to make our firm more than a place to be, but a place to belong.