The Journal

Issue date: 11/1/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Jamie Ford Public relations students listen to Webster University alumna Nicole Stuever speak about the important issues students deal with when looking for jobs Oct. 30 in the University Center Sunnen Lounge.

Webster University public relations majors are trained to sell the images of others, but when it comes to selling themselves they need some advice.

At a recent Public Relations Student Society of America meeting, they got just that from Webster University alumni turned PR executive Nicole Stuever.

"Realize that you are your own brand - you have to position yourself so that people want to hire you," said Stuever to PRSSA members gathered Sept. 30 in the University Center Sunnen Lounge.

Stuever helped faculty adviser Gary Ford launch PRSSA in 2004, when she was starting her senior year at WU. She was the organization's first president before she graduated with her degree in PR and psychology in May 2005.

Stuever is currently an account executive at Black Twig Communications, a St. Louis marketing firm, where she manages five of the company's 20 PR accounts.

Speaking from personal experience, Stuever emphasized that interns and recent graduates must act the part of a PR professional despite their inexperience, or, as she put it, "fake it until you make it." Steuver's presentation was part of a biweekly series of speakers arranged by PRSSA executive board members, said the organization's president, Jessica Hogan, a senior PR major.

Senior PRSSA member and PR major Anna Stoessel said speakers like Stuever help WU students to prepare for the future.

"(Speakers) share their real world knowledge with us to give us an understanding for when we embark on our own careers," Stoessel said.

Most of Stuever's advice centered around resumes and portfolios. She gave students an insider's view of the hiring process from her experience overseeing Black Twig's intern program.

Her list of dos and don'ts covered everything from dress etiquette to incriminating Facebook photos.

Stuever also gave students words of encouragement that she wished someone had given her when she was a student preparing to enter the workforce.

"Don't get discouraged. You'll find something that's great for you, it just might take some time," said Stuever.

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