Dear Class of 2019,
As your education with SCoRe comes to a close, I want to leave you with some final bits of advice that may stay relevant over the next year.
Over the past 10 months you have been mentored by dozens of reputation management professionals, in their offices, in our classrooms and at various learning platforms. The variety and quality of insights you have received is unparalleled and you on your part have been brilliant students absorbing and assimilating those insights. This programme was also designed to expose you to uncertainties and factors beyond your control; which you can expect as PR consultants. While we threw many curve-balls at you, you have demonstrated exceptional spirit in managing them well.
But your efforts do not end here; this is just the beginning. It is now time for you to work harder and smarter than you have so far. Make sure you:
Keep learning: We’re embracing a world where skills and talents go obsolete faster than they did before, and are replaced with new ones. Ensure that you invest some time, money and energy in updating yourself with knowledge and new skills, not just to stay relevant but to thrive as a professional.
You have been a very inquisitive and confident in your attitude, and receptive to often overwhelming feedback. You must maintain that attitude.
Aim high: Strive for nothing but perfection, and this attitude should manifest in the tiniest of tasks. Your faculty and mentors at SCoRe have demanded nothing less form you, as far as your work is concerned. Hereon you must ask the best of yourself. Not just in the work you do but in how you see yourself and where you want to be.
Value yourself: Value your time, contribution and self. Have complete confidence in your ability, as you have had some of the best mentors in the public relations profession. Don’t let any situations and people harass or put you down you in anyway.
Embrace challenges: The tougher the task you face, the richer is the underlying learning. Take and complete projects without complain. You are starting off at the base, fresh out of college. Capitalise the asset that only you have – being able to put in longer hours and greater ingenuity than most others.
Earn it: Nothing that’s worth having comes easy and has to be earned. Good things will not be handed to you by virtue of who you are or being an alumna of SCoRe. You have to consistently prove your mettle every step of the way.
Finally, appreciate the fact that these 10 months of learning and the next few years of applying are the foundation of your career. Strengthen this foundation with sincere hard work and you will set yourself for a rewarding career.
– Hemant Gaule
Hemant is the Dean of Academics at School of Communications & Reputation – A Post Graduate Institute of Public Relations built by the Indian PR community. After graduating from the IIM-Ahmedabad, he has been a communications professional counselling several private sector entities, & social, political & government initiatives. He was a co-founder & Director of Citizens of Accountable Governance, a political think tank. He can be reached on Twitter at @HemantGaule and on LinkedIn here.
