The Collective

It’s funny how things work.

I am not certain how a came upon the organization but through my PR research I learned about The African-American Public Relations Collective (AAPRC), an organization for professional African American Publicists. After further research it seemed as though all info about the organization came to an end and I had to find out more. Of course I immediately emailed every contact I could find because I had to find out if the group still existed and how I could join. After a little while I was contacted and was added to the group.

Pretty much you receive emails filtered through by Gwendolyn Quinn the founder, (and my PR Icon of the month), from other collective members and industry professionals about work, events, etc. It is refreshing because what you receive really is relevant, informative and professional.

Well, out the blue I received a job posting from a recruiter I never even heard of and to my WORK EMAIL. Good lawd! Needless to say I was shocked (yet grateful) but I really wasn’t interested in the position. I told the recruiter I would forward it on to some folks I knew and I sent the information to the Collective.

After a couple of days the recruiter emailed me and said that she wanted to schedule a time to talk. When we finally were able to connect, her first words to me were, “Where did you send that job alert?” I told her that I was a member of a group of Publicists and I knew they would be interested. She then continued that she received such an awesome response from individuals from all over and was extremely impressed. She then asked me questions to see how she could assist me. As for me I am Happy and Blessed to be working right now so I am not trying to stir the pot, but I was very honest about my next employment steps and understandably there aren’t too many companies with the type of position I want at this time. We both agreed, but she said that because of what I was able to bring to the table for the other position she would keep me in find for future employment.

Surprisingly, this week I received another email from the recruiter thanking me again because in fact one of the individuals who responded from the Collective was offered the position. I am not certain who it was that was offered the job but CONGRATS to you! This is a rough employment time and clearly you went up against numerous candidates. Do the darn thang!

Most importantly though I need to give recognition to the Collective! If you are an established African American Publicist I suggest you join. It is beneficial.

This whole situation has given me inspiration because the Collective is proof of what we can accomplish when positive like-minded individuals work together.