#29: "People remember how/when you helped them"
Advice on media relations and career pathing from Mission North's Shara Seigel
“We are — and never should be — a part of the story.”
I remember this edict clearly from one of the first people I ever worked for. She was a bit dramatic, favoring tailored suits, matte lipstick, and skinny cigarettes, which was not typical in 2009 southern California. The client was always the star, and our work was meant to do everything in service to them. We, the PR team, were meant to be helpful and blend in the background.
I think this wisdom is changing. Of course in comms it’s our stakeholders that should always shine at the end of the day. But, they won’t trust us as professionals if we don’t take our own advice, build our own brand and sweat in the hot seat of an interview.
My guest today, Shara Seigel is someone that isn’t afraid to do it all: network, be her own voice and be of help to both peers and journalists. She’s also followed a fairly atypical career path, going from agency to in-house to agency again. Her advice for finding a role that suited her is inspirational — and frankly, contagious.
Happy learning!
You went from agency, to in-house, back to agency. Why?
It was never the plan and a fairly uncommon "reverse commute.” After working in-house at a number of high-growth DTC startups, work was starting to feel like a rinse & repeat scenario. Though it had initially felt like being in-house was the right career path, it felt like I was pigeonholing myself.I knew I was ready for a change and getting out of my comfort zone, but wasn’t sure exactly what or where that was.
I never seriously considered going back to agency until 2021 – while I was in-house at Freshly heading comms, I hired Mission North as my agency to support with a potential IPO-turned-acquisition (after a competitive RFP process!) and saw the potential of a different type of agency. A former manager and mentor-turned friend of mine was the president of the agency (still is) and someone I truly trust. They were the first agency I ever worked with that did things differently and produced results without BSing me.
Eventually I felt like my growth potential was capped in-house. An opportunity to work at Mission North was presented and at first I thought “no way” – this is a totally different type of PR than what I'm used to (consumer). But after several conversations, it was clear they really valued my experience, expertise, and wanted to carve out a unique role for me to help build out their consumer practice.
I have no regrets – I have learned more in the last two years than I probably have my entire career. I love working with other PR experts from all different backgrounds vs being on a small in-house team of 1-3 people max. I love the variety in the types of clients, industries, and media I get to work with on a daily basis, and the support, encouragement, and mentorship I have around me.
One of the things I’ve admired about you from afar is how much you shape your own role and work. How do you approach understanding what you want in a role, and creating it for yourself?
Building and maintaining relationships is so important no matter what industry you work in. You need to find those people who will be in your corner looking out for you. Network, network, network!! You 100% need to work hard, build your skills, demonstrate your superpowers and prove your value through results, but if you’re lucky, you’ll work with people who “get” you and see your potential beyond what you’re doing at that moment.
You also need to be open minded to trying new things that maybe you won’t love, and take risks that make you a bit uncomfortable. I took a job pre-pandemic that had me traveling out of state every other week and I was unhappy for so many reasons, but looking back it was a stepping stone I needed to take to work my way to where I am now.
You once told me that you were getting “turned away” from PR agencies for not having a linear resume. What do you mean by that?
I had been approached by recruiters at agencies on Linkedin, etc. throughout my time working in-house, but 9 times out of 10, I'd get undermined in terms of level, title, salary, etc. because I did not have the traditional linear agency experience working my way up the ranks – but I knew my worth and was not willing to "start over.”
I remember getting laid off in January of 2020and pretty much threw spaghetti at the wall in terms of the jobs I was applying and interviewed for – in-house, agency, you name it. I truly believe rejection is redirection - I got turned away from a lot of agencies, roles, etc. This is when I landed at Freshly (my second go-around interviewing there) - just as the pandemic hit - which then ultimately introduced me to Mission North. The best paths are rarely linear.
As PR professionals, we aren’t supposed to put ourselves into the story. But you have – in a way that was profoundly vulnerable. Tell me about how that went, and what you learned.
Media relations has always been my passion and "superpower" – with an emphasis on the relations part. Building relationships with media comes in many forms – and often this means being a resource to them in ways beyond the clients I am working with at the moment. It could be sharing my own experiences, connecting them with friends, family members, or fellow PR colleagues and connections, etc. to help them tell their stories.
People remember how/when you helped them and I believe there's often more reward than risk here, depending on your comfort level in having your name out there.