Edelman: Day 23

 

Source: LinkedIn

For any person, their first corporate job or just the first few days at the office can be one of the most intimidating of processes. It’s like walking in the dark with your hands tied. You do not know what’s going to come next, or rather WHO’S going to come next, and ask you, “How are you?” You might have rehearsed that answer fifteen times in front of a mirror (not me, of course), however, you still stammer.

Fast forward to today: My 23rd day at the office, where I had the opportunity to sit down and have a rousing conversation with Ninad Siddhaye, Associate Vice President, Edelman PR. In the twenty-two days that I have worked here, I have had lots of opportunities to talk to people in senior positions, approach them, and ask questions. This was no less an experience.

Mr. Siddhaye oversees Media Relations for the Mumbai office and covers the region of Maharashtra and Mumbai. Before starting work in the field, it is pertinent for an intern to understand important aspects of Public Relations (PR), and Media Relations is synonymous with PR. To put it simply, Media Relations is a living, breathing organism in the arduous body of Public Relations. It works tirelessly and systematically to gather information, and strategically plan to better help the body it is supporting.

Contrary to popular belief, Media Relations is not just about calling up journalists or sending them Press Releases and waiting for things to be published. At its core, it's more about understanding human nature and using it to your client’s advantage. It’s a give-and-take process and an insightful relationship with not just a profession but rather a person. Remember, a journalist is an individual first and a professional second.

In our conversation, my curiosity was welcomed by Mr. Siddhaye with a pat on the back. The concepts which have been hard for me to grasp, to this day, were resolved in the hour-long discussion that we had. For instance, the fact that journalists write for you not because of any monetary incentive, but rather based on your relations with them is so astounding. This process also puts moral and intellectual responsibility on us because we are accountable for what is being read by the general populace.

There were moments when Mr. Siddhaye picked up newspapers and showed me how different each publication is in its operations, ideologies, and purposes. For every paper has its ethos, character, and spirit. It’s almost as if it’s alive. If you were in the room, you could feel it breathing. That’s how powerful the written word is.

Towards the end, I had some heartfelt realizations, not just about the conversation but about working at Edelman, in general. The people that I have had the opportunity to work with are so comfortable in being themselves that I feel safe to be myself too. More than that, it’s not important to always know the next step. It’s okay to wait around, smell the flowers, and learn things that interest you.

For we are all an amalgam of important information that ends up being relevant with surprising frequency.