It’s Spring–time for new beginnings and time for graduation! Any new graduate or professional switching professions would welcome advice from seasoned public relations that have been, done that, and wrote the manual on what they wished they knew when they first started out. We turned to Twitter and asked “What advice would you give a new professional?”

Lynn Cooper (@sociallyahead) of Socially Ahead recommends:

Be honest and upfront about their capabilities would be my advice for new PR professionals!

Cooper is keeping it real and is right on. As a public relations professional being honest and transparent about your capabilities is a necessity. People can see right through a phony. Instead of saying you have XYZ skillset, say you have famililiarity and have the willingness to learn more about it. Don’t fake the funk!

Heather Ripley (@HeatherRipley), Public Relations Manager at CAP Brand Marketing, advises new professionals to:

Surround yourself with professionals, join PR associations and continue to learn throughout your career

There are so many great ways to surround yourself with other PR professional whether its through social networks (Twitter, Facebook, blogging, etc), in-person networking events, or joining public relations associations like Women in Communications or Public Relations Society of America.

An analog guy living in a digital world ,@lefthandedcrab, asserts:

Keep your Cellfone charged!

And your laptop, your tablet, and your other cellphone…you get the picture. Be ready for any situation including running out of battery!

All in all, the advice of the NYC PR Girls (@nycprgirls) and Kathy L Jacobson (@kathyljacobson) which echo the same sentiments pretty much sums it up:

Never let yourself forget the value of PR!