Mai Anh Le — Country Manager at PR Newswire Vietnam
We sat down for a conversation with Le Mai Anh, PR Newswire Vietnam’s Country Manager, where she explains the nuts and bolts of news distribution in Vietnam, the art of crafting the perfect message, her take on leadership and what you need to succeed in this line of career.
![How I Manage: Mai Anh Le — Country Manager at PR Newswire Vietnam](https://img.vietcetera.com/uploads/images/05-jun-2020/mai-anh-le-feature-1591324844463-768x432.jpg)
Bài viết này có ngôn ngữ: Tiếng Việt
PR Newswire, a Cision Ltd. company, is a leading global provider of news distribution and earned media software and services. PR Newswire serves tens of thousands of clients from offices in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific regions.
Since its initiation in June 2018, PR Newswire Vietnam has built a robust news distribution network of more than 867 local and international media partners, including over 6,200 journalists. In that time, the company has collaborated with numerous Vietnamese enterprises across a range of industries such as travel, technology and finance, to share their corporate news.
Le Mai Anh, PR Newswire Vietnam’s Country Manager, has been instrumental in setting up the venture in Vietnam. With more than a decade’s worth of experience in the field of Communication and Public Relations, she is responsible for leading the company and setting up strategies optimized for the highly profitable Vietnamese market.
We sat down for a conversation with Anh where she explains the nuts and bolts of news distribution in Vietnam, the art of crafting the perfect message, her take on leadership and what you need to succeed in this line of career.
What are your main responsibilities as PR Newswire's Country Manager for Vietnam?
A few people made a comment that the term “Country Manager" sounds silly, but it's actually a really common job title that is found in many multinational companies.
My work here is comparable to the work of any other CEO. I am in charge of overseeing daily operations and generating sales as well as being responsible for market expansion and branding activities in Vietnam.
When interviewing candidates to join your team, what qualities do you look for? What is the hallmark of a PR professional?
I definitely seek proactiveness, because only by being proactive can you stay on top of all your tasks, successfully manage your projects, maintain high levels of productivity and monitor your team’s correspondence.
I also expect the candidates to be able to learn on their own. Formal education only accounts for about 30% of the knowledge acquired. The 70% that matter most come from learning on the job.
Regardless of the career they're pursuing, candidates need to equip themselves with a positive mindset and an eagerness to learn before embarking on their chosen career path.
As for the second half of your question, to me, in order to be considered a PR professional you must have:
- Communication skills: You have to be able to communicate well if you want to pursue this career. You don't have to be an expert, but to get the message across, you must be fluent and proactive.
- Writing skills: Any PR professional must train themselves to write well, even if it means seeking out the assistance of a professional writer.
- Adaptability: The work of a PR professional requires great adaptability. By its very nature, the PR discipline is alway in flux and you must be able to keep up, especially with the accelerated development of social media.
- Self-learning ability: As mentioned, in this line of work, continuous acquisition of knowledge is what will set you up for success. Both developing deeper expertise in your field and interdisciplinary knowledge: creating engaging content, designing an eye-catching poster, running ads, working with SEO and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) - all these are the essentials parts of your job as a PR professional.
- Self-reflection: Acknowledge your shortcomings. People are flawed and so are those who work in Communication. It is only by overcoming difficulties and failures that we become better professionals.
What does your typical working day look like?
Just like for everyone else, my office day starts at 8am and ends around 6pm. But PR Newswire is a global corporation so our work schedule is flexible, as long as we deliver and show results.
I think it's important to have a good work ethic. Learn to do your job without supervision. This is what I have been doing for the past 15 years since most of my superiors are stationed overseas and we rarely meet.
The statistics do not lie, and the numbers at the end of the day are a testament to the quality of my work.
What advice would you give a fresh graduate considering a career in PR in Vietnam?
Strive to learn. Do not hesitate when offered an opportunity and do not turn down any offers. This is my advice to any graduate pursuing their dream career, not just in communication but in other fields as well.
What aspects of Vietnamese media and PR are different from the international landscape?
I don't think there are any differences between the PR and media landscape in Vietnam and abroad. Vietnam, or any other place for that matter, must still adhere to the global standards of professionalism.
What we need to keep in mind is how to apply global strategies and tactics to suit the Vietnamese market. We must grasp the nuances of the different cultures and people. In order to do that, it is necessary to research and understand the reality on the ground. Focus on the resources that are available or the projects that are feasible in Vietnam, rather than running a full-scale international media campaign.
A campaign’s international acclaim does not always translate to success in Vietnam and vice versa. What does guarantee success, on the other hand, is having good relationships with the press, influential people and government agencies. The biggest differentiator here is the ability to gain an understanding of the local market so that every campaign is well received by the local audience.
You've had over 15 years of experience at just three companies. What has motivated and allowed you to stay the course at Thomson Reuters and now PR Newswire?
Even though I haven't been with many companies, in the 10 years that I was with Reuters I held four different jobs. I believe rotation within the workplace is necessary. It helps the individuals learn and understand skills and knowledge in different capacities. Above all, it helps businesses improve the synergy between departments, and, in turn, increase the overall productivity.
On the topic of personal inspiration, there's a quote that I love from Richard Branson [a British business magnate, investor and founder of the Virgin Group]. “If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later.” It inspires me to take on any new challenge without hesitation. I’ve said yes every single time, and that’s how I ended up being the Country Manager of PR Newswire .
I can still recall the times when my superiors told me that they were not sure what tasks to delegate to me, so they just gave me total executive control. All I knew was that they picked me because I was Vietnamese!
What advice do you have to share about finding a place to build your career?
It’s honestly really challenging to find a place to establish your career. Anyone, even the CEO, can be done away with if they fail to deliver tangible results. It's really the law of the jungle in the corporate world. The only advice I’ve got is to give it all you’ve got, put in all your effort.
This was my message to college students at a recent seminar: “What’s ahead of us is beyond our control. All we can do is to never cease our learning and growing.” Only then we will not be looking back with regret. It's the one mantra that I've held onto, and I truly believe that anyone who follows it will, too, be successful in building their career.
About PR Newswire:
PR Newswire, a Cision Ltd. company, is a leading global provider of news distribution and earned media software and services.
In conjunction with Cision’s cloud-based communications product suite, PR Newswire's services enable marketers, corporate communicators, and investor relations officers to identify key influencers, engage target audiences, craft and distribute strategic content, and measure meaningful impact.
Combining the world's largest multi-channel, multi-cultural content dissemination network with comprehensive workflow tools and platforms, PR Newswire powers the stories of organizations around the world. PR Newswire serves tens of thousands of clients from offices in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific regions.
Bài viết này có ngôn ngữ: Tiếng Việt