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05.07

Boost Your Career by Becoming an Expert Source

By John R. Platt

If you are looking to take your career to the next level, an effective way to achieve that goal is to establish yourself as an expert in your field and make yourself available to the media as an expert source.

You probably see expert sources every time you turn on the TV or read the news. Journalists interview and quote these professionals in their fields to get their perspectives on the news of the day or for inside information that is worth repeating. "You need an expert because they have the credibility you need for an article," says Belle Adler, Associate Professor at the School of Journalism at Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.). For serious subjects, she says, "you want to go to someone that can lend gravitas to the subject."

Why become an expert source?

Besides giving you the opportunity to share your knowledge and your expertise, the media are a great marketing outlet for both you and your organization. Being quoted in an article or appearing on television can help to increase your personal visibility, sell your books or other products, or give you bargaining power in your next salary negotiation. Certain industries or professions may look at your being an expert source more favorably than you would expect. In fact, some universities use media appearances as one of their criteria in determining which of their staff will receive tenure.

How do you become an expert?

Before you can become an expert source, it stands to reason that you must first become an expert. But what qualifies someone to be an "expert," and how do you become one?

1. Learn something — "We live in a world of credentials," says Adler. Your knowledge qualifies you as an expert, if it helps you to stand apart from the crowd. What do you know that no one else knows? What certifications and degrees do you have to your name? Have you been trained in a specific field or body of knowledge? Any of these things can help to qualify you as an expert.
    

2. Do something — Create or discover a new concept or idea. Invent something. Write a book. Publish a study. Career milestones like these can be exactly what the media needs to recognize you as an expert source.
    

3. Be a leader — Every industry has leaders, and sometimes it is a person's title which first establishes him as someone worth talking to. The president of a company is more likely to be sought after as an expert source than an engineer. Similarly, taking on a leadership role in your industry's professional organizations (such as an IEEE chapter or society) makes you much more attractive to the media, and instantly gives you the credentials you need.

How do you become an expert source?

Okay, we have established that you could potentially be worth interviewing as an expert source. So how do you become one?

First step, check with your organization's public relations or corporate communications department. Many companies, universities and other organizations maintain lists of their own expert sources. Your employer may already be considered a leader in its field, so it wants to stay in the news. Your face helps them do that. Every time one of its employees is quoted, it reflects well upon the entire organization.

After that, look at your professional memberships. Many professional organizations maintain expert source lists, which are often more valued by reporters because of the organizations' non-profit, non-partisan natures. For example, the IEEE's societies, councils, chapters, and other organizations offer many opportunities, ranging from distinguished lecturer programs to technical experts guides for journalists. (Contact your local leadership for more information.)

Next, work your connections. Try to make contact with reports and editors in the media. Once you have established a media relationship, keep it fresh. Stay in contact. Reach out from time to time. Remind them of your credentials and update them when you achieve something new. If a reporter needs an expert on a given subject, you want them to think of you, not someone else. "Reporters tend to go back to the same people over and over again," says Adler. "Avoiding that takes work."

Alternately, you could actually hire a public relations firm to help make you an expert source. But be warned — that's not necessarily the best way to establish your credibility.

Keep the media coming back for more

After all of this work, be ready when a reporter finally calls. Reporters usually work on very tight deadlines, so if they contact you, they will likely need an answer right away. If they leave a message, call back as quickly as you can. If they don't hear from you in a timely manner, they will probably move on to the next source, and you could lose out on your only chance with that particular outlet.

And when you do talk to the press, take it seriously. Speak on topic. Answer the reporter's questions. Don't just talk about yourself or your own agenda. If it just sounds like you are there to market yourself, you not only lose credibility, you won't give the reporter the answers they need, and they probably won't be calling you back.

But if you offer insight, understanding, perspective and clarity, and you prove yourself to be reliable and interesting, you could just be opening up a whole new chapter in your career. And that can only lead up.

Web Resources

The American Press Institute has a nice list of expert source lists. [www.americanpressinstitute.org/pages/toolbox/expert_sources/expert_sources]

ProfNet, a service of PR Newswire, offers a database [https://profnet.prnewswire.com/ ] of more than 20,000 expert sources. Your company must be a PR Newswire subscriber for you to participate.

An award-winning writer and marketing consultant, John Platt has been quoted in newspaper and magazine articles around the world. He can be found online at www.john-platt.com. Comments may be submitted to todaysengineer@ieee.org.