About

PRofessionals & Coffee (PR & Coffee) is an idea that was born in October 2021 during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and then as a concrete initiative in January 2022.

Carolina Salinas, a former international student from the Public Relations program at Seneca College, is the founder and host of this initiative, where practitioners from PR agencies, corporations, government, and non-profit sectors can talk about their expertise while members/co-hosts can start building their portfolios.

By the time she graduated from her program at Seneca, the pandemic was in full swing. And Carolina realized quickly that despite her fifteen years of experience working for non-profit organizations and governments in both Canada and Mexico, this unprecedented global health crisis would present challenges that she had never anticipated. At the outset, she had no illusions about the problems she would have to overcome with job-hunting and networking as she made her way along the path to becoming first a permanent resident and then finally a Canadian Citizen.

Thankfully, she was always active and had volunteer experience in the non-profit sector, where she met people from the public relations industry. She had also built a portfolio and before too long, she had people in her corner and something to show to potential employers during job interviews. This combination, she believes, is the key to professional success in Canada – Volunteer + Portfolio + Networking/Connections. – She can tell you from her experience that it is a waste of time to tailor resumes and cover letters and then send them daily through LinkedIn or email. Your approach needs to be targeted, and you need to build up and leverage relationships.  

So, in the end, Carolina was able to navigate this unusual time and achieve the kind of success she dreamed of when she first left Mexico. She found a job that she loves at Haven Toronto as a Coordinator of Volunteer, Administration, Marketing and Donor Services, all thanks to the Canadian experience that she had gained by volunteering, building a strong portfolio, and networking. And she also has since become a permanent resident.

But, after having felt firsthand the lack of support experienced by many recent graduates and newcomers to Canada in the face of this uncertain economic moment, she found herself thinking about those who had not been as fortunate as she had in moving on into the next phase of their lives. And she started to ask herself if there was some way that she could help.

This is how PRofessionals & Coffee was born.  PRofessionals & Coffee seeks to use virtual coffee chats, videos, and/or podcasts to connect experienced PR, communication, and marketing professionals with new practitioners in the field who want to establish their networks, develop skills, and build the kind of portfolio that will help them land the job that propels them into the next stage of their lives and careers.

The goal of PRofessionals & Coffee is to connect, experienced practitioners of public relations, marketing, and communications with students, recent graduates, and newcomers to Canada through virtual coffee chats. In doing so, we aim to help our members establish professional connections, gain experience, develop skills, build a portfolio, and boost their professional profiles in public relations, communications, and marketing so that they can land a job and – in the case of newcomers – facilitate their immigration journey in Canada.

The idea is to bring together knowledge and ambition, experience and aspiration in the virtual space of a coffee chat, all for the purpose of building up and enriching the next generation of PR, marketing, and communications professionals.

Carolina’s decision to found this organization based entirely within the public relations, marketing, and communications sectors was not based on personal experience alone, of course. Carolina’s research has shown that there is a definite need in Canada for the kind of intermediate job training programs that PRofessionals & Coffee now provides to its clients.

During Carolina’s time in the PR Post-Graduate Certificate program at Seneca College, she noticed that there was a definite demand for these kinds of services. Most of her classmates were international students like her; many of them spoke English as a second language, and hardly any of them had any professional connections that they could tap into to begin planning for their careers.  According to Jeff Roach, the Public Relations and Corporate Communications Program Coordinator, this is a far from uncommon occurrence. Demand for high-quality education in the field of public relations is exceptionally high among incoming international students in Canada. In fact, as of this writing – almost three years after Carolina’s own class graduated – that same PR program offered at Seneca has a cohort composed of something like 90% international students.

Clearly, there is a need at this exact moment in time for an intermediate step between post-secondary institutions and full-time employers that can provide the kind of job specific training and practical experience that today’s job seekers require more than ever if they are going to succeed. The widespread economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic has meant less money is available for on-the-job training, less money can be spent on up-to-the-minute PR education, and less money is making its way into the pockets of aspiring PR professionals who might want to seek out job training on their own.

Bearing all of this in mind, Carolina believes that by leveraging the skills and knowledge of established professionals and connecting them to students, recent graduates, and newcomers to Canada just entering the Canadian workforce, PRofessionals & Coffee can fill this need within the public relations, marketing and communications sectors. And along the way, Carolina believes that PRofessionals & Coffee can also help more Public Relations students who came to this country to study become Permanent Residents just like she did.

Now, having said all that – and without downplaying the very real challenges she has faced – Carolina’s journey in Canada has been beautiful as well. It’s been full of challenges, of course, but also full of learning, and growing and, most importantly, of embracing Canada’s culture of friendliness and community. Indeed, it is this sense of cooperation and compassion that partly led to Carolina founding, hosting, and leading an organization whose purpose is to support newcomers and immigrants who are dealing with the struggles that come with job hunting and networking in Canada.

Now that Carolina has settled into her life as a Permanent Resident here in Canada, she wants to advocate for and support students, recent graduates and newcomers in the field of public relations, marketing, and communications across Canada so that they can hopefully experience the same joy that she feels whenever she thinks about how far she’s come since first arriving here in 2018. No one more than a former international student can understand and empathize with the stress that a newcomer feels when they think about how uncertain the future sometimes looks in a strange new country far from everything they have ever known. And in the spirit of community – the “Canadian spirit,” if you like – she wants to reach out her hand and do what she can to help. 

As the founder and host of PRofessionals & Coffee, Carolina is looking forward to supporting you with your professional journey, your pathway to permanent residency, and finally, your becoming a Canadian Citizen.

PRofessionals & Coffee aims to facilitate the growth of meaningful careers, aid in the transition of recent migrants to proud Canadian Citizens, and provide a pathway for all beginners in the public relations, marketing, and communications sectors to enrich their communities and help strengthen Canada as a centre of PR excellence.