Wednesday, February 27, 2008


As the term continues to speed by, my future looms closer; and with this inevitable fate one question seems to be on the tips of everyone's tongues "So have you started to apply for jobs?"

I've spent the last few months researching, joining networks and reviewing event coordinating firms Web sites. But through these months of research I haven't applied for a single job. I still have over 100 days left until I graduate, and to apply for jobs right now seems like a waste. I am of no use to a company for at least another four months because I'm still consumed in my college courses. The question for me is when is the right time to actively start applying for jobs Post College.

I am thinking that come April/May I need to start actively searching, but is this too late? Too early? That time frame I feel allows me time to interview with multiple companies and depending on those encounters (and hopefully offers) it will give me time to continue my search.

What are other individual’s thoughts? Have you already started applying for jobs? And if you are a company, when you are looking for an individual to fill a position how long are you willing to wait for that individual to get started?

Here's a link to one Web site that gives their incite...it has some great ideas to go and talk with your career center, and general tips, but no definite yes or no answer. Hmm guess will just have to see if my plan works! :)

Sunday, February 24, 2008


Podcasting what exactly is it? How can it be used? These were all questions that this past week my class and I have been learning about. And what better way to learn about a new social media forum then to actually create one. So guess what I did!

Now a little bit of a for warning, I am not claiming to be some expert, nor do I think this is a great production, but for my first time playing with the technology or coming up with my own script, I must say I'm a little bit proud of it!

So now that I have gotten the disclaimer out of the way I will inform you of what it's actually about. Our podcast had to be PR related, so I decided to generate a podcast about tips on how to nail an interview and make/leave a lasting impression on the individual interviewing you. I pulled my advice from a variety of sources, and informed my listeners (haha, which I believe is my teacher and my mom) of the interview tips that I thought were most beneficial. So here it is my podcast. Check it out, you might learn something or it could be used for a good laugh! Hope either way it helps!

Hope you had a fabulous weekend!

My teacher just passed on a link for Hospitatlity and Event Planning Networks,
which is a website that collects a variety of jobs throughout the United States that are all hospitality and events management oriented, and if you subscribes sends you a weekly newsletter of recent job opportunities.

If this is a field you are interested in, I suggest subscribing to this weekly newsletter, so that you have a heads up on job opportunities as our final days of college are coming to a close. I have already done so and am extremely excited to see what opportunities are to come my way.

Also, if you know of any hospitality or event planning job opportunities the website suggests/asks you to e-mail them to website coordinator, sonjahepn@comcast.net, and she will post it in the weekly newsletter that gets sent out you and all other subscribers.

Thought I would send out any help I could! Hope that this website helps you out, as well as me! Good luck with the hunt!

Sunday, February 17, 2008


Love has been the topic of this week. With Valentines Day coming and going, we've been reminded of the relationships that take place in all our lives. Whether they are romantic or professional, we are invested in the individuals that are active in our life.

This concept has been constant in my thoughts this week, but it was the way these relationships entered my professional life that has inspired me to write this post. All to often we would risk our necks for the individuals closets to us in our lives, when they are hurt we want to make them feel better, when they are happy we want to rejoice and celebrate with them. When something goes wrong we want to defend and protect them. I realized that a lot of these same actions carry over into PR. It is the PR professional’s job to construct these relationships with their clients, as well as their audience and the media. PR is purely relationship based and it was guest post author Marilyn Hawkins, from Hawkins & Company PR that allowed me to develop this concept and learn best how to utilize and benefit my future career, and current professional relationships.

Marilyn provided seven tips on "How to make Internal & External Clients Love You".
Most of which were familiar and common sense in how you would treat any individual in your life, but it was her use of an analogy by Michelangelo "Criticize by creating" that stuck out to me. Engage in questions, listen for answers, and talk about problems that might be interfering with solving a problem or creating an opportunity. Being able to address conflict and get to the point has always been a struggle for me, but this simple answer struck me as an ends to a mean. Instead of getting defensive or backing down and giving up, work the problem from another angle, or figure out how to get a fresh perspective. Work it out! That is our job!

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Happy Valentines Day!!

Here's a little something short and sweet. I have to give a huge shout-out to one of my friends Kendra because she introduced me to this fabulous site. It's called Entertainment Careers. It's a website that has hundreds of listings for job in the entertainment industry. Since I want to be an event coordinator, and am interested in the entertainment side of event production, this website was a god send.

It’s amazing; you can scroll through various entertainment categories, such as fashion or broadcasting. Click on the link and there are hundreds of job opportunities posted for all to see. Who knew such a thing existed, and could be more perfect. Love it!

Anyways, I'm a little hesitant to share the wealth, but I was so excited after scrolling through it that I had to tell someone! So enjoy! Just don't take the jobs I'm after! :)

Sunday, February 10, 2008


This week, while I was home for the weekend, I informed my family that I had started blogging. After a 15 minute discussion about why I was blogging and what I was writing about my dad asks "What is a blog?" I smiled and gave him the answer my teacher had given me a couple weeks ago when we started this project.

It was ironic to me, I've heard from multiple teachers and experts that blogging is a generational tool. A girl in one of my classes commented "Don't you think blogging is a limited tool? My mom would never blog, and the only people I know that do blog are people in my generation!" I'd never thought of that before. I know that change, especially in technology is hard for most individuals to gravitate to in the beginning, but as the tools become more universal the easier and more accepting people become of it.

I've always sat in class learned the information provided to me, and retained that information long enough for me to take my test and forget it all. That's my one problem with school, how is what you are teaching me now ever going to apply to my real life? When am I ever going to need to know this stuff? Finally, as I'm finishing up my major, I am learning applications that are useful in my life.

I now understand how to blog, I understand how this interactive forum allows transparency and commentary from outside sources. This unique tool, which allows a variety of people from all over the world to interact and provide their opinions, is a marketing dream.

Most people gather their information from word-of-mouth from people they know and trust. Blogging allows our social networks to grow and our circles of trust to expand.

I swear that this round-about conversation all ties together! I was reading this blog post; The top five reasons companies avoid social media by Shel Holts. The reasons he gave to why companies are avoiding social media, are all the naive reasons people assume blogging is bad. Companies are afraid to be transparent; they don't want to give up control of their companies and so forth. I understand that, and it’s a valid concern; but there are many uses for blogging that provide benefits.

So how does this all relate to my blog and my countdown to the real world? Social networking is a bran new form of communication, as well as, podcasts and so on. As I'm taking my last classes and learning these new applications, I'm gaining skills that will allow me to penetrate change into companies that might be hesitant to embrace social networking or other forms of media that seem natural to me. Basically, I'm finally learning tools that will benefit me in the real world, and help me find a job! Weird how that works! :)

Tuesday, February 5, 2008


How do you know what jobs to apply for and what jobs you are even qualified to do? This has been an on going conversation I've had in my head along with fellow classmates. I've spent a lot time recalling my education, what I've learned, what I've forgotten, and the experiences I've had. I've come to realize that my most beneficial experiences have come from hands-on opportunities. Just jumping in, and holding on tight! Realizing this aspect of my education and coming to terms with it, has been a weight that has been lifted off my shoulders. We all don't know everything; we all don't have a solution to every problem. People make mistakes and you learn from them. While you might be saying, DUH! It's a hard concept to accept. I hate going into projects not fully understanding what needs to get done. But what I've learned from trial and error has been the most rewarding.


I was reading over my PR teachers blog posts, and she had a link that caught my attention. How to get a job you're not qualified for found on Penelope Trunk's blog. She touches on three tips to landing a career you never thought you qualified for:

1. Create a project from a different arena that interests you.
2. Take responsibility for your own education.
3. Just apply.


It was the third tip that struck me the most. Just apply! What a simple concept. Why not, what’s the worst that can happen? You don't get the job! Fine, but trying will never leave you asking "what if?' and you'll never know what could have been. You never know you might get hired, and learn something about yourself and obtain a new skill. You'll never know until you try. So why not, give it a try! Apply for that job you think is a long shot, as long as you believe in yourself; the employer has no reason not to believe in you as well. Each job is a learning experience! So get to learning!