Career Fair at the RAC

After hearing about the 2010 Spring Eagle Expo, I decided it would probably be a good opportunity to go (whether it was for extra credit or not). I tend to be a procrastinator so this is actually the first career fair I have been to since my freshman year. The previous night, I did some research on who would be there and who I would be most interested in talking to. Upon my arrival I realized that I was a bit underdressed for the occasion and immediately felt uncomfortable. But with a quick thought of the old “man makes the clothes” quote, I figured I would be alright and just had to make the best of it. I was then greeted by several smiling faces wearing the appropriate business attire greeting myself and other jobseekers at the door. This was an unusual sight for the RAC because I am usually greeted with insecure meat heads with little regard for my well-being, so the initial vibe was good.

The event included a variety of different companies with booths set up to lure jobseekers to their establishment. There were companies from all around Georgia and the southeast. I walked around to several booths, but a few that stood out to me before entering the RAC were Peace Corps, CIA, Target Stores, and BMW manufacturing. All of the employers I talked to were very friendly and eager to give me the best advice on how to enter their workforce. The CIA was only offering logistics jobs which are not really the line of work I am after. The Peace Corps was the most tempting for me. Although they don’t offer much pay, the idea of helping those who can’t help themselves became more inviting upon further consideration. Target didn’t seem to be too bad of a career choice. The idea of working my way up and potentially increasing pay within the first few years was pretty tempting.

There was one major problem though, the most consistent verdict from the compilation of establishments there was that they are not really hiring. The main suggestion given by most businesses was to basically apply online and see what happens. This was kind of discouraging seeing as how it was a career fair offering little to no career opportunities. But I guess it was supposed to be about the experience and getting your name out there. Overall, I would say I enjoyed the opportunity to talk to several people who have been in my situation and are aware of the best way to optimize the experience. I’m still unsure what type of career I would like to pursue. But after yesterday I have sadly realized that I am more interested in pursuing my minor, which is marketing, rather than my PR major. Oh well, I guess that’s what college is about. I will say the main thing I regret about college is not going to these functions earlier. I have put off so many things until now that they have somewhat built up on me.

Blog Comments- PRCA 3711- PR Practicum

1. Body Language Speaks Volumes
Jeff Carter
4/3/10
This was one of my favorite topics to write about over the semester because of the psychology it incorporates; your Peter Drucker quote really emphasizes this aspect of the interviewer, “the most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.” It also adds a little philosophy to the mix. I also enjoyed reading your list of body language tips that might aid in the job search process. My favorite tip was the one about hygiene and style. Some people overlook these aspects because they think people won’t notice, but they’re wrong. All around good post, I enjoyed it.

2. Eagle Expo Career Fair
Allison Allmond
4/13/10
It sounds like you got some pretty good experience from these career fairs. I definitely have to agree with you about not being a fan of career fairs. They kind remind me of blind dates: kind of awkward, not sure what to talk about, don’t know if you really want them to call you back or not, etc. Also, I find myself being one of those type B people you are talking about. I don’t quite put myself out there enough. I suppose that’s what these career fairs are for, sort of a transition into to the awkward world of interviewing.

3. Maybe It Runs in the Family…..
Allison Allmond
4/13/10
I always want to try Uncle Bubba’s when I’m in Savannah, but somehow River Street grabs a hold of me and won’t let go. Sounds like a great place though and it seems like great experience for your cousin Melissa. I like her tips she gives to people looking for jobs. “Don’t think you can get big companies right out of the gate. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will your Rolodex be large at first.” That’s what I’ve been hearing from a lot of people who have careers. I guess college students just build up this idea that they have to land a huge job right out of college. It’s not that common I hear. Wouldn’t it be nice though?

4. Internship Advice
Allison Allmond
4/13/10
I like the “Five Best Pieces of Job/Internship Advice You Will Ever Get” that you found. They are pretty straight forward and leave out the nonsense. I always enjoy receiving advice that makes sense without having to take it with a grain of salt. My favorite tip is number five. I cannot tell you how many people have stressed the importance of networking. I’ve already begun to network and it’s amazing how many doors it has opened for me just since I’ve been in college. I also like the video you posted. Do you think the internship queen can get me a job this summer?

5. Trade Book Review- Full Frontal PR
Allison Allmond
4/13/10
Great book. I chose to read Full Frontal PR and added audio to the PowerPoint for my Social Media Class. Laermer is smooth writer and provides great insight to the world of PR. I agree with your use of “The Blair Witch” example and how they generated such a huge amount of buzz from a simple idea. I also like how you mentioned that PR and Marketing should not be separate processes. Why would they? PR and marketing need to be thoroughly examined together in order to produce a successful campaign. Overall great presentation. I especially liked your picture of the dog in the bee costume.

6. Body Language & Non-verbal Communication in Job Interviews
Sarah Kemp
4/14/10
The first thing I noticed before reading this post was the huge photo of Bill Clinton. I immediately decided that this is a great example of someone telling a story with their non-verbals and body language. I also liked your mention of excessive leg movement. I am commonly guilty of this. I’m not sure if it’s a nervous tendency or just habit, but since it comes off as nervousness, I suppose I should fix it. Another great example you gave was people that stand too close to you when they talk; I can’t stand it and it makes me uncomfortable.

7. PROpenMic
Sarah Kemp
4/14/10
I’ve come across so many posts lately that mention PR Open Mic. It sounds like it would be a great organization to join due to its networking potential. It’ kind of neat how people can consider themselves practitioners and faculty within this group. Also, it seems to be available on several different social media sites which will help more people find out about it. I’ll have to check out the Facebook link you provided and maybe join. How many groups are you a member of anyway, Kemp? You’re such a go-getter. You’ll have to hook me up with a few.

8. Did You Know?
Sarah Kemp
4/14/10
That is quite an interesting video. I’ll be honest, it kind of made my brain hurt. All the numbers and the growth statistics they provided is a lot to comprehend. I knew technology was growing at an exponentially rapid rate, I just had no idea it was this rapid. My favorite fact was that a student pursuing a 4 year degree in technology will learn things their first year that will be outdated before they graduate. Thinking about this kind of stuff is exciting and scary at the same time. I cannot begin to imagine how things will be by the time we’re 50.

9. Balloon Boy
Sarah Kemp
4/14/10
One of my favorite news stories of all time. I feel a bit bad for finding it so hilarious, but it is. I followed this story from start to finish and could not believe how silly that family is. Poor little Falcon had to lie on national TV and got so nervous about it that he threw up on the set; that is TV magic. You’re right though, about the publicity making the situation blow up. It was this media frenzy that the balloon family were able to feed off of and get the publicity they so desired. This happened a while ago and I still have not seen or read a story that comes close to entertaining me like this one.

10. Phone-A-Thon
Sarah Kemp
4/14/10
I’m glad I came across this post. I think it’s great how you all get together and raise money for your philanthropy. 62,200 is a great number and you guys should be really proud. With that being said, I have to tell you a funny story about you’re 2010 Phone-A-Thon. One of your Phi Mu representatives (a.k.a. Allison Paine) called me as a joke asking for money. We laughed then hung up, blah, blah. So I waited a few hours and I called the number back that called me. I pretended to be an old Phi Mu named Ethel and said that I wanted to donate a million dollars, but I couldn’t figure out how to put my check through the phone. If you can imagine Allison was very confused and had no idea how to handle the situation. Eventually I told her it was me. She didn’t think it was as funny as I did.

11. Benefits and Pitfalls of Social Media for Job Seekers
Phillip Edwards
4/15/10
I haven’t really come across anyone who thinks it is a bad idea to keep up with social media. It’s good to be aware of it, even if you don’t necessarily agree with it. I like how you examine both sides of the spectrum and explain pros and cons of social media. “Social media is the way of the future in communications, marketing, advertising and human resources. So the effectiveness of this meduim is useful.” This couldn’t be more true. When I first got to Georgia Southern, all I had was Facebook; now I use several different forms of social media and have met so many people in the process. Not only will they help with networking, but they also help improve your writing skills if you tend to them properly.

12. Top Ten Things I Learned In PRCA 3339
Phillip Edwards
4/15/10
I actually took this same class with Nixon. It was a really helpful start to creating PR publications. A lot of the things we learned how to do in that class weren’t particularly difficult, but could be tough to figure out on your own. That’s actually the class that got me started blogging. Your slideshow has some good information and visuals. It’s short and to the point which is what I like about it. My favorite slide is the last one where the girl is pulling out her own hair. Sometimes group projects make me want to do the same thing.

13. Body Language and Nonverbal Communication in Job Interviews
Phillip Edwards
4/15/10
Phillip, I like your blog; it’s well organized and has just the right amount of visuals and no clutter. Some blogs I’ve looked at are so crowded that I don’t even bother reading. This particular post gives some great insight about body language and non-verbal communication. “Your hands should rest loosely on your lap showing comfort and confidence.” In just about any situation where I’m not holding something, hand placement is the biggest mystery. It’s as if they aren’t mine and I don’t know where to put them, especially if I’m standing up. I’ll definitely keep this in mind for interviews to come.

14. Tips for Making an Effective Brochure
Phillip Edwards
4/15/10
I couldn’t agree with you more about having credible sources. Just imagine printing 500 copies of a brochure only to find out there is an incorrect fact boldly placed on the front cover. Those 500 copies are now useless, and the money you spent making them is gone forever. After all that is taken care of, it is great to establish some creativity and originality. So many brochures look the same and send the same message. Making yours stand out is definitely important. I hate the feeling I get after spending a long time doing something that was a complete waste of time, such as reading a pointless brochure. Those are 15 minutes I’ll never get back.

15. PR 2.0 Trade Book
Phillip Edwards
4/15/10
PR 2.0 seems like it would be a pretty interesting book. On top of that, I would probably read it just because the author is extremely attractive (not a very valid reason, I know). Her credentials are pretty impressive too; I might just have to make her my wife. That being said, I like the PowerPoint. It’s well organized and easy on the eyes. The slides contain some good information and what’s not in the slides is displayed in the show notes. Trying to figure out what to include in the show notes as opposed to the slides was the toughest part of this assignment for me.

16. Career Services Event with Big Time Benefit
Marilyn Lintel
4/19/10
This post offers some good advice for getting started on LinkedIn. I suppose I have spoiled myself with Facebook and gotten so used to its format that I have trouble getting accustomed to other forms of social media. At first LinkedIn was a bit confusing to navigate but now I think I’m pretty fluent with it. The main thing I don’t like about it, though, is the process you have to go through to connect with others. On Facebook you just click “request friend” and wait for the person’s approval. But on LinkedIn you have to find the person and type out their e-mail address (assuming you know it) and then wait for approval. It definitely took getting used to.

17. Benefits/Pitfalls of Social Media in the Job Search
Marilyn Lintel
4/19/10
“Don’t post inappropriate pictures on Facebook- this seems like common sense but employers look at Facebook to see a variety of things and if you don’t look professional then why even bother? They are not going to be impressed with the giant beer in your hand.” I’m glad you mentioned this because I hear a different horror story about people being turned down for positions because of their Facebook profiles every week. One of my friends that graduated last year gave my resume to his boss in order to set up an interview. I hadn’t heard from him in a while so I called to see if he agreed to schedule an interview. My friends said, “My boss said he couldn’t hire you because of your questionable Facebook pictures.” After a few minutes of talking I found out he was only joking. Either way, I got so paranoid after the conversation that I immediately edited my profile. Moral of the story: edit your profile!

18. Body Language & Nonvebal Communication in Job Interviews
Marilyn Lintel
4/19/10
I wonder if the guy in the video is any relation to Christina. He gave some good insight on body language and non-verbal communication. It’s almost scary to think how much information you provide without ever even speaking. I also found it interesting that Aguilera said the one of the most common mistakes interviewees make is not asking the right questions. Most people think that if they are getting interviewed, they are only responsible for answering questions. It’s interesting that he pointed out the importance of finding out what you are signing up for. I could definitely see that being a plus during an interview.

19. Resume & Cover Letter Tips
Marilyn Lintel
4/19/10
My favorite part about this post is the last tip you provide, “be brief”. It seems that so many people (including myself) try to pile on the information because it makes them sound more qualified. But the main thing I have learned in my PR classes is to say a lot by saying a little. Almost every writing class I’ve taken stressed the importance of conveying a clear, concise message in a small amount of space. It makes sense; if hundreds of people are applying for the same job, employers do not have time to read each and every cover letter.

20. Informational Interview- Carter Salley
Marilyn Lintel
4/19/10
That’s pretty impressive that Carter has been working in the PR field since he was 16. Five years of experience by the time you’re 21 can only help your career. It’s nice that you got a chance to sit down and talk with him about his everyday experiences. I was pleased at Carter’s response when you asked him how important writing is in his career, “Very important, our newsletters, statements, announcements, and events are all written communication to our residents.” That is just another advantage of creating and maintaining a blog; it’s all practice. Whether it’s for an assignment or just pleasure, it’s all practice.

21. Tribes- Seth Godin
Ally Kupcewicz
4/20/10
It’s neat how this book goes back to the most primitive form of social organization: tribes. People often stamp socialization as something new, but it’s interesting to think back to its roots to explain why people act the way they do now. The most interesting quote I saw in your slides was “It’s not always about the size of your tribe but more about the passion and aspiration of your tribe.” I can definitely see that being true; a quality over quantity view of things is usually successful. Another thing I like was the book’s definition of tribe: “A group of people connected to one another, a leader and an idea.”

22. The good, the bad, the ugly….
Ally Kupcewicz
4/20/10
I really like how you categorized the different types of social media. I think more people should begin to separate the forms of media in order to reduce the clutter. Some things are made for work and others for play, it’s important to know which is which. Your list of 10 tweets the will most likely get you fired is pretty funny. My favorite has to be “having sex dreams of people you work with makes for an awkward day.” I can only imagine someone’s boss reading that and having to deal with it. The escalation of awkward would create an almost sitcom-like situation.

23. I will remember you fondly…SIKE!
Ally Kupcewicz
4/20/10
I can surely relate to you on this one. There are so many things about this place that I will undoubtedly not miss. Here’s a few: 1) children. Yes, children. Why do people bring their loud mouth kids to a college library? 2) Cell phone warriors. These are the people that just have to talk as loud as possible about how drunk they were the night before and laugh loudly about how the person on the other end responds. 3) People who listen to really loud music on their headphones. I don’t know where people are getting these sub-woofer styled ear speakers, and I don’t care, I just want it to stop. If you can’t relate to one of these three scenarios you are either really lucky or one of the three.

24. YOU’RE FIRED!
Ally Kupcewicz
4/20/10
I like how you laid out the guidelines for firing someone. I agree that there should be some type of protocol in order to not fire someone for unjust reasons. I too have been in groups where someone has not done as much work as the other group members and it stinks. There’s nothing better than getting a randomly chosen group that turns out to work really well together. It benefits the entire work environment and ultimately the grade of the project. The worst has to be choosing your own group and pairing up with friends. This comfortable setting can sometimes lead to laziness of group members and lack of production. I prefer a safe medium.

25. Resumes=Flashbacks?
Ally Kupcewicz
4/20/10
It really is strange to think that after spending four or five years somewhere, everything is going to change again. It seems like everything up to this point is a prequel to something else. You have to make good grades in high school to get in to a good college, you have to make good grades in college to get a good job, and you have to get a good job to have a good retirement. It just feels like, so far, everything has been one big “preparation for preparing”. I like your Wonder Years quote, though. It’s a good way to look at the whole situation of growing up.

Informational Interview Recap

A few days ago I was fortunate enough conduct a phone interview with Lindsay Cameron, a 2009 Georgia Southern Public Relations graduate. Lindsay now works for InterContinental Hotels Group, which is the largest hotel group by  number of rooms. There are 7 brands including: InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, and Candlewood Suites. They also have the largest hotel loyalty program and a timeshare brand Holiday Inn Club Vacations. Lindsay is the Corporate Communications Coordinator for IHG in Atlanta. Upon discovering these things, I was instantly excited about the opportunity to interview someone with this type of experience. After reviewing her responses, my expectations were far exceeded by the insight she was able to convey.

Lindsay and I had several classes together before she graduated, so she was more than willing to answer a few questions for a fellow Veazey Hall regular. I started the interview by asking what a typical week might be like at IHG. Lindsay said that no week is typical, in fact quite the opposite. She explains, “My work days consist of a mix of responding to media inquiries, working with the media to evaluate hotels stays, collecting daily media coverage on all of our brands and sharing with our PR team and executives, managing photo shoots with executives that are facing the media, applying for PR awards, completing media surveys, assisting with huge PR projects (e.g., InterContinental Times Square opening this summer), etc.” Wow what a heavy workload I thought to myself, so naturally I pressed on to find out more of what Lindsay had to say and was rather pleased with the result.

Next I asked her to tell me about a recent project she had been assigned to that she was especially proud of. She said that last December IHG launched a social media campaign, IHG’s December Tweet Away. This campaign was hosted only on Twitter and engaged media and consumers about the hotel’s brands. They gave away two free hotel nights to each of their brands as well as gift cards and electronics. The grand prize was seven free nights at any hotel in the world. Lindsay then explained that “this campaign was a huge success in proving that PR could be revenue driving because we had a landing page where consumers could book hotel stays where they did. I was a huge part of this campaign from day 1 and along with the revenue, we generated buzz and received key media coverage.” Awesome, I can only hope for this type of work. Lindsay further explains that to keep current in the PR world she is a member of PRSA and attends monthly meetings.

Then came the most useful part of the interview for me: What three tips would you offer someone just starting out in PR
1- Always do more than you’re asked. Ask for more projects, more responsibilities, and go above and beyond with your projects to prove that you are an asset to the company.
2- Be flexible. Like I mentioned, you might come into work with a to-do list and get two things checked off in a day because there was a crisis or a new project that takes priority and you have to be very flexible to handle that.
3- Ask questions. Ask as many questions about the industry or your company as possible. It is a lot easier to write about something you know best.
What great advice, I feel like this will be especially useful when I enter the work force.

The last question I asked turned out to be the most inspiring. Did your education prepare you for working in PR? How? Lindsay’s response assured me that I haven’t been wasting my time at GSU, which is great for me, as well as, my parents’ wallet. She said, “Yes. All of my classes prepared me for a career in PR by expanding my writing skills, creativity, organization and communication.”

Again I would like to thank Lindsay for taking time out of her day to have an enlightening chat with me about some things we both have a strong interest in. This interest, of course, made our conversation flow smoothly, and also provided me with some information that I will be able to use for years to come.

Tradebook Review: Cluetrain Manifesto

The full presentation with notes and references included can be seen at Slideshare

Internship

An internship is an interesting thing. When it’s good it’s great, and when it’s slow, it’s still pretty beneficial. The internship I completed last summer for the American Cancer Society of Bulloch County was a great experience. I was able to exercise several of my learned PR skills on an almost daily basis. On any given day I was responsible for creating PSAs to send out to all the Relay For Life team leaders from surrounding counties. Also, because it was always a good idea to maintain healthy relationships with these team leaders in order to keep their faith in ACS, I would sometimes be expected to have lunch meetings with these groups.

The internship wasn’t always so fulfilling, though. After all, we all have to start somewhere, right? It was not uncommon at the start of the internship to be responsible for creating spreadsheets with everyone’s information in the southeast who has participated in Relay For Life in the past 2 years (it is devastating and encouraging to find out that this is an incredibly large number). But I enjoyed the opportunity to prove myself worthy of other tasks through the brisk completion of simple ones.

My best advice to anyone looking for an internship is to complete one that makes you feel comfortable. One that can gain something from you, while offering you experience in return. Don’t worry too much about the pay in monetary terms, measure it in the amount of skill and knowledge you acquire from your work there. Because I worked for ACS during its downtime, (the time directly following Relay For Life) there wasn’t always a lot of work given to me. But that’s when true PR comes into play. Instead of sitting there and waiting for my next assignment, I used the downtime to think of possible events ACS could do in the fall, something other than Relay For Life that could raise donations. Although my time there was cut short and I was never able to plan an event that stuck, it was the practice and PR exercise that I value today.

Something a little off-subject that comes to mind when discussing internships is one of my good friends Adam Smith, who I graduated from high school with. He is currently a Natural Resource Management volunteer for the United States Peace Corps in Togo, West Africa. Although it might not technically be an internship, I feel that the experience he is gaining there is nothing short of life changing. While thumbing through Facebook one day I came across my old friend’s blog, and decided to take a peek. I found myself sitting at my computer an hour later completely inspired. It was one of those situations where you get so excited about a person’s story that you feel jealous and compelled to make a story of your own. It was kind like, “well he did it, what’s stopping me?” I won’t go into any more detail about it, but if you get a chance it’s a great read with a story-like style to it that leaves you wanting more.

What to Wear to a PR Interview

Other than your overall attitude and credentials that might qualify you for a job, the most important aspect of an in-person job interview would have to be appearance. What you wear will ultimately provide for the first visual impression an interviewer has of you, and could sway his/opinion whether they realize it or not. For example, the people at collegefashion.net claim, “First impressions are formed in 7 seconds. 38% of a first impression is based on inflection and tone of voice (how you say things), 7% is based on what you actually say, and a whopping 55% of a first impression comes from NONVERBAL cues! In short, more than half of every first impression is based on how you look!” Therefore, it is very important to know what is appropriate and what is not when dressing yourself for and interview.

An interesting video on break.com, “What to Wear: Job Interview, Cute and Corporate” provides several outfit options for women seeking to enter to job search. They use various celebrity examples such as Lauren Conrad and Katherine Heigl to further convey their message. While I can appreciate a well dressed woman, it doesn’t provide me with much insight on what I should be wearing to a job interview. Luckily the article “What Men should wear to an interview” provides some great tips on how to dress to impress. They recommend this list of apparel to make the best impression on your potential boss:
• A two piece suit in navy or another dark color
• A tie in a simple pattern that matches the colors of your suit
• Button down dress shirt (white or pastel)
• Polished dress shoes inn a dark color
• No earrings! If you normally wear one, take it out
• Get a haircut. Short always fares best
• Clean trimmed fingernails
• Minimal cologne
• Light briefcase or portfolio case

While this seems appropriate in most cases, I was curious to find out what type of apparel would be appropriate in a less formal setting, but would still make a great impression. According to “What to Wear to an Informal Interview for a Job”, by Nicole Hubbard, “Informal means dressy casual, not casual sloppiness. It is as important to dress to impress, even if the situation is an informal interview. For men, this can be a challenge just as much as choosing the right tie for a formal interview.” She then further describes all a more general approach to presenting yourself in an acceptable manner. Jeans and sweatpants are not acceptable. Clothes should be ironed. Hair should be clean and trimmed. This style seems to be more targeted for follow up interviews where you have already met the interviewer and would like to be more casual while still portraying yourself as a clean cut, well dressed individual. After reading the difference between the formal and informal, I decided I would prefer the informal apparel because it seems more comfortable and would allow for a more relaxed interview.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Media for Job Seekers

While social media can be a great way to keep in touch with friends, search for jobs, and even express ideas and opinions about a desired product, it is these very advantages that can sometimes be detrimental to job searchers. One example would be the ever-popular Facebook that has taken the world by storm over the past five years. It is a wonderful tool for job searching, chatting with friends, and expressing feelings through status updates. But if the privacy settings are not properly tweaked, then all those seemingly private drunken photos and late night wall posts are published for all to see. I am not saying that this is common for everyone, but I have heard several horror stories from older friends entering the job world that claim they were denied certain jobs because of their unclean, forgotten Facebook accounts. The best way to prevent this is to either delete your Facebook account before applying for jobs, cleaning it up to where you wouldn’t mind your grandparents reading it, or adjusting the privacy settings so that only your friends are allowed to see certain information.

Social media can also be a great benefit for job searching. An interesting article titled “10 Social Media Tools For Executive Job Search 4 2009” provides a detailed powerpoint presentation using slideshare that provides the author’s top ten social media outlets that will enhance the job search. The benefits of blogging (ranked number 5) are explained in ways of increasing your Google rank and visibility. One tip given is to get involved in a blogosphere and started commenting on blogs about the industry you are interested in. Ranking at number six is Facebook. While I mentioned the disadvantages of this social network, here are some advantages provided by Jennifer McClure:
• Build out your Profile with all of your professional information
• Provide links back to your LikedIn Profile, website, etc.
• Don’t be boring- Facebook is more “social”
• Status Updates- keep your network informed/keep in touch
• “Blog” within Facebook to get started/share with your network
• Share links, videos, etc. to establish expertise/credibility
• Find Groups related to your industry, interests, companies, etc.

Another article, “Social Media and the Job Search”, also mentions the benefits of using social media for job searching. Stephen Kohnle expresses the importance of standing out in a crowd in order to attain jobs over other job seekers, “started with LinkedIn, leveraging my connections and tapping into the site’s array of different groups to find and connect with people in industries I’m interested in pursuing. Searching companies in these industries, I was able to identify places where I might like to work.” By doing this, he claims he is better able to, “meet decision-makers and stay on top of what’s going on.”

The final article I read on the topic today was “7 Secrets to Getting Your Next Job Using Social Media” by Dan Schawbel. This is similar to the slideshare article I mentioned earlier in that it provides several ways to maximize the value of your personal websites. It gives step by step directions that could help most people looking to use social media as way to better appeal to decision makers.

Body Language & Non-verbal Communication- Can You See the Invisible?

Body language and non-verbal communication are probably the most noticeable qualities during job interviews. Although unnoticeable by the untrained eye, interviewers have a way to detect and consider certain attributes of a person through these signals. According to Nonverbal Communication Skills, “Good communication is the foundation of successful relationships, both personally and professionally. But we communicate with much more than words. In fact, research shows that the majority of our communication is nonverbal. Nonverbal communication, or body language, includes our facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, posture, and even the tone of our voice.” The same article also explains the advantages of recognizing these skills; “The ability to understand and use nonverbal communication is a powerful tool that will help you connect with others, express what you really mean, navigate challenging situations, and build better relationships at home and work.”

I have never been anyone’s interviewing boss in the business world, but I have had the advantage of being on both the interviewer and interviewee sides of a fraternity. During a fraternity’s rush they are constantly trying to recruit new members while trying to weed out the guys they don’t see meshing well with the fraternity. I went through rush my sophomore year and had no idea the right or wrong things to say to all the different fraternities, but choosing the fraternity I liked and being initiated, I began to realize the attributes my organization was looking for. Rush is one big social interview and the signs the participants give off becomes more recognizable over the years. A big attribute I look for in new members is eye contact. Poor eye contact can mean a number of things, nervousness, lack of interest, lack of respect, or just bad habit. The can be for the interviewer or interviewee. One thing that really bothers me about rushees is when they seem pre-occupied and ready to move on to the next fraternity because they are not interested in our fraternity. These individuals usually do not receive a bid from us. Another article, Body Language, solidifies this point by saying, “There are sometimes subtle – and sometimes not so subtle – movements, gestures, facial expressions and even shifts in our whole bodies that indicate something is going on. The way we talk, walk, sit and stand all say something about us, and whatever is happening on the inside can be reflected on the outside.”

Confidence is another factor to consider when looking at body language. The way a person acts can be directly tied to how strongly they feel about themselves in a given situation. Body Language gives some examples of what to look for “As you observe others, you can identify some common signs and signals that give away whether they are feeling confident or not. Typical things to look for in confident people include:
• Posture – standing tall with shoulders back.
• Eye contact – solid with a ‘smiling’ face.
• Gestures with hands and arms – purposeful and deliberate.
• Speech – slow and clear.
• Tone of voice – moderate to low.

Cover Letter Tips

Cover Letters have to be one of the most important aspects to consider while applying for jobs. You may have a phenomenal resume, but if it will go unnoticed if it is smothered by an inadequate cover letter. It needs to be straight to the point and have an intriguing tagline that will encourage employers to continue reading. The folks at bestcoverletters.com provide several resume cover letter samples as well as strategies and tips for creating your own cover letter. This website also features a section that includes instructions on how to create PR specific cover letters. Another interesting feature I found on the site was the ability to post your cover letter and allow viewers to edit it as they see fit.

Another site recommends several steps one should consider before ever sitting down to write a cover letter. “First, what do you know about the target company? The field of public relations is a diverse and exciting one, and there are many different specialties that different firms practice.” Finding out what these are can greatly help the process. The site also mentioned, “Knowing as much as possible about your particular target is vital to crafting the public relations cover letter that is the most convincing to that target firm.” The article further explains the importance of being familiar with the position you are interested in for each company. Another thing to consider is who will be receiving your cover letter and resume. “At the very minimum, you should know their name, how it’s spelled, and their accurate contact details before you send the letter. Under no circumstances, should you ever, ever, ever send out a cover letter to ‘Sir/Madam’ or ‘To Whom It May Concern.’ Ever.”

While keeping all the above in mind, it is also important to express why you would be an important addition to the company you seek employment with. You can do this by providing the employers with a list of your work experience, the types of problems you have solved in the past, and even the training you have received. Finally, you should answer the question “What do you hope to receive as a result of sending out the public relations cover letter to the target company?”

The article continues with a list of things you should include pertaining to why you believe you are qualified, why you desire to perform this job, and what makes you so enthusiastic about this job. I found the last bit of advice to be the most useful. “With all the elements in place, the last step before mailing or sending the public relations cover letter by email is to edit and proofread it thoroughly. Once again, I can’t stress enough how important communications skills are to the public relations industry. So if there is ever a time that you want to run your computer’s grammar and spell-check, this is it.” There have been a few occasions where I didn’t proofread and ended up looking like a dummy for the assignment at hand.