After gathering my thoughts I decided I desperately needed a photo of myself standing in front of this house. As I stood there contemplating a witty pose for my picture, it didn’t at all occur to me that placing my hands on my cheeks as if I had just applied Brut aftershave would be quite possibly the most unoriginal idea imaginable, so that’s what I went with. Google Images later informed me that I was in fact not the first or even fiftieth goober to make that face in front of the actual Home Alone house…oh well.

After the Home Alone adventure, I was pretty sure things couldn’t get any better, that was before my friends and I realized we were only a few miles from one of the houses where Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was filmed! It was the house and garage where Cameron’s dad’s Ferrari smashed through the window and plummeted to its death. This was another surreal moment that almost overloaded my brain, especially since it happened the same day. This certainly makes me cool, right?

As we approached the house, we noticed it was for sale…for $1.65 million! So naturally, we decided it would be best to explore as if we were interested buyers. While browsing the property I started to chuckle about the price because the house itself was in questionable shape and severely dated, with some sort of Asian-themed, exposed crawl-space base sitting on stilts. The real magic, though, was the garage. I was standing in front of another landmark where cinematic excellence took place. What stupid picture should I take this time? I decided to keep my goofy face out of it and just snap the scenery…good choice for sure. But then again, the picture itself only serves as a way to prove I was actually there. The true value comes from my personal recollection of being there. I suppose I can chalk this day up as a win.

CAT 30

Starting a new job can be fun, exciting, and highly beneficial, but also offers a series of challenging trials. The number one challenge I’ve been confronted with thus far is something called the “Cat 30.” What is the Cat 30? Initially, one might assume it is the appropriate time to indulge in your favorite Cat Stevens album, or perhaps the point in time to set aside for a feline companion, but according to nearly every seasoned Catastrophe Team veteran, it is the likelihood that most CAT trainees will gain at least 30 pounds during the course of training, due to the exposure to new and unfamiliar restaurants. Of course, being a new member of the Cat Team and hearing this news concerned me, but as they say, “knowing is half the battle.”

After being warned of the probable bodily transformation, I decided immediately that I should take control of this situation rather than visa versa, but how? How can a recent college graduate with a previously minimal budget be able to control himself around a seemingly unlimited exposure to thrilling new foods and environments? Well, so far it’s a process rather than a single decision. Everyday is a new battle riddled with temptation and the ever-prevalent thought that, “Well I’m in a new town and I’ve never tried a hot dog stuffed pizza with caramel and chocolate drizzled crust, plus this restaurant was on the Food Channel so I pretty much have to check it out just once.” Due to the degree of travel, these “just once” occasions slowly evolve into a common occurrence throughout deployments. Two deployments of this mentality were enough to coax me towards a new strategy.

The first plan of attack was to buy groceries every week, and ration my meals. Depending on the hotel, one can create a full “home” cooked meal within the comfort of the room, not to mention save time and money. Plus, grocery shopping provides a much needed moment of reflection to consider what to purchase. This approach helps avoid the last second meal shift. You know the scenario: sitting in the restaurant booth, completely set on the grilled salmon salad, but just as the waiter asks for your order, a flash of indecision and doubt directs you into ordering the double bacon, ham, and beef stuffed oink burger with a side of cholesterol battered fries. Halfway through the meal you realize this was a mistake, but by then it’s too late, the comfort once found in consuming this monster of a meal is replaced with regret. This may not be the case for everyone because individual self control plays a huge part in meal selection. I’ve discovered, though, that I’m the type of person who likes to be rewarded; the goal is to protect myself from myself.

I won’t go into what should be purchased at the grocery store or how to ration meals because most everyone knows what they like and has a general idea whether it’s healthy or not. Instead I will briefly express the importance of exercise. I say briefly because Anthony Headland’s “On the Go” article from February’s newsletter has already given great insight to an effective workout routine. Following his weekly agenda will undoubtedly improve physical health. The biggest challenge, though, is finding the motivation. After a long day in the field, it is so easy to kick back in the hotel room and get caught up watching SportsCenter, Oprah, or the news. I would much rather relax after a full day of work rather than burn more energy on a 45 minute workout, therefore I must trick myself into exercising. My method for this is pre workout supplements. The best I’ve tried yet is a powder called Jack3d. The aim is to consume a glass of Jack3d approximately 30 minutes before beginning exercise. Because one of the active ingredients is caffeine, a boost of energy and desire to work out is a likely result. Also, it is filled with other ingredients that help with muscle recovery and extended energy. Jack3d can be purchased at GNC, and its generic brand cousin, Ignition, is sold at Walmart. Best of all, these products have very few calories and are relatively inexpensive.

The suggestions I have provided above are just that, suggestions. Some Cat members have undoubtedly never had problems with controlling hunger or self motivation in regards to exercise. Needless to say, this article is not for you. I can’t guarantee that these suggestions are the best approach for everyone, but they have worked for me so far, so I figured I’d share my insight from a rookie’s perspective. In regards to meal selection, I’ll end with a reminder that, “curiosity killed the CAT” so choose wisely (consider that my first and final lame CAT joke). As for exercise, do what you can when you can, don’t be afraid to borrow energy, and consider the cartoon doctor.

All complaining aside, surprisingly I have  enjoyed Chicago thus far. After that statement, one would generally dive right into praising the otherwordly pleasure received from sampling some of the local eateries, but I’ll start with the city itself. About a 30 minute Ford Fiesta rental car ride away from the Hampton Suites in South Barrington sits downtown Chicago. From a distance, the lights and skyline are comparable to Atlanta and Houston, but from within the grid system of this monstrosity occured the realization that I am much smaller than previously perceived. While looking down or straight ahead it’s not so overwhelming, but when gazing above I caught myself losing a great deal of balance trying to view the top of certain buildings.

No worries, here’s the food portion. The first night here, my team and I tried Giordano’s deep dish pizza. The seemingly modest order of two large deep dish pizzas (one supreme, one pepperoni) would surely be a sufficient amount for six grown men. Wrong! After two slices apiece, we all cramped up and tried to settle the stomach storm with a house beer on tap. That too was an illconceived notion, as it only made the bloating worse. But before the subsequent struggle, consuming the pizza itself was phenomenal. It was assembled with a thin bottom layer of dough, topped by level of uniquely delicious cheeses and meat fixings, and topped by another layer of dough and house marinara sauce; all encircled by a ring of crisp crust. It’s all good though because I’m told it’s a healthy treat as long as you’re a visitor.

Throughout my deployment I was constantly given suggestions of where to go, what to do and how to do it. I’m pleased to say that I did not receive one suggestion that did not exceed my expectations! I indulged in some of the best pizza, sushi, and beer to date. Some locations that really stand out as a must try are Giordano’s and Lou Malnatis for pizza, Nozumi and Big Bowl for Asian food, and Lucky Monk and Rock Bottom Brewery of course for beer. The best all around spot had to be the Lucky Monk, due to its all around atmosphere. A staggering two minute drive from the hotel allowed access to great food, beer and fellowship, all for a reasonable price. The Lucky Monk is a local brewery and restaurant that derives its brewing techniques from Trappist monks, its decor from seventeenth century France intertwined with upscale America (but without the accompanying tense feel), and its food from a variety of places that have all ultimately become considered American food. Everything about this place was consistent with my preferences: great food at a fair price, small crowd, unique beer, and conveniently near location. It’s nice when one stop can fulfill all your needs!

I said I wouldn’t mention the job itself that much, but I feel the need to touch on it briefly. I’ve only been in training for a few days but already I couldn’t be more pleased with the program. Everyone is accomodating and eagar to help, the format is organized and thorough, and most importantly I am enjoying the subject matter. Unfortunately I haven’t seen Mayhem yet, but I am confident our paths will cross soon. All things considered I enjoyed my stay and I’m hungry for more travels!

This is a brochure I created for my PR Publications class.

During my internship with the American Cancer Society I was asked to write a midterm review of how I felt about interning with ACS

While serving as Vice President of my fraternity, I was able to write a press release about one of biggest events of the year, Convivium

• Show tune
• Name of the show is introduced
• Topic of the day

Seconds 00.17-00.40

• Jeremy’s ideas on Facebook and how and why he does not have a twitter

00.40-oo.52

• Emily talks about why she likes both Facebook and twitter
• Convince Jeremy to sign up for twitter

00.52-1.14

• Jeremy on why he does not like twitter
• Also he talks of the pros of Facebook

1.14-1.49

• Emily discusses the pros on twitter
• About statuses, tweeting on walls, followers and following

1.49-3.25

• Discussion about celebrities on twitter

3.25-3.40

• Jeremy’s new understanding of twitter, but how facebook is more personal

3.40-4.24

• Twitter pictures vs. facebook pictures

4.25-4.52

• Why Jeremy thinks he will try twitter

4.52-5.12

• Why one should have both twitter and facebook

5.12-5.20

• Closing thoughts

5.20-6.12

• Later show topics
• Foursquare
• PR open mic
• Interview with a PR professional
• Social media monitoring

6.12-6.25

• Closing credits

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.

Another great PR book I read this semester was Full Frontal PR. This presentation includes a narrative of the slides in the order that they appear