A Career in Public Relations

Unfortunately, for us at Career Development it has been a while since Senior Jessica O’Neil posted one of her “A Career in” posts. However, those posts continue to be one of the highlights of ourblog which is why I decided to revive an age old tradition just in time for the holidays.

So, before we get any farther, people always ask regarding the definition of Public Relations. Having taken a course on the subject, it was defined as “Public Relations is a leadership and management function that helps achieve organizational objectives, define philosophy, and facilitate organizational change. PR practioners communicate with all relevant external and internal publics to develop and maintain positive relationships.”

There is also the fact that Public Relation industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the nation. In fact, here are some statistics on how much PR is growing.

• Almost $4.3 billion spent each year in the U.S
• Approximately $3 billion spent each year in Europe
• Approximately $1.8 billion spent by 2010 in China

What sort of work do you do in the Public Relations industry?

“Public relations specialists handle organizational functions such as media, community, consumer, and governmental relations; political campaigns; interest-group representation; conflict mediation; or employee and investor relations. However, public relations is not only telling the organizations story. Understanding the attitudes and concerns of consumers, employees, and various other groups is also a vital part of the job. To improve communications, public relations specialists establish and maintain cooperative relationships with representatives of community, consumer, employee, and public interest groups and those in print and broadcast journalism.” College Grad.com

According to a salary survey conducted for the Public Relations Society of America, the overall median salary in public relations was about $49,100.  However, salaries in the field could range from $22,800 to $141,000. Obviously, that is a large difference but it shows that in this ever growing field there is room to climb up and make more money.

Public Relations is a growing field and it will always need people who are creative, hard-working, ethical, and can be strategic. If you possess those qualities, Public Relations will always be interested in hiring you.

Also, Happy Holidays to everyone out there from Career Development!

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs: 34 Reasons the 22nd Annual Job Fair was a Success

On March 21^st Chestnut Hill College hosted 2012’s 22^nd job fair. The fair was composed of several different types of employers from government jobs like the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support all the way to the neighborhood friendly WAWA. Sorgenti Arena was filled with Chestnut Hill undergraduates as well as many graduate students and members of other colleges.

The job fair was a great chance for students to show off their newly polished resumes and for other students it was a chance to learn what employers were looking for. Job fairs are not exactly meant to get someone a job on the spot, though eventually it may turn into an opportunity, but instead they should be used by students as confidence builders and opportunities to make connections with potential employers or someone that may lead you to employment.

So if you attended the job fair and didn’t walk away with a job don’t be discouraged. In all things you gained some experience and knowledge that will be beneficial in the future. For those that were not able to make it to the job fair do not be alarmed at all the opportunities you missed. Career Development will meet with you on the 3^rd floor of SJH – North Corridor.

If you do not have time to come see us, log into our Blackboard site.  Look under “Jobs-Full-time” of the 22^nd Annual Job Fair Directory which will show you all the employers that came to the job fair!

*This blog post was written by Aaaron Simpson’ 14

Steps to Finding the Perfect Internship

Looking for an internship and have no idea where to start? Fear not, the office of Career Development is here to help! Many undergraduate students are searching for internships not only as a way to gain experience, but also to open the door of opportunity as well as a way to add something special on their resume.  Internships also can be counted towards Career Connections, so you can receive academic credit and fulfill a graduation requirement simultaneously!

The first step on the internship course is to talk with your advisor. It is important to do this so that you can make sure you are on schedule with completing the rest of your courses. Advisors may also have an expanded social network that may include someone in need of an intern! After speaking with your advisor, stop in the Career Development office on the third floor of St. Joe’s and have a chat with Ryan Murphy, Director of Internships. Ryan will be able to go over the requirements and explain how you can have your internship count towards six academic credits. He will also explain the necessary forms that will need to be filled out (you can find them on Blackboard under Career Development in the Internship tab).

Now that you have sought advice from the experts, it is time to do some searching of your own! If your advisor or Ryan did not suggest any specific opportunities to you or you just want to do some exploration of your own, now is the chance! Internships are constantly posted on the Career Development site on Blackboard. In addition to that you can find even more postings on the web, especially sites like Campus Philly (www.campusphilly.com).  Remember to find multiple listings in case one does not work out with your schedule, you will still be able to keep your options open!

Before you make the next step and contact the employer, make sure that you have an up to date and polished resume. Employers will not only look at your GPA, but will also want to see the skills that you can offer them. If your resume could use some revising and sprucing up, stop by Career Development and someone in the office would be happy to help. The staff can also help you with the interview process such as what questions an employer may ask and give you some helpful tips on what is appropriate to wear for the interview.

Remember that Career Development is always there to help along the way. Finding and securing an internship may seem like a tedious task, but it will be completely worth it for your future career!

 

*This blog post was submitted by Jillian Turnbach ’14 – CDA*

Kaplan Grad School Personal Statement Workshop

 William Rieth came in to explain the importance and how to write the personal statement. The personal statement is one of the most important qualitative factors of the grad school application. Many application deadlines for grad schools are around December and January but some have early deadlines for some programs. You should take your applications and tests LSAT, GRE, etc. in the summer between your junior and senior year of college.

Tip #1- Plan ahead! Start working on your applications during the summer.

William then goes into the Admissions factors, he says the first thing they see is your test scores for the GRE, LSAT, etc. and your undergraduate GPA. The next piece of the Admissions factors is the personal statement, application addendum (not a must but it might help if they offer), letters of recommendations, work and extracurricular, and the interviews if offered. The index formula is your application strength and whether they presumably admit, presumably deny, or absolutely deny.

Tip #2- Focus on the things you can control.

He goes on to say that in a survey of admissions persons that the personal statement is extremely important for it shows what the person applying is really like. Moreover, he then goes on to talk about what grad schools are looking for. Three most important things schools are looking for is your passion, a well-rounded student body filled with diversity, and how well you are going to succeed at their school. Some important questions to answer within grad school applications are: Why did you take this path? What is your reason for picking this school? And What is your ultimate goal?

 Tip#3 Develop your theme: what’s your story?

He then goes into detail about what to do and what not to do when writing the personal statement. When writing the personal statement you should not: speak negatively of anyone or anything, recycle your resume (do not just write everything in your resume in paragraph form that’s not what a personal statement is), simply list personal traits, plea for help, pontificate, use cliché, wallow in emotion, or get needlessly fancy. When writing the personal statement you should: tell one or more stories that illustrate you, find a theme that works well (read basic fables, it will help), allow schools to infer your traits and virtues, follow directions, and make it a sales pitch (sell yourself to the school, make them want you to go there).

Tip #4- Being unique means showing your passion.

The most common mistakes made by an applicant are: spelling, grammatical, and other “clerical” errors, being “too cute”, focusing on your weaknesses in the personal statement rather than in a separate addendum, impersonality and lack of self-revelation, and exclusively writing the “why I want to go to this school” essay.

Tip #5- Know your audience (make them remember you).

There are 4 steps to putting your personal statement together. The first step is to brainstorm: reflect on yourself, go back through highlights and lowlights of the past 5 years, look at your academic career, extracurricular activities, paid employment, volunteer work, achieved goals and accomplishments, significant life experiences or moments that signal change or growth, only 10% of your verbs in your personal statement should be future tense, and failure or setbacks that you learned from or overcame.

 Tip #6- Choose your stories carefully. You should choose a story that shows you’re theme, growth and personality.

The second step is to plan: tell stories interestingly, yet professionally, use humor sparingly, try not to, trying audio recording and transcripting, utilizing basic storytelling principles, cherish the reveal, and most importantly- don’t blame, don’t brag, don’t beg, and do not be boring for a single second.

Tip #7- Build your theme. Theme is extremely important when writing your personal statement.

The third step is to actually write: do not “tone up” the prose artificially, start the essay strong, the first word(s) matter, test every sentence, be a little self-deprecating, but be careful with humor, do not stop when you hit the length limit.

Tip #8- Show don’t tell. Do not just state the facts use vivid writing to let them imagine themselves in the story you are telling.

Lastly the fourth step to writing your personal statement is to edit: ask yourself, “How will this sound to schools?” and get qualified feedback-someone who knows how schools think, someone who knows grammar and style better than yourself, and your best friend or someone who knows you really well. Your personal statement is about you so having someone who knows you well read it will be able to tell what you are portraying.

We thank Kaplan so much for all their help. If you have any further questions or concerns please contact William Rieth at William.Reith@kaplan.com or (215)292-1408

 

*This Blog was written by Sara Russell ’13

NAVSUP at Chestnut Hill College

On October 5, 2011 NAVSUP Naval Systems Command – Weapons Support held a meeting at Chestnut Hill looking for people interested in joining their forces.

NAVSUP is a Federal Government job that students can work at while going to school. With NAVSUP’s flexible hours it is very easy for a student that takes classes to work here. They require a student works a minimum of 16hrs. per week and require a 2.0 or above to be on their services. The student program at NAVSUP gives students a real work experience for jobs to come; moreover if a student finishes all of the requirements there is almost a guarantee that a student will have a permanent position at NAVSUP waiting for them after college. NAVSUP explained that working there is always a learning experience, there is a learning center and a career center to use as you see fit. This is a full time job that gives a student the luxury of having health benefits; and with a lot of options to choose from one will find NAVSUP a prestigious organization to be a part of. Positions they are looking to fill are Accountant, Contract Specialist, Logistics Management Specialist, Program Analyst, etc. As a working person at NAVSUP one is almost guaranteed a promotion every year as long as one has the requirements and put in the time. Travel is not a problem either! Although NAVSUP’s base is 45mins. away, it is not hard to get to and NAVSUP reimburses you for using public transportation; a quick train to center city 30th street and a transfer to the R5 will drop you off right in front of the base!

NAVSUP is a place for people who want to learn and grow into well-developed persons; NAVSUP is all about having a good reputation.

So send NAVSUP your resume by October 14th 2011 and get involved in this amazing department.

 

Special thanks to Sara Russell ’14 for submitting this blog/article.

This Week’s Tip!

Each week, Career Development is posting a Tip of the Week on the bulletin board.   I’ve decided to share those tips with the bloggers!

Have you completed your Career Connections requirement yet? Don’t know what to do? Take a look!

Career Connections (FYIN-101: Career Connections) began as an innovative mentor program linking students with successful alumnae/i to learn more about potential professions and careers. It is a non-academic credit required for graduation. The program has expanded to include other career-related opportunities such as internships, part-time positions, and other relevant experiences.

The following options will complete your Career Connections requirements:

• Internship or Co-op: Experiential education opportunity that provide practical, hands-on work experience
• Job Shadow with Alumnae Mentors or other Professionals: Volunteers that offer to host a student for a half or full-day experience to learn about a particular career field
• Part-time Job in your field of interest or related industry
• Road-Trip or Group Site Visit with Career Development
• Informational Interview: A conversation, similar to a job interview, but instead of the employer interviewing you, you get to ask questions of the professional about his/her background, skills, education, and job responsibilities
• Career Success Course: Five week-long sessions (50 minutes in length) with Career Development staff that address interviewing, résumé building, and other career topics
• Attendance at a career-related event (such as, law school panel, information session with employer interaction, etc.)

Unsure if your opportunity would fulfill your Career Connections requirement – come into the Career Development Office (3^rd floor, St. Joseph’s Hall, end of the North Corridor) to speak with someone in the office. All experiences must be approved!

 

 

A Career in Communications!

Hello readers of the “Griffins Go To Work” blog!  I’ve decided to try something new.  Each week, I’ll write one or two entries about a different major/career.  This way, it’ll help you learn more about a specific career and it may help you learn more about your own major or the major of a friend.

This week’s major/career is Communications & Media!

Media & Communication is a multi-billion dollar industry that offers professionals a lot of exciting job opportunities.

Here is a list of career opportunities that Communications and Media majors can dive into!

-Radio, TV, & Sports Announcer

-Broadcast and Sound Engineering Technichians

-Language Interpreters and Translators

-News Analysts, Reporters, and Anchors

-Photography

-Public Relations

-Television, Video, and Motion Picture Camera Operators and Editors

-Writing and Editing

TV, Radio, and Sports Announcers

High school and college students looking at a future in announcing should consider a wide-range of classes in public speaking, English, foreign languages, computers, drama, in addition to maintaining their interests in music and sports or other specialized areas.  Announcers usually start out at a small place and work their way up.  TV and radio announcers perform many responsibilities both on and off the air.  They usually announce all of the important public information including news, time, commercials, and weather. They will even do the necessary writing and research for a certain on-air prompt or discussion. Some do interviews or commentary for certain public events.  Successful announcers are usually popular with certain listeners and may make public appearances to promote special events.

Broadcast and Sound Engineering Technichians

Broadcast, sound, and radio technicians operate all of the primary equipment associated with TV and musical broadcasts, movies, plays and concerts.  Many specialize in a particular field of interest.  Audio and video equipment technicians operate all video and audio equipment.  This includes the use of video monitors, projectors, soundboards, recording equipment, microphones, sound speakers, video screens, and all equipment—including lighting setup—for special events.  Competition is higher in major city areas where stations typically offer higher salaries.  These stations typically hire employees that are skilled in a certain area.

Language Interpreters and Translators

Interpreters and translators make communication possible through language, idea, and concept translation. It is important that they understand the substance of translated material. They should also be considerate to the cultures in which they work with.  Strong memory and research skills are important.  Practical learning experiences for translating can be gained through internships, mentoring programs, company residency work, or any informal work available. Services with greater demand for work are of course the easiest to enter into, such as health/medical and court interpretation.  After gaining experience, interpreters are able to perform assignments with greater pressure or responsibility.

News Analysts, Reporters, and Anchors

News reporters, correspondents, and analysts gather and prepare useful information for local and nationwide audiences.  They inform the public on current events and the actions of public, corporate, and special interest figures.  A bachelor’s degree in communications or journalism is looked favorably upon by employers. They always prefer one to have experience with print or broadcasting in an organization.  Some citywide stations or newspapers may seek individuals with specialty interest in such fields as business, politics, or economics. Popular, big name print and broadcast stations usually only hire experienced journalists.

Photography

Photographers capture images that visualize a story or event.  Both creative and technical skills help them capture quality photographs.  This includes correct lighting procedures, lenses, or subject environments to achieve the desired angle and picture.  Employers want photographers with strong imaginations and technical skills in photography.  Photography  is appealing and therefore jobs will continue to be highly competitive.  Many colleges and institutions have photography programs.  Composition, design, techniques, processes, and equipment are all covered.

Public Relations

Public relations specialists represent organizations, businesses, universities, and other nonprofit associations to the public in order to build positive relations.  Media specialists write press releases which can be used in TV, radio, newspaper, and magazine reports.  Public affairs specialists organize programs that allow the public and an organization to stay connected.  An example of this may be a press conference or an assembly.  Employers recommend having experience, most likely through an internship, and strong interpersonal skills.

Television, Video, and Motion Picture Camera Operators and Editors

Television, motion picture, and video camera operators film images in order to entertain audiences and record an story. Film and video editors edit film, video, and soundtracks for industries. Camera operators will usually edit material themselves.  Candidates for camera operating positions should have great technical and creative skills. Workers gain experience through training offered by many colleges and institutions.  Careers in video, motion picture, and television camera operations are very appealing and therefore there will be high competition. Demands for these positions is typically much higher than what may be offered.  Salary rates are expected to increase as the demand increases.

Writing and Editing

Writers and editors  create their own original material for all different publications, including books, journals, company newsletters, and magazines.  Most writing and editor jobs require a bachelor’s degree in journalism, English, or communications.  Knowledge in areas of business, legal, fashion, or a second language is also much appreciated by employers.  Employment rates are projected to grow along with the average of all occupational rates in the future.   But, writing and editing jobs will continue to maintain high competitiveness due to the job’s high appeal.  The major publishing, broadcasting, and advertising agencies are located in the large cities of Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and Philadelphia.  Newspaper, journal, and trade and technical magazines are found in many other locations as well.

All of my information was received and taken from http://www.careeroverview.com/media-communications-careers.html

So, now you know a little bit more about Communications and what jobs can be offered to those with a Degree in Communications.

Until next time,

Jessica

Career Development SMA

Internship Tips from Ashley Cohen

*Contribution by Senior Ashley Cohen of Chestnut Hill College*

I spend my Wednesday and Thursday afternoons in the career development office doing whatever task is required of me that day. And as I sit at my desk wedged between the closet and a wall, I see my fellow students filter in and out asking primarily about one topic: Internships.

Internships are a great thing to have on your resume- let’s face it, work experience is usually the weakest section of an undergrad resume, unless you plan on making a career out of scooping water ice. If that is the case, you can stop reading, but if you hope to one day have a job outside of babysitting or retail then, please, continue on. Having an internship on your resume can help distinguish you from Joe Graduate, who is applying for the same position, and has the same GPA. An internship which gave you valuable experience in you field can make a potential employer forget all Joe Gradu-whatever and start considering you and pertinent work experience.

So you’re convinced! You want to do an internship! So how do you get an internship? Lucky for all of your readers out there in cyberland I have the information you need (or at least some of it).

First stop for any CHC student seeking an internship is Career Development’s Blackboard site (if you do have you don’t see that when you sign into blackboard stop in to the CD office- 3^rd floor St. Joes). If you scroll down to the tabs on the left one of them reads “Internships.” Click it. That tab contains a wealth of information about due dates and paper work. Also posted there is a list of available internship. Hopefully, you read through the internships posted, found a couple which you are really interested in and want to apply for. Fantastic! However, some of you won’t find anything on that list which tickles your fancy and that’s okay. At the top of the page it is stated that this list is by no means exhaustive, meaning you still have options.

There are several other avenues which one can take to find an internship. They are:

• CampusPhilly.com – This organization had an online internship fair. Alas, it’s over. But do not fret, the internships are still posted. Click HERE to check them out.
• Ask your professors – Many professors hear about positions related to the field. They may also let you list them as a reference if they know the individual looking for an intern.
• Hit the web– Is there an organization that you would love to do an internship with? Check out their website. Maybe they have an internship available which just isn’t posted anywhere you’ve looked. Or maybe you if you contact them, you could give them the idea that an intern could assist them in some projects which they don’t have the resources for currently.

And if all else fails…

• Ask mom and dad – Your mom probably knows everything about everyone in your family. Maybe your Uncle Bob works for a company related to your field of study. Perhaps Uncle Bob can assist you in finding an internship with that company.

Finding internships to apply for is just the beginning. You’ll need a resume, work attire, and to make it through the much dreaded interview and I can give you tips for all those too- but that’s for another post.

How Social Media Can Affect You and Your Career

Ready to find that great job or internship?  Before you do anything, remember this: People can see EVERYTHING and ANYTHING with all of the technology we have these days.  If you don’t want an employer to see things, hide them or change them!

Start with Facebook (or Twitter, or Myspace, or whatever else you are using)

Go through your pictures

Is there a picture of you totally wasted with a beer in your hand?  Is there a picture of you making out with the hottest guy or girl at the biggest party?  Take them off or untag yourself.  You may think it’s the coolest thing ever to be with the hottest people or drink the most beer at the party, but not everyone needs to know about it.  Would you want your boss seeing that?  Make yourself look professional and appropriate.

Take a look at your wall posts, notes, statuses, etc.

“What’s on your mind?” doesn’t mean you need to share every little detail of your life.  If someone puts something on your wall that makes you look bad, like an old text you sent or something ridiculous you said, consider removing that post.  Just because it’s funny doesn’t make it okay for everyone else to see.

Vamp up your info tab

Make sure your activities, latest jobs, interests, etc. are all up to date.  The more exciting and involved you are, the better you’ll look!  BUT, remove things like ‘I like to party’ and ‘Beer is my favorite beverage’.  Like I said before, those facts aren’t going to make you look good.

Secure yourself

Just because it’s cool to have 3,000 Facebook friends, doesn’t make it safe.  Are you sure you really want everyone in your network to be able to see everything about you?  Check out this website that lists the 10 Privacy Settings EVERY Facebook user should be aware of: http://www.allfacebook.com/facebook-privacy-2009-02 And if you really don’t want to change everything on your page, then deactivate yourself while you’re job or internship hunting.

There are also great ways to use the internet for jobs, contacting employers, making resumes, mock interviews, etc.

LinkedIn is an interesting website to use for professionals to connect with current employees, former employers and the people they have met through business.

Youtube is a great place to search the DIY section.  There are plenty of Mock Interviews that can help you improve your interviewing skills and feel more confident.

WordPress is obviously another great place to blog!  Make your own blog; express yourself!  But, keep it clean and professional of course!

So, take a look at your “internet” self and make sure you seem professional and confident! If you like who you are, then you shouldn’t have any problems with employers “creeping” on your page.

Until next time!

-Jessica

Career Development SMA

You can walk the walk, but can you talk the talk?

You may look great in person and on paper, but can you sound great too?

Many employers want to make sure that their employees are able to speak properly.  You should learn what not to say now.

Avoid using words like, “um,” “uh,” “okay”, “you know” or “like” when being interviewed.  Those words make you seem a little unprepared.  Every now and then we all say “um”, but try to keep it an a minimum when in a professional setting.

Try not to make grammatical errors.  Using expressions such as, “ain’t”, “yous”, “me and my mom” (instead of My mom and I), “he don’t” and “I goes to the store”, aren’t going to make your hard-earned education seem plausible.

Make sure to use correct and clear pronunciations.  Avoid saying things like “wit” instead of “with” or “dat” instead of “that”.  Be sure to speak slowly so you are heard clearly and your points are made.

Avoid “Up Talk”.  Try not to bring your intonation up when making sentences.  By bringing your intonation up, your voice can make a sentence sound like a question or exclamation.

Speed talking can also be a problem.  Nervousness is expected, but make sure that your nerves don’t get the best of you.  Pausing isn’t always a horrible thing.  Sometimes an employer, or even yourself, needs the chance to stop and process what is being said before moving on or asking/answering a question.

Show that you are confident! If you say things like, “I hope”, “sort of”, or “maybe”, you don’t sound as confident as you might be on the inside.  Say things like, “I am confident that…” or “My goals are…”.  Let your listener know that you are confident and interested in what you are interviewing for.

You don’t need to take another English class in order to have a successful interview.  Just practice speaking slow and clear, avoid using slang, and be confident! There is nothing wrong with wanting to be the best or try your best! Have faith in yourself!