Meet Alison Belter – Creative, Independent & Compassionate

In our continuing Senior Experience (SX) intern series, PDXSX is highlighting some of the talented young professionals participating in the SX program.  As always, in addition to a professional and personal spotlight, you will be able to download or view a copy of the individual’s resume.

This week, PDXSX is very excited to introduce you to Ms. Alison Belter.  Alison is interning at the Oregon Trail Chapter of the American Red Cross.  Internationally recognized throughout the world, the American Red Cross is a humanitarian organization, led by volunteers, that provides relief to victims of disasters and helps people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies.  The Oregon Trail Chapter provides a variety of community services which are consistent with the Red Cross mission and meet the specific needs of this geographic area.

Professional

Where are you spending your SX internship:

The Oregon Trail Chapter of the American Red Cross.

If applicable: have you had previous internships, if so, where:

• National Psoriasis Foundation – Communication Intern
• Allen Hall Public Relations – Account Executive

What do you like the best about your internship:

The American Red Cross is an international humanitarian organization that provides relief to disaster victims in addition to helping people to prepare, prevent and respond to emergencies. It is nice to work for an organization that is doing good things to help the global community every day. I like that I work in an environment where people value my input and ideas and allow me the creative freedom to explore those ideas.

What do you find most challenging about your internship:

I think the most challenging part of my internship is deciding where to focus the majority of my time and energy. There are so many projects at my fingertips that it’s sometimes hard to prioritize!

What is one piece of advice you might give someone looking to participate in the SX program:

Get involved in as much as you can as soon as you can! There are so many opportunities available on campus to help further your education; unfortunately I didn’t learn about many of them until my junior year. Getting involved with programs such as PRSSA and AHPR is a great way to help build your portfolio and gain real world experience in public relations. It is also a fantastic opportunity to network and make connections with students and professionals who are full of valuable information on topics ranging from what you can expect upon entering the job market to what you should be doing now to help set you apart from the pack.

What is something new you have learned as a result of your SX internship:

Although I’ve been trained to develop public relations content in a certain academic way, there really isn’t a cut and dry way to present information. As long as your message is consistent, relevant, important and timely to the audience you are trying to reach; there is more than one way to write effectively.

How do you think your internship has better prepared you to enter the professional world:

My internship at the Red Cross has allowed me to explore the non-profit world more in-depth and have a better understanding of how social media can aid an organization in building and maintaining relationships with members of its current and potential support base.

What is one thing you wish you would have known before starting your SX internship:

I wish I would have known that you should always have a Plan B. The real world is a roller coaster and it’s inevitable that things you had counted on happening will occasionally fall through. One should always be prepared and have an alternate plan in place so you don’t waste time figuring out how to react.

How do you believe social media has or will change your industry:

Social media has made it possible for you to ask the world a question and receive an answer. Before social media, there was no way that we could maintain and build deeper relationships with hundreds (in some cases thousands or millions) of people. In terms of public relations, it has changed the industry from primarily a one-way form of communication to two-way. Instead of just talking at our audience, we can now communicate more effectively and quickly to better understand their wants and needs.

For the rest of Alison’s interview and to view her resume or portfolio, please click here.

Turn Your Credit Card Predator into Prey

What if we said no matter what career you chose you after college, you could be debt free and have a million dollars in the bank when you retired?  You could potentially have even more but you would need to start today and it will cost you a little something each month?  But before we chat with you on how to become a millionaire, even with a liberal arts degree, we want you to think about something you MUST take care of as quickly as possible.

The elimination of all college-accrued credit card debt.

After asking Ms. Tess Vigeland, the host from American Public Media’s Marketplace Money to speak with one of our courses this week, our interest was piqued when she discussed some of the financial challenges almost all recent college graduates face.

We’re less interested in student loan debt, although arguably it’s the largest single debt a graduate has, of which the interest is tax deductible and maintains exceedingly low rates; we’re more interested in credit card debt, for which interest is not (nor should be) tax deductible and has usurious rates.

In an April 2009 study by Sallie Mae, (via USA Today) the average undergraduate carried $3,173 in credit card debt last year, the highest level since Sallie Mae began collecting this data in 1998. In 2004, the last time this study was done, students carried an average of $2,169 in card debt.  A staggering increase of 46.2% in five (5) years.  If the current trend remains the same for the next five (5) years, the average undergraduate credit card debt will be: $4,638.

Of all grade levels, Seniors had the highest credit card debt with in average of $4,138.  Most likely Seniors face the highest debt because they have had four, five or even six years to practice and hone their arrears building skills.

Well, a bit more than $4,000 doesn’t sound like that much money, right?  Don’t be a sucker.

So PDXSX did a little research and found a nifty online minimum interest payment calculator and used the $4,138 average figure to see what it really meant.

We assumed the following conservative but catholic figures for the analysis (your mileage may vary):

• Annual interest rate:  15%
• Minimum payment percent:  2%
• Minimum payment:  $10

Here is what we found out:

Given minimum payments, it would take you 30 years (a total of 360 monthly payments) to pay off that $4,138.  Wow.  That would put most of you in your mid-50s before you paid off your debt.  But that isn’t the scary part. BTW, 360 payments is the standard number for a home mortgage, and it has nifty tax-benefits, which yours does not.

The scary part is over those 30 years; you will have paid an additional $6,353 in interest – 53.5% more than your original principal.  In other words, you would have paid more than $6,000 for the privilege of being allowed to accumulate slightly more than $4,000 in debt while living up your early-twenties.

You should also keep in mind that a credit card company would like nothing better than for you to make only the minimum payments.  They aren’t your friends.  They don’t even have their own friends.  They might not even have mothers.

“But wait!” you scream at your monitor.  “When I get a job I’m going to pay more than the minimum, no one is that crazy!”

You’re right, only people in Gresham not many people would be that crazy.  So we recalculated the payments using $100 for our minimum payment.  It would still take you 59 monthly payments (4.9 years) to pay off your debt.

No watch us as we really blow your mind.

If you had that $4,138 in cash and decided to invest in into an account that paid 8% interest over the course of 10 years (Nov. 2019) rather than that bouncin’ annual houseboat party on Lake Shasta, a bitchin’ Apple computer or your inflexible tri-weekly beer-pong match at the bar, it would be worth $8,933 – more than double your original debt and a nice down payment for your first home.

If, by some incredible means, you were able to get 10% interest (the average for the stock market) over 10 years, it would be worth $10,732.

Just for the sake of argument, if you had invested that original sum at 8% per year for the next 30 years, it would be worth $41,639.  That is a lot of cheddar.

Yes, we know these are all hypothetical situations and you want to spend your money now, when you can fully appreciate it while inebriated, but with a little self-control, financial acumen and the ability to just say “no” to a purchase – you’ll have a much better financial constitution when you finally pick up your diploma.

Is there an answer?

No.  There is no good answer for undergraduates who accrue debt while in school.  You know how we know?  Because we’ve freakin’ been there!

One culprit is the predatory credit card lender; the other is the American social construction that all people need to must live beyond their means.  Many parents today aren’t very good role models either because they already fell into the debt spiral years ago.

College students are one of the most susceptible populations to this scam because your self-perception is you are poor and you have “wants.” Card companies know this.  They learned all too well from the cigarette manufacturers that you need to “hook them young” and you have them forever.

Poor is just a mindset.  Just like when Neo didn’t believe he was The One in the Matrix, until he changed his frame of mind.

GenY is going to realize just as GenX did, there is a difference between knowing the path, and walking the path.

There is, however, a good solution to paying off your debt in a timely fashion.  It’s called the debt snowball.

The personal finance blogs and books all suggested the same approach:

1. Order your debts from highest interest rate to lowest interest rate.
2. Designate a certain amount of money to pay toward debts each month.
3. Pay the minimum payment on all debts except the one with the highest interest rate.
4. Throw every other penny at the debt with the highest interest rate.
5. When that debt is gone, do not alter the monthly amount used to pay debts, but throw all you can at the debt with the next-highest interest rate.

Here are three personal finance blogs we highly, highly recommend you to follow:

• Get Rich Slowly
• The Simple Dollar
• Five Cent Nickel

And, as we mentioned before, because if you are reading this the odds are you are probably liberal arts majors and not accountants, we fully endorse Mint, as the personal finance program of choice for all people who’d like a little financial help and insight.

The Lesson here?  Be like Neo, when you see that new kickass Apple MacBook for $1,600 in the bookstore, just say “Whoa” and jack yourself into a new mindset of buying what you need rather than want.

We’ll see you next week when we tell you exactly how to have $1 million dollars in your retirement account by age 62.  No tricks.  No bullshit.  Just self-discipline.

Hiyaaa!

Managing a Monster

It will come to pass, as it always has and forever will, that someday, in some place, you will find yourself at the mercy of a terrible problem.

This is an issue of such magnitude that it can completely change the professional path you so carefully cut from the swath of dense forest undergrowth in your mind’s eye years ago.

Be fairly warned, this is a monster who can cripple your functionality, destroy your self-confidence and even wreck havoc with your personal relationships outside of the workplace.

Unfortunately, while this problem is unavoidable it can be managed and, in some cases, mitigated – but it cannot be cured.  This is a terminal disease.

You see there is no antiviral remedy for the Bad Boss.

There is no chemotherapy for a malignant manager.

And no matter how much sleep and chicken noodle soup you get over the weekend, the professional malaise will continue on Monday.  You’ll know you are in real trouble when the ticking sound from the 60 Minutes commercial-break clock fills you with dread and misery as a symbol of the impending workweek ahead.

You can, however, learn to recognize the signs of this illness early reduce the likelihood of a more severe situation with a little professional surgery.

Case in point, we once had a boss who was so malevolent and made our lives so miserable, that each morning in the shower we would literally (yes, literally, not figuratively), heave until bile was the only thing being produced.  It was a terrible situation and a career low-point.  But, because we were fortunate enough to have an understanding spouse and good mentors, we got out of the situation, persevered and learned from it.

To borrow a distorted quote from Tolstoy via authors Katherine Crowley & Kathi Elster’s book, Working for You Isn’t Working for Me: “Good bosses are all alike.  They are good mentors; they care about your happiness and advancement; their interests seem aligned with your own.”

In fact, we’ve found, after more than a decade in the professional arena, a Good Boss is directly correlated to a job you love (and inversely proportional to how badly you need a job).  While bad days in the office will always be unavoidable, a Good Boss can help encourage, praise and challenge you into a positive and productive day.

Remember, ultimately management is always about manipulation, but there effective and considerate ways to manipulate people and there are poor and ineffective ways to manipulate people.  Personally, we’d rather be manipulated by praise, encouragement and challenges rather than fear, ridicule or embarrassment.

Bad Bosses, according to the authors, are like a hellishly twisted pint of Ben & Jerry’s, they come in all sorts of varieties; and not the tasty ones like Chunky Monkey or Chubby Hubby either, they come in Bitter Witch, Reckless Ridicule and Hate Maker (now with 12% more loathing).

The authors assert there is great diversity among Bad Bosses.  There is the “checked out” boss, the “rule changer,” the “underminer,” and “the chronic critic.”  There is also another variety of boss the authors don’t discuss, but should be on your radar, “the douche” – think Michael Scott from The Office.

First of all, you should know, it’s almost impossible to beat a Bad Boss at their own game.  You won’t be able to out-snark them and it’s unlikely to can trick them into quitting on their own.

Unfortunately, there is no way for you “turn them” into a Good Boss.  This isn’t Star Wars; you aren’t Yoda and the Bad Boss doesn’t have any good left in them for you to ferret out (hopefully, they aren’t also your father).

As we mentioned before, there is no cure for any of these types of bosses, but there are ways to manage them:

• Ask yourself, is my boss really a Bad Boss or am I just ill suited for this type of work?  It takes most of us a few attempts to figure out the “right” career.
• Work hard every day and continue to always try to do the best to your ability.
• Tactfully share your experiences with a colleague or another manager who might be able to offer you some insight or advice.
• Are there other teams or projects you might be able to work on?  Is there an opportunity for you to avoid your Bad Bass but still keep your paycheck?
• Build your professional skills and make yourself more attractive to other employers.  Use LinkedIn, polish your resume, find a career consultant, etc.
• Network with other professionals and get involved with organizations or consider working with a non-profit organization.
• Get physical exercise, spend time with a mentor, or contribute to a cause you really believe in.
• Write to us here at PDXSX, we’d be happy to give you some insight or advice that might apply to your specific situation.

But if you feel the situation has become a chronic illness, often manifested with a stomachache whenever your thoughts drift to work, it’s pretty obvious this relationship is causing more harm than it is worth.  No amount of money is a worthwhile exchange for your health or soul.

Of course, since we don’t live in North Korea, as an employee, you always have the nuclear option: resign from your position and hit the bricks.  Here is the classic format for a tactful resignation.

Just remember, when you land that next interview, this time, make sure to spend as much time interviewing your new potential boss, as they will spend interviewing you.  Here are some questions to consider: clicky-clicky.

TTFN!

Meet Brooke Burris – Taste the Talent!

In our continuing Senior Experience (SX) intern series, PDXSX is highlighting some of the talented young professionals participating in the SX program.  As always, in addition to a professional and personal spotlight, you will be able to download or view a copy of the individual’s resume.

This week, PDXSX is stoked to introduce you to Ms. Brooke Burris.  Brooke is interning at Ziba Design, an internationally recognized design consultancy that helps companies create meaningful ideas, brands, designs and experiences that consumers crave.

Interesting fact:  Brooke loves to travel the world and is a self-described foodie with a passion for trying new culinary delights and details her epicurean insight and recipes at: Absorb the Good Life.

Professional

Where are you spending your SX internship:

Ziba Design as the Marketing Communication intern.

If applicable: have you had previous internships, if so, where:

Eugene 2008 Olympic Track and Field Trials

What do you like the best about your internship:

The creative energy and being excited about what the company is doing. I love coming into work everyday and learning more about the awesome projects Ziba is working on.

What do you find most challenging about your internship:

It challenges me working with such a high level of creative professionals and interacting with many different decision methods. It’s a great reminder of how different people can think through decisions to come to the same conclusion and I have enjoyed being witness to that.

What is one piece of advice you might give someone looking to participate in the SX program:

Just jump in!

What is something new you have learned as a result of your SX internship:

There are so many professional options out there in the world for recent graduates and young professionals if you can think outside of the box.

How do you think your internship has better prepared you to enter the professional world:

My internship has prepared me immensely simply by allowing me to be in a professional environment with 100 other employees who all have 100 different perspectives and ways of thinking that are so vastly different than my own. So patience, tolerance, and understanding has been a huge lesson in the professional world and life in general.

What is one thing you wish you would have known before starting your SX internship:

I wish I had researched different parking and transportation options in Portland. So far my mistakes have cost me, but I’m learning what is the best fit for me!

How do you believe social media has or will change your industry:

It is going to become more dominant as younger generations grow. We have already been witness to the impact of Twitter and Facebook, leveraging those options are almost a requirement these days if you want to run an effective campaign.

For the rest of Brooke’s interview and to view her resume and portfolio, please click here.

Worry Less About the Salary Cheese and More About the Compensation Quiche

We got a lot of email after our most recent post discussing realistic salaries and GenY expectations of what they are worth right out of school.  Yes, some of it was critical, but most of it came in the form of an email just saying, “Hey, thanks for the information, now I have a starting point!”

Most of all however, the feedback got us thinking about perspective.

There is a significant difference between a salary (cheese) and the total compensation one receives from their employer (quiche).

Some of our more epicurean readers will certainly know that a good basic quiche is made from eggs, cheese, cream and a piecrust (my Mother-in-law’s crust is spectacular, BTW).

The best quiches, of course, also have bacon and leeks, but we digress.

Likewise a good compensation package will be built from several variables that you should be aware of and knowledgeable about.

Obviously, like the eggs, your annual salary is a significant part of your compensation quiche.  We’re going to continue to utilize our earlier established (and arguably generous) starting salary of: $28,500.

The next thing you should consider is the health package.  Most insurance actuaries will tell you that from age 22-35 you are in the “lowest risk” pool for injury, significant illness or accident.  This is certainly a good position to be in, but it is far better to have health insurance and not use it than to need health insurance and not have it available.

Even if your organization doesn’t have a health insurance plan, you should consider purchasing your own personal “catastrophic” insurance, in case of an emergency – it’ll run you around $100 month.

If your employer pays for all of your health insurance premiums, you are sitting pretty.  A top-tier “Cadillac” health plan might run your organization nearly $800/month (per employee).  A realistic number for the cost an organization-sponsored health plan is $500/month and it will cover any major events that might happen in your life.  Some even cover some alternative care plans like massage or acupuncture.

The next ingredient in your compensation quiche would be vacation.  Vacation is like the cream in the recipe (a nice silky binder that adds flavor).  Some employees indicate, and research supports, that vacation time is more valuable than salary.  This means some employees are willing to take less money for more vacation time.

The industry standard for paid vacation time is one-week (1) per year for the first few years.  By five or more years you should be getting about three-weeks per year.  But again this is all over the place depending on the organization and you should be certain to ask about this when you receive a job offer.

As we live in uncertain financial times, you should pay particular attention to your organization’s retirement plan.  Do they offer an IRA, a RothIRA, 401(k) or 403(b) retirement plan?  Will they match a portion of your salary (usually up to 6%) into that retirement plan on your behalf? If they do, you should jump on it, since that represents an unrealized 6% raise in your salary without ever doing anything!  Some organizations, however, leave retirement entirely up to you.

Bottom line here: Start saving for retirement early while you have time on your side.  Get used to putting away some money every month and it won’t be such a shock to you when you realize how imperative this is.

Finally, you should ask about sick leave.  There are a couple of different scenarios.  Some organizations allow you to accrue “sick” hours on a monthly basis.  Usually, this is right about 7 hours per month.  Why don’t they just give you one-day (8hrs) per month?  We don’t know.

The other way is for you to accrue sick time and vacation time on a PTO basis.

Essentially, with a PTO system the organization doesn’t differentiate between sick days and vacation days.  You to collect time on a monthly basis to use as you see fit.  The downside of this program for an employee is there is no incentive for you to stay home when you are ill, otherwise you’ll lose potential vacation time. The upside from the employer perspective is they get to step out of the vacation/sick tracking business and say, “Here, you have 40 hours of PTO, decide how you’d like to use it.”

Some of the spices you might like to add to your compensation quiche include things like a monthly bus pass (worth $825/year), a parking pass (worth $1,500/year), continuing education funds (worth $1,000/year) or some organizations give one (1) day per quarter for a charitable good (work at your child’s school, spend the day at Loaves & Fishes, volunteer to read to an older adult).  And who knows how much karma is worth?!

Well what does this all mean to you?  Let’s break down the numbers by how you are really compensated.

• Salary:           $28,500
• Health:          $6,000
• Vacation:       $1,000*
• Retirement:   $2,000
• Bus Pass:        $825

• Total Package:  $38,325

See, when you take a moment to look at the entire financial package, instead of just the money, you have a far better picture of your total compensation.

Now go have yourself a nice slice of bacon and leek quiche and try looking at your compensation with a different perspective.

*Yes, we know vacation is generally already “paid for” via salary, but we personally believe it’s worth $1,000.  Feel free to adjust your own numbers as to how you see fit.

Why A Wandering Mind Might Be the Key to Your Success

You might space out while reading this post.  Don’t sweat it; I won’t be affronted.  You’re probably a GenYer, more accustomed to visual stimuli and instantaneous information transfer.  At PDXSX, we’re GenXers; a little older, a little more patient and tend to have a slightly different outlook on professional life.

Side note: We (Xers) also tend to enjoy Rubik’s Cubes, rock to Pearl Jam’s Yellow Ledbetter, love Gary Gygax and think Ender’s Game might actually be a better book than Dune.  Wait, what are we saying!?  Dune is by far the greatest science-fiction book ever written.  Period.

As you may already know, the professional culture we (all of us) are a part of today emphasizes a razor-sharp ability focus at the task at hand and not on what we enjoy.  In fact, according to many reputable sources, a daydreaming worker is the antithesis of the ideal candidate.  Hiring a daydreamer is like laying off three good performers, is what some say.

However, according to a study by Michael Kane from the University if North Carolina (2007), via Wired Magazine (November 2009), “found that our minds drift away from our tasks fully one-third (33%) of the time.  And this suggests that daydreaming can actually be useful – because if it were such a bad thing, it’s unlikely that we’d [evolve] to do it so often.”

One-third!  In a typical workday that’s about 2.75 hours!

This probably explains why some of our most important cognitive moments occur in a long walk, the middle of a shower or when your spoon is halfway between your mouth and that questionable bowl of soggy Count Chocula.

But what if spacing out at work can actually help your performance?  Remember, a career is about the journey, not the destination. And as the bumper sticker says, “not all who wander are lost.”

Recent brain scans also indicate that allowing one’s mind to wander utilizes the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain devoted exclusively to problem-solving.  According to Jonathan Schooler, a professor of psychology at UC Santa Barbara (also via Wired Magazine), your unfocused mind is likely involved in “deep creative work.”

This is good because creativity (and your prefrontal cortex) is of considerable importance to organizations and clients who are working with those professionals (read: you) in allied communication fields.

Clicky-Clicky to Embiggin

For example, in a rarely seen and difficult to obtain film titled: Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back, had Admiral Ozzel (a by-the-manual type of officer, with little imagination, no creativity and even fewer friends) been allowed a little time to let his mind wander, he might have come to the obvious conclusion that bringing the entire Imperial Fleet out of hyperspace as close to the Hoth System as he did, would result in alerting the Rebels to the Imperial presence and therefore allow them enough time to erect a protective energy shield over Echo Base, preventing any Imperial bombardment.

This uncreative and inept fiasco resulted in a costly and time-consuming ground invasion using AT-ATs, AT-STs and Snow Troopers, thus allowing many of the Rebel leaders the necessary time to evacuate the frozen world.

[Interesting tangential note: Actor Michael Sheard, who played Ozzel in Empire, also played Hitler in a brief scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade] W00t!

Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and think creatively.  Take a walk and cogitate about how you can add additional creative value to your client.  The next time you apply a loofah in the shower, really consider how you can support your account team creatively.  And when that saccharine-sweet, vampire-endorsed chocolate gob goes from bowl to mouth, think about where you really, really want to be in five (5) years…and how you can get there.

A lot of individuals go to work every day, they click off tedious tasks from their Outlook to-do list with great relish and consider themselves successful when they strike a line through the last chore before 5:30PM.  But people who go to work, add value and think creatively and don’t sweat the tiny individual tasks, but rather, the bigger picture, are the ones who are the most successful.

Besides, as Bruce Springsteen serenades, “The highway is already jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive.”

So, the next time you are rushing to fulfill your professional client requirements in those oh-so-precious fifteen-minute billable increments, allow your mind to wander a bit.

Think about it…let your mind wander and remember the remarkable lesson of Admiral Ozzel.  While failing to think creatively at work might not get the life telekinetically choked out of you, it may get you kinetically fired.

Just don’t make a habit out of spacing out all day long; you still have a job to do.

TTFN,

Meet Anna Osgoodby – Motivated, Feisty & Fantastic!

In our continuing intern focus series, PDXSX is highlighting some of the talented young professionals participating in the SX program.  As always, in addition to a professional and personal spotlight, you will be able to download or view a copy of the individual’s resume.

This week, PDXSX is über-excited to feature Ms. Anna Osgoodby.  Anna is interning at Media Maison, a lifestyle PR agency, as well as helping Tristan Waddington lead the internal academic Turnbull PR team who are getting ready to execute (on November 11th) a powerful non-profit social media campaign for Literary Art’s Give!Guide (a campaign to raise awareness and charitable giving by young adults 18-35) in Portland.

Interesting fact: Anna was so eager to maximize her education, that during high school she also dual-enrolled in the local community college so she was able to graduate high school with her diploma AND her Associate’s Degree before she ever attended Oregon!

Upping the WOW! figure even more, Anna does all of this and still manages to hold down a part-time job at Safeway.  Now that IS fantastic!

Professional

Where are you spending your SX internship:

Media Maison

If applicable: have you had previous internships, if so, where:

• Prefontaine Classic – Media Intern
• Salescoop - Online Community Manager
• UO Alumni Association – Homecoming and Family Weekend Marketing Director
• Oregon Daily Emerald – Advertising Account Executive

What do you like the best about your internship:

Media Maison is a lifestyle public relations agency and we manage accounts ranging from celebrity dentists, restaurants and bars to fashion and luxury brands. One thing that has been really cool is managing sample lists for some of our clients. We have a large celebrity contact base so it’s been crazy to see some of the names that we are working with.

What do you find most challenging about your internship:

One thing that has been challenging for me in my internship is that most of my work is done through tele-commuting. I work directly under one of our account executives and am in close contact with her, but it can sometime be difficult not working together in a physical office.

What is one piece of advice you might give someone looking to participate in the SX program:

Get involved in as many activities on campus as you can! There are so many opportunities on campus that many students don’t take advantage of. The skills you learn in class will help you in your career but why not advance your skills by trying them out in the real world and earn some portfolio work? Guest lectures, and workshops are incredible too! I’ve been to so many resume workshops I’ve lost count, but every speaker has a unique perspective that you can learn from. Plus, being involved in multiple activities pushes you to be developing your time management skills, which are essential! It’s not a matter of do you have time or not, but rather if you will make time for it.

What is something new you have learned as a result of your SX internship:

The true pace of public relations. We’ve all heard that public relations is fast paced and you are managing multiple projects at the same time, but it’s totally different to experience it! I’m working on assignments for three of our accounts and it’s a lot of work to keep track of what is going on with each. Plus, I get handed tasks that needed to be done yesterday so it keeps you busy and your mind sharp!

How do you think your internship has better prepared you to enter the professional world:

I’ve almost been with my internship a month now and I am amazed by how much I have learned already! The great thing about my current internship is the owner has given me direct access to our clients. I’ve already managed guest lists for events, written and sent out press releases, pitched media, created media lists, business development, sat in on client meetings, and managed our social media.

What is one thing you wish you would have known before starting your SX internship:

This might sound funny, but techniques on pitching media. In classes I learned how to make messages stickier but less on how to actually go about it.

How do you believe social media has or will change your industry:

Social media has given companies a voice and the chance to express their personalities. If used correctly you can gain trust and strengthen relationships with your consumers on a personal basis rather than other traditional informal approaches.

For the rest of Anna’s interview and to view her stellar resume, please click here.

Dress For the Job You Want, Not the Job You Have

One of the nicer things about GenY and college students, in general, is they are pretty casual and laid back.  They don’t get too worked up about some of the things that vex older professionals and parents.  This also works well in Portland, where you can lose count of the number of Keep Portland Weird bumper stickers on your way to work.  We’ve seen people with so many tattoos that natural skin color has started to look like a self-modification.

It’s cool.  It’s one of the reasons the Pacific Northwest is one of the most desirable places to live these days.

Even for a self-described Microbrew Capital of America and location of the largest summer beer festival in the US, the beer of choice for a substantial number of young employees is not Widmer, but remains Pabst Blue Ribbon – the beer of the common, blue-collar, union-supporting worker.

We do things a little differently out here.

There are some things, however, that living Portland just can’t transcend – one that many of my colleagues have noted about the young professionals we are hiring today.  That is to say, some of the younger professionals (generally almost always young men) in allied communication fields just don’t grasp the concept of attire – and understandably so.  Attire is one of those things you just don’t notice until someone pulls you aside or you feel strangely out of place.

Let’s face it; professional attire is expensive – especially for ladies

Many young people have spent a significant amount of time acquiring attire that reflects their distinct personality, anti-mainstream tendencies and complete rejection of parental values.  Again, this is understandable.  Baggy jeans and loose sweatshirts ARE comfortable. They are as close to a Snuggie as you can get without actually having a blanket with sleeves.  Running around the house in a pair of boxers and your girlfriend’s Uggs, a la Tom Cruise in Risky Business is a blast!  We feel you.  Just don’t show up to work on a Wednesday dressed like that.

In the professional workplace, however, you ARE being judged on your appearance from the moment to set foot in your agency or a client’s boardroom.  Fair or unfair, your status in the workplace is impacted by your choice in couture.  Unfortunately, in order to dress the way you would like everyday, you’ll need to bring in millions of dollars in new account dollars per year.  Sadly this role is already filled by what is called “the boss.”

Here is the realistic cost of getting a wardrobe …about a grand …maybe more.

It will run you close to $1,000 to get your professional wardrobe really started.

If you are an account coordinator, take a gander at what the senior account executive is wearing.  Try to emulate him or her.  Humans are very visual creatures.  People are judging you and if your LOOK like a senior account executive people will start to believe that you ARE a senior account executive.

Guys, here is the breakdown: You’ll need to get started with three professional slacks (brown, tan and black), two pairs of high-end shoes (brown/black) and a week’s worth of business appropriate shirts (has collars and can be worn with a tie when needed).  Hit the Nordstrom Half-Yearly Sale and take a fashion conscious lady-friend with you.

Trust us here.  Take someone with you (a woman, a fashionable gay man or your Mom) to approve your selections.  If you are really, really clever (and not with your Mom) you can turn this event into a fantastic date opportunity.  Think about it.

The good news is you don’t have to drop all that cheddar in one trip.  Build your wardrobe over the course of your first year.  If you buy good quality clothing, it will last and serve you well for eons.  In addition, utilize a dry cleaner.  Polish your shoes regularly.  Consider having your eyebrows waxed monthly.  Dress above your station.

It is far better to be overdressed than under-dressed.  Some organizations (arguably very rare) will even offer a loan or a salary draw for clothing.

So, as you approach graduation and entry into the professional world, instead of asking for cash, concert tickets or a three-week trip to Australia, ask for gift cards to Men’s Wearhouse or Nordstrom Rack.  Put together a week’s worth of professional clothes that can be interchanged or recombined for even more options.

Here is a simple PDF document of professional dress guidelines for you to reference, put together by the University of San Francisco – Career Services Center.  Take a look at it.

Oh, never, ever, EVER, wear white cotton socks with your dress slacks (or with Birkenstocks).

L8r!

It’s Not About You, It’s About Confidence and Control

Okay, last week we chatted a little bit about what an entry-level employee is actually worth in the open job market.  And while we got a few negative emails about the topic letting us know they were worth far more than the market says or their Mom’s don’t like our blog, a majority of the email that came in just said: “Hey thanks, I really had no idea what was a good starting point, but now I do!”

We’re glad to help out.

First, you should also know that over the weekend all of us on Earth were within a faction of losing everything we hold dear when asteroid 2009 TM8 passed a measly 216,000 miles from us.  While that sounds like a lot of distance, for your reference, the asteroid passed INSIDE the Moon’s orbit.

What else should you know?  You should know, according to The Daily Beast, Portland, Oregon ranks #11 nationally in best places to meet men.  Can we get a “Woot! Woot!” from all the single ladies?!

Unfortunately, our dirty stepsister, Seattle, came in #3.  Weaksauce!

So what do either of these facts really mean to you?  They mean don’t take life so seriously.

People get so stressed out about things they can’t control.

Asteroids will come and go; you can’t stop them and there is no point worrying about them.

Ladies, men will come and go; there is no point in trying to find a job in an “ideal” city on the hopes of locating a perfect mate – even if The Daily Beast likes us.

This all comes to my point about starting salaries and the marketplace.  You can’t control either of them so don’t stress about it.  You can’t eat “what-ifs” and you can’t find shelter under “should bes.”

However, you CAN control a job interview from the beginning to the end.  You CAN drive the conversation exactly where you want to go.  You CAN impress someone enough with your intelligence and candor to command a better salary than you otherwise deserve.  So lets take a moment to reflect on those areas you can dominate.

For an earlier discussion on five (5) great interview questions, please drive your mouse here: clicky-clicky.

According to Glassdoor.com’s Rusty Rueff, there are five (5) great areas you can directly influence:

1. Confidence
2. Highlights
3. Conversation
4. Priming
5. Politics

When you have the opportunity to influence the interview, you have the opportunity for that interview to conclude the way you want.  One of the most important aspects you can control is your own confidence – even when you are in a situation where normal social protocols dictate that you should feel very awkward.

Take for example the interviewer who forgets to print/bring your resume to the interview.  It happens all the time and it is never a good sign.  You might have an extra copy on hand (which you ALWAYS should), but you should feel confident enough to discuss your professional history without the document in front of you.  (You: 1; Interviewer: 0)

While verbally and non-verbally illustrating your confidence, you should keep in mind your top three or four career highlights.  In many cases interviewees will have a little anecdote queued up in their heads where they were able to overcome adversity and succeed in the fact of failure.  You should create one of these narrative stories too. (You: 2; Interviewer: 0)

Remember your interview should be a conversation, not a soliloquy on your part.  No one is interested in a 2-minute answer taking 12-minutes.  Answer the question fully, but don’t keep on talking because you think you can.  If an interviewer looks bored, it’s because they are.  (You: 2; Interviewer: 1)

You can also prime the interviewer to ask a follow-up question, one that you are very comfortable answering by carefully leaving out certain parts of an answer.  In fact, Glassdoor gives a great example of this:

Leave an answer dangling with something that will likely spur another question you want asked, for example: “And not only was I able to achieve what I just outlined for you, I was also asked by the President of the company to lead a special project on his behalf which utilized a whole different set of skills and capabilities for me…” What is the logical next question you are about to be asked? “What are those skills and capabilities that you learned you now have?”

The interviewer just walked down the path you wanted. (You: 3; Interviewer: 1)

Finally, learn from the best con-men confidence people out there: politicians.

You probably remember the 2008 Presidential election. At least you should.  If not, I seriously question your ability to consume and digest information.

You might have noticed both McCain and Obama were very skilled at hearing a question, repeating the question and then giving the answer they wanted, not the answer to the question that was asked.  While everyone knows this pattern is exceedingly irritating, as Glassdoor points out: it works.  If you don’t have a great answer, all you have to do is construct an answer that makes a good point without being too tangential. (You: 4; Interviewer: 1)

Show the interviewer you confidence and control in conversation and you’ll be several steps ahead of the next person who is also vying for the role.

Yes, there is always a next person interviewing for the role…

…And they want less money.

Meet Tristan Waddington – Redefining Geek into Tech Chic

In our continuing intern focus series, PDXSX is highlighting some of the talented young professionals participating in the SX program.  As always, in addition to a professional and personal spotlight, you will be able to download a copy of the individual’s resume.

This week, PDXSX is very pleased to feature Mr. Tristan Waddington.  Not only is Tristan interning at Waggener Edstrom, but he is also leading his internal academic Turnbull PR team who are in the midst building a powerful non-profit social media campaign for Literary Art’s Give!Guide (a campaign to raise awareness and charitable giving by young adults 18-35) in Portland.

Professional

Where are you spending your SX internship:

Waggener Edstrom

If applicable: have you had previous internships, if so, where:

I haven’t had any previous internships, but for the past two years I did work as a student employee in the marketing office at the University of Oregon’s Erb Memorial Union

What do you like the best about your internship:

My favorite thing about interning at Waggener has been all the amazing people I’ve been able to meet. Everyone treats me as an equal and not just another intern. My opinions are valued and I’m treated just like another member of the team. I’m given every opportunity to explore the firm and to meet as many different people as I like.

What do you find most challenging about your internship:

I think the most challenging part about my internship is not having enough time in the day. There are so many opportunities at Waggener that it is difficult deciding what I want to spend my time on. At this point, I think figuring out what I don’t want to do is just as valuable as understanding what I do want to do.

What is one piece of advice you might give someone looking to participate in the SX program:

I think the best advice I can give to a potential Senior Experience participant would be to just relax, act professionally and understand that industry veterans have just as much to learn from you as you do from them.

What is something new you have learned as a result of your SX internship:

Working at Waggener has proven to me how valuable every single member of a public relations firm is. Everyone from operations, to accounting, to client relations plays a pivotal role in the ability of the firm to operate smoothly.

How do you think your internship has better prepared you to enter the professional world:

My internship at Waggener has introduced me to life in a real public relations firm, an invaluable experience that has made me much more prepared to enter the professional world.

What is one thing you wish you would have known before starting your SX internship:

I wish I had known more about client relations and campaign strategies. I feel like I’ve learned so much in just the few weeks since I’ve started, but it would have been nice to come in a little more prepared in these areas.

How do you believe social media has or will change your industry:

Social media has already changed our industry immensely. Like the invention of the telephone revolutionized communications, so did email and the Internet. Now, social media has evolved electronic communication to a whole new level. Well many rules remain the same, social media is just a tool after all, strategies must evolve to take advantage of the new opportunities social media provides. One of the greatest challenges has always been coaxing relevant information from the larger conversation and social media has only made this problem more complex.

For the rest of Tristan’s interview and to view his resume, please click here.