Archive for March, 2008
Sunday, March 30th, 2008
[display_podcast]Christopher S. Penn has been paving the way for companies in new media since he started the award winning
Financial Aid Podcast for the
Student Loan Network and co-founded
Podcamp, the new media community unconference, with
Chris Brogan. He blogs at
christopherspenn.com,
twitters regularly (great stuff, I might add – a good follow) and co-hosts a fantastic weekly podcast with
John Wall called
Marketing Over Coffee (which I have recommended in the past).
Show Notes
- Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail, summed it up when he said, "Your brand isn't what you say it is, it's what Google says it is." This can be applied to your personal brand as well, so it's time to start thinking about protecting your online reputation .
- When it comes to new media, there is no substitute for getting out there and playing with new tools. Do it yourself if you truly want to understand it.
- Go to conferences like PodCamp and BarCamp (unconference are free, which makes them ideal for students who have time but no budget).
- Create an account on LinkedIn (or your “resume on steroids,†as Chris puts it). This will allow you to provide more details about yourself than a typical resume. Go out and ask relevant people to add recommendations/testimonials to your LinkedIn profile to build your personal brand.
- Read Chris' comments about commitment, motivation and consistency over at Mitch Joel's blog, Six Pixels of Separation.
- Keep a calendar and update it regularly – ask yourself, "What do I need to accomplish today?"
- Books and ideas Chris recommends – depending on personal weaknesses you want to improve on:
- What Sticks, by Rex Briggs and Greg Stuart – For those looking for advice on how to distill ideas down into something that is usable and memorable.
- Seth Godin's Books – For those looking for ideas and inspiration on how to become a better marketer.
- Study Art, particularly paintings and photography. The principles that are important to marketing (capturing attention, for example) have been studied for years in art.
Tags: BarCamp, career, career advice, Chris Anderson, Chris Brogan, Financial Aid Podcast, John Wall, LinkedIn, Marketing Over Coffee, Mitch Joel, New Media, personal brand, Podcamp, Seth Godin, Six Pixels of Separation, Student Loan Network, twitter, What Sticks
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Tuesday, March 18th, 2008
Maybe grad school wasn't for you, at least not just yet. The thought of buying more text books, forking over tens of thousands of dollars and putting yourself further into debt just didn't seem appealing. So it's off to career-land for you.
That doesn't mean you have to stop learning. In fact, I think some of the best advice I ever received came from a friend working in advertising who said, "If you want to be successful, you just have to look at your first career as another form of school. Be ready to learn at work - because believe me, you have a lot to learn - and then take the initiative to go home and learn some more."
With new technologies emerging every day, communications professionals have their work cut out for them if they want to keep up.
Every morning, I do a few of the following things to keep up with the latest marketing and technology news of the day (It helps that I commute by train, so I don't have to concentrate on driving):
- Watch the morning news for the latest stories as I get ready for work
- Sync up my iPod with a number of podcasts I have subscribed to - this makes for good listening while I'm walking or stuck standing on the train
- Browse my feeds with the mobile Google Reader app on my blackberry
- Glance through my mobile twitter app, where I can usually find a number of valuable news updates and links called out by my friends in the marketing community
- Scan a few daily e-mail marketing and advertising newsletters in my mobile e-mail inbox
- Look through a few consumer e-mail newsletters that I have opted into so I can stay aware of what some of my clients' competitors are up to in the online space.
- I also keep a running list of marketing book recommendations
So in the business of communications, graduating doesn't put an end to studying.
A glance into some of the feeds in my
Google Reader:
Tags: career, communications, technology
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Thursday, March 13th, 2008
[display_podcast]
I sat down with a few of my friends who work for various public relations agencies throughout the city of Chicago to discuss the transition from college to career. Thanks to Joeseph Tateoka, Erin Pierce and Kevin Saghy for offering up some excellent and candid comments and advice about the rewards and challenges of starting a career in PR, moving to a new city, networking, dealing with long-distance relationships and staying on track to reach our ultimate career goals! We'll have to find a new place to record next time. Although I can't get enough of Panera's asiago cheese bagels, it was a bit loud. Still, this is conversation is definitely worth listening to if you're considering a career in public relations or a related career field.
Tags: career, Public Relations
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Tuesday, March 11th, 2008
When people find out that I
cheered in college, they usually ask, “How did you learn to do all those crazy stunts and flips in the air? Did you fall a lot?â€
The answer is pretty simple. I learned to do all those crazy flips
by falling a lot.
Every time I fell, I learned. Sometimes the best way to learn new skills is to just get in there and try them, without being afraid of falling down.
I should also mention that I always had the support of spotters—who kept me from crashing to the ground when I fell.
The same idea applies to your career.
The best way to learn is to get out there and do it. Books, blogs, podcasts, etc. are all great resources to get started, but if you really want to learn, you have to do it for yourself. And of course, it helps to have the positive support.
Tags: career, cheerleading
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Saturday, March 8th, 2008
[display_podcast]Paul Bartow explains what it takes to work as a copywriter for a major advertising agency in New York City and what it took to get there. From an unpaid internship to sending his book out to agencies in New York, Paul tells what it took to get started. Are portfolio schools worth while? How can you break in as a creative? What is it like living in New York City?Â
Tags: career, copywriter, New York City
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Thursday, March 6th, 2008
[display_podcast]Lisa Hinkley, Field Career Consultant for the College of Communication Arts and Sciences at Michigan State University shares job interviewing tips. What are employers looking for? How does the culture of the company fit in? What should you wear to your interview? How can you prepare? How should you follow up?
My Podcast Alley feed! {pca-584f560da66f15f8792ee27bb5cd82c3}
Tags: job interview
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Tuesday, March 4th, 2008
Now that I'm revving up to record some fresh new interviews, I wanted to get all of my old interviews in one place. In this short interview during the
Advertising Women of New York Career Conference, Christian Boesen from
Vibrant Media offers some quick advice on starting a career, as well as why you should take some time to travel.[display_podcast]
Tags: AWNY Conference
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