How'd it Go?

By Sandy -
Experience has taught me: 

"It went well" means it went great.

"I think it went well" means it went well.

"I couldn't tell how it went" means it was not so good.

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The Lowdown on Internships

By Sandy -
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Entry Level:  No Previous Experience Necessary -  Today, a job ad like that would probably be a scam.  It's difficult to  land an entry level job at a top company if you have no experience. For communication graduates it means having a good idea of what you want to do before you graduate, and getting good internships under your belt before you hit the job market.

For companies, especially PR firms, hiring a good intern is like finding a pot of gold.  But after a high profile lawsuit, the Dept. of Labor took a closer look at internship abuses.  Last year, the Fair Labor Standard Act included some guidelines that we all should know about. Basically,  an internship has to benefit the intern not the employer.  These are the determining factors considered:

The extent to which the intern and the employer clearly understand that there is no expectation of compensation. Any promise of compensation, express or implied, suggests that the intern is an employee—and vice versa. The extent to wh…
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Why Did I Come in #2?

By Sandy -
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Some candidates who came in #2 ask me to go back to the client to find out why. Some say they want to improve their interviewing skills by understanding where they fell down. I understand the disappointment and the frustration, and the yearning to understand why.


But chances are they're not going to tell you the real story or the whole truth. It's probably so subjective that they just couldn't possibly tell you. 'She reminds me of that guy who used to work here' or 'I don't think he'd be tough enough to deal with so and so'. There's just nothing you can do about that. If it was something like "she was too aggressive" or "he didn't ask enough questions" then you may try to compensate for it in the next interview but who's to say that the next person you interview with will feel the same way?


The best way to improve your interview skills is by interviewing as often as you can, so that you get more relaxed about it. Practi…
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5 Do's and Dont's for PR Graduates

By Sandy -
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It's that time of year, and I'm starting to get a lot of requests for advice from communication majors who will be graduating soon. So here are a few Do's and Don'ts that I think will help:


DO's

1.  DO put together a resume that lists your internships and any other work where industry exposure or use of communication skills were important. Proofread it and have someone else proof it so you're sure it has no typos or grammatical errors.

2.  DO send your resume to various PR firms (a great learning environment to start your PR career) even if they're not listing any openings.

3.  DO have an open mind and be willing to check out different opportunities - remember that you don't know everything yet and it's great to get lots of interviewing experience.  Always do your best.

4.  DO your research before any interview.  Check out who you're meeting with on LinkedIn, read current articles about the company and /or their industry, go through the job desc…
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