Getting Your Foot in the Door

 

 

 

Sometimes it takes a lot of knocking to get your foot in the door.

Getting a job isn’t always as easy as we would like it to be but when the right opportunity does come around, you will appreciate it a lot more. At least I have found this to be the case. Sitting back and waiting for a job to come to you will not work. You’ve got to go start knocking!

When you have some sort of career path in mind be proactive and try and get into that field. Rather than applying for every job on Monster, do some research about companies you might be interested in. Take some time to see what will make you an asset to the company and how they fit into your career plan.

My suggestion is to always keep an open mind because you might be surprised how your interests grow over the years. Having tunnel vision can be a great quality but when looking for a job, even if you know what industry you want to be in, you might be surprised how your interests grow by trying something new. Having an open mind also leads to more options career-wise.

Personally, I knew that I wanted to work in the communications industry but wasn’t sure what niche would be the best fit for me. I thought maybe entertainment because that has always been an interest but I found throughout my internships and jobs that I have many more interests. Due to my current internship that deals with mobile media, I am a big fan of technology, some that I didn’t even know existed.

Don’t be scared to experiment because someone will see your potential and open that door for you. Maybe a different one than you were expecting.

Doing Things the “Write” Way

Doing Things the “Write” Way

It’s never too late to brush up on your writing skills. See where these tips take you!

Dreams

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

-Eleanor Roosevelt

Link Up With LinkedIn

I want to give a special thank you to my professor at Georgia Southern University  suggesting that students sign up for LinkedIn and showing us the value. It has really turned out to be one of the most useful tools I use as a professional. For those of you who aren’t very familiar with LinkedIn, I would recommend giving it a shot.

Right now, it goes without saying, that getting a job is difficult, especially coming right out of college and not a lot of experience under your belt. You can search all day for job postings but more times than not, just sending an email isn’t enough to get you in the door.

Here are some tips I have to making the most out of LinkedIn:

If you are interested in a job/company, LinkedIn is a great tool to learn more about what they do. You can go to the company profile and see their news, a description of what they do and the people that work there. I have found that seeing the employees and what their previous experience is can be useful in deciding what position you should apply for and what background experience they might be looking for.

Connecting with people that you already know. Connecting with friends, co-workers, professors, etc., is really helpful when you are starting your account. From there you will be given a list of people you might now and every connection can lead to another one.

Joining groups. Whether it’s a college alumni group or a general interest group, you are connecting. If you are really into entertainment, there are plenty of groups to join. From there you can learn what is going on in that industry and take away a lot. Make your own discussion and comment on those of other people. Joining groups that you are interested in personally of professionally is a great way to stay in the loop. You can see what’s in the news and from there find people to connect with. Many groups will also have job postings and this might lead to a recruiter contacting you.

Following companies and industry leaders. I am a big researcher and often I’ll look online and find companies that I would be interested in working with. From there I will often follow them on LinkedIn to see what’s going on with them and any interesting news that they put up. By following these companies you get a much better understanding of what they are like on a number of levels.

These are just a few ways to use LinkedIn effectively and boost your job search. Good luck and I would appreciate any comments and questions.

Here are some links from LinkedIn pros:

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-use-linkedin-2012-4?op=1

http://www.guardian.co.uk/housing-network/2012/jun/06/linkedin-housing-professionals-tips

http://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/blog/socialmadness/2012/06/10-tips-to-boost-your-linkedin-profile.html?page=all

Till next time,

Marilyn

Creativity

Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things.

-Steve Jobs

Take App-vantage

Today there are so many apps out there that it can be pretty overwhelming sometimes. The thing is, there is so much that you can get from them, just do a little research! Whether it’s finance, games, lifestyle, entertainment, or social, you can find an app for pretty much anything (you can even create your own, but that’s a whole new blog post!).

According to Apple, there are currently over 500,000 apps available for their products. Chances are they have just the app you are looking for.

Below are some of the best rated apps according to TIME:

• Find My iPhone– if you lose your phone you now have a better chance of finding it. Whew!
• ShopSavvy– Perfect for finding the best deal! Scan the barcode and see if there is a better price somewhere else.
• GasBuddy- Bless the person who created this app! With gas prices out of the roof these day, you can give this app your location and it will let you know where the best gas prices are around you. Now that’s a real friend.
• MapQuest 5 Mobile– I use a different GPS app, but where would we be without it? Back in the day, if you printed out directions and got turned around it required stopping strangers and walking into stores to get some help. Now you have a nice little app to reroute you and even give you things like restaurant suggestions and gas stations around your location.
• Shazam– It’s a great feeling to hear a song on the radio that you love. Now you want to go home and download it. The problem is you don’t know the name or artist so now what? Thanks to Shazam, all you have to do is press a button and the app gives you the name of the song and artist. Problem solved!
• iMapMyRUN+– Ready to get out of the gym and hit the streets? Maybe you want to walk a mile or maybe you’re looking for a five mile run but don’t know just how to gauge the distance. With this helpful little app, you can map your distance, speed, and pause it if you are stopped at a traffic light. This is the perfect tool to help you reach your goal.
• Foursquare– This is a great app to let your friends know where you are and many times get great discounts.
• Instagram– This is one of my new favorites! You can share your photos with all kinds of neat filters to make your snapshot unique.

The list goes on and on, but these are just a few that you might want to check out. Today, a phone is so much more than calling people and sending text messages. Apps put the world at your fingertips… literally.

Thanks for reading!

The Hollywood Superunion: SAG-AFTRA Merger

 On Friday, March 30, 2012, it became official that the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) would become one union. After 80 years of going back and forth, this historic vote has made SAG-AFTRA the largest entertainment union in Hollywood.

In order for the merger to pass, each union needed to agree with 60 percent, and the votes in favor surpassed that number by quite a bit. SAG members voted “yes” with 82 percent and AFTRA with 86 percent.

Today the mega-union now represents over 150,000 actors, announcers, broadcasters, singers, stunt performers and many more in film, radio, television, the Internet, etc.

“You have said loud and clear that this is not a fractured group — no, this is a united group. This is the largest, most powerful union in the entertainment and media industries and we are now united in a our commitment to improve the wages and working conditions, residuals and benefits that our members depend on,” said SAG President Ken Howard.

In October, the first contract negotiation between the unions will begin for work in commercials. National officers will be elected by the guild members in the summer or 2013. Ken Howard and AFTRA President, Roberta Reardon, have each appointed six members to serve on the 24-panel along with 12 national officers.

To learn more about SAG-AFTRA, visit http://www.sagaftra.org

Sources:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sag-aftra-merger-passes-sag-306398

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/mar/31/business/la-fi-ct-sag-aftra-merger-20120331

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-04-12/entertainment/sns-201204120002reedbusivarietynvr1118052552apr12_1_roberta-reardon-aftra-todd-hissong

Follow the Tweeter

What in the world can you say in 140 characters? The answer: A LOT!

According to an article that I read, one of the most common reasons that people don’t use Twitter is because they think there is nothing to say in 140 characters (I admittedly thought the same thing when I first joined). The rebuttle to these reasons is that Twitter is a conversation and can actually be a very valuable tool.

Twitter is a great social medium for people to keep up and find out more about topics that interest them. Who you choose to “follow” is completely personalized to you! Sports teams/figures, entertainment news, political figures and job searches are just a few of the people and topics that you can get involved with. If you are looking for a job, you can follow an account that tweets about job openings in your field. Many live TV shows suggest tweeting during the show and they will display what you have to say (Dancing with the Stars) or even answer your questions (Giuliana & Bill).

Sometimes long pieces of information (like some blog posts) can take people longer to read and Twitter gets the message out in 140 characters which can be a good thing. Your interest in topics will grow the more involved you are with Twitter and you can even get involved with all sorts of conversations.

Here are some ways to get the most out of Twitter:

1. Use the hashtag “#”: The # is a great way to get involved with topics you are interested in. Say you are a big AmericanIdol fan; you can tweet something like “#StevenTyler has a crazy outfit on #AmericanIdol tonight.” You can click on your hashtag is and see who else is tweeting about American Idol or Steven Tyler. People can see what you have to say and start a conversation.
2. Check out trending topics: To see what people are talking about around you, check out the trending topics around your city. People might me talking about the latest baseball game or the new iPhone. Get involved with a great cause that you are passionate about and see what the latest news is. Maybe you’re really interested in your animal shelter. Maybe they have some news you want to spread or you want to tweet about them. Use your # to share your thoughts or retweet their tweet to spread the word. You can look and get involved with worldwide topics as well. Pretty neat isn’t it?
3. Put some thought into your bio: Personalizing your bio with your interests encourages people to follow your tweets. If you are interested in healthcare, put it in your bio. It will be a useful tool when Twitter users want to see what you have to say. If you love Nascar, put that in your bio too and you will get more followers also interested inNascar. A bio is a short but really great tool to connect with the world.

To read more about getting the most out of Twitter, check out this article in the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/technology/04basics.html 

Social Media Revolution 2012

How social media is changing the world in many ways!

Go Grab Your Dream Job

What’s your dream job? For some, a dream job has been brewing from a young age. For others, it may be something fairly new or an interest that has been developing over the years. Or maybe you still aren’t quite sure. People might find careers that they have wanted their whole life whereas others end up in jobs that they love that are completely different than their original dream job. Either way, that dream job is out there!

I think that the image below pretty much sums up what most of us would like to find in a job and there are ways to make that possible. The key concept is to be proactive. Below are a few ways to figure out what is the right niche for you:

• Take a variety of classes in college to see what sparks your interest
• Do internships in fields that you are interested in and you can get a better idea of what that job could actually be like
• Browse around online to look at different career options and employers in that field
• Find a way to get involved in the community. If your dream is to work with animals, volunteer at a local shelter. If you want to be an actor or director, give some time at theater in your area. This way you are giving back and learning more about what you want to do.

According to Boston.com, here are some of the Top 20 Dream Jobs:

• Actor
• Nonprofit Director
• Photographer
• TV Producer
• Wedding Planner
• Fashion Buyer/Designer
• Writer/Publisher
• Interior Designer

The great news is that dream jobs are attainable. Be positive, proactive and go out there and get it!