Be a rockstar in your next interview!

I was recently inspired to write this blog as I interviewed for several PR internships around the Portland, Ore. area. I found that there are key questions that employers always ask. The following questions are the ones that me and my Twitter friends found occurred the most during interviews.

To start the interview, employers usually say, “tell me a little about yourself.” Sounds simple, right? Not really…I always wonder, what exactly do they want me to say? Do they want to know about my family? My friends? What I do in my spare time? No. No. And no. The employer wants you to talk about yourself and how your personality and experience makes you a great candidate for the job you are interviewing for. To best answer this question, give a two to three minute snapshot of what you have done to best prepare yourself for the position. Give a couple of examples to back it up, from your resume, perhaps?

What is your greatest weakness? Most people would tell you to take a strength and present it as a weakness. This is deceiving and the employer may keep digging until you give them a weakness, and it just might be a bad one…My advice is to take a weakness and show the employer how you fixed it. For example, “I used to try to take on way too much because I wanted to please everyone. Things were not getting done to the best of my ability. I have found that if I use my planner and keep track of everything that needs to be finished, then I can more accurately assess what other projects I can take on.” This way the employer can see that yes, you have weaknesses (After all, no one is perfect!) but you can identify them and fix them.

Why should I hire you? Don’t be afraid to tell the interviewer that you are the best person for the job. Be sure to back up this statement with examples, and be passionate about them. I have heard from various professors that after potential candidates leave interviews, the interviewers are unsure if that person really wanted to work there…don’t be afraid to say that you would love to be apart of their team!

Why do you want to work at X company? I think this is one of the scariest questions, especially when not prepared! My advice for this questions is first sit down and think…why do you want to work for the company? Do your homework, know who the company is, who their clients are and what they do.This is also a great place to say, “I would really love to be apart of this team.”

Employers may ask you to take them through your resume. Always be sure to be excited, enthusiastic and proud of the work you have done. Be a story teller.

At the end of an interview- ALWAYS ASK QUESTIONS. Do your research about the company before and draft questions to show you are genuinely interested. Here are some good questions to ask at the end of an interview: What can I do to best prepare myself for the first day? What is your favorite and least favorite thing about working at X company? What are three pieces of advice that you would get a new employee? What is the most important aspect you would like a new employee/intern to have?  Challenge the employer with questions and ask questions that stem from their answers (It shows you are interested in learning more about them and the company because you want to work there…right!?).

Happy interviewing!

Sometimes our minds are fogged by dollar signs…

In my campaigns class we are reading “The Firm of the Future” by Paul Dunn and Ron Baker. The book focuses on what is really important and how one little sign, ($), can fog brains and make you loose grip of your client and your end result.

One particular point caught my eye because we have discussed it in class a few times in the last week. Passion. One of the authors, Ron Baker, explains that passion in the work place is slowly declining. I believe this is true because of the X generation. We enter the work place power hungry. We expect to receive a lot of responsibility right from the start. In a short period of time, we are proved wrong. This is something that companies and employees constantly struggle with to find a happy medium.

Another point that caught my eye was the analogy that not all customers are good customers. It is important to have loyal customers who are easy to work with. The book gives an example of a director of an accounting agency who gave his employees a list of all of the company’s customers and asked the employees to circle the customers that they did not like. The director then went on to “fire” each customer that was circled. Three months later the company had raised its revenues to almost $3 million. It’s not always about getting more business. Lessoned learned?

Profit should not be the drive of your company. In the past, we have seen companies go under because they are profit driven and all it sees is money signs. Instead, it is important to focus on your loyal customers. I believe that in the systems we have created in the U.S. today, it is important to have solid, loyal relationships with each other, rather than billing hours and worrying how much profit a customer will bring to a company.

I’m already in love…<3

Yesterday was my first official day as a PR intern at The Ulum Group, a small PR    agency in Eugene, Ore. I think I’m already in love with agency life (although I realize it’s a little early to be making this assumption).

I have completed a couple other internships, including marketing and event planning, but non have been part of an agency where I was involved in more than one project and people came to me for help with their own projects. Also, non of my other internships have provided me with a lot of work, I often found myself looking for work. At Ulum, it was handed to me.

The office was quite and still but loud and busy all at the same time. Everyone had so much work to do and so much for me to help with.

In my spare time, I work as a server and bartender at Outback Steakhouse and have for four years. I’ve worked my way through school (I’ve had a very busy four years!).  When I go to work, I am constantly on my toes and running (sometimes literally) to take care of my customers and I love every minute of it. That is why I am in love with agency life, it keeps me on my toes and will constantly challenge me.

In addition to my internship at The Ulum Group and working at Outback, I will be taking nine credits throughout the summer. I have a busy summer ahead of me and I can’t wait!

Welcome!

Welcome to my PR blog!

I’m a PR student at the University of Oregon. Throughout my many experiences, I have developed a passion for PR and marketing. I hope that my insight into the field can help those who are only beginning or thinking of starting!

Stay tuned for much, much more!