IMC Hawks Blog

Category: Employment

  • Event Planning- Glamorous or Not?!


    As a new intern at the New Hanover Regional Medical Center Foundation, I didn’t realize how many careers could all be considered “corporate communication” titles. It is a small office, consisting of six women and myself. Their titles are: Annual Gifts Officer, Major Gifts Officer, Administrative Associate, Special Events Officer and Finance and Stewardship Officer. One of the main issues associated with all of these titles is how wordy they are and the fact that all of these women undertake several tasks outside of their job titles.

    Our professor often touches on the realities of event planning; I can relate well to this since I work under the Special Events Officer at NHRMC Foundation. The realities of this corporate communication position are long hours, planning with some very opinionated committee members, having to constantly be organized, the ability to multitask and working with a limited budget (especially in a non-profit office). Third party events are also a majority of this position’s responsibility. So far for our Pink Ribbon Event, there have been third-party events consisting of: Monty Miller’s Boot Camp, Rock for the Cure, Pink Martinis at Ruth’s Chris, TrySport’s 5k and Angie’s Amazing race…and these are just for one event! The special events officer is responsible for attending all of these.

    This is just insight on ONE corporate communication career, the list of other titles is almost infinite. While event planning may not be as glamorous as films such as “The Wedding Planner” portray it to be, it is a very rewarding and fabulous career for the right person!

    -Emily Hunter

  • Does the word “corporate” in a job title mislead people?

    How are careers in corporate communication defined exactly? What kind of careers are even designated to the field of corporate communication?

    Jobs and professions in today’s society are categorized much more specifically by their titles than just being a doctor, dentist, blacksmith, plumber, or teacher. For example, careers that fall under the category of corporate communication are: corporate communications director, corporate communications specialist, internal corporate communications specialist, corporate communications/public relations manager, and corporate communications coordinator. What does all this mean? From the job title alone, it is hard to know what exactly the job description is and what it will consist of.

    Careers in corporate communication can be linked to jobs in public relations, advertising, integrated marketing communication and other related fields in communication studies. If you are searching for a job in any of these fields, don’t be afraid by the word “corporate” if it is in the job title. Society has given emotion to the word, corporate. It is made out to be this tough, professional, dictating vocation where everyone walks around in blue and grey suits all day. Yes, in reality there are people that wear blue and grey suits daily, but those are popular business colors. But, in all actuality, the word corporate is defined as “belonging to a corporation or company; pertaining to a united group.” Therefore, when a company assigns a job title with the words “corporate communication” in it, they are most likely informing people that they are looking for someone who can handle the specific communication tasks between many people either within their own corporation or with outside corporations whom they do business with. These companies are looking for people who can perform the needed skills in the public relations and advertising fields for a large company, not a small, local business for instance.

    -Danielle Dorantich

     

  • Some Unpaid Experience

    As already stated in this week’s blog, internships are becoming more and more common among students in the Communication Studies field at UNCW. Let’s be honest, the job market today is brutal. Everyone needs a little edge that will put him or her above his or her competition. An internship provides students with experience in a field of interest related to Communication Studies. With a number of sub-disciplines such as media production, public relations, and marketing, UNCW’s Communication Studies program offers a wide variety of unpaid, course-credit internships.

    For many students, working for large corporations like MTV and Warner Music would be ideal. But the reality is that any experience is better than none at all. There are several firms and businesses in Wilmington offering internships in almost any sub-discipline of Communication Studies. In an ideal situation, that internship could even turn into a full-time job right out of college. In today’s society, that extra work experience is vital.

    In my experience with internships, I have found that they are very beneficial. After seeing my friends take on internships, I decided I should give it a shot. Although it may seem unusual for an internship, I assisted and shadowed the event coordinator at the Bluewater Grill in Wrightsville Beach for five months. I learned a great deal about event planning and was actually offered the job as the Assistant Event Coordinator after my internship was completed. A job is not always guaranteed after an internship, but the intern is certainly put above other applicants, assuming the intern went above and beyond in tasks and activities. No matter what, the experience is once in a lifetime.

    The Communication Studies department at UNCW strives to find the perfect internship for every interested student. By offering course credit for internships, the department works with students to meet their required hours in the field while serving as a liaison between student and company. The Communication Studies website offers student requirements for an internship, along with how to begin the process.

    The importance of an internship cannot be put into words. The experience gained is unlike any other. From a personal standpoint, I would encourage all students in the Communication Studies field to take on an internship. An internship combines the formal training with actual work experience, opening students’ eyes to the possibilities of a future career.

    – Lacey Inman

  • Seeing one’s corporation from the other side

    The CBS reality series “Undercover Boss” follows high-level chief executives as they slip anonymously into the rank and file of their companies. The purpose of this show is to show the CEOs of these large corporations what it’s really like working in the lower levels of the company. By the end of the episodes, these CEOs and high-level execs see the effects their decisions have on the entire company, right down to the lowest level employee. This show relates to our Corporate Communication class because it depicts the lack of communication that so often exists between upper level management and the lower level employees. By experiencing first-hand the hard work that their employees do, the CEOs realize that there needs to be improvements in their company’s communication strategies.

    The pilot episode featured the CEO of Waste Management, Larry O’Donnell. After working among the garbage collectors of his company, O’Donnell recognized the need to solicit advice from his garbage collectors before launching company-wide initiatives. O’Donnell clearly learned from his experience on “Undercover Boss.” Corporate Communication involves actively communicating and engaging with stakeholders. By listening to his employees’ needs, O’Donnell is helping shape Waste Management’s corporate reputation into a positive one. Corporate Identitity should reflect upon employees’ values and feelings about the company. Larry O’Donnell is working towards a strong corporate identity for Waste Management by simply listening to his employees and communicating their values throughout the company.

    Ari Nateman

    Fran Greene

    Lacey Inman

    Megan Regele

  • My own personal brand

    I have never had to “look” for a job…

    Of course, I have been in places, filled out applications and have gone through the interview process multiple times; however, I have yet to be turned down.

    So, when I say I have never had to “look” for a job that means I have never really had to look.

    Until now, when it really counts…

    I am roughly two weeks away from graduation.

    Ironically, today I went on a third interview for a “big girl” job that I really want.  My mother has always said if I could just get the interview, I would get the job.  Thus far, she has been right and tomorrow morning, I will find out if her philosophy still holds true.

    I am finishing out my last week of classes as an undergrad, trying to figure out where I am going to move when my lease runs up in a month, waiting to hear back about this job, all the meanwhile neglecting to take my graduation gown out of the bag and put it on a hanger because a part of me is still not ready to close this chapter of my life.

    However, we cannot delay the inevitable.

    So, what has IMC taught me?

    IMC has allowed me to recognize and perfect my own personal brand.

    In my mind, college isn’t all about your major, the classes you are taking, your GPA, your fraternity or sorority, all of the other organizations you are involved in on and off-campus, the number of cords you get to wear the day you graduate—it is about taking EVERYTHING that you experience—and somehow incorporating that into yourself…your own personal brand.

    You aren’t selling your degree when you go on a job interview.  You aren’t selling your GPA, your honors or awards.  You aren’t selling the number of community service hours you have completed over the past four years.  On a job interview, you are selling you…your own personal brand.

    So, to wrap this up…the reason I haven’t ever really had to “look” for a job is because I have been perfecting my own personal brand over the past four years and I am very confident in the brand I have made for myself.

    I remember names and faces.

    I will always shake your hand.

    I remember useless factoids that sound impressive.

    I mock the sayings of anyone who has something intriguing to say (especially my mother).

    I know how to be charming.

    Even though I may talk a lot, I am always interested in what someone else has to say and when I listen, I really listen.

    I am honest.

    I will always look you in the eyes.

    I know where I want to go and by the time you get done talking to me you know I will make it happen eventually.

    You cannot learn these traits out of a textbook.  They are far more impressive than a GPA.  These traits make me unique.  They are mine and they are what make me memorable.

    This is my own personal brand…

    What’s yours?

    Laura Ann Klinedinst

  • Just Keep Moving – Lessons Learned on the Job Hunt

    “It is your work in life that is the ultimate seduction. “ Pablo Picasso

    Tonight, I would like to share some of the things I’ve learned while searching for jobs, and make some friendly recommendations for anyone either in the hunt for, or already in an entry-level position.

    I’ve never been one to make New Years Resolutions (can you imagine anything more arbitrary?), but this year I decided to jot down a few regarding my professional development. Here’s a few that made the list:

    • Make more mistakes. Fail more often.

    You’re either thinking (a) this guy is so full of himself that he doesn’t think he makes mistakes or (b) why the hell would someone want to fail more often? Let me explain! It’s nothing new to point out flaws in the modern education system, but let’s look at one: the absence of failure. With all the extra help offered from teachers, tutors, & classmates, it’s almost impossible to fail. Failure is an immensely important part of any serious development for two reasons. First, if you set audacious goals (which you should!), you will experience occasional (if not frequent) failures. Second, failures offer the best opportunities to learn. So set bold goals and learn from your failures: your professional growth will exponentially exceed that of your risk-adverse peers.

    “Anyone who has never made a mistake, has never tried anything new.” Albert Einstein

    • Quit using the kid sitting next to you in class as a benchmark!

    It’s human nature to compare. Seemingly without fail, humans adapt their expectations to fit their surrounding reality. Repeated studies reveal that lottery winners experience a brief jolt of happiness over their first few months of newfound wealth, and then find themselves either back at their previous equilibrium or even lower. It’s easy to let yourself align with the average of what people directly around you are doing. You need to remember however, that these people aren’t your competition (they’re only a small fraction of your competition). Your competition includes people graduating from MIT, Harvard, Yale, & Columbia. Many of them are MBA students. Beyond them, you’re competing with rapidly advancing populations in China and India. It’s easy to see this as a threat, but welcome this as an opportunity: you have the chance to work with the smartest minds in the world, regardless of their origin. So remember, your competition expands past UNCW, and always aim to associate with people smarter than yourself: you’ll learn plenty and it will help keep you humble.

    “People only learn through two things. One is reading and the other is association with smarter people.” Will Rogers

    • Read. (I know, I know, but there’s really no way around this one. Sorry.)

    I’m guessing half of my audience just left. Two years ago I would have done the same thing. Let’s ignore how awfully similar that sounds to an addict in recovery, and explore why I’ve made this 180 with such conviction.

    A broad range of knowledge is going to be a rare, and invaluable talent in my generation. One of our greatest advantages is also one of our greatest burdens: we have access to more information than any previous generation. The problem, is that our constant 24-hour access to this data gives us much less incentive to remember it. In a job setting, this prevents us from connecting the dots of multiple pieces of data, that alone, would mean nothing.

    Just Keep Moving!

    You are responsible for your own career path. You control where you will go. You control how you get there. This is a lot of responsibility, but it’s an even greater amount of opportunity. You can coast through school, work, & life aiming to meet the bare minimum and avoid criticism. OR You can take pride in your work. You can find a job that you actually enjoy. You can attain fulfillment & meaning from your career. If you ask me, the “easy” path of doing the bare minimum sure seems harder in the long run.

    “I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road.” Stephen Hawking

    A few important notes:
    – I don’t suffer any illusions that I’m being completely original here; much of what I’m recommending is practically cliche it’s been said so many times.
    – I try to follow my own advice as much as possible, but I’m far from always being on the right path. I feel like I’m beginning to get a pretty good grasp of what best leads to professional development, but “knowing” and “doing” can be deceptively far apart.
    – Feel free to disagree with me on any of this, and please share your thoughts in the comments if you do!

    – Terry Hayes

  • A new vision for IMC

    Confession… I am not graduating in May. I am instead one of those few students who graduate in December. Nevertheless, watching many of my friends and classmates prepare to enter the real world upon graduating in a matter of days, I cannot help but feel overwhelmed and excited. My input on senior week will be much different than many of the other students, because my feelings of these next week are more of a pre-senior week and pre-graduation emotion. My emotions are more filled with planning, weighing options, and finally deciding what I want to do when I graduate. So while it is exciting to see so many classmates graduate, I have the opportunity to determine how to bond my education with my future.

    I am a double major in Communications Studies and Political Science, which makes me one of those rare students with double majors or concentrations who are trying to figure out how to merge both areas of study. I plan on going to graduate school for Political Communication or Political Management, and focus on Campaign Strategies and/or Strategic Campaigning. In IMC, the most often type of student you will see are Marketing and Communications Studies students, so you might ask “What is a Political Science student going to do with IMC?” My response…A LOT. In any political campaign or election, you have many different goals which are elemental to the ultimate goal of having your constituents deciding to vote for your candidate. This is very parallel to the goals of companies who hire Marketing, PR, or IMC agencies to advocate for their product, service or organization. Their goals are also very similar in the fact that they want the consumer to choose to purchase their product. As an IMC student you are taught ways to implement the theories and ideas you’ve learned to brand your company in a way that the consumer will choose it. The two goals of campaigning and IMC are so similar that if campaign strategies collaborated with IMC strategies, it seems that both fields would open up a whole new world of development. With this understanding, I plan on taking what I’ve learned through IMC and applying it to what I’ve learned in Political Science in order to successfully brand and market the politicians, their ideas, their legislature and their hopes for the United States. I will call it…Integrated Marketing Communications and Campaigning. IMCC.

    -Shannon Meadows