IMC Hawks Blog

Tag: Career

  • Public Relations Specialist: A Top Job for 2011

    According to the U.S.News and World Report, one of the 50 best careers for 2011 is a Public Relations Specialist. One definition for Public Relations given by the Public Relations Society of American (PRSA) is that “PR helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other.”PR specialists are hired to create a relationship with the public and to hopefully generate success.

    U.S. News and World Report stated that between 2008-2018, the employment of public relations specialist is intended to rise 24 percent. That 24 percent increase is appealing for us future PR specialists, especially in this current economic climate.

    So, what does it take to become a PR specialist?

    First off, most PR specialists have a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies, Journalism, Public Relations, or Business. In any field, it is important to get experience. Internships, especially in PR, are important to build your résumé because that is what projects yourself to potential employers. You must be able to think fast and accurately, have stress control, and be confident in what you do. In all communication fields, having good writing skills is obviously a necessity along with strong communication.

    In the previous post, Katelyn Truss talked about how important it is to create a brand for ourselves. Knowing your brand allows you to be more appealing to employers and eventually, your specific brand could attract customers for the business. It is appealing to employers when the person they are thinking about hiring is proud of what they’ve accomplished and has a positive outlook about the person they’ve become.

    Gary McCormick, CEO, of PRSA gives some advice for future PR Specialists in U.S. News’ article for “Top 50 Jobs of 2011”. He explains that getting a job in PR comes down to networking and that, “it’s really the cornerstone for what we do for clients and companies all the time.”

    Integrated Marketing Communication programs use public relations to advertise, market, influence, promote, build relationships with the customer, communicate new products, defend products, build excitement over a product, and so much more.

    Check out this video from PRSA: “The Value of Public Relations.”

    -Micaela Fouhy

  • What I Learned in Corporate Communication

    I cannot believe the semester is coming to an end. As I reflect on the Corporate Communication course, there are several things that I have learned. Thinking back to our first day of class and the definition of corporate communication we formulated, we selected several terms; brand, consistent, reputation, identity, narrative, integration, persuasion, symbolic, building/maintaining. These terms only started the process of discovering what corporate communication is about. From class discussions, our mid-term project and our readings there are more that I would add; discipline, alignment, values, vision, mission, responsibility, customer service, diversity and the list could go on!

    One concept that struck me the most from our readings was the Hedgehog concept. The story is about a fox and a hedgehog. The fox is cunning and always trying to get at the hedgehog in various ways. The hedgehog follows his daily routine and whenever the fox tries to pounce, he consistently rolls into a ball with his spikes protruding. The point of the story is the hedgehog has a simple plan and he wins every time. The underlying message of the hedgehog concept is to align your strengths with your passions and what drives you economically. As I reflect on the key terms from our definition of corporate communication and the Hedgehog concept, they are not solely meant for a corporation as a whole, but for each individual that breathes the life into a corporation as well.                                               -Jocelyn Beam-Walson

    Corporate Communication has certainly taught me a great deal over the course of this semester.  I have expanded my knowledge on all of the things Jocelyn touched on above, but I think the most important concept I am walking away from the class with comes from a book we read called Good to Great, by Jim Collins.  In the book, Collins talks about getting the right people “on the bus”.  This essentially means that if you want to succeed, you need to surround yourself with people that also want to succeed and who are driven and motivated to do so.  Although I’ve been doing group projects for most of my college career, this thought never occurred to me.  Obviously I never intentionally agreed to work with bad group members, it just seemed to happen.  After reading about the importance of getting the right people on the bus and the bad ones off, no matter what.  From now on I will always remember this concept and make sure that I get on the right bus with the right people!                                                                                                                                                         -Eliza Wadson

    Corporate Communication has given me a surprising amount of information and provided me with helpful experiences as well. I found the content of Good to Great very insightful. I was surprised by the attributes that forge the path to greatness. Rather than there being a miraculous transition or advances in technology, greatness is obtained through a collection of factors that synergistically interact, specifically having the right solidarity between indomitable perseverance, winning people, and valuing actual results over flashy appearances. The information gathered from this textbook helped me to view successful companies in a different light. This course also gave me some good experience with group work. I have had some unpleasant experiences with groups in the past; however, this semester I have been part of a group that displays efficiency, a desire to get things done, and putting forth equal effort in completing objectives. Corporate Communication has taught me new facts and ideas and I feel these will be useful in my future career aspirations.                              -Sean O’Connell

    This class was set up unlike any other class I have taken at UNCW.  It was structured to mimic a real work environment by allowing us as students to formulate class discussions.  Each class, we took topics from the reading and generated them into issues that were relevant to us.  When we presented our midterm papers, we arranged the class like a boardroom and fostered a conversation on our findings, rather than standing up in front of the class and lecturing.  Another helpful tool that we used in this class was the blog.  Having something that we are responsible for that reaches a large audience is empowering as students.  It also made us a part of the current transition in corporate communication towards social networking. This skill will prove useful to us in our future careers.  Overall, this class gave me a new perspective on corporate communication and what it means to work in the industry.  It made me excited to enter the work force and start putting these skills I have learned to action.                                                                                                                  -Sarah McIntosh

  • Corporate Communication Wrap Up

    As our time in the Corporate Communication classroom comes to a close, the information and knowledge that we have gained will continue with us as we each venture out after graduation into our desired career field.  Among the class of communication majors are students interested in event planning, public relations, integrated marketing communication and advertising, just to name a few.  Corporate communication is involved in all of these industries.  As stated in Corporate Communication: a guide to theory and practice by Joep Cornelissen, one of our required readings for the course, “Corporate communication is a management function that offers a framework for the effective coordination of all internal and external communication with the overall purpose of establishing and maintaining favorable reputations with stakeholder groups upon which the organization is dependent.”

    When the course first started back in August, not a single student in the class knew what the definition of corporate communication was.  Even though everyone registered to take the class, no one really had an idea of what it entailed.  Today, every student in the class has a definition of corporate communication, as well as plenty of detailed and background information that will give people a better understanding of the topic.  A big improvement from three months ago, wouldn’t you agree?

    We have covered a variety of forms of corporate communication that take place in sports, music, movies, politics, crisis management and careers this semester.  We have learned that communication is essential when it comes to an organization’s corporate image and identity, reputation, stakeholders and shareholders.  We have learned what makes a company go from good to great, the characteristics of a great company and why every company should strive to become one.  We hope we have left everyone with a better understanding of corporate communication.

    REMINDER! This week is NBC’s Green Week!  Green Week runs from November 14-21.  All this week, green topics will be featured into news and your favorite shows on the NBC network, such as 30 Rock and The Office, as well as special reports, fundraisers and documentaries.  Join NBC in celebrating the numerous ways that you can make a difference in the environment.

    -Danielle Dorantich

  • Corporate Communication in the Real World

    If you go to any store you will see multiple products that are essentially the same.  There are several websites that serve the same purpose, but we don’t use all of them.  So, how do we choose or distinguish between the products?  The answer lies within the company’s corporate communication.  A company creates its own brand and identity through their images, logos, and slogans.

    One company that has done a good job of creating a distinct identity is SocialCast.  It is a company that my cousin founded to serve as a social media network for businesses.  In order to create a brand that is different from the other social media networks, SocialCast hired a team to specifically handle their corporate communications.  They use Twitter, Facebook, his company’s website and other blogging sites to manage the company’s visual and corporate identity. This creates exposure for the company and engages with its consumers. By doing this, they can manage the company’s identity to fit the changing needs of the marketplace and the needs of the consumers.

    The corporate communication team is constantly revamping their logo and website to keep up with the current trends of society and to engage more with their consumers to better suit their needs, wants, and values.  They engage with their stakeholders through their blog, twitter account and website, which gives them ideas to communicate better with the public.

    The example below shows one of the ways in which SocialCast has modernized their corporate identity. By changing the logo and making it more up-to-date, the company is keeping up current trends to attract more recognition.

    Old Company Logo

     

    New Company Logo

    SocialCast is only one example of how corporate communication applies to companies and careers, but there are many other options and career paths for people interested in this field.

    – Megan Regele

  • Branding, It’s Not Just For The Cows!

    When we think of branding, yes we can think of cows that are marked to receive their distinction, but in the business world it’s a company’s trademark. In communication, we typically think of the term in regards to businesses. Branding is a necessity for businesses, but it’s also important for professional individuals. Our theme this week is careers in corporate communication. Now that the end of the semester is in close sight and many are looking at graduating, we thought self-branding would be a good topic to discuss.

    According to the U.S. Department of Labor, people change careers approximately 3-6 times during a lifetime for various reasons. Our world is constantly changing and evolving and a career-oriented professional has to keep up with the times. Generations before us found a job after college and it was considered the norm for a person to stay with the same company and in the same field until they retired. Not many people do that now. This is one reason why it is important for us to brand ourselves. As most of us begin to carve out a career path over the next few months, there has been a lot of talk about what we want to do with our lives. The main focus is what we are passionate about and where are strengths lie. An interesting article points out that self-branding is the difference between “just a job” and a career. It can make you employable in a profession you are passionate about and open doors you never thought existed.

    There are many steps to self-branding and the first step for the college graduate is to discover what you are passionate about and where your strengths are within that passion. This brings to mind a chapter in one of our textbooks entitled, “Good to Great” by Jim Collins. He finds that the great companies follow the Hedgehog Concept. In short, the Hedgehog Concept is about aligning

    1) What you are deeply passionate about?
    2) What can you be the best at?
    3) What drives your economic engine?

    As you see, self-branding sets us apart from the rest of the cattle out there. Let’s go make it happen!

    Sarah McIntosh, Sean O’Connell, Eliza Wadson, Jocelyn Walson

  • 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