IMC Hawks Blog

Tag: Networking

  • COM Studies Day: Networking

    handshake isolated on business background

    Every year the Department of Communication Studies showcases the major, alumni, and Communication Studies students during COM Studies Day. On Friday, March 18, 2016 you will have many networking events and situations. Here are a few tips while networking with alumni, Wilmington businesses, and fellow students and professors.

    • Entering a networking event, walk in confidently and with a smile. You want to be aware of your body language- do not fold your arms, this can be perceived as negative. Also, be the first to extend your hand. Columbia University mentions extending your hand first shows eagerness to speak and interact with others.
    • While networking at these events, always be yourself. As stated in Forbes, these events are great jumping-off points for relationship building. Make sure you are being true to yourself and do not try to be the person you think they want to meet. Building relationships are these events are meant to further your career in the future and networking will get you a long way after graduation. You are marketing yourself to business and employees. 
    • During these events, ask questions. While building a relationship with someone, you want to seem interested in what they are saying and doing. In an article from Forbes, the only way to get to know someone is to ask them genuine and thoughtful questions.
    • The most important tip, do not be afraid to hand out your card or resume after making a connection. This shows you are confident in yourself and your achievements.

     

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    After the COM Studies Day networking sessions, follow-up with the individuals you met and spoke with. Furthering these network connections will help you in the future with internships and jobs after graduation. Sending an email or LinkedIn connection will show your interest in the individual and/or their business.

    Are you going to COM Studies Day this Friday? If you are, make sure to network and gain connections!

    -Caitlin R, Megan S, Erin F, & Sarah G

  • Barefoot? Not with TOMS Shoes!


    Many of us are familiar with the shoe brand TOMS. The company, started by Blake Mycoskie, commits itself to donating one pair of shoes to a child living in poor conditions for every pair of shoes it sells. TOMS’s program of giving was the result of its owner traveling to South America and finding that many children were contracting diseases through their bare feet, as they were unable to afford or obtain shoes. Mycoskie decided to manufacture his company’s shoes in an eco-friendly and vegan manner. TOMS are made using supplies from an organization, Livity, specializing in “low environment impact materials” (information based on a 2008 interview between Mycoskie and San Diego Loves Green reporter Allie Bullock Kagamaster).

    Not only does TOMS market their product as a philanthropic exercise, but it also markets itself as an organization dedicated to environmentally sound products. The company is able to create establish integrity for its product among potential customers who are concerned with social and environmental issues. Partnering social and environmental values, allows TOMS products to stand out amongst competitors.

    TOMS has gone a step further than its usual shoe donation program; by implements its “One Day Without Shoes” campaign. This campaign is meant to raise awareness of the dangers faced by individuals who do not have shoes to walk in, in areas where environmental conditions, such as chemical contamination and littering of glass, syringes and debris, can cause multiple diseases. “One Day Without Shoes” also encourages individuals to buy shoes from the company so that TOMS can donate shoes to these individuals.

    The “One Day Without Shoes” campaign is designed in a way that the company’s customers and followers can actively participate in it. When going to the company’s website, a person can email the page to their friends and family, post it on Facebook, or follow the campaign on Twitter. This implementation of social media shows that TOMS Shoes is aware of the powerful impact individuals can have when marketing a message, just by sharing information with friends on social media they are already using, and that can be viewed by mass numbers of friends and peers.

    Also on the campaign’s website, TOMS Shoes encourages individuals to share videos and photos of themselves without shoes and an explanation of what the experience meant to them. Followers can find their own marketing devices to spread the word of the campaign on the website. Rally signs, street stencils, pocket info cards, stickers, profile pins and banners, DIY t-shirts, and displays can be downloaded from the campaign’s website for the event.

    “One Day Without Shoes” has also found many corporate partners to participate in its campaign. These partners are Aol., Discovery, essie, flickr, just wink by American Greetings, Kiehl’s, Kind Healthy Snacks, and SIMS. The “One Day Without Shoes” campaign shows the ways in which organizations rely on various societal values and corporate marketing techniques to draw attention to their brand or promotion.

    -Ashley Oliver,Hunter Wilson, Josh Vester, Molly Jacques

  • Networking your way to the top!

    The Annual Communication Studies Day is something students and faculty alike look forward to every spring.  This jam-packed day is full of expert panels and networking sessions to help communication studies students get their names out there in their potential field, and a fashion show with examples of appropriate work attire.  Networking is something that is becoming more and more important when trying to get a job in society today.

    What exactly is networking? According to the UNCW Career Center website networking is, “the development of contacts and personal connections with a variety of people who might be helpful to you and your career.” Building a personal connection and relationship with people in the community will be beneficial. According to the UNCW Career Center website, 80% of jobs are filled by networking – people they know. Networking doesn’t guarantee a job, but it is a great way to gather information and get advice from people who have been in the industry for a while. It is important to network at any given opportunity. Networking can occur through various social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Social media is a powerful tool that should be utilized when networking.

    COM Studies Day allows students to hear from professionals and get experience with networking. Jenna Curry, a COM major graduate and treasurer of CSS during her years at UNCW, took these days to heart. After she started her career, she noticed that she did not know many young professionals in the Wilmington Area. With this realization, she decided to create an atmosphere where young college students and graduates could meet and network with local businesses because she had learned the importance of networking at UNCW. Port City Young Professionals (PCYP) is the atmosphere she created. PCYP hosts a networking event the third Wednesday of every month in different areas of Wilmington. Curry hopes to give the members a chance to establish new personal or professional relationships, give young business people a chance to interact socially, and share ideas. “PCYP was created to help improve its members’ networking skills, expand their contact base, and provide the opportunity to promote themselves and their business in a relaxing atmosphere. The goal of the PCYP is to ultimately help its members get involved in the local business scene and to impact the current and future marketplace.”  For more information about Port City Young Professionals check them out at: www.portcityyoungprofessionals.com.

    -Kelsey Bendig, Andrea Blanton, Brooke Keller, Brian Burch

  • Learn about Communication Studies at COM Studies Day

    When Communication Studies majors share their idea with others they are often met with a variety of  questions. These questions often range from “what is Communication Studies” to “what on earth are you going to do with that?!,” and can leave the student wondering just why exactly did they pick this major in the first place. Fortunately the UNCW Communication Studies department is hosting its annual Communication Studies Day this Friday and will answer many of these questions.

    The Communication Studies Day  will have panel presentations of UNCW graduates from the major discussing their careers and experiences since college. Students will be able to hear from individuals who are currently doing things with their Communication Studies degree that they are considering doing after graduating, such as marketing, graduate school, broadcasting, and public relations. Many of the panelists graduated recently and will be able to relate to the students attending the presentations as they only recently were in the same point of approaching graduation and having to decide what they wanted to do and how to go about it. There will also be networking sessions for students to speak with faculty, friends and alumni. Another aspect of Communication Studies Day is the Dress for Success fashion show, in which attendants will get to see outfits of business casual and business professional attire. Attire is an important component of a professional image and many students are unsure about how they are expected to dress for a successful career.

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    Communication Studies Day is not just an event that is simply put on by faculty and that students can show up to if they want to. The event is being  coordinated and marketed by UNCW Communication Studies students. Dr. Persuit’s IMC II class will be tweeting, posting photos, and sharing information about the event as it is occurring on this blog. Individuals can learn more about the event by following #DressForSuccess2012 and #COMStudiesDay on twitter.

    ~Molly Jacques, Josh Vester, Ashley Oliver and Hunter Wilson

  • Talk of the town? More like talk of the nation: When Local News Goes National

    As we all know, the phrase “gunman on campus,” is nothing to take lightly.  Since the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech, colleges across the country have made it a priority to ensure the safety of their campus.

    UNC Wilmington students were alerted late last night of a gunman on campus, fleeing from the nearby Hardees. The University continued to update students through email, phone calls and text messages in order to ensure all students were aware of the situation and safe.
    It seems as though UNCW took all the proper precautions; what they didn’t take into consideration was how the students were going to react to it. Within a matter of no time, students with Facebook and Twitter accounts were posting: “everyone on campus be safe!” or writing terms of endearment on loved one’s walls. According to Clay Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody, the ability of people to share, cooperate, and act together is being improved dramatically by our social tools.With access to these social networking sites, students were able to publicly announce that there was a gunman on campus, which instigated a major concern.  News of the gunman on UNCW’s campus even reached popular media outlets, such as the New York Times and CBS.

    Using these social networking sites has united people all over the country.  Looking again at Shirky’s book, he exclaims, “a story can go from local to global in a heartbeat.” Without today’s social media sites, many news outlets would not have heard about the gunman. From an IMC perspective, we must look at how powerful these sites are and use them with much caution.

    -Stephanie Bakolia, Claire Outlaw, David Glaubach

  • Branded Letters

    Today marks the day that every little girl dreams of since the day her mother blessed her with her very own set of pearl earrings, high heel shoes, and sweet- but- sassy personality. Bid Day for sorority life at UNCW allows girls to put their collegiate fate in the hands of anxiously awaiting sorority women who only hope to have a new pledge class formed from the group of their various “rush crushes” developed over the course of the past five days of formal recruitment. After hours upon hours of chanting, smiling, talking, voting, and dancing, girls of UNCW can be associated with a sorority group on campus that they can call their own.

    With the recruitment process finally over, letter shirts are undoubtedly going to flood the length of chancellors walk. Girls won’t be able to fight the temptation to brand themselves under the stereotype of such letters; proud to be a part of the group that is associated with the letters sewn onto their shirts. However, sorority members must be fair-warned: this type of attire is a form of branding that should be used with caution and responsibility. The actions you take and words you say as you wear these letters not only represent you, but also represent how you want yourself and your chapter to be perceived by others.

    Each sorority on this campus offers something different. From reputation to reality, the young ladies involved in Greek Life all make an impression upon their peers according to how they act when they wear these prized letter shirts. If one girl wearing the letter shirt misses class; all sorority women skip classes. If one girl gossips while wearing the letter shirt; all sorority women gossip.

    At least in the minds of those who stereotype.

    This kind of branding is not only true for sororities. All organizations create their identity based on the kind of brand they hope to portray through their members. Each person has the power to represent their group as a whole based on how they act individually…creating an instant association built from one impression. The new members of the Greek system on UNC-Wilmington’s campus have the ability to either accept this brand that has been established for their particular organization or to enhance it. The perception of a group is something that can change with simple, consistent actions that are valued and upheld by all members. Therefore, the revealing of Bid Day today should also reveal hope to expand the brand that these women are newly associated with on UNCW’s campus.

    -Sally, Jared, Oliver

  • Wow WE made it!

    As my final days at UNCW come to an end I start to remember how it all began. When I came to the university I was young and clueless, not only about my college career but life in general. With the guidance of great faculty and an excellent student body I found my way to where I am now. A few finals away from Graduation day….

    I am nervous and excited, yet scared of not knowing what my future holds. There is one thing that I am certain of, and that is I know UNCW has prepared me for the next step in my life no matter what that step is. I say this to all the seniors graduating now, and to those that will graduate in the future. You might not know what exactly your next step is, but you can be certain that your college experience has prepared you for it.

    My advice to anyone that will graduate later on down the road is to make the most of your college experience. Take the classes that interest you, talk to your teachers and meet your peers. I know it sounds “old” and kind of “cheesy”, but when you step foot on campus do everything to the best of your ability. Don’t hold back anything because one day your college career will near the end and you want to feel how I feel now. You want to feel prepared for the future, and you want to know that you tried as hard as you could in school and did everything you wanted. Take advantage of the opportunity you have to attend college and make the most of it.

    -Drew Mayer

    To the graduating class of 2011, WE made it! This is our moment to say all the research papers, presentations, nights in the library, our stress because we procrastinated in finishing a project, we did it and all our hard work has finally paid off. This is the moment our parents have been waiting for when they can say their “little” boy or girl graduated from University. All of us have come so far, gone through the good and the bad, and we can finally say we did it, were graduating. Most of us have been going to school non-stop basically our whole lives and some of us will continue our education in Graduate School. But what we most importantly need to understand is we never gave up, even when at times it seemed as we would never reach the end. I was a transfer student to UNCW in the fall of 2009 and attended this University not knowing a single person. Let’s just say how blessed I feel that I chose to be a Communication Studies major transferring in. You’re forced into groups, your forced to stand up and talk about your self the first day of class, but most importantly your forced to learn how to COMMUNICATE and NETWORK with others.

    These past two years at UNCW have been the most rewarding experience I could have imagined. Not only is it a great school, but also the Communication Studies faculty and students make it enjoyable to go to school each day. When Professors still greet you in the hallway by your first name even though they haven’t taught you in over a year and ask about your future plans, which to me is the best feeling. To those of you not graduating embrace your time left here. It comes sooner than you think and as excited I am to be graduating, I will miss it more than I thought I would. Not only should you embrace your education but embrace your life outside of school. Soon we grow up, we graduate, we get jobs, start families and as amazing as that is going to be, your time at school is a part of your life that comes and goes fast. Never stop having fun and enjoying life and always remember to network as much as you can. Cheers!

    -Lindsey Baggett