Resumes - how long is too long?

I have been trying to put together my resume in order to start applying for jobs. I came across this post and it made me question what I should really put on it. I've always heard that your resume should only be one page in length, but I really feel that I have enough valuable experience to make mine longer. The PRChronicle post says that if you need to, do it. However, everything I have ever heard about resumes would say PRChronicle is dead wrong. Which is right? I hope it's the PRChronicle because I really need that extra room.

I have revamped my resume about 948384 times so far - have to make sure the wording is perfect and that it really shows just HOW MUCH I've done - especially in my last internship - phew I did a lot! But I feel like it is important to keep a little "in your pocket." as my class' recent guest speaker told us about giving good presentations. "Always keep some ideas in your pocket so you can pull them out if it feels right." I think that should apply to resumes, too - and, well, to life in general - you can't always put it all out there on the table. However, if I keep some of the good stuff - like my huge event planning experience - in my pocket, maybe they wont think I have enough experience to offer me an interview. It's all so confusing! Time for revamp number 948385!

Business and Friendship - can they ever REALLY mix?

I am about to begin my job search and have been brainstorming creative ways to set myself apart from the pack. I came up with an idea that may not be the most original but I think it is pretty great and will be a wonderful attention-getter (not sharing :p sorry a girl's got to have some business secrets up her sleeve).

So you are thinking - great, hope it helps. Well here is where the question of business and friendship comes into play. I have never been in the competitive business world before - except for restaurant jobs and internships, so this is something new for me.

Here is what happened - I told my friend my wonderful idea and she praised me for it - then she goes and USES IT herself. She called me all excited about an interview she got and innocently said "yeah I used your idea last minute, how awesome, right?" Wrong.

I had not applied for the job she was going for but it was still a possible option for the future. I guess now it's not.

I congratulated her on the interview and said "well I guess it's good I wasn't going for that one right now," but I'm not sure whether or not to confront her.

Right now I think I will just remain quiet and chalk this up to my first business vs. friendship lesson. Sometimes in business it is just better to keep your mouth shut because, sadly, it seems that people will do anything to get ahead.

PR - making other people sell you, or selling yourself?

I found this blurb while sifting through PR posts. It says that PR is about getting other parties to sell you. While I agree with this, when I think of PR, it is not the first thing that comes to mind.

Rather than getting other parties to sell you, I think you need to sell yourself first. You obviously can't go it alone - no one would know your name if it weren't for the bloggers, TV stations, etc that keep your story alive. However, without that initial personal drive, none of the other media outlets would care about you.

I whole-heartedly believe this line - "It's earned respect, and as such it's more powerful than any other form of marketing because when it's successful, it's actually believable."

In PR, we do not buy our way into the news, magazines, TV shows. If your story is in the media, it's because you earned it. Something about you resonated with the public, and while you may not have to buy it, you definitely have to sell it!

New York, New York - are you my future?

So I recently returned from my spring break in the Big Apple. (And with a blizzard for half of the trip it did not feel very springy, but we made due none the less and got spray tans when we got home haha!)

I posted earlier about how I wanted to have a fun, career-free break. No interviews, just me and the city (plus my dad and my friend but hey who's counting?) Turns out, it was one of the most career-heavy times of my life.

I need some advice - go to New York or do not go to New York. I feel like tossing a coin and deciding my future. I have dreamed about moving to NYC since I was 12 but have always wondered about living in such an expensive city on such a tiny salary. It suddenly hit me as I was buying $14 cocktails that I'm not sure an entry level PR account coordinator making 33 before taxes can flourish in this city, let alone survive.

I have decided my future is either going to New York or staying in Atlanta, my two favorites cities - albeit I have a lack on major city knowledge - never been to LA or Boston, etc. My family is in Atlanta, most of my friends are in Atlanta, but the dream life I created when I was 12 is in New York.

Any thoughts? I need all the advice I can get!

Informational Interviews - what is your REAL motive?

I love this post. It is so pertinent to my PR life right now. I am returning to NYC for spring break this year (lived there over the summer and had the time of my life) and can’t wait to show my sorority sister all of my favorite shops and restaurants. Unfortunately, my father thinks my love affair with the Big Apple has gone too far and finds it annoying that I am going for spring break AGAIN – did I mention I went for spring break last year, too? Three trips, one lasting for three months, in under a year seems a bit excessive to him.

Last spring break I went on 11 interviews in four days to find a summer internship. I received nine offers (sorry, just had to throw that in there – always a little self-esteem booster). This year, I have already made plans to go to lunch with my former employers, but this is not supposed to be a working spring break – it is my senior year and before I start working for the next 50 years of my life, I would enjoy a week do whatever my heart desires.

So, my father suggested that I do informational interviews with companies that I may be interested in working for come graduation. One problem – I don’t believe in informational interviews – they know what I’m really there for, I want a JOB – I can find anything I want to know about a company through it’s Web site or even a Google search. Why waste someone’s time pretending to be finding out about their company when I have ulterior motives?

It is very comforting to know that the president of a PR company feels the same way I do. And right after adding this post to my blog, I am going to send a direct link to my father :)!

Event Planning - not for the faint of heart

This past weekend I hosted over 300 parents for my sorority's annual Family Weekend.

My sorority likes to go above and beyond so we have 3 events over the weekend - totaling more than $20,000. Pretty big potatoes for a small college sorority.

I was elected to the Family Weekend Chair position last November. I had to run against other sisters and created an entire proposal for the weekend. Not your average sorority, huh? We get very passionate about our events.

I was grateful to win because planning events is hopefully going to be a part of my future career so this was invaluable experience.

After months of planning it was finally time. Last year, we had an event at a bar on Friday where underage students had to use fake IDs to get in - in front of their parents (not good for future reference!), ran out of food at the huge Saturday night bonanza event and had generally annoyed parents at the closing brunch on Sunday.

This year, I was determined to blow everyone away because I did not want MY event planning skills to get trashed for an entire year like my poor friend who planned last year's events.

Thankfully, everything went better than I could have even imagined. I was hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. We had trivia on Friday and at first I thought it was going to be a disaster because it began at 8 and only half of the people who RSVP'd and paid were there. People eventually began trickling in and a good time was had by all.

Saturday was amazing - casino, dinner and dancing. Everyone was just grateful to not run out of food again this year!! Unfortunately, my one issue of the weekend happened at this event. Let's just say one of the rudest families I have ever met in my life made their presence known. They showed up an hour late and then demanded a table of ten to themselves. Of course by that point all of the tables are mostly full with only one or two seats at each table available because it was a first come/ first served event. The mother proceeded to say (loud enough for me to hear) - "poor planning, this is horrible." It was tough but I managed to please them - I had another table pulled in and we squeezed in place settings. If that is the worst thing that happens in a weekend full of possible disasters - woo hoo!

Sunday brunch was a breeze, and so ended the weekend that I had been working on solo for months on end. Bringing me to my lesson learned:

Lesson learned - let other people help you! I was nervous to have a committee because it's hard to trust other people to do it the way you want it done. But, you cant do everything alone and even though it is your name that can be damaged if someone else messes up, you just have to work with what you've got.

I thought this post was funny - just a little side note about the little things that can make your event less than amazing!

Bad move Weil - everyone loves Theron

Something I found today that caught my eye is this commentary on Charlize Theron and celebrity endorsements.

Theron is the spokesperson for Raymond Weil watches and is now being sued because she was seen in public wearing a different company’s watch. How crazy is our society that someone has to wear only one kind of watch or drink only one kind of soda (Britney Spears better stay away from the Coke or Pepsi will have a fit). I understand that she signed a contract and should be smart enough not to test the rules. (And even as I am writing this I am becoming more in tune with the Weil team and how paying a celebrity millions and not getting what you wanted would be frustrating.) Yet, suing her for wearing a different watch one day is just absurd.

Speaking in PR terms, I think it was a bad move on the part of Weil. Nobody is going to notice that Theron is not wearing a Weil watch. We really don’t care that much – we would rather see who she is kissing at lunch, or even what she is eating (we are that obsessed with celebrity). By suing Charlize Theron, Weil is making the company look foolish and anal retentive – this never looks good to the public. Weil is drawing attention to something that would have gone unnoticed. And while all publicity is supposedly good publicity, it’s hard to find someone who doesn’t think Theron is intriguing, so to sue her simply for wearing a different watch only makes people side with her and against Weil.