Professional Development: Adulting 101

Welcome, you have just entered a realm of personal and professional reflection as I complete my internship with the up-and-coming digital marketing company, UpCode Studios. All feedback and comments are greatly appreciated.

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Moving Forward

In my experience, Spring semesters always seemed to fly by in comparison to Fall semesters. Maybe it’s merely weather related, or perhaps the anticipation of Summer has caused me to day-dream away my Spring, but regardless of the reason, this Spring semester followed the pattern in seeming extremely short. 

In this short amount of time I have had some of the best experiences of my life thus far. In January I was able to leave the country for the first time and learn about the amazing country of Honduras while helping build the foundation for a new school building. This semester I realized that I will be graduating a semester early, which meant that I officially became a senior undergraduate student at Point Park University! As a part of completing this degree I was able to receive credit for an internship in order to further my experience in the PR field and improve my portfolio, or at least that’s what I thought I was going to get out of it when I signed up.

What my internship really turned into was the best learning experience I’ve ever had in my career field. My technical skills, confidence with clients and general confidence in speaking about my field, the resources I have access to and understanding of, as well as my portfolio material have all at least doubled if not tripled or quadrupled.

I feel that I have proven to myself once again that I am in the right field, and am headed in the right direction for my future. I have been offered a position with UpCode studios and will begin as an official employee next week, I am so excited to continue learning and growing as an individual while also working to grow UpCode as its own entity as well. 

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Balancing Act

Clients. Bosses. School. Deadlines. Responsibilities. Those extra “community day” activities you feel obligated to sign up for then instantly regret because you KNOW you don’t have time for it. Personal time??? Forget about it. 

That mess up there is a pretty fair depiction of my brain this semester. I have learned from past, similarly busy, portions of my life that saying yes is one thing, and delivering that promise is another. I have also learned through those experiences that communication and being upfront are keys to maximizing my chances at succeeding. 

I have done my best this semester to implement these lessons in the form of keeping in constant contact with my supervisors, teachers and clients as well as not being afraid to say no! Especially within my internship with UpCode, there has been a constant flow of new client opportunities or business venture opportunities. As a student, a lot of these offers can make me feel sort of star struck with astronomical *possible* payouts or complete lifestyle changes etc. The opportunity to be in on these types of pitches and conversations has allowed me to practice analyzing good deals vs. bad ones. 

I have also gotten A LOT of practice in balancing client relations. I have experienced clients that will text me from sun up to sun down with ideas, requests, and questions about their business’ social media pages. As much as I appreciate them being involved and wanting to grow their social presence, I have had to learn the best way to juggle this constant communication with what is realistic for me. 

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Jargon

In previous weeks on this blog I’ve expressed my concern for my lack of technical savvy. I was afraid for a long time that my inability to code or lack of Photoshop mastery would keep me from competing in my field in a professional capacity. From my time at UpCode I have learned that I can continue to grow in my technical skills while holding a professional position. The other side of technical skill I’ve been focusing on and expanding my knowledge in is the actual language that goes with it. It can sometimes seem like the art of writing has been lost in this internet era. Those who truly understand PR, advertising, marketing, etc. in the digital age however, understand that planned and precise copy is vital to the success of any campaign. 

I’ve learned to think of copy as simply a written expression of branding. If your brand is known for bold colors and your logo and slogan are in a bold font, then your copy and messaging needs to be the same! Consistency is key, and from what I’ve seen with the companies that come to UpCode, it is very common area where businesses fall short in their digital presence.  

This week my boss arranged a client consultation for us. I always love client meetings, but this was one was especially interesting because the business had only been open for about 4 months and was full of energy and ideas. On top of this we got to meet at their actual business location rather than say, a coffee shop, which gave me a much better opportunity to picture the type of content they needed to create. When talking to the owners my boss gave me a large amount of authority to ask questions and make suggestions for the client. This experience really allowed me to gain confidence in my PR and social media knowledge as well as my ability to diagnose businesses problems.

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Innovation

As a deep thinker and avid problem solver, I thoroughly enjoy the process of identifying, understanding, and solving a problem. This affinity for getting to the root of situations has oftentimes given me an edge in school scenarios and helped me to stay positive and focused as a restaurant Shift Supervisor. 

In the past I’ve been told that this way of thinking about problems and the world in general is unnecessary, overdoing it, or causes me to over-analyze situations. Although I do not discount that being a deep thinker can complicate “simple” situations, I also see the value in taking the time necessary to understand something beyond the obvious. 

Since beginning this internship experience, I have been highly surprised of the extent to which my boss has been encouraging and extremely supportive of my often underdeveloped and experimental ideas as they emerge during client discussion meetings. This support has given me a new confidence in the way I problem solve and go about understanding the world around me. 

This week in particular, I met with my boss to go over how work with my clients was progressing and what the plan was as we move forward. As we began to dive into social media work, we started to talk about some of the difficulties associated with selling and executing social media services. With such a rich pool of technological tools available to UpCode for use on social media platforms for clients, there is a lot of value to sell. As we continued to talk, conversation morphed into a brainstorming session about how to ensure that clients understood and valued what professional social media can do for them. I was comfortable enough to ramble, and stumbled upon the idea that social media is a tool in your PR toolbox. Social media campaigns are not simply collections of vaguely similarly themed posts, but rather a strategic plan of the content to be posted with storytelling objectives, consistency, and varied content to keep the audience engaged further. After the meeting, I was so inspired by our breakthrough I created a social media proposal presentation template that will provide social media creators at UpCode with a streamlined way to present social media schedules to their potential clients in an easily readable and professional manner. My boss loved the idea and design of the template, and praised me for thinking outside the box and producing such quality work in a short time. 

This level of validation in my problem solving skills and work ethic once again reinforces that I am in the right field, working with the right people. My ideas are being respected and I feel like I am becoming a confident and competent professional.

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Every Day is an Opportunity

Since beginning this internship, I have become more and more excited about my career path and agency work specifically. This confidence has come as a pleasant release as I have not always been so certain. 

 A common question for PR students is whether they are interested in pursuing corporate, non-profit, or agency work after graduation. When I was first asked this question Freshman year I was caught off guard because I’d never really given much thought to these distinctions before, still preoccupied with ethics guidelines and historical PR case studies. After that encounter however I began to try to imagine myself as a professional, researching different branches of public relations roles and what those career paths could look like. I knew I wanted to use internships and school experiences as a means to test out what these different environments were like, but that was the extent to which I contemplated these options until I landed my first summer internship following my Sophomore year at Point Park University. It was for a small business, and from it I learned a lot about the ups and downs of working for a single for-profit organization with only a few owners/ upper management individuals. I enjoyed focusing on one client and being given a lot of responsibility, however it was also stressful not to be able to work with a team or have a support system of managers that could mediate between my client and myself. I liked being treated like a professional but I didn’t like the insecurity of conceptualizing, designing, executing, editing, and promoting all of my own work with very little guidance or oversight. 

With agency work, I feel much more supported and secure in my work because I am surrounded by a community of fellow communications professionals that can help with every aspect of my work from brainstorming to editing and critiquing my work. I am also greatly enjoying working under individuals who can educate and mold me to become a better professional for all of my clients as opposed to attempting to satisfy one boss who isn’t necessarily even sure of the extent of what PR and marketing is or how to use it.

Currently I am feeling like agencies are the place for me, and I am so happy that I was given this opportunity to test out my options before I graduated. 

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Skill Development

This week I was invited to my first sales team meeting. This is a growing group of individuals who have shown interest and skills in sales who get together once a week to comb the internet for businesses that could benefit from our services. Sounds simple enough, but I was curious to hear how everyone went about making, and moving past, a good first impression. 

The team was awesome. It was made up of employees who started off as interns at UpCode just like me, senior staff, as well as a few  “mentors” who aren’t official employees but have a relationship with the company and could give us pointers on sales. Finding businesses  with poor online presence was not difficult, but when it came time to make that first “touch” I was surprised to find that I was nervous to make the call. I think it was just because I was surrounded by people who were much more experienced than I am, but as a fairly confident person I was surprised to feel apprehensive. I went into the next room before making my first call to minimize background noise and subdue my nerves. Although they did not pick up, I left a message and felt good about how it went. The voicemail worked as great practice, after which I felt much more comfortable and made 3 semi-successful “touches”. I had a great first experience with sales this week and learned a lot of great tips and tricks to implement in the future. 

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Networking 101

A major part of any communications career is networking. These skills don’t just stop becoming relevant when you land an awesome job. Meeting new clients, sales meetings and conversations, and company functions are examples of times when communications professionals need to put their best networking foot forward. I am a very personable and bubbly individual, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t get nervous when I prepare for important networking situations.  

This past weekend I was invited to come to a church service with my boss and a few other employees of the firm. I was excited to hear that I would also have the opportunity to meet some individuals who could possibly become clients of the firm (and myself specifically). I didn’t really even notice how nervous I was until I tried to find an outfit for the occasion and began panicking about making the right impression. I researched the church, analyzing how dressy or casual the congregation was, read up on themes in the church’s messaging so I could be sure to match their tonality, and even listened to a number of past sermons to prepare myself for the style of ministry I would encounter. I think my end-goal for all of these steps was to minimize the element of surprise involved in entering a new space that could throw me off and impact my ability to make a good impression. 

I felt sort of silly for taking all of these precautions at the time, but thinking back on the experience, I’m glad I did all those things! I was able to overcome my nervousness and fears by preparing as much as possible, and that in itself has been an awesome learning experience.

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Trimming the Fat

One of the downsides to being a hard worker is that when I’m asked if I can do something, I immediately want to say yes now, and figure out if it’s possible later. I am one of those people that loves going the extra mile. Whether its agreeing to come to work early to run a catering order or agreeing to do free design work for friends, I always want to help. Through my time in college however, I’ve seen why that is really never the best approach. Perfectionism, a maxed out schedule, and a knack for procrastination do NOT mix well.

For this internship I have been so blessed to be involved with a firm that understands that I am in school and have a lot on my plate. They’ve started me with one client and have spent a lot of time talking to me about the types of things I want to learn and explore in my field. My boss has made an effort to be available for any questions I have as well as arrange meetings for me with a lot of influential people in the company’s sphere and getting me involved in their conversations. These meetings are so exciting to me because instead of it being like school where I leave class overwhelmed and stressed out, I have so far left every meeting feeling refreshed and overjoyed to be working in marketing with UpCode studios. It has also allowed me to feel like part of the company conversation which makes me feel very valued as an intern.

Even with all of this support, I still get stressed out sometimes about all of the projects and groups I’m involved in, but I feel like college has taught me how to say no to those extra assignments or tasks that I KNOW In cannot handle. I’ve seen what happens when I act as a “yes-man,” and now I know that I can control my stress levels in a big way by being careful about how much I take on at a time.

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Find Your Niche

Like most 20-something college students, I am currently working a part-time job in order to pay the bills and maintain my sense of independence, and no...that part-time position does not have ANYTHING to do with my major. I often felt discouraged about my job because of how much time it takes away from me. I would much rather be spending that time doing my homework and honing skills that aren’t as strong as I’d like them to be. I am often reminded however that things do not happen over night, but rather in their own time in ways I would never be able to design for myself.

This was definitely true in the case of my internship. While at work one weekend, I was making my rounds in the dining room(I’m a shift supervisor....whoop). Mostly I’d just ask if I could get the customers anything and offer to take their plates, but I would jump at any opportunity to hold an actual conversation about pretty much anything other than fast-casual dining. I noticed that one customer was on his laptop working on what appeared to be a logo on Photoshop. As we were talking, I shared my passion for PR and told him that I'd noticed he was working on some graphic content. As we continued our conversation, I explained that my greatest weakness in PR etc. is the graphic design/web design element, but that I was really strong in other areas like content creation and IMC planning. At this point the gentleman explained to me that he was actually the founder and CEO of a digital marketing firm that specialized in web design, SEO, and social media management. I was of course taken completely aback by this as he whipped out his business card and told me to send him an email if I was interested in internship opportunities. I immediately started SCREAMING on the inside as I shook his hand and went back to the office to put away the card before returning to serving people their lunch. 

I was nervous, however, that a cutting edge start-up digital firm wouldn’t have a legitimate place for me among all of the tech savvy wiz-kids I assumed they already had on staff. I already feared that my lack of technical prowess would turn out to be my biggest professional downfall, especially considering the way that technology is expanding and evolving in every sense these days. I didn’t want to enter into an internship that I didn’t think I had any potential for hire in. Sure I could write, create IMC plans, and manage social content.....but was that enough to earn myself a meaningful seat at the table? As I spoke more with the company’s CEO about internship opportunities, I brought up this concern. His response still shocks me to this day. He explained that he thought my skill sets seemed like something that could be very valuable to the company and that he would have no problem investing time into teaching me as much of the technical stuff as I wanted to learn. After hearing this response I knew I was headed in the right direction.

They always say that thing happen for a reason. In regards to this internship, that could not have been more true. Since beginning my work with the company I have dramatically increased my skills and confidence in Photoshop, Hootesuite, Google trends and analytics, Facebook power editor, GIF creation software, etc....and that doesn’t even include the non-techy things I’ve already learned and experienced(including my very first client meeting, yikes!). I’ve recognized that not letting my fears stand in the way of my passion is literally allowing my weakness to become my strength as well as my entrance ticket into the beginning of my professional career.

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Hit or Miss

Last summer I participated in my first internship. I was super excited for it because it blended my very odd combination of major and minor: Public relations and ballet. At my university’s Job/Internship fair, I saw a booth for a local dance studio looking for someone to manage their PR/marketing, and when I spoke to them it turned out they were in need of dance teachers too! I couldn’t have been more excited. I was so ready to bring my expertise in ballet into the PR world. I quickly realized that the work load for this internship was very intensive, and not very well organized. I wasn’t sure exactly who my direct boss was, my client was very picky, and it seemed that they wanted me to “fix their PR problems” but didn’t want to give me any freedom or trust my professional opinion.  It was extremely disappointing to realize that this internship wasn’t going to be the ideal-scenario learning experience I was hoping for. I did my best to keep up with the random, extremely work-intensive projects given to me with impossibly short time tables throughout the summer and just make sure I was communicating with my bosses constantly so they understood that I was trying but struggling. I’ve kept a positive relationship with them and still teach dance for them occasionally, but my first internship will definitely go down in my memory as a “live and learn” experience. When securing this internship with UpCode Studios, I was a little nervous about the fact that they are a start-up company with only a handful of full-time employees. I was afraid it would be a repeat of my previous experience and end up leaving me more discouraged than educated and polished. 

After my first meeting at the office, these fears are 100% relieved. I was introduced to my co-workers and treated with respect from the get-go. They first meeting was basically a more extensive interview, in which they asked me  more about why I want to be involved in marketing and why I think I could be an asset to their company. They immediately reassured me following the interview saying that they were excited to work with me, had a client ready for me to work with, had a specific place in mind for me not only as an intern but as a full-fledged EMPLOYEE as long as they were satisfied with the work I was doing. I could not have been more ecstatic! I am now super ready to begin working on my first campaign. Yayy for marketing and new beginnings!

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Mic Check...123...

My father grew up in the foster care system after his parents left him and his 4(I think?) siblings in their trailer home in rural Wyoming. Now 46, he is a aeronautical engineer on the presidential line of aircraft. Although he doesn’t talk much about his childhood, he has always worked hard to make sure I understood the value of hard work and self-confidence. Since I have moved out of my parents’ house and into the city for school, these lessons have been echoing in my ears louder and louder. 

This Spring 2017 semester marks the beginning of my final year in the pursuance of a bachelor’s degree in PR and marketing. Of course being the over-achiever I am, I am currently signed up to take my Capstone, Practicum, and Internship credits ALL this semester ON TOP of a normal class-load. The first big hurdle in this endeavor was to simply secure the internship and practicum positions. The practicum was obtained simply through emailing my resume out and going to meet with the Ed. D. department head of my university, but for a real-world internship I wasn’t really sure where to start. One day while working as a Shift Supervisor at my current food service job, I was walking through the dining room talking to customers and making sure they were taken care of. I noticed that one customer was creating what looked to be a logo on their laptop, jumping at the chance to escape the world of salads and coffee even just for a moment. In talking with him further, I found out that he owned and founded his very own digital marketing firm and was indeed looking for interns.....and EEEP....employees!!! My ability to strike up a conversation with just about anyone had finally paid off, and just in the nick of time. Two days before internship contracts were due, I completed mine for UpCode studios as their social media (etc.) intern. 

So many things had to go right for this position to present itself. Getting into college, moving to a city on my own, getting a job in that city, working hard in my major, getting promoted in  my job while maintaining interest and good grades in my job, and 1 million other minute details that made that one moment possible. As I’ve reflected on that day more and more, I’ve realized just how much my perseverance and self-confidence allowed me to get to where I am today. The most exciting thing about that is that I am just beginning to develop as a professional human being. As I continue through this internship program, and hopefully into a full-time employment position, I intend to use this blog as a way to document not only the things that I’m learning and feeling at the moment, but also to reflect on why/how those moments became possible and what lessons I can take from them. I’ve got a long way to go on my journey towards full-fledged “adulthood”, but I’m so excited for this part of the journey to begin.