Interview with Allison

How do you plan on self promoting yourself?

I definitely want to include my resume and I think it would be good to have a detailed explanation of what I’m looking for professionally and an about me section. I would also like to include a good selection of quality work that I’ve done to shows some of my strengths.

Name three goals you have between now and graduation.

Since my job now will be full-time when I graduate, I want to work to get a better grip on the foundation and all its ins and outs. I’m taking a not-for-profit business class through Harvard’s business school next semester and I hope to learn a lot from that and gain a better understanding of non-profits before I graduate. I hope to just keep moving up in the

 field of PR, whether it’s with the foundation or somewhere else.

What employment goals do you have after graduation?  Name three of them.

After graduation I want to get a lot of experience. I want to learn as much as I can about my current

 organization, but I don’t want to settle for one place and I hope to take advantage of good opportunities when they present themselves.

Name three best case scenario jobs you would like to have and why.

I want to work for something that I will find personally rewarding. There is a difference between planning an event for someone’s birthday and planning a cancer society fundraiser. I would also

 like to work with an organization that relates to cancer, whether that means writing, event planning or another kind of PR. Whatever I do, I just want it to be something that makes me want to go to work every day.

Do you prefer to work professionally with a group or on your own and why?

I like to work with people because I like conversation and I get along with most people, but I also like to work

 alone. I would prefer to find the balance where I can work with people, but my work is my own and everyone makes a contribution.

What contributions can you make to a group dynamic?  Name three things.

I typically get along with everyone, I am respectful to other people’s ideas and opinions, and I can provide input based on other people’s ideas.

What contributions can you make working independently?  Name three things.

Working independently allows me to use only my own creativity and ideas. I am typically very independent and working alone would require to go out and meet new people, which would be helpful to me.

What are your pet peeves in a work environment?

I don’t like when people think that they know it all and I don’t like to be talked down to. There is a difference between giving advice and talking down to someone. I want to work somewhere that is fun, but not to the point where things get out of control and nothing gets done.

Name three things you feel passionate about professionally - this could be school related, current job related, group or organizationally related - and outline why you feel passionate towards them.

I am passionate about family. My family lives all over the country, but we still keep a close relationship and that molds who I am and what I want to do. I am passionate about working. I have had job since I was 16 and can’t picture not working and being a stay at home mom in the future. I am also passionate about fashion. I like to keep up to date with the latest trends.

How do you handle stress and pressure?

I have gotten better at not holding my thoughts in. One of my biggest flaws is that I tend to take everything in and not express how I feel. I am much better about that now. When I am stressed, I will say that I am stressed out, sit down and figure out what to do and then do it.

Name the last three jobs you had, and the best success and the worst failure you experienced at each of these jobs.

My last job was as a server at the Buffalo Roadhouse. My best success was creating customer relationships and having regulars come in and requesting me as their server. My worst failure was a poor comment card from a discontent customer when I was sick.

I also did a work study in Pennsylvania. I was a cold caller and had to call alumni to ask them to donate money. My best success was learning how to pull at people and convince to donate. It helped to build communication skills, especially talking on phone. My worst failure was making calls when people were nasty and letting it put me in a bad mood for the rest of the day.

A third job I had was as a temp at Independent. My best success was learning the ins and outs of medical paperwork and there really was no worst failure.

How do you handle criticism?

I take criticism well. I feel that constructive criticism helps me to learn and I often ask for opinions and feedback.

Outline three strengths you have

 in school.

I am a strong writer. Test taking has never been a strong point for me, but if I can earn points on tests for my writing, I can usually do very well. I don’t necessarily like group work, but work well with groups and I also get along well with my professors.

Outline three strengths you have in your workplace.

In my workplace, I am able to bring my own ideas to the table and show my creativity. I am currently the youngest member of the board and my knowledge of current technology can help to refresh some of the older members. I also love to work with people and kids.

How has creating a WikiPage strengthened your communication skills?    Name and elaborate on three things:

I have learned that saying less is saying more and that I have to be aware of my audience. Some people reading my article may have no background on the topic, so I had to make it accessible to everyone. The project helped to improve my communication skills.

How will Facebook be used to promote yourself?

Name and elaborate on three things:

Facebook can be used to promote myself because I refrain from posting anything that I wouldn’t want to be seen by employers. I tend to keep Family pictures, which shows that I tend to be more responsible and family oriented. I could post my resume, but even without it, Facebook can be a good track of previous employment with an outline of jobs and the years I worked there. The fact that I know how to use Facebook is a valuable asset for my job.

How would you promote an organization on Facebook?

Name and elaborate on three things:

I would start by creating a page and then try to pull in as many likes as I can. I would post pictures, especially of events, because they catch the attention of readers and I would make sure that the page is kept current.

How will Twitter be used to promote yourself?

Name and elaborate on three things:

1.  It will allow me to obtain good informations from groups like PR Newswire, allowing me to portray my communication skills by tweeting at them and replying to their posts.
2.  I can obtain information for corporations that I might be interested in working for.
3.  If I create a casual relationship with certain groups, they could eventually decide to follow my tweets which will be professional and portray positive PR skills.

Graphically what do you want to have on your website.

I want my website to be clean and classy. It should be professional and I want it to represent me. I definitely want my resume on there. I will also include the PDF’s of all of my projects from communication graphics. I could also put the video project on there along with my bio.