Comments on: Learn from Successful People http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/02/25/learn-from-successful-people/ Marcom - Marketing Communications :: PR/Marcom Pros Mentoring Students Thu, 20 Nov 2008 08:29:38 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.2 By: sarahL http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/02/25/learn-from-successful-people/#comment-19617 sarahL Wed, 07 Nov 2007 18:39:23 +0000 http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/02/25/learn-from-successful-people/#comment-19617 Reading this post now, as a senior, I agree with Hilary that I wish I had stumbled across this concept earlier. As scary as the real world is to me, I would rather be better prepared than be lazy in college and have a lot of free time. I'm working at a radio station, but I'm not getting any of the writing practice that I know I'll need when I graduate. I will get many scrunched eyebrows and confused looks for this, but now I think it's worth doing a second internship. How unfortunate it would be if I was unprepared for the work world...yuck. Reading this post now, as a senior, I agree with Hilary that I wish I had stumbled across this concept earlier. As scary as the real world is to me, I would rather be better prepared than be lazy in college and have a lot of free time. I’m working at a radio station, but I’m not getting any of the writing practice that I know I’ll need when I graduate. I will get many scrunched eyebrows and confused looks for this, but now I think it’s worth doing a second internship. How unfortunate it would be if I was unprepared for the work world…yuck.

]]> By: Hillary Hearn http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/02/25/learn-from-successful-people/#comment-2372 Hillary Hearn Wed, 26 Apr 2006 05:14:17 +0000 http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/02/25/learn-from-successful-people/#comment-2372 I wish I had read this blog three years ago when I chose public relations as my major. As I read one of your suggestions, the one about getting involved in career-related extra-curricular activities, I had a sense of regret. I had a couple of elected positions in my sorority and volunteered on some committees that are relevant but I wish I did more. I wish I found an internship every semester so that I could learn more. Not only would it help my resume become more attractive to potential employers but I would be a lot more comfortable with the job hunt. I am beginning my first internship this summer and I am not going to lie, I am very nervous. I can not wait to learn more but I don't know why I did not know all of this earlier. Great advice! I wish I had read this blog three years ago when I chose public relations as my major. As I read one of your suggestions, the one about getting involved in career-related extra-curricular activities, I had a sense of regret. I had a couple of elected positions in my sorority and volunteered on some committees that are relevant but I wish I did more.
I wish I found an internship every semester so that I could learn more. Not only would it help my resume become more attractive to potential employers but I would be a lot more comfortable with the job hunt.
I am beginning my first internship this summer and I am not going to lie, I am very nervous. I can not wait to learn more but I don’t know why I did not know all of this earlier. Great advice!

]]> By: courtney http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/02/25/learn-from-successful-people/#comment-1902 courtney Fri, 24 Mar 2006 08:36:57 +0000 http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/02/25/learn-from-successful-people/#comment-1902 Your advice is so lofty, Dale. It reminds me of times when I was little and I would tell my parents that I wanted to be an astronaut or the president. They would always respond with, "you can be whatever you want to be." Over the past 5 years, that has turned into "Courtney, find a job that will pay you." Your advice is actually feasible if we resist the mindset of those coming out of college. Our salaries are only part of the payment we would receive. The advice from mentors will be worth far more than that, because it will carry us through the rest of our careers. Career changes are scary, but as you have mentioned, they can all be learning experiences. With your insight, it could be considered settling by taking the higher paying job. The bottom line consists of many different points to consider Your advice is so lofty, Dale. It reminds me of times when I was little and I would tell my parents that I wanted to be an astronaut or the president. They would always respond with, “you can be whatever you want to be.” Over the past 5 years, that has turned into “Courtney, find a job that will pay you.”

Your advice is actually feasible if we resist the mindset of those coming out of college. Our salaries are only part of the payment we would receive. The advice from mentors will be worth far more than that, because it will carry us through the rest of our careers.

Career changes are scary, but as you have mentioned, they can all be learning experiences. With your insight, it could be considered settling by taking the higher paying job. The bottom line consists of many different points to consider

]]> By: Heather http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/02/25/learn-from-successful-people/#comment-1796 Heather Tue, 14 Mar 2006 22:28:17 +0000 http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/02/25/learn-from-successful-people/#comment-1796 Thanks Dale for all of your experience and background advice. You have had plenty of experience in the pr field and marketing. I enjoyed your advice for others about what we can learn from you. I think that information is beneficial and can be applied into our careers and work ethic. I have known since my senior year in high school that public relations was what I wanted to do. I entered college as a pr major and still am. I love it and can not imagine myself in a different major. I have learned vital and key lessons that will help me later in my career and in life. I just got my internship finalized for this summer and I can't wait to apply the things we learn in the classroom to the real world. My teachers have been the biggest influences on me to this day. I had a journalism professor last semester that I learned so much from. She taught us key points that we would need to know if we were going to work for a newspaper, but she also taught us other aspects that use writing in their career. Half of our class was public relations majors so she taught us a lot of information about writing in pr and how to get your message across in an efficient way. I appreciate your advice and time you took to tell us about your past work experience. It never hurts to hear from others who have been where we are going. Thanks Dale! Thanks Dale for all of your experience and background advice. You have had plenty of experience in the pr field and marketing. I enjoyed your advice for others about what we can learn from you. I think that information is beneficial and can be applied into our careers and work ethic.
I have known since my senior year in high school that public relations was what I wanted to do. I entered college as a pr major and still am. I love it and can not imagine myself in a different major. I have learned vital and key lessons that will help me later in my career and in life. I just got my internship finalized for this summer and I can’t wait to apply the things we learn in the classroom to the real world.
My teachers have been the biggest influences on me to this day. I had a journalism professor last semester that I learned so much from. She taught us key points that we would need to know if we were going to work for a newspaper, but she also taught us other aspects that use writing in their career. Half of our class was public relations majors so she taught us a lot of information about writing in pr and how to get your message across in an efficient way.
I appreciate your advice and time you took to tell us about your past work experience. It never hurts to hear from others who have been where we are going. Thanks Dale!

]]> By: Tricia http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/02/25/learn-from-successful-people/#comment-1696 Tricia Mon, 06 Mar 2006 03:44:47 +0000 http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/02/25/learn-from-successful-people/#comment-1696 I like this post because it provided some interesting perspective. I have always heard that when job hunting you should find a job that you like, one that challenges you and that is a good fit. While Mr. Wolf's advice fits into all of these, it also gives something new. I never thought about taking a job because of who you get to work with. Which is unusual since it has obvious benefits. Movie stars take roles that will allow them to work with Al Pacino or Meryl Streep. Musicians do the same thing. Why shouldn't PR Practitioners? I have also had several jobs throughout the years. All of them allowed me to work with people who had something to offer, something I could learn. Many times I think that we get so caught up in getting to our destination that we forget to enjoy the trip. I realize this is an over used cliche, but it is what I got from this post. I am guilty of this. I focus so much on trying to pass my classes and get the degree that I forget that I am trying to learn something, not simply memorize it for a test. The same is true for a part-time job. Even though I may not be doing PR work yet, doesn't mean there aren't things to learn. I appreciate Dale taking the time to write this post for us. Writing in this blog is an easy way for us to learn from working PR pratitioners and communicators. As students about to be entering the job-hunting phase, we need all the advice we can get. I know that I do. I have read this post several times and I hope that I got what I should have from it. I like this post because it provided some interesting perspective. I have always heard that when job hunting you should find a job that you like, one that challenges you and that is a good fit. While Mr. Wolf’s advice fits into all of these, it also gives something new. I never thought about taking a job because of who you get to work with. Which is unusual since it has obvious benefits. Movie stars take roles that will allow them to work with Al Pacino or Meryl Streep. Musicians do the same thing. Why shouldn’t PR Practitioners?

I have also had several jobs throughout the years. All of them allowed me to work with people who had something to offer, something I could learn. Many times I think that we get so caught up in getting to our destination that we forget to enjoy the trip. I realize this is an over used cliche, but it is what I got from this post. I am guilty of this. I focus so much on trying to pass my classes and get the degree that I forget that I am trying to learn something, not simply memorize it for a test. The same is true for a part-time job. Even though I may not be doing PR work yet, doesn’t mean there aren’t things to learn.

I appreciate Dale taking the time to write this post for us. Writing in this blog is an easy way for us to learn from working PR pratitioners and communicators. As students about to be entering the job-hunting phase, we need all the advice we can get. I know that I do. I have read this post several times and I hope that I got what I should have from it.

]]> By: Ashley Imsand http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/02/25/learn-from-successful-people/#comment-1675 Ashley Imsand Thu, 02 Mar 2006 16:54:04 +0000 http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/02/25/learn-from-successful-people/#comment-1675 I cannot believe how lucky we all are. I am sitting here reading all of these posts and comments and we are all so lost sometimes about how to jump into the real world. We have the luxury of reading personal stories of other PR professionals reassuring us that although it takes hard work and a bit of happenstance to get you to your goal, we'll all turn out fine. Also, Dale, you are telling us to find great teachers in all of our jobs in the future, and I think it is incredible that we are already getting to learn from these great teachers here at marcom before we even have to get out in the real world. For that we are REALLY appreciative. I have to say I too am a bit confused about my direction. What if what you love is public relations in general? What if you love making things more efficient and effective? What if you love communications in general? It just seems to me that what I love just tells me I'm in the right major, not where I should go first out of college. But I think I will definitely take your advice and find where I can learn the most about the things I love, PR, marketing and communications. Thanks for your advice as always. You're just adding to our lists of wonderful teachers! I cannot believe how lucky we all are. I am sitting here reading all of these posts and comments and we are all so lost sometimes about how to jump into the real world. We have the luxury of reading personal stories of other PR professionals reassuring us that although it takes hard work and a bit of happenstance to get you to your goal, we’ll all turn out fine.

Also, Dale, you are telling us to find great teachers in all of our jobs in the future, and I think it is incredible that we are already getting to learn from these great teachers here at marcom before we even have to get out in the real world. For that we are REALLY appreciative.

I have to say I too am a bit confused about my direction. What if what you love is public relations in general? What if you love making things more efficient and effective? What if you love communications in general? It just seems to me that what I love just tells me I’m in the right major, not where I should go first out of college. But I think I will definitely take your advice and find where I can learn the most about the things I love, PR, marketing and communications. Thanks for your advice as always. You’re just adding to our lists of wonderful teachers!

]]> By: Coffee with a sprinkle of intellect… thoughts from Emily Melton » Public Relations, Shumblic Relations: Where things always this complicated? http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/02/25/learn-from-successful-people/#comment-1665 Coffee with a sprinkle of intellect… thoughts from Emily Melton » Public Relations, Shumblic Relations: Where things always this complicated? Tue, 28 Feb 2006 22:36:23 +0000 http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/02/25/learn-from-successful-people/#comment-1665 [...] Yes ma’am, No ma’am. Yes, I’m from the South, and I was raised to address my elders this way. Just like Dale Wolf just mentioned in Marcomblog, you need to put yourself in situations where you have a mentor or someone who can teach you something. Although we hate to admit it, most of the time you’ve got to tip your hat to the experienced practitioners. [...] […] Yes ma’am, No ma’am. Yes, I’m from the South, and I was raised to address my elders this way. Just like Dale Wolf just mentioned in Marcomblog, you need to put yourself in situations where you have a mentor or someone who can teach you something. Although we hate to admit it, most of the time you’ve got to tip your hat to the experienced practitioners. […]

]]> By: Monica http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/02/25/learn-from-successful-people/#comment-1664 Monica Tue, 28 Feb 2006 21:43:06 +0000 http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/02/25/learn-from-successful-people/#comment-1664 Thanks Dale for your great advice! It seems that the closer and closer graduation gets, the more I seem to crave advice from seasoned professionals, like yourself. I have gotten a few books on breaking into the real world, good interviewing tips, what everyone should know, etc. We have all seen them, and while they offer great advice and help, nothing really compensates for advice straight from those that have been through it. I appreciate you and all the others who contribute to blog on MarCom and give advice to the upcoming graduates. Having that said, after reading your blog, I get the impression that a lot of your jobs were able to happen because you were open to change and let opportunities find you. I think the biggest piece of advice I can take from your blog, is to follow your dreams, but to expand your concept of possibilities. A lot of times I fall victim to the through process of thinking that I have to land the perfect PR job out of college. In the back of my mind I know that this is silly, and I truly am open to anything, but I still feel such pressure to land that "it" job. Unfortunately, along with many of the above respondents, I really am not sure what I want my exact career path to be, much less what I want to do right after school. I know I want to begin working in a large agency, but ask me what kind of PR I want to do in that large agency and I am clueless. But, I do have some great role models and will take your advice and study them. Thanks Dale for your great advice! It seems that the closer and closer graduation gets, the more I seem to crave advice from seasoned professionals, like yourself. I have gotten a few books on breaking into the real world, good interviewing tips, what everyone should know, etc. We have all seen them, and while they offer great advice and help, nothing really compensates for advice straight from those that have been through it. I appreciate you and all the others who contribute to blog on MarCom and give advice to the upcoming graduates.

Having that said, after reading your blog, I get the impression that a lot of your jobs were able to happen because you were open to change and let opportunities find you. I think the biggest piece of advice I can take from your blog, is to follow your dreams, but to expand your concept of possibilities. A lot of times I fall victim to the through process of thinking that I have to land the perfect PR job out of college. In the back of my mind I know that this is silly, and I truly am open to anything, but I still feel such pressure to land that “it” job.

Unfortunately, along with many of the above respondents, I really am not sure what I want my exact career path to be, much less what I want to do right after school. I know I want to begin working in a large agency, but ask me what kind of PR I want to do in that large agency and I am clueless. But, I do have some great role models and will take your advice and study them.

]]> By: Lara http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/02/25/learn-from-successful-people/#comment-1659 Lara Tue, 28 Feb 2006 17:39:37 +0000 http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/02/25/learn-from-successful-people/#comment-1659 Thank you Dale for this post. It is always such a pleasure to read about things that we can do to make ourselves better. As we all are about to graduate, it is important that we absorb as much vital information as possible, so posts like these are extremely beneficial to all of us. Having a mentor is something that I believe is going to help shape the way each and every one of us perform. I believe it is important to have a mentor and to take advantage of the opportunities presented to us because we can do nothing but learn from others. Whether it is a positive or negative situation, experience leads to growth. Before I decided to major in public relations, I decided to take a job that involved some aspects of PR to make sure that I was making the right career choice. I applied for a job as a student representative here at Auburn for the alumni association and was hired. I have been working as a representative for almost two years now, and it has helped to develop a lot of skills I will carry with me after graduation. The job entails me calling alumni from each diffferent college here at Auburn and updating them on the upcoming events, rankings, and news. Also, we encourage the alumni to make donations to help support the college that they graduated from. This job is not necessarily PR to the core, but it has helped me develop a lot of skills. It is hard to encourage someone who graduated in '70 to donate to their college after they haven't done it for 26 years. I have developed a thick skin and it has helped me refine rebuttal skills. Although, I don't have a desired target of where I want to be in 10 years, I do have somewhat of an idea. It does worry me sometimes that I don't know exactly what I want to do, but I think with time I will figure out exactly what is my "calling." I will probably work in all different aspects of business much like you Dale before I land that job that is meant for me, but until then I will leave my eyes and ears open for experience and opportunities. So, thank you again Dale for this post. Thank you Dale for this post. It is always such a pleasure to read about things that we can do to make ourselves better. As we all are about to graduate, it is important that we absorb as much vital information as possible, so posts like these are extremely beneficial to all of us. Having a mentor is something that I believe is going to help shape the way each and every one of us perform. I believe it is important to have a mentor and to take advantage of the opportunities presented to us because we can do nothing but learn from others. Whether it is a positive or negative situation, experience leads to growth.

Before I decided to major in public relations, I decided to take a job that involved some aspects of PR to make sure that I was making the right career choice. I applied for a job as a student representative here at Auburn for the alumni association and was hired. I have been working as a representative for almost two years now, and it has helped to develop a lot of skills I will carry with me after graduation. The job entails me calling alumni from each diffferent college here at Auburn and updating them on the upcoming events, rankings, and news. Also, we encourage the alumni to make donations to help support the college that they graduated from. This job is not necessarily PR to the core, but it has helped me develop a lot of skills. It is hard to encourage someone who graduated in ‘70 to donate to their college after they haven’t done it for 26 years. I have developed a thick skin and it has helped me refine rebuttal skills.

Although, I don’t have a desired target of where I want to be in 10 years, I do have somewhat of an idea. It does worry me sometimes that I don’t know exactly what I want to do, but I think with time I will figure out exactly what is my “calling.” I will probably work in all different aspects of business much like you Dale before I land that job that is meant for me, but until then I will leave my eyes and ears open for experience and opportunities. So, thank you again Dale for this post.

]]> By: Lindsey http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/02/25/learn-from-successful-people/#comment-1656 Lindsey Mon, 27 Feb 2006 22:07:53 +0000 http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/02/25/learn-from-successful-people/#comment-1656 I feel that having a mentor and people to learn from is very important in accepting a job. I recently accepted an internship that isn't exactly well paid. I am perfectly fine with this; however my father is not so pleased. The reason that the little money I will be paid does not bother me is because I am excited to be working for this company. But more importantly, I feel that I will learn a lot and have to work very hard. This doesn't bother me because I am young and I am not certain about what I want to do. I will be doing a lot of event planning in my internship. Event planning is something I am very interested in but never thought I would actually do. I am excited to say that I think I will get my chance to decide if it is what I want to do completely. But like I said, the reason I wanted this job is because I can see that I will learn a lot and I feel that the person I will be working for is someone to look up to and I want to soak up everything she can teach me! Your post made me feel more confident in my choice, I think I will let my dad read it! I feel that having a mentor and people to learn from is very important in accepting a job. I recently accepted an internship that isn’t exactly well paid. I am perfectly fine with this; however my father is not so pleased.

The reason that the little money I will be paid does not bother me is because I am excited to be working for this company. But more importantly, I feel that I will learn a lot and have to work very hard. This doesn’t bother me because I am young and I am not certain about what I want to do. I will be doing a lot of event planning in my internship.

Event planning is something I am very interested in but never thought I would actually do. I am excited to say that I think I will get my chance to decide if it is what I want to do completely.

But like I said, the reason I wanted this job is because I can see that I will learn a lot and I feel that the person I will be working for is someone to look up to and I want to soak up everything she can teach me!

Your post made me feel more confident in my choice, I think I will let my dad read it!

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