What does the future hold?

What does the future hold?

Katie Puckett  

Well, I wish I knew the answer to this question, especially since I will be graduating from college in two and a half weeks. It's something I've been asking myself since for quite a while. When I was a freshman at OU, graduating seemed so far away, like it would never come, now four years later, here I am.  

What I really always dreamed of was writing for a magazine in Manhattan, just like you see in the movies. I even went over spring break to visit Time Inc. where I know someone in the pr department. It wasn't my first time in NYC, but it was the first time I went thinking I could actually live there. After a week of walking around in the rain, wearing a wool coat and a scarf nearing the end of March and paying $30 for brunch, I began to think seriously about things.  

Being from Oklahoma City, I always thought I would move away from here. As I have grown up, matured and figured a few things out, I've realized this place isn't so bad. I always thought I was the kind of person that could just pack their stuff and leave, but now I really can't think of what it would be like to move away from home. I have grown to appreciate Oklahoma and everything it has to offer.  

Who knows what the future holds. If I was living the ideal life, I'd already have a PR job by now. I'm nearing the end and it's scary, but I know wherever life takes me, it will be for the best!

The Job of My Dreams

When I was a little girl, my parents always told me that “when you grow up, you can be whatever you want to be.” Although this is true in our country, it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to eventually get the job you have always dreamed of. As I am nearing the end of college, I am now faced with the reality of finally deciding exactly what I want to do. With a degree in Public Relations, I feel like there are so many opportunities for me in the real world. There are many different types of PR to choose from and many other jobs that are related to the field of PR.

There are actually two different types of public relations that I am considering: sports PR and PR in non-profit organizations. These two fields of public relations are very different from one another, but they are the most interesting to me.

I have always dreamed of working for a sports agency because I grew up in a family that loves sports. I actually held a job here at OU my freshman and sophomore year at Sooner Sports Properties. I got to help with some game-day operations and work in the suites at the football games. Sports have always been something I have loved, especially all OU sports, so my ultimate goal would be to hold a job in the sports department at OU.

The other public relations job I am interested in is non-profit organizations. I would love to give back to a non-profit agency such as the United Way or Habitat for Humanity. Going to a job every day where I feel like I am making a difference in the world would be an amazing feeling. I know the money for non-profit is not that great, but that is not important to me if I am fulfilled with what I am doing.

Hopefully in a couple of months when I am looking for jobs, I will stumble upon a great job in either a sports agency or a non-profit organization. Right now, either one of those would be the job of my dreams.

Dreams, excitement, reality, fear..

Going home for Thanksgiving brought me so much excitement. I get to see my family and all of my friends from other schools. But it also brings the reality that everyone will be talking about what they are doing after graduation, their new jobs, and of course be asking me what I'll be doing. What will I be doing?

That is something I always thought I knew. My path was set. I would graduate in 4 years and go on to law school. It was my "dream" - or was it. The more I've thought about it, the more I have realized it was more of a path I had set out for myself, not my dream.

For years I have been focused on school, while spending my free time looking through Brides magazines. This obviously freaked out any guy I ever dated. But this past time wasn't about my dream wedding. It was about everyone elses. I loved reading about extraordinary weddings and events. And I always dreamed of planning them one day.




In fact, the reason I went into public relations as a major is because it listed one of its careers as "Special Events Specialist." That was my dream: to plan extravagent, wonderful events. But it is a dream that seems like is nearly impossible to make a reality.

Graduation scares the life out of me. I have no idea where I will live, what I will be doing, or how well I will be able to do it. I have researched several event planning studios in the Oklahoma area to contact about possible jobs. The most prominent one I would like to work with is Dolly Levi's Event Design Studio. It seems like the exact type of organization I would love to work with. I've Also looked at Event Planning by Leilani, Blueberry Hill Events, and several others. I have finally realized my dream job and I plan to do all that I can to snag it.

I think my experience in Public Relations has truly helped me prepare for this field. It has prepared me with knowledge of design, publicity, and organization of events. It has taught me to look through all angles and consider all audiences, as well as to prepare for possible crisis situations. As scared as I am, I look forward to my future with hope.

Abercrombie & Fitch…a pretentious workplace or the key to success?

As the time comes to graduate, everyone is buckling down to find jobs in the “real world.” As I search the Internet for different jobs in the PR field, looking at job descriptions and locations, I don’t find anything that interests me. Then one day I was looking at the upcoming on-campus interviews provided by the OU Career Services sight, and the Manager-In-Training position at Abercrombie and Fitch caught my eye.

Many of you are probably thinking, why would some who works so hard for four years to get a degree from a major university like OU get a job as a manager at a retail store in the mall? To be honest, I thought that myself when I worked at Hollister back in high school. What some of you may not know, in order to even be considered for a management position at Abercrombie and Fitch, a bachelor’s degree is required.

I’m sure that’s not reason enough to convince you of why it is a good idea to interview for this job. As a manager at Abercrombie and Fitch or one of their other stores, Abercrombie, Hollister Co. or Ruehl 925 this leaves room for many promotions and the chance to transfer to the city of your dreams.

Ever since I came back from school in England, I’ve wanted to move back. And it just so happens that Abercrombie has recently opened a store in London. What the perfect opportunity. But if I decided to change my mind before it was my time to transfer, then I could choose a big city in the United States that I’ve always wanted to live in.

As I mentioned before, I used to work at Hollister and it was honestly my favorite job as a kid. So if offered the opportunity to join the team again, especially holding a higher position, I’ll be excited to accept the offer and see where I end up.

Globe-Trotting

Globe-Trotting

To many students of public relations, working for an international agency sounds like a dream job filled with endless travel to exotic locales, priceless cultural experiences and rare opportunities to communicate to publics across the globe. However, as with most dream jobs the initial task of entering into this arena seems incredibly daunting (if not impossible). How does one just pack up and move to an entirely different country and get an entry-level position at an international agency? Not to mention all the worries that come with housing, food, insurance, visas, student loans, bank accounts, travel expenses and an almost endless list of other things that are normally taken for granted when just getting a job in one’s home country. For the purposes of this post, let’s just explore the first steps of getting the dream job. After all, in order to get the housing, food, insurance, visas… etc, one must have a job opportunity waiting for them.

The PRWeek website has a job search feature that is available to any registered user. There is a PRWeek site for the US, the United Kingdom, Germany and people in the Asian-Pacific region as well as affiliates in Russia, Argentina and Poland. This is perhaps the most straight-forward way of stepping closer to an international career. A similar job search tool can also be found at the Monster.com Global Gateway which has an ever-expanding list of job opportunities from a variety of countries.

Another International Public Relations site features links offering information on global agencies, communicating across cultures and PR organizations all over the world.

A blog called PR Conversations gives fascinating perspectives about the PR industry from bloggers around the world. Staying up-to-date with global trends of this nature could be very beneficial in the interview process for a world-renowned company.

I, personally, would like to begin my international career in the United Kingdom. However, it would not be in my best interest to send a possible employer my traditional one-page resume. This is where a curriculum vitae (CV) would come in handy. Any employer located in a member state of the European Union will expect an applicant to provide a CV.

It may seem as though finding a job on the other side of the world is just a pipe dream. However, with some research and motivation, anyone can be on their way to becoming a globe-trotting PR practitioner. As the world becomes more connected through advancements in technology (particularly in the realm of communications) it is becoming increasingly important for public relations practitioners to expand their skills to communicate with publics globally.

-Michael Maldonado, 9/10/07