Posts tagged UO PRSSA
Jumpstart Your PR Career on April 3 in Seattle
Mar 11th
My favorite public relations event I went to in college was Public Relations Career Jumpstart, hosted in Seattle every year by the Puget Sound PRSA Chapter. PR Jumpstart 2010 is coming up soon, and if you’re a student or recent graduate looking to work in public relations and within driving distance of Seattle, you should definitely go. It’s on Saturday, April 3, at Seattle University.
Register at a discounted rate here before March 30.
This event is the most beneficial if you want to work in Seattle, but the stellar programming on job interviewing and public relations topics are a must-attend for people aspiring to work in public relations anywhere.
I especially recommend PR Jumpstart if you’re looking to network on behalf of your PRSSA Chapter. My 2008 PRSSA Regional Activity committee found both our keynote speaker, Kyle Warnick of Microsoft, and title sponsor, Owen Media, at PR Jumpstart 2008.
UO PR Grads Who Now…Teach English in Korea
Oct 2nd
Since February of 2009, three of my fellow graduates from the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication‘s public relations program have all begun teaching English in South Korea. All three students were interested in international cultures while in college and active in public relations on campus, specifically the Oregon Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America. I felt the phenomenon was worth blogging about and interviewed them for this post.
Branden Johnson graduated in 2008. He served on the UO PRSSA Executive Board as PRSA Liason and directed our student-run firm, Allen Hall Public Relations, both during his final year.
Regina Mitchell also graduated in 2008. She participated in Allen Hall Public Relations and served as the guest services manager for the 2008 UO PRSSA Regional Activity.
Bryan Saxton graduated in 2009. He served as the 2008-2009 Web Chair on the UO PRSSA Executive Board and as 2007-2008 Public Relations Officer for International Student Association, one of the most active groups on campus.
Now, for the interview:
What made you decide to take up teaching English in Korea?
BJ: I was working at a small marketing agency in Portland last fall when I was laid off due to the increasingly dire economy. Teaching abroad was something I had wanted to do for years. Korea never would have been my first choice, but I found a Seattle-based recruiter on CraigsList, and had a job offer in less than a month. As opposed to a lot of other countries, the money and benefits in Korea are some of the best you’ll find right out of college. I have cheap health insurance, a generous salary, a pension plan, and my school pays my rent. They paid for my flight, helped me take alll of the necessary procedures to become a resident alien, and provided me with a furnished apartment in a nice area.
RM: I am going to be completely honest when I say the first thing that caught my eye about teaching in Korea was, well, the money. Korea is so wonderful and generous to their foreign teachers and offer the greatest benefits– free accomodation, high stipend for enrollment and finished contracts and a solid salary. Also, I figured it would be more worthwhile to immerse myself into a country I knew little about. I always wanted to travel and so all of this was made possible with the program I entered!
BS: MONEY! That, and the opportunity to travel. This is the most cost-effective way I know to run around Asia. I also have a lot of friends in South Korea, and it will be nice to reconnect with them. Other reasons include: living in a big city, adventure, doing something with my life that I didn’t see myself doing 5 years ago, ect.
Do you think your education in the J-school/PR program has helped you in your new job? If so, how?
BJ: I think my journalism degree has definitely helped in terms of being an effective English teacher. I am confident in my writing and comprehension of grammar, which were both fine-tuned in the J school. I also think that my leadership roles on campus contributed to my teaching abilities. Classrooms — especially kindergarten classrooms — are dynamic places that present unique and often challenging situations. A teacher has to be flexible yet maintain control and respect. It’s not easy, but my college experience prepared me in ways I never expected.
BJ: I think my journalism degree has definitely helped in terms of being an effective English teacher. I am confident in my writing and comprehension of grammar, which were both fine-tuned in the J school. I also think that my leadership roles on campus contributed to my teaching abilities. Classrooms — especially kindergarten classrooms — are dynamic places that present unique and often challenging situations. A teacher has to be flexible yet maintain control and respect. It’s not easy, but my college experience prepared me in ways I never expected.
RM: If there are a few things that I can thank the Journalism school for, it’s definitely the writing and public speaking practice. I’ve been challenged a few times on things such as English grammar, and I continually have to present lessons that are exciting. As a public relations major, it was essential to impress a client and perform to your best while connecting to your audience. The same is true with teaching.
BS: Not sure yet as I haven’t started working. But I’m pretty sure our command of grammar, punctuation and writing conventions will be helpful because we’ll be able to teach those to students.
What do you want to do after your contract is up (if you know)?
BJ: I’m still undecided about my future after next February. I met my boyfriend here, and a lot of the decision depends on his plans. I would be willing to stay another year or two, but I’m also anxious to get back to the States. I want to go back to get my master’s in elementary education, but first I have to do another year of undergrad to finish some prerequisites. Coming to Korea has taught me to let life take you where it will. This has been an amazing experience and I don’t want it to end. But, it has prepared me to take the next challenging steps in my life and career, and for that I am excited to move forward.
RM: After the contract, I will move back to Seattle and spend some time thinking of my next steps. During that “down” time, I could see myself either coming back or continuing ESL teaching abroad in another country. There’s a lot out there!
BS: Not sure yet. Work in PR? That’s what I want now, but that could change in a year or two. Right now I just want to travel, save up a bit of money and have some fun.
Some final words from Branden:
“Get out there and find what makes you happy. I graduated with a job in marketing and now I teach kindergarten halfway around the world. And I love it.”
I’m a Star
Feb 5th
Jessica Lomelin interviewed me on my experience working in China for a blog post, which was mentioned to a large lecture full of International Communication students at the University of Oregon. Jessica and I got to know each other last year from working in the same groups in two of our public relations classes and serving on the Executive Board of the University of Oregon Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) Chapter together. She’s now a team assistant at the Seattle office of Weber Shandwick. You can read the post on her blog here. For those of you behind the Great Firewall of China, I’ve copied and pasted the full text below:
One of the things I love most about public relations is that it is a limitless job and thrives for people that are curious, open-minded and eager. Public relations although primarily conducted in the United States, requires people to think globally, wether in regards to campaigns, event planning or media relations. We most often see Senior-level practitioners have the chance to work abroad, but I always love re-telling stories of young pr practitioners who took their chances and began their careers…abroad.
I interviewed Beth Evans, a former classmate of mine at the University of Oregon, who upon graduation, decided to move to Beijing, China. She has been there for about six months and has already fully immersed herself in the culture and has been a valuable tool to many companies she’s worked for.
Q: What influenced you to work abroad?
A: I can’t remember a specific time when I decided I wanted to work abroad. I studied abroad in Beijing in the fall of 2005 and didn’t want to leave, which is when working abroad became a definite possibility. Since then, which country I worked at became a low priority as the industry, city size, and job duties were all more important.
Q: How much did networking come into play when finding a job? What was more influential, your network or your skill set?
A: Networking was definitely more important, especially because in Chinese culture, relationships are everything. The way I got the job was through my college roommate that asked a friend who worked at a famous gallery in Beijing if he knew of any openings. The friend knew my boss, and my roommate guided me through the interview and application process. Most recent Chinese graduates have no work or internship experience, and I was a native English speaker.
Q: What was expected of you upon being hired?
A: It’s a bit difficult to say what was expected of me because I was trying to interpret this through the language barrier. Probably the most important expectation was that my English proofreading skills would be excellent as that was my biggest advantage over a Chinese employee.
Q: What qualities do you think employers look for that Americans have that would be an asset to their organization?
A: By far the most attractive quality Americans have to employers abroad is a native English speaking ability. I know this is not true in all countries, but Chinese people think American English, especially the West Coast accent, is the best kind of English. At both my jobs I’ve held in China, I’ve been the only employee who only speaks one language fluently, but I’ve also been the only native English speaker. This skill, combined with my journalism degree, has allowed me to write or be the last reviewer in all important English-language materials.
Q: What have you learned from working abroad that you couldn’t have learned in the US?
When I was in the U.S., I heard many professionals and academics talk a lot about the importance of learning how to work in a global economy, but I only got to hear the American perspective. Here, I get to find out what people from other countries – and not just China, because I’ve worked with people from South Korea, Canada, and France, as well – think it means to be a global candidate. For most people I’ve met here, this means being able to speak at least two languages fluently.
Q: What do you suggest someone do when wanting to work abroad?
A: My biggest piece of advice for people who want to work abroad is to meet and stay in contact with people who have lived abroad. Some of my mentors didn’t understand why I wanted to move to another country immediately after graduation, and working abroad has been challenging, both before I got here and now. However, spending time with friends who moved away from their home countries at age 18, or going to UO International Career Networking Committee (ICNC) events where I’d meet alumni who worked abroad.
In a close second is that I strongly suggest that people improve their language skills as much as possible before they begin work abroad. I only took two years of Chinese before working here, and while my Chinese has improved a little by living and working here, it improved much more efficiently when I studied it in the classroom, even in the U.S.
Q: Any fun characteristics about working in China you can provide?
A: I think it’s fun how international the workforce in Beijing is. Most office workers here speak at least two languages fluently, and many companies have employees from at least three countries. Chinese companies also find a lot of excuses for employees to eat, drink and be merry together. After major gallery exhibition openings, the president would pay for all the artists and staff to go out to a nice dinner and karaoke to celebrate. The president also took me out to Pizza Hut – a really nice, expensive restaurant chain in China – to celebrate my joining the company.
Q: How was it working in Beijing during the Olympics?
A: The Olympics actually affected my daily life and entertainment a lot more than my job duties. People in Beijing think that it’s not cool to be interested in both art and politics or both art and sports, so my coworkers were extremely apathetic about the Olympics, and our gallery was even closed to change exhibitions during the Olympics. I wrote a post on the Olympics’ relationship to the art district I worked in. My current job is at a small agency that did a ton of events during the Olympics and even had the International Olympic Committee has a client, and I’ve heard all these great stories. I’ve been meaning to interview my boss for a blog post on it.
If you’d like to find more information on working in China, visit Beth’s PRSSA country profile post!
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