Monday
08Feb2010

Your Dream Job Game Plan

Posted on DateMonday, February 8, 2010 at 11:08AM

Today's post comes from the msuCatalyst archives. With graduation and/or summer quickly nearing, the job search is a hot topic and Molly Fletcher has expert advice on landing that Dream Job. There are great events around campus like the Summer Employment and Internship Fair on February 18th and Cram Sessions on the 10th and 16th, so be sure to check those out.

 MSU Alumni Molly Fletcher was a successful collegiate tennis player that knew she wanted to work in the sports industry after college. So she put everything she owned into her Honda Accord, took her $2,000 dollar life savings out of the bank, and traveled down to Atlanta Georgia. She had done her research. Atlanta was becoming a sports hotspot and Molly had the names of two people in the industry. Her plan was to get these two people to like her enough to help her by offering her advice and referring her to other people who would do the same. With persistence and focus, she increased her network and was able to become a sports agent. Ten years later, Molly is the president of client representation at Career Sports & Entertainment (and Tom Izzo's agent!). More importantly, she wakes up every day excited to get to work, because she has found her dream job.

Molly is now the author of an excellent book on finding your dream job. This straight-forward and practical book provides examples and anecdotes from Molly's life that provide insight that gives you a competitive edge in the job search.

Here is a glimpse of Molly's 5 tools for becoming YOUR own career agent:

1. Your Passionate Style

The key to career success is finding a job that you are passionate about because passion is what will sustain your motivation to take the extra steps needed to be different from everybody else and overcome roadblocks and barriers. So take time to ask yourself what you love doing more than anything else. This will help you find your own personal style so you can sell yourself to an employer and not just your resume.

2. Your Fearlessness

Once you have found your passion, you have to demonstrate it fearlessly. No one is going to hand you your dream career. You have to pursue it. And that requires courage and confidence. It’s not easy to face your fears, but it is vital to embrace the challenges that face you instead of allowing the fear of rejection to paralyze you and keep you from achieving your dreams.

Getting to the top requires making relationships, getting people to like you enough to help you, and seeking advice from people with experience. Being fearless allows you to do this. Molly's mantra is to be consistently, uniquely, and respectfully persistent in forming vital business relationships.

3. Your Game Plan

Once you’ve found your passion and faced your fears, you will need a game plan so you can effectively represent yourself on paper and in person. This means creating a quality resume, preparing for your audience, and practicing what to say during and after your interview. Molly includes sample cover letters, resumes, and examples of what to say (and what NOT to say) when trying to contact people, conducting an interview, and following up after the initial meeting.

4. Your Flawless Execution

Getting the job interview is only the beginning, now is the time to shine, to prove you are the right person for the job. This takes research. Knowing facts about the company and preparing answers to common questions are just as important as looking professional. A successful interview is one where you get up out of the chair to leave feeling that you have successfully conveyed how you are a solution to the organization's current problems and a great fit for its future opportunities.

This section offers step-by-step instructions for a successful interview that will calm your pre-interview jitters and give you an advantage with tips on having:

  • a WOW factor comment that shows you've done your research
  • a mental list of questions to ask
  • the right level of confidence
  • and a strategy to answering tough interview questions

5. Managing Choices

The interview is going to go one of two ways, and Your Dream Job Game Plan covers both.

Mistakes happen. No matter how prepared you are, something might go wrong, which is why Molly has a list of common interview mistakes and practical solutions. For example, if you slip up and ask a question or make a statement that is insensitive or disrespectful, acknowledge it, “spin it” with a clever comment, or simply apologize for it. Then move on. If it was a major slip up, follow up with a respectful email to apologize and explain the situation.

However, after using the previous four tools for success, you’ll likely be offered a position and that means you have a choice to make. It is important to carefully consider the position before you decide. Make sure you know:

  • What work you will be asked to do
  • How you will be expected to get the work done
  • How your employer will assist you in your tasks (training, support, resources)
  • How you will be evaluated and paid

Then you must take a moment to consider what is important to you: salary, bonus opportunities, vacation time, insurance, etc. Do you believe this job is a great opportunity for you? After serious thought, you’ll be able to make a sound decision and accept or decline the offer.

Bottom Line

This is just a fraction of the great advice you’ll find in Molly Fletcher’s book. If you feel overwhelmed and nervous about finding a job after college pick up You Dream Job Game Plan, you will not regret it!

 

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Friday
05Feb2010

TEDxCLE: Ideas Worth Spreading

Posted on DateFriday, February 5, 2010 at 2:28PM

Here at msuCatalyst, we're a big fan of TED. We've posted videos from TED, and written about TEDxDetroit, which is why we are so excited to see MSU Alumni, Eric Kogelschatz, organizing a TEDx event in Cleveland. Today we have a guest post from Eric with all the detail. For more informaiton about Eric, visit his blog or follow him on twitter.

TED has granted approval for Hallie Bram and me to host the TEDxCLE event. If you aren’t familiar with TED it is an annual event where some of the world’s leading “thinkers and doers” are invited to share what they are most passionate about. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design — three broad subject areas that are, collectively, shaping our future. Past speakers include Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Frank Gehry, Paul Simon, Sir Richard Branson, Philippe Starck and Bono.

TED is passionate about the power of ideas and the ability to change attitudes and lives. Hallie and I also embrace this passion and it is our responsibility as TED licensees to ensure that TEDxCLE communicates and reflects this same passion: to reveal the power of ideas from Cleveland in order to change the attitudes and lives of people in Cleveland. Further, to bring Cleveland innovation, development and positive change to the world. At TEDxCLE (the x = independently organized TED event), TEDTalks video and live speakers, spanning topics such as health care, urban revitalization, technology and art will combine to spark deep discussion and connection amongst speakers and attendees alike.

The event will be hosted at The Capitol Theatre in the Gordon Square Arts District of Cleveland, Ohio on Friday, February 26th from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. There will also be an after party, more details are forthcoming. More information on sponsors, speakers and attending TEDxCLE can be found at www.TEDxCLE.com. And follow TEDxCLE on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

...

So if you're in Cleveland, make sure to check out this event . If you're not in Cleveland, it's highly likely there's a TEDx event near you. And of course, you can always check out the great TED videos online!

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Kogelschatz holds a Bachelor of Arts in Advertising and Master of Arts in Advertising with an emphasis in research from Michigan State University. He began his career at Ogilvy & Mather on the Ford Customer Service Division account for the Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury brands across all channels. While at Ogilvy he also worked on the United Way, Pulte Homes, and Motorcraft accounts. Kogelschatz then decided to concentrate his career on digital advertising at Modernista! managing all digital work on the Cadillac account. Kogelschatz now works at Marcus Thomas as a Senior Digital Account Executive on the Nestle account managing digital work for the Hot Pockets brand.

Kogelschatz blogs about advertising at erickogelschatz.wordpress.com and extensively researched the convergence of neuroscience and marketing, digital music innovation, digital technology and urban revitalization. Kogelschatz is also a passionate musician and avid runner; enthusiast of architecture, culture and technology; and advocate for the arts, local businesses and urban revitalization.

Contact him!

Email: eric@erickogelschatz.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/erickogelschatz

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Wednesday
03Feb2010

His Hat and Glasses

Posted on DateWednesday, February 3, 2010 at 6:00AM

By Angie Jackson

At a school populated with over 40 thousand students, the challenges of starting a unique endeavor may seem hard to swallow.

But Travis Kliemann’s recipe for success only called for three ordinary ingredients: a baseball cap, a pair of blue safety glasses and a camera. Throw in a super-sized helping of persistence and he had created something cleaver. His project, known as “My Hat and Glasses”, connects him with a significant fraction of the East Lansing area: currently 5,500 people strong, and growing each day.

If you haven't heard of Kliemann yet, then he's most likely taken a picture of one of your friends. The concept of "My Hat and Glasses" is to capture each and every person who will pose for a picture, but the catch is they have to wear his signature hat and glasses. Before the project, Kliemann, an accounting junior, rarely took any pictures. But now his digital camera accompanies him everywhere he goes in case a photo op arises. Surprisingly enough, becoming a local paparazzi wasn’t part of a well thought out plan; it was just a spur of the moment idea.

Simple yet creative, the idea for “My Hat and Glasses” sparked last April. Kliemann was hanging with friends when he stumbled across a baseball cap (which has since been altered to a trucker hat) and pair of safety glasses in his apartment. He thought it would be funny to wear the two together, and then passed it on to his buddies. He began snapping pictures and over the span of one night, he had convinced over 300 people to try on his newest fashion accessory.

Now nine months past the debut and the venture has evolved into a part-time job. Between taking pictures, uploading them and maintaining the rest of his website, Kliemann dedicates roughly eight hours a week to “My Hat and Glasses”. Everyone who participates in the project is guaranteed to find his or her picture in one of the albums online, which are updated weekly. Although time consuming, Kliemann doesn’t see himself putting a cap on the project anytime soon. With a goal of 10,000 pictures, the time spent is well worth it.

“I usually go out with my friends and then wind up disappearing to take pictures,” he said. To get the most photos, Kliemann approaches random people at parties, games, bars and anywhere there’s a crowd. A successful weekend means he has accumulated 400 or 500 pictures to add to his collection. While each photo is unique, they all have one thing in common: they showcase MSU Spartans enjoying life, while sporting the blue hat and oversized glasses.

Throughout the adventure, what’s been most significant for Kliemann is the priceless opportunity to meet new people. Approaching thousands of strangers takes courage, which he said has helped him bring the meaning of outgoing to a whole new level.

“It’s been really rewarding to meet new people and to get all of the support from them. Most people are really excited about it and love the idea,” he said. “And I’ve learned that people are much more outgoing than I thought.”

While the majority of people Kliemann approaches are thrilled about “My Hat and Glasses”, there is one miniscule concern that comes along with sharing a hat with thousands of people: lice. But no pesky parasites here, he washes the hat frequently to keep it clean.

All worries aside, it is undeniable that Kliemann is making big moves with his project. He plans to take “My Hat and Glasses” on the road this summer to Chicago and Mexico, and it’s no doubt he’ll be snapping thousands of photos. And he isn’t pulling the plug once he reaches his goal of 10,000 pictures. He hopes to attract celebrity attention and eventually make it into the Guinness Book of World Records.

The instant success of this spunky project goes to show that an idea doesn’t have to be complex to be meaningful; all it takes is passion and dedication. Kliemann advises anyone with the slightest flicker of creativity to act on it and set their aspirations ablaze.

“No matter how much criticism people give you, stick with it,” he said. “My friends called the whole thing stupid at first, but I’ve realized that doing something like this forces you to meet people and learn a lot about yourself at the same time.”

 

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Monday
01Feb2010

The Man Behind the Job Posting

Posted on DateMonday, February 1, 2010 at 10:12AM

This is a post from the archives written by Megan Gebhart while she was out in San Francisco for an internship. With summer quickly approaching, its time for resumes, job applications, and interviews--something students are all too familiar with. This post looks at the other side of the equation, the HR guy reviewing your resume, conducting the interview, and--hopefully--offering you the job. 

I met Tom Fosgard, HR Recruiter for Premier Retail Networks, at his office in downtown San Francisco. I had been in San Francisco for over a month, but had never actually been inside one of the many high-rise buildings I passed daily on my way to work. The building’s swanky interior was a major contrast to the grime of the city street and I felt like I had discovered a hidden world. I kept my poise as I asked the secretary where to go, but as I entered the elevator, I couldn’t help but feel intimidated.

Entering the PRN offices, I checked in with the receptionist and marveled at PRN displays around the waiting room while I waited nervously for Tom. (PRN Energy is behind the TV displays in Wal-Mart and other stores, check out their website or this video) A few weeks earlier, I had started a discussion on LinkedIn looking for Bay Area Spartans to tell me about their careers and Tom had answered. We had exchanged emails but this was the first time we would talk in person.

When Tom walked out and introduced himself my worries melted away. With his energetic and friendly manner, I knew the interview would be fantastic. And it was—over the course of an hour, I learned about a position in recruiting and discovered great tips for finding the right career.

Finding a Career
Tom graduated from Michigan State in 1990 with a degree in Economics. Much like the current economic condition, the job market was scarce and Tom wasn’t interested in the few business-oriented positions that were available.

Realizing that unemployment wasn’t an option, Tom took a job at the local Kinkos. There he was, a man with a college education, working as an entry-level copy guy. But it was a full-time job with benefits and a great way to stay productive while Tom decided what it was that he wanted to do with his life.

Well, the temporary job turned into an eight-year stint with Kinkos that included moves to Detroit, then San Francisco and various promotions ending in an employee-training position. Yet he still hadn’t decided on a career.

That’s when he read a book called Do What You Are. The concept is similar to the Myers-Briggs personality test and identifies jobs that match personal characteristics. As a result, Tom realized that Human Resources—specifically recruiting—was a fit and took an open recruiting position with Kinkos, which started his career as a recruiter.

It took eight years and a whole lot of copies for Tom to decide on a career, but finding the career was worth the wait. For almost a decade, Tom has worked in various recruiting positions and it’s evident he loves his job. The excitement in his voice lets you know he enjoys heading to the office every day.

So what does a recruiter do?
A recruiter handles the process of filling open positions within the company. The process starts when a hiring manager discusses a hiring need with Tom and ends with a job offer to the top candidate.

First, Tom meets with the hiring manager to create a specific plan for the position and then chooses the best place to post the job opening. Applicants are found online through LinkedIn and similar sites, internally with the Employee Referral Bonus program or through colleges if new graduates are wanted.

Once the posting has been up for a while, the interviewing process starts. After narrowing down the applications, Tom typically interviews twenty to thirty candidates by phone before choosing six to ten for in-person interviews. A second round of in-person interviews are conducted for the top one to three applicants before a final candidate is offered the job.

It’s not the typical Human Resource job
There is always an unspoken difference between recruiting and Human Resources. The HR director at PRN has done recruiting in the past and she hates it. Tom has done HR directing work in the past and he hated it! They are two very different skill sets. Generally, HR is a lot of paperwork—enforcing and writing policies and procedures, administering benefits, etc. In contrast, recruiting is very personal and unpredictable. It is a great position if you enjoy high variety and getting to know people.

Selling the company
An overlooked element to the job is the selling aspect. While the hiring manager writes the job description, it’s the recruiter’s role to make the position and company appealing to candidates. His job is to find the best candidate for the position and oftentimes the best candidate works for another company and is not actively searching for a job. That means Tom must get the candidate interested in the job and excited about the company. So there is a definite sales aspect to the job.

A typical day
At any point in time, there are usually several job openings at various stages of the search so each day is very different. Tom may spend the morning setting up a job post and after lunch, schedule interviews for a different position before talking with a candidate about a job offer.

Perks of the job
With recruiting, there is a definite completion point. Every time a candidate is hired, the goal is achieved. While Tom enjoyed training employees at Kinkos, the satisfaction was nebulous—it was difficult to judge how much of an impact he was having on the company. In recruiting, there is a reward to having a new person that you were responsible for hiring.

What type of major do you need?
There is no specific major to be a recruiter. However, the majors often seen are social sciences, Psychology and Social Anthropology. But there are former IT professionals in recruiting and people from Business and Finance backgrounds as well.

Want to know more?
The Department of Labor has great information about this and many other careers. Check it out here.

The bottom line It’s okay if you’re not sure what you want to do the rest of your life. There is time to decide so don’t rush into something you’re not ready for. Take your time and explore for a while-don’t take a job because it fits your major, take a job because it fits you.

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Wednesday
27Jan2010

A Word about the New Logo

Posted on DateWednesday, January 27, 2010 at 2:43PM

On Janurary 21, Mark Hollis unveiled a new Spartan logo that is the first step in a plan to rebrand Michigan State athletics. While he probably expected his announcement to receive criticism, he probably didn’t expect the severe backlash of student support for the old logo. With any controversial issue, there are two sides of the story. This new logo—and the additional aspects of the rebranding campaign—are the result of considerable time, money, and research. Resources that MSU would not invest without certainty of a return on investment. At the same time, MSU students and alumni are proud of their logo and don’t want to change something so close to their hearts.

MSU student, Randel Tomina submitted an article to the msuCatalyst with his viewpoints on the topic. While this does not necessarily represent the views of msuCatalyst, we felt it was a good example of an articulate and thought-out viewpoint of the situation. 

The New Logo Won't Accomplish its Proposed Goals

By Randel Tomina

Unity. Consistency. Recognition.

New Logo on the Right (image from Freep.com)

With the unveiling of a new logo, the Michigan State University athletic department seeks to make these thoughts a reality in regards to the University's identity crisis. It’s a somewhat serious issue. What is Michigan State’s logo? Is it the Spartan helmet, the block S, the arched state lettering, or something else?

The argument in favor of creating one logo is a strong one. Over the years and currently, the University has used many different logos, and even today, there is a lack of consistency among the differing sports teams. Tom Izzo said it best when asked his opinion, “So we’ve had this, we’ve had that, we’ve had the S, we’ve had the head." I agree 100 percent, we have had too many logos. 

However, the solution does not address the problem adequately. If we add a new redesigned Spartan logo, it will be just that--an additional logo. It would never fully replace the current logo. The old logo would still likely exist in some shape or form and now there would be an additional one floating around.

But we do need to use fewer logos, and perhaps just one as the official logo.

My solution would be an amendment to the proposed plan. In this solution, everywhere you see the new logo; just use the current Spartan helmet logo. This will save the university a MULTITUDE of problems. First, it will prevent brand confusion. If the new Spartan helmet logo is implemented, it will take some time for people outside of the Michigan State University network to realize that we have a new logo. When people out of the loop see the new logo they might assume it is for another school. This could last a few months to possibly a few years. It would be better to just use the current Spartan helmet logo as part of the rebranding plan. Outsiders would be able to immediately identify this as Michigan State.

Secondly, what do we do about the current Spartan helmet logo that is (rightfully so) plastered around campus? What do we do about the Spartan helmet logo etched into the brick of Breslin? What do we do about the many Spartan helmet logos adorning the Skandalaris Football Center? It would be infeasible to replace these, especially at a time when the University lacks the funds to support keeping some of its academic programs going.

It seems like this logo redesign is here to give Michigan State an identity as part of a bigger package of changes. My question is why this cannot be done with the current Spartan helmet logo? Why does it need to be done with something new? The current Spartan helmet CAN and SHOULD be our identity. 

I may not have a degree in marketing, but I do possess common sense and uncommon sense. And my common sense tells me that we can accomplish unity by establishing the current Spartan helmet logo as the logo to be used by all of the athletic teams. And my uncommon sense tells me that there probably is an innovative plan in the works. This rebranding plan is likely good. And to make it even better, we can replace every usage of the new Spartan helmet logo with the current Spartan helmet logo.

I can’t wait until the entire slew of changes is revealed in April. However, I hope that the plan is revised to exclude the new Spartan helmet logo.

 

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