Are You Ready to ROCK (Your Interview)?

As graduation draws near, many soon-to-be grads are applying for internships and entry-level jobs for the summer. Many will get lucky and land an interview, spending days (or even weeks) preparing for that one-shot at making a good impression. But what do you do in that final hour before the interview?

For me, that final hour was literally a 60 minute drive left alone with my thoughts. Or rather, a perfect chance to psych myself out and over think every possible situation that could happen during the informational interview and writing/ editing test that would ensue for the next few hours.

What if I blanked on basic rules of AP Style during the editing portion? What if I had writer’s block (an illness I’ve been recovering from lately) during the writing test? What if clammed up and was completely out of character from my usual bubbly self? What if I was put on the spot and the only words that come to mind are “I don’t know?” Or even WORSE – what if one of many bodily functions blindsided me while I was there?!

As my life going down the drain flashed before me, a glint of something shiny on the floor caught my eye. Quickly I reached down, taking my eyes off the road for ONLY a second (I swear!) and struck gold: an ’80s mix CD I had compiled last summer. Immediately I popped the CD into the player and cranked the volume as loud as it would go without making my ears bleed.

Belting out the lyrics in the comfort of my car erased all of the if’s, and’s or but’s from my mind. Dance moves (though limited in the confines of a moving vehicle) and head bobs included.

Then it hit me: I am Dwight Schrute from The Office. Okay, maybe not quite, but I can at least relate. If you watch the video clip below, you will see Dwight take a moment alone in the car to vigorously listen to Motley Crue’s “Kickstart My Heart.” *I know embedding is disabled, click on it again to go to this clip on YouTube. It’s 25 seconds long. Just do it!

At this point you may be asking yourself, “Okay Mikinzie, you are a huge geek and I’m frightened to be driving on the same road as you, but what’s the point?” The point is you need to have your “thing” that will ease your nerves and put any doubts in yourself to rest. Whether that means dancing it out, meditating, writing down all of your accomplishments on paper, looking at old pictures of fond memories or even letting your voice crack to bad ’80s music is up to you. In the end, whatever you do needs to inspire self-confidence. Even if that means getting funny looks from other drivers on the highway.

What do you do to get rid of the first-interview jitters?

As some of you know, I’m a bit of a music fiend and love giving (and getting) music recommendations. Here are few songs on the playlist that I sang particularly loudly while bopping around in my purple ’95 Cavalier:

• “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” -Simple Minds
• “Burning Down the House” – Talking Heads
• “Always Something There to Remind Me” – Naked Eyes
• “I Ran (So Far Away)” – Flock of Seagulls
• “Ah! Leah!” – Donnie Iris
• “Ordinary World” – Duran Duran
• “Love Will Tear Us Apart” – Joy Division
• “Video Killed The Radio Star” – The Buggles

Does Your Twitter Handle Belong in Your Resume?

In the day and age of social media, emails and personal websites, our world is gradually becoming paperless. One *exception to this paperless world is your resume/ CV (*even resumes/CVs are becoming paperless, but most employers will prefer a hard copy for the final interview or will print off your “paperless” version onto paper during the application process).

But is the bridge between online and on-paper one that should be built? Or rather, does your social media contact information belong on your resume/ CV?

In my opinion, yes. I put my twitter handle in my resume. Where you decide to put your social media information is personal preference, but I decided to make my twitter handle very noticeable and included an entire section under “skills” where I include which social networks in which I am active.

I also have my blog (the one you are reading right now!) listed under relevant experience/ projects. However, I only suggest you include blogs in your resume that you regularly write for or that have received some sort of recognition.

Putting your social media contact information on your resume not only let’s the employer reviewing your resume/ CV that you’re tuned in to using social media, but that you have nothing to hide. Let’s face it, they’re going to google you regardless if you put your twitter handle on your resume/ CV or not. Why not beat them to the punch and say, “Here I am and this is why you want me to work for you” (this is also made under the assumption that your social media identity is kept clean/ professional. I think this is a safe assumption to make for most PR pre-pros). Showing employers that you have nothing to hide, but instead are actually borderline showing-off your social media identity not only shows candidness and professionalism, but confidence in who you are as a pre-pro and your willingness to make life easy for him or her.

As a result, your social media identity tells them even more about you:

• Personality type
• Personal brand
• Interests/ Hobbies
• Aspirations
• Skills (especially writing and using technology)

This type of information is especially helpful to your employer when applying for jobs that are out of state or area. It lets him or her get a sense of who you are and whether or not you would be a good fit for the company. It provides the employer a sneak peak to your feature film.

Some employers even place high-importance on the use of social media contact information. Here’s what some of the pros said:

Worob It’s the first thing I look for when reading resumes.

thescottbishop If you have an active and valuable twitter brand…add it to your resume (but be aware of what you tweet).

prtini Absolutely a good idea if you’re applying for PR/SM jobs. Shows you are involved online. Important for

employers to know.

sjhalestorm Fits very well into contact info. – gives feeling that you are involved, not hiding. Give potential employers all the opps you can to stalk you by including Twitter handle (+ others) – then impress them.

Additional Resources

Report today in the UK mentions use of Twitter handle / LinkedIn details on your CV

Careerealism’s Resume: 20 Down and Dirty on What to Include

Brand Republic: Social Media talent vacuum in PR and Marketing

(Special thanks to @kionsanders @bitty_boop @Lmnovo @patrickbjohnson @aaronwolowiec @AdamVincenzini @dfriedman16 @TBlinkedin @lisaatufunwa @PattyBaragar @EstrellaBella10 @AlexiaHarris @han_ma @ Worob @thescottbishop @PRtini @sjhalestorm)

Let’s make a toast!

Disclaimer: This photo has been staged in order to make a point.

I’m over the age of 21, which means I’m legal to consume alcoholic beverages. And I take advantage of my legality: I like to kick back with a nice Bell’s microbrew or a glass of Shiraz once in a while.

However, I’m hesitant to leave pictures of me with a drink in my hand on social networking sites, such as Facebook, because “Big Brother” (aka employers) are watching.

This is what I find difficult to swallow: I’ve seen pictures of professors, employers, and professionals with a drink in their hands (I’m facebook friends with many of them and even have enjoyed an adult beverage with a few of them). So, let me get this straight: I’m not supposed have photos of me drinking, but you can (directed at a general “you,” not anyone specific)?

And to what extent does this “censorship” go? Am I allowed to have a photo where I have a drink on the table? Am I allowed to be in a photo with someone who has a solo cup in his or her hand? I think there’s a certain point where you have to draw the line.

Much like News Editor Dan Hamilton, who recently wrote on a similar topic in our school newspaper, I drink because I enjoy what I’m drinking; not because I want to get “slammed” and make a fool of myself.

The amount of drinks necessary to be considered “binge drinking” is four or more drinks consumed within two hours for women and five or more drinks for men. Many times, my amount of drinking will not go beyond two or three in a night. And even that isn’t very often, most times I’ll have one beverage after a stressful day of work, classes, homework, job hunting, and other anomalies that are relevant to the life of a college senior.

Though college students typically carry the stigmata of binge drinking, not all college students, such as myself, fit the norm. I’m not going to lie and say I’ve never binged on alcohol before, but then again, not many adults can claim they never have either.

When consumed in moderation, I think drinking adult beverages can prove a sense of responsibility and maturity.

What do you think? Should students of legal drinking age hide or censor the fact that they enjoy drinking in moderation now and again? *Should they have to remove every photo that has an alcoholic beverage within the vicinity?

*This question was initially one that went unanswered at this week’s #PRStudChat.