Miss 1 Month

Did I mention that I graduated? It's been a month and it's been great. 

Miss Vegas

Vegas was wonderful! We landed, ran around to 4 different resorts and then jumped back in the plane and came back home. The weather was gorgeous and I didn't want to leave. It reminded me of my honeymoon and hubby and I wanted to go back!

Vegas was a success and we have chosen a venue. You can find out where, here. Make sure you "like" the Facebook page. (Come on people, I manage social media and i've got goals. What do you expect?)

Here are a few pictures I got with my phone!

Flying is not easy. I flew for an HOUR and I was exhausted, My body was so tense.

It was a great trip because (A) I didn't really get sick (B) Got to know my co-workers and boss well and had lots of laughs (C) I got to take charge and lead (D) I love Vegas, I really do (E) I learned that I hate saying no to people who are really nice but that you have to. 

So now, I just work round the clock to get this event planned and marketed in 2 months!

Miss 'The Job'

Hi All.

It's been awhile and I have so much to update here but I will make it simple and direct you to my personal blog for the whole low down on the latest. Check it out here. 

In my new job, I have been trying to do some research on marketing and social media trends in-between my current projects. This morning I found an article in the LinkedIn headlines about the stress level in PR jobs. Currently, they are on the list of the most stressful jobs. They moved down a few spots from last year but are still in the top ten. 

Yep, I am doing number 6 right now and I know exactly why it is number 6 [after police officer]. 

Tomorrow we are flying to Las Vegas to go check out our top venues for our conference in March. I'm excited for the day trip but am dreading the small 5 seater company plane. They told me to bring the following to be prepared:

• Snow Coat (Just in case we have to do an emergency landing.)
• Wear pants (It's difficult to get inside the place apparently.)
• iPod (It's really loud and their headphones they provide are tuned into the radio frequency.)
• Food (It's a 4 hour flight to Vegas.)
• Pills for motion sickness (It's a 5 seater plane. Enough said.)

Needless to say, I am stalking up on ibuprofen, motion sickness pills and sleep tonight. 

Miss My Heart is Beating Really Fast

I just finished my last final and my heart is beating really fast.

As I was filling out the last 5 questions on my bubble sheet for my econ exam, I almost started to cry. I can't decide it if was out of happiness because I will never touch economics again, or if it is because I am sad that my undergraduate degree is over.

Either way, my heart is beating so fast.

The teachers, people, jobs, classmates, friends, tests, papers, assignments, activities and opportunities that I have been part of here will never be forgotten.

Thank you BYU-I.

Miss I got a job!

I received an offer today for my first, "big girl", job! It was such a crazy day running back and forth between interviews that I had in Idaho Falls but I didn't leave empty handed, and that was a miracle.

I had an interview lined up across town that I was already running late to (don't worry, I called and told them and they were running behind too) after I received the offer. I wasn't sure what to do but I needed to get back to Rexburg for class and I knew I the other job was not going to pay even close to what this job is paying (which is pretty dang good) so I called them and thanked them for the interview but informed them that I had just received a job offer.

That felt good. This whole situation feels good. It feels like a "fit".

So, now what? I just start working. And being a grown up. And not doing homework. And wearing dress pants every day. And meeting with adults that I can call by their first name instead of brother and sister.

This may be quite the transition. I may need a night class to ease me into it.

I will tell you more about the job later. I haven't officially accepted it. I will be making that glorious phone call tomorrow.

Miss TBI

What does TBI mean? To Be Interviewed....Clever, right?

At this transitional time in my life, I have been interviewed, a lot. This past 6 months I have estimated I have been interviewed about 6 times and I have interviewed others 3 times. This surprised me but I am pleased because the more practice, the better.

Yesterday, I went to another interview. (I will tell you what is was for at a later date, hopefully) The day before an interview, I usually prepare by going over interview questions. You can find typical interview questions on any given site you find when you Google: interview questions. I usually talk out loud to my poor husband or I talk into a mirror. I am not always that prepared but most of the times I am thinking about it constantly for days or hours before and that prep alone is enough for me sometimes.

For this interview, I prepared by answering this list of questions. (I am super lucky to be able to work in HR and be present in interviews and hear the questions they ask and learn about how they evaluate candidates. This alone has prepared me so much for the future.)

Consider these questions before your next interview:

• Tell us about gifts or talents that you feel you have been blessed with that apply to this job.
• Tell us about a time where you had to be the bearer of bad news.
• Tell us about a time when people disagreed with you, but you knew you were right.
• Contrast: Tell us about a time when you thought you were right, but later found out you were wrong. 
• Tell us about the most challenging work relationship you ever had.
•  Rate yourself on a scale of 1-10. 1 being someone who likes things organized, stable, routine, normal, regular and typical. 10 being someone who is wildly out of the box, creative, bold, fearless, forward thinking, zealous, ambitious.
• Tell us about the worst professional decision you have ever made.
• Comparing the importance of policy vs. customer needs, who would you be the advocate for?
• Tell us about the last time you extended an apology in a professional setting. 
• Tell us the worst professional decision you have ever made.
• Tell us about a time that you collaborated with a team.
• What was the nature of the project?
• How did it turn out?
• How did you ensure the project got done? 

Some other tips for interviewing are:

1. Arrive at least 5 minutes early. If you arrive more than 10 minutes, they won't know what to do with you. Give yourself enough time to take off your coat, introduce yourself to the receptionist or secretary and take a deep breath. Too much time may psych you out.
2. Prepare. Talking in the mirror can help you see your facial expressions. Body language and tone are huge. You need to sound competent no matter what job you are applying for. Make sure your body language and tone are appropriate for the job description.
3. Research the company. Know when they were established, their history and their mission. They will most likely bring it up and the more you know the better. Show interest in the company and they will show interest in you. 
4. While in the interview, listen. Don't worry about what you are going to say next. If you practiced, it will come to you. If you need to stall, ask for a moment to think. It is better for you to explain the silence rather than be too quiet or answer too quickly. Find a balance.
5. Be yourself. (Insert cheesy grin here) In the end, they are hiring YOU, not the fake person you interviewed as. It always helps me to think, "If I am not the best fit for the company, I don't want to work there." You will  not be able to put on a face very long. 

Finding a job that is exactly what you want to do and fitting the requisites is not easy. Getting an interview is even harder. If you get one, be present and be ready.

Miss HR, whaaa?

So, I work in HR now. I recently transferred departments and I have been enjoying it. I mainly work as an employment coordinator assisting in posting jobs and reviewing applications. I am also working on a few small projects. Currently I am working on a project that has to do with the Rehabilitation Act, section 504.  It's been interesting and I am learning a lot about legal and ethical issues.

Human Resources is more than just hiring and firing. HR deals with the internal employment structure in a company, or in my case, a university. Here are a few gems that I have learned over the past 2 weeks:

• Patience looks really good on you
• People who apply for a job, usually think they should get it...no matter what
• Being the bearer of bad news takes practice
• You are a therapist 
• Reviewing 30 applications is the easy part
• Asking the right questions is is great way to reveal character
• You resume doesn't get you the job, your interview does

I know there is so much more to learn but this has been such a great opportunity for me. I am learning and growing in new ways and expanding my skills and abilities.

Miss College Event Planner

Last semester and this semester, I have bad the privilege of being on the events board for the College of Business and Communication. Every semester, we plan a summit for the students in the college to attend and hear from working professionals in their desired field. I can still remember the first summit I attended. I learned so much and every semester the event helps me define my career even more. (There is something to say about empathy, to me. It means a lot.)

Last semester, I got to host the keynote speaker, Robert Whitman, the CEO of FranklinCovey. It was REMARKABLE! The whole day I kept pinching myself. Within the first 10 minutes of meeting him, he offered to set me up with a job at one of the Wynn hotels (that he a partial owner of) as an event planner! It was incredible. Throughout the day, he soaked up his time with the students. He is such a humble man.

I ended up being invited to reminisce with him and his Harvard buddy and BYU-Idaho's president, Kim B. Clark.That was unforgettable.

He spoke a university forum in the afternoon and shed some words of wisdom about success. He based it off the principles below-

It was so inspirational and I reflect upon these principles almost weekly.

This semester, I get to host Curtis Peterson, who is the Planning Analyst for the Idaho and North America Central Areas of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The event is next week and I can't wait to meet him and the other speakers.

Check out who is coming this semester.

Mrs. Magazine

What have I been up to lately? A lot of coordinating.

Over the past few weeks, I have been making sure that the Fall 2011 BYU-Idaho Alumni Magazine gets published on time. This year, we are publishing the whole issue online (which makes it a lot easier). As the project coordinator, I set all the deadlines and proposed it to: web, design, photo, video and copywriting. Since then, I have been helping everyone stay on task and help them hit their deadlines.

In between, I have been managing BYU-Idaho's first institutional brochure (all universities have a piece like this), a 'mall' map for the student union building, the first official Legacy Hall (all universities have a piece like this as well), helping with the new website and other small production projects. Whew.

This week I really invested myself in the magazine. I conducted a meeting yesterday and had a power-point with each feature or section of the magazine on a slide. We went over what has been done and what other assignments need to be done. After the meeting, I ended up making a  looooong do to list. Esh. So, it's been a busy week but really good. I have had some monumental opportunities and events that will hopefully pay off soon.

Anyway- currently, I am clocked out, auto-reply email is turned on and I am packing for our vacation to sunny AZ...Can't wait!

Mrs. Scared to Death

Hi, All. I'm back.

Semester is done and here are the results...

Not bad. It got me a partial academic scholarship (never thought I would say that) in addition to my full-ride leadership scholarship that I have again for next semester.

I'm pretty happy with the results-all things considered. Being a newlywed, taking 17 credits, working 20 hours and then being director over an events program (volunteer)...it got crazy. In fact, Nephi and I almost cried driving out of town on our first vacation. We were so happy, relieved and had some legitimate bagagge and angst against this semester. The hard part for me, personally, was that I had so many classes to work on, it was hard for me to just enjoy one. I gave about equal amount to each class, in the end, but didn't fancy one over the other. I did learn a lot and felt immense growth and more drive towards graduating and starting a 'real job'.

This is where the real tears come in...

No more excuses, it's time to start applying for my first 'real job' post graduation. My emotions race daily with the thought of what is going to happen in December when I graduate.

Am I going to be one of those graduates who has a job lined up and walks into the office first Monday after graduation? Am I going to be one of those graduates that wakes up the day after graduation, grabs the classifieds and starts applying? Or, am I going to be one of those graduates that is going to start applying early, to 15 + places, get 2 interviews and have nothing to show for it except 15 different cover letters?

I fear all 3, especially option 3.

Ambiguity in life plans has never been my strong suit. I am working on it but I do have a strong belief in a system that has worked for me in the past - work your butt off, pray, be good, follow-up and be yourself and things will work out. This theory has proven to work, however, I am still scared to death...

This is where I am at. Thinking every waking hour about where I will be in 5 months. How I will support my husband. How I will feel accomplished. How I will stayed motivated when pushed down. How I will hold back all the tears.

I don't know, but I am willing to find out and prove my theory, right.

Wish me l u c k. (And let me know if you hear of any job openings in eastern Idaho)

Mrs. New Job. Well, kind of.

Since January, I have been working for University Communications as a project manager. It's been such an incredible experience that it is hard to explain. I have grown so much! Job, after job, I always think I can't learn more than I did in the past job or internship-but I always do!

Some of the principles that I have learned is:
*The client is not always right, you just need to make them feel that way.

-I know immediately, all your heads turn to your neighbor and scoff, “Psh, PR. A whole bunch of spinning is what she is doing.” My response would be, yes and no. Yes, this job is PR and no we do not spin the truth –we just give the client a new perspective.

*I am a student, but I am powerful.

-For example, as an intern, there were many moments where I felt like I was treated like a 'intern'. I had to prove myself over and over again and in the end, I felt like I still struggled to win them over. Here, I feel like my work is worth something and with every project I do well, I gain more respect, trust and stewardship. I love that feeling.

*The mission of the University is to serve the students.

-Each project I work on, in a roundabout, is always for the students. Your now nudging your neighbor thinking, “Duh, you work at a university.” Bust seriously. All my clients are sincere about helping the students understand the message they are trying to convey. It’s not about power or position. It's about people.

*My peers are amazing.

-I work with a team of graphic designers and web programmers, all students, all amazing. They shock me with their talents, daily. I have learned so much from them, not just about design principles, but about talent and expressing your talents. I want to be like them when I grow up.


Those are just a few of the many principles that I have learned here at University Communications. This job really was a miracle and I feel good and fulfilled in this position.

Now, along to my ‘new job, well, kinda’ scenario. My supervisor, I guess you could call her, was the Project Coordinator for University Communications. Instead of her just managing print, she does web, video and photo as well. She has a student project manager in each area that she works with but mostly she manages the bigger projects and the face-time. Fortunately, we worked in the same office and became great friends. She is a great example to me and I loved working with her. Recently, she was offered a new position on campus and she felt it was time for a change in her life and switched departments at the end of July.


With her leaving, there was an obvious vacancy that couldn’t be filled immediately. The job posting just closed and they are currently seeking a new employee. So, how have we been surviving? Me. Ahem, humbly. I am now in her position. And since school is out for the break, I am also the photo coordinator and the web coordinator. A doozy, eh? Nah. It’s been great.

I attend meetings with the director of University Communications, weekly, as well as manage projects in web, print, photo and video. I meet with the managers of each of those departments weekly as well and make sure they are all on top of things. Yes—it’s weird giving assignments and deadlines to men quite superior to me in age, status and pay grade (especially pay grade). But, they are all WONDERFUL to work with. They only enable me to be better. The other day during my meeting with the director he said that he doesn’t look at me as a student, but as a full-time working professional that is to represent University Communications. Wow—that was nice to hear.

Although I will only be in this position a few more weeks, I again, see it as such a miracle. Again, I have learned and grown so much. I hope this trial period is preparing me for something greater in my life. I know, wherever I apply and work [post graduation] I will be prepared because of the experience I have had here.


There is my new job summary and a small tribute to University Communications. Thanking you.

Mrs...photographer!?

Yes. I haven't blogged in forever. It's bad. I wish I could blog. Daily. I have enough to say, just not enough time. One day. Soon.


FYI, I have a photo blog. I am taking a digital imaging class that has taught me how to take pictures and edit them! We invested in a DSLR Cannon Rebel camera and we really like it! Check out my blog and the work I have done this semester!

Stay tuned. I will be back.

Mrs Life is Cake

 

Here is my schedule for the fall 2011 semester. My LAST semester of my undergraduate studies. Only 16 credits next semester, opposed to my current 17. Feel free to feel sorry for me...lend words of encouragement...put my name on the prayer roll....etc. 

But really, life is cake with this man. 

These past, officially today, 2 months have been incredible.

I don't know how I lasted the last 23 years without him.

Miss Challenge

I have to admitt. I love a challenge. And I love being challenging. (I know, it's really annoying.)

Two Examples:

Nephi and I did those rowing machines at the gym last night and we got pretty competative. We played this fish game that they have on the LCD screen and it was SO fun! About half way through, Nephi started complaining about his butt hurting but I kept pushing him. I complained about my hands at the end but didn't look at the till after...Yep. Blisters. I haven't gotten blisters since high school playing softball.

Another challenge that I am undertaking is my Spring 2011 semester at BYU-Idaho. I only have 33 credits left!

Here is my schedule:

Along with these 16 credits, I will be:

• Newly wedded to this cute boy.
• Working part time as a Project Manager over high level institutional print items at school.
• Director of Talent Activities on campus. (I'll blog more about this later)

Wish. Me. Good. Luck.

Miss Goal Setter

For the rest of the year, I have set a goal to make at least ONE effort a week towards finding a job after graduation. (Yes, I am graduating in December!)


Week 2/21-2/27: Begin working on revamping my resume and networking in Arizona.

I will be designing my resume in Adobe Illustrator. Check out my current resume.


Miss Priorities

Priorities. What are they? What are yours? What are mine?

This week I was given an opportunity to help seek sponsorship (on commision) for this event. I worked with them last year a little with marketing and I loved it! When the opportunity came, I was really excited. I took the last few days to think and pray about it and I came to the conclusion that I need to re-evaluate my priorities.

This led me to think about this scale...

Heavier Side=Career & Schooling

Lighter Side=Relationships with: God, Family, Myself & Peers.

I've got a lot of work to do...

Miss Project Manager

I have been LOVING my new full-time on campus job this semester. I am a project manager for Creative Services at BYU-Idaho.

As a Project Manager, my primary responsibility is to see that project objectives are accomplished. I am in the center of interactive communication between clientele and team members.


Responsibilities Include:


*Technical Supervision
*Planning
*Organizing
*Directing
*Controlling

...might I add, intense ambiguity??


Here is the system I set up:

I email constantly. I am in contact with the client daily (usually multiple times a day) and I assure them of our progress. Our communication usually consists of me sending concepts via email and them telling me that things need to be changed.


Usually we will have a 'kick off' meeting to discuss ideas of what the client is seeking. I would say 7 out of 10 new projects that come in are "production," meaning, there are just a few changes needed to an existing design. Others that are designed from scratch go into this file holder that indicates "priority projects." Anything from the executive offices goes here.

New projects that come in and often time production projects go over here. I usually move 1-3 projects over to the priority projects a day. Currently I am balancing about 10 projects. This changes DAILY.

When a project has been submitted to the press, I put it in this file bin. This is my pending bin. It's a little bit of a mess right now. After this stage, it goes to the archives!

I'm not sure if this is the best way to do it, but it has been working for me so far! Stay tune for more details about current jobs, tasks and dealing with clients and designers. (sheez)

Miss Catch-Up

New Year Resolution: Blog Weekly.

I have complied a list of things I have learn from being the Student Director for CenterStage...

• How to be professional in emails.
• How to make decisions, quickly.
• How to work with a team.
• How to be a leader that everyone wants to follow.
• How to inspire others.
• How to share the spirit of BYU-Idaho with ccomplete strangers.
• How to accomplish important tasks in a timely matter.
• How to set, make and complete deadlines.
• How to build in a budget using my 'best judgment.'
• How to be a people pleaser but NOT a pushover.
• How to network and market myself in a professional manner.
  
• How to be brief and punctual.

My experiences were PRICELESS, to say the least. I s t r e t c h e d constantly and wouldn't trade it for the world.

Here was the Fall 2010 line up...

Jon Schmidt: Accompanied by special guest Steven Sharp Nelson

ABBA Mania: A tribute to ABBA

Quartetto Gelato (Award winning accordionist.)
Masters of the Fiddle: Featuring Natalie MacMaster

Eric Bibb

Saxophobia: Featuring Rob Verde

Collin Raye: Accompanied by the Teton Chamber Orchestra

More pictures from the events!