Miss EDU them

I recently created a board on my Pinterest called "Continuing EDU...". There is not much on it yet but it made me realize how I am still interested in learning even though I am not in school.

This is a good sign.

This week I launched a mini campaign on my companies Facebook page that encouraged people to share a photo on their wall and tell their story of why they love our products and joined our team. (I work for a MLM company.) And, zilch. NO ONE has shared the photo.

My thoughts:

We only have 300 something likes...maybe none of those 300 people have logged on to Facebook in the last 24 hours?! 


Maybe I didn't explain it clear enough?


Did everyone quit the company last night!?


Am I a horrible person?

Okay, okay, I will stop the thoughts. They get progressively worse, I promise.

After reflecting on it today, I thought about something I was taught a few years ago. It was from a training that I received and the phrase often comes into my head: Teach them 'how to' before 'will you'.


DUH.

Our demographic is age 40-65 and many of them are not computer savvy-sit at a desk all day-kind of people. So, chances are, they don't even know HOW to share a photo.

Hence, HOW TO:

Simple, but helpful--hopefully. 

Thoughts:

Please restore my confidence and help me reach my social media goals. 

What does this have to do with my Pinterest board? Well, not everyone is seeking to learn things on their own and they need some help along the way. Don't be scared to "dummy" things down for people. 

*That may have been a stretch but it made sense to me before I started writing it all out.*

Miss Brand Recognition

Currently, we are coming out with a new product line and are in need of a name for the line. Seems simple enough, right?

Nope.

As we were brainstorming, people were making suggestions and my mind would wander with each suggestion thinking, "How can I sell that?" "I think I've heard that name before?" "What color/font would we use?" And the ultimate question,

"How does that align with our brand?"

After our meeting this morning, I found this video on Pinterest and I couldn't resist in sharing it with the office. Hopefully it will help us all (and maybe you) consider our brand recognition at all times.

Enjoy.

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 Perspective

I am currently writing a satire for one of my classes. My subject is: Voting. My perspective: Don't vote.

As I was working on it this weekend, I would write a few paragraphs and then read it out loud to my husband. He was impressed with my points and said that they actually bring up good points. This made me nervous that my satire was going to be too convincing.

Writing this satire has brought a new perspective for me, the writer. That is one of the purposes for writing a satire--to bring perspective. Below are some tips if you are interested in writing a satire.


Tips To Writing a Satire

1. Have a good knowledge of current affairs.

2. Keep information current, hot, and simple.

3. Choose a solid topic that people can relate to.

4. Give yourself time to write it.

5. Choose a powerful title


I am turning the paper in today. After I receive my grade and critique, I will post it.

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 Midterms...

This week is midterms and I have a little humor for you.

You know you spend too much time in the library when...

• You have a designated area and the computer remembers your passwords
• Your tutor says, "I'll see you next week," without even asking if you are signed up
• You spread out your work across 2 work spaces like it's no big deal
• You wash your grapes you packed for lunch in the drinking fountain
• You go to 'your' designated stall in 'your' bathroom
• You know which computers are slower and faster than others
• You know all the shortcuts 

Yes. This would be my experience in the library the last few semesters. However, I feel like studying at the library is best for me. My husband rather study at home but I work better in the library so we usually strike a compromise.

I have 4 midterms and I have taken 2 already. I got a 93% on my law midterm and an 81% on my mass media midterm. I'm feeling lucky...I still have my micro-economics midterm and my finance midterm.

What is the best way to prepare for a midterm? I took some advice from my teacher via The Wall Street Journal.

 

The only thing I would add to this list is take occasional breaks...which is why I am blogging right now. 

Wish me luck!

Mrs. Tips are for free, today.

A few months ago, a representative from a group on campus came to me and asked me for some advice on planning events? Me? Really? Okay, fine. (Blush)

When it comes to people asking me adivce of certain things (event planning, cooking, careers, friendship, style, etc) I LOVE it.
That is kind of a secret, but, I thought I would let it out.

I believe you can apply this list to any event you are planning. From birthday parties to concerts to dinner parties or even work gatherings. For some random reason, I thought about it today, and felt like I should share it. (I think it's because I have been helping plan a BBQ for work that we have today.)


Here is what I gave her. Enjoy!


Anything else you would add? Let me know. I am curious what you think.

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...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.

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 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 Project(s)

The stickers, bookmarks and programs I copied and am currently cutting out. Whew. It is a gem.
How many projects am I working on?? Possibly 10 or 9. No joke! Excuse my messy desk but I had to document how non-stop busy I have been the past few days at work.

We are of course getting everything finalized for the Book Festival which is one Sat. from 10am-6pm (PLUG) If you are in SLC or in the Utah area, or if you love me (yes, I just pulled that on you) then you will come! We are going to have so many great authors come and cooking demos with samples and a giant mouse will be walking around. It will be great. I will post the author schedule and stage schedule tomorrow.

Today I made about 20 plus calls to different schools around the U.S to offer a free presentation by Obert Skye, author of Leven Thumps. I hardly got a hold of people but I practiced some good sales skills. He is a great author and is promoting reading and using your imagination. (http://www.abituneven.com/)

Principle #1- Practice BEFORE you preach. I ran over in my mind a few times before I would pitch to each phone call because I didn't want to ruin professionalism! Tone is important too. I didn't want to get robotic or seem like I was selling something. I needed to fight for the cause. I have learned something about myself. If I believe in something, you don't need to convince me to sell it, just show me the info and once I believe it, my heart will sell it for you. This is why I would personally like to stick with one company instead of working in a firm.

Principle #2- Take notes and always stay tuned. With this book festival we have had so many details come up that we didn't ever expect because we are pioneering our way through it. My handy-dandy notepad has been helpful and constantly thinking about the event helps too. Becoming an effective note taker came from my 11th grade history teacher. She taught us how to letter and number outline notes. Thank you Mrs. Wong.