Chaotic Job Market

Employees and Employers Missing the Mark

As a senior at Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI, the recent economy of course has me nervous and scrambling to find a job after graduation. May is creeping up a lot faster than it seems.

Check out this article I read recently about employees not being fit for employers, and employers being unrealistic about potential employees. It makes me wonder if being a more qualified person entering the work world will actually help me find that job...If job qualifications are unrealistic, how is our economy ever going to improve?

Hopefully there's someone out there interested in me...

Unforunately our Marquette PRSSA group was unable to make it to this year's national conference in San Diego this month, so I did a little research to see what the conference entailed. I wanted to see what other students thought about the presentations they were invited to. I came across this blog posting by a senior student at Ohio Northern University:



10 Tips for Networking Etiquette



It describes some very detailed tips for networking, some that I hadn't even heard of before. In fact, they make a lot of sense. I found a couple especially interesting:

4. Ladies should extend their hand to gentlemen first, allowing them to control whether they are comfortable with the exchange.

This is a neat point because, as a lady, I never thought that men might be uncomfortable with shaking a woman's hand...or vice versa in a networking environment.

8. If the first to arrive at a table for dinner, wait behind your chair or mingle until everyone is present before sitting down.

This is a great observation, because you never want to appear as though you are unsocial (even if you are a bit uncomfortable with meeting new people). Networking events give you an easy way in to breaking your shell and getting your name out there, because everyone is expecting to talk with and meet many people. There's no pressure!

“Chaos in the world brings uneasiness, but it also allows the opportunity for creativity and growth.”
~Tom Barrett

This quote sums up the current chaos in my life. School has been pretty busy, work is hectic, and family life has been strained. But, through it all, a positive outcome will arise. There is always room for improvement. When things are chaotic, it only means there's a better way of organizing our efforts and activities. Hit the ground running and seize the opportunity for growth.

PR Writting Assignment 2: Twitter Experience

After using Twitter more agressively for about two weeks, I now have a better understanding of the uses of Twitter. Before this assignment, I did not see much of a purpose for Twitter. Especially since a lot of people tweet silly information like what they ate for breakfast or that they just brushed their teeth!...I realized that everyone can create their own purpose for Twitter based on who they follow and how they tweet. I decided that my main purpose was going to be to gain knowledge about my chosen field: Public Relations. I also vowed that my tweets would never be about the food I just ate.

I am currently following academic and professional people based on guidance from my professor. I also found organizations and people by searching for topics I was interested in learning about or being updated about. Some examples of these include student organizations like @musg and @marquetteprssa, as well as professional organizations such as @prsa and @bigshoesnetwork. I also follow local news stations/papers to get information on the latest events in Milwaukee.

Some helpful tweets I came across during this experience include:

-Work force going gray due to current state of economy
-Taking Risks to Boost Your Career
-Resume writing tips!
-Check this out students: cover letter tips!

And, tweets of pure entertainment:
-21 Funny Twitter Pick-Up Lines
-Job plan # 2.

Overall, this assignment was really interesting. I feel as though the chaotic world that I initially viewed Twitter to be is actually more insightful than I realized...

"If I was down to my last dollar, I'd spend it on Public Relations."
~Bill Gates

PR Writing Post 2: About Me
What’s your full name?
Alyssa Ann Westling
Were you named after anyone?
No.
Do you have a nickname? If yes, what is it?
Close friends call me Lyss. Older friends call me Wes.
What’s your astrological sign?
Pisces
Are you a morning person or a night owl?
Morning person.
Do you wish on stars?
Not usually.
Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
Depends on the shoes...
Do you have tattoos ?
No.
What do you do most often when you are bored?
Knit, read, clean...I can't ever sit still.
Donkey or Elephant or Neither?
Elephant.
What makes you angry?
When people ask questions and then don't listen for the answers.
What did you do last night?
Watched Top Chef.
What frightens you?
Being without close friends and family.
How many keys are on your key ring?
4 or 5.
What do you do to relax?
Stay busy.
Do you believe in superstitions?
No.
Have you attended a church or religious event outside of your own?
Yes. My friend is of the Mormon faith, and I attended a few events with her.
Name a foreign language that you know.
I am learning Spanish.
Name three things most people don’t know about you.
-I don't really like chocolate.
-I'd like to write a novel someday.
-I've been singing and performing since I was 3.
Family, Pets, & Friends
Do you have any siblings?
2 younger, Zach and Lane
Who was your best friend in high school?
Anna. We are still very close today.
Do/did you have any pets?
I had a golden retriever, Abby, until I was about 17.
Cat person or dog person?
Dog...though I prefer neither.
Who is the last person you talked to on the phone?
My boyfriend, Trent.
Travel
What states have you been to?
California, Hawaii, Colorado, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Washington DC, Virginia, Alabama, Georgia, Florida...
What countries have you been to?
Mexico, Canada, Spain, Italy, Ireland, England, Switzerland, France
In how many states have you lived?
2, Minnesota, Wisconsin
When is the last time you took a train?
Fall 2008 in Spain.
Food
What do you like to eat for breakfast?
Waffles, pancakes, cereal, fruit, bagels, english muffins...
What is your favorite food?
Steak.
What foods do you dislike?
Mushrooms, tomatoes.
What ethnic food do you like and dislike?
I haven't tried many ethnic foods.
What is your favorite chip flavor?
Plain.
What is your favorite sandwich?
Sandwiches are my least favorite meal.
What is your favorite drink?
Milk.
What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Chocolate.
What’s your favorite salad dressing?
Ranch.
Plain, buttered or salted popcorn?
Salted.
What’s your favorite pie?
French silk.
What’s your favorite fast food place?
I don't eat fast food.
Media
Which Harry Potter characters are you?
Hermione.
What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
500 days of summer.
What is your favorite TV show?
Top Chef AND The Tudors.
Last book you read.
Queen of this Realm (memoirs of Queen Elizabeth I)
What picture is on your computer wallpaper?
A photo of my boyfriend and me in southern Spain.
What is your ring tone?
Random.
What are three favorite songs on your iPod?
I don't have an iPod.
Do you have a Facebook page?
Yes.
Do you have a Twitter account?
Yes.
Do you have a blog?
Sure do.
Wishes
Where would you retire to?
A home in the woods near an ocean.
If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?
Egypt.
Would you ever bungee jump? Skydive?
No.
If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Green.

PR Writing Class Post 1:

What does writing mean to me?

Writing has always been an escape for me. It is a way to get everything out of my brain and into another medium. I've been journaling heavily since I was about eleven years old. Keeping a record of my thoughts, motivations, and even agrivations has been very theraputic. I am a very analytical person, and so writing things down and thinking through multiple solutions to problems or ways to explain certain situations has always made making sense of things that much easier.
Because I've been writing for so long, it has become a part of who I am. And, I hope to continue to keep writing as a large part of my life forever. There are so many words out there, and so many ways of using them. I love to just scribble words down to release frustrations, to liberate myself, to just let the words flow.

As Joan Didion once said,
"I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear." This fully captures my meaning of writing. It's a tool to express one's thoughts-about anything. It's a way of analyzing one's life. I enjoy overthinking, and I enjoy writing. For me, the two go hand in hand.

A little wisdom from a very wise person.

Thoughts from the desk (and excel screen) of Sarah Leslie Clasing: life lessons and keys to happiness I probably should have learned by now. Here's to teaching old dogs new tricks:
1. Be more assertive. If you don't believe in yourself who will? No one ever accomplished anything by holding back.
2. Learn to say "no." Trying to please everyone is exhausting.
3. Stop procrastinating. There is no time like the present. Every journey begins with a first step.
4. Sometimes the best reason is that there is NO good reason. Read fooled by randomness by Nassim Taleb. We always try to look for a reason/explanation for everything; sometimes they are simply out of our grasp. Overanalyzing is exhausting too!
5. Learn to relax: work and school will be there tomorrow. Take a little time to escape them occasionally. It'll make you better when you do go back to them.
6. Be more patient. It is selfish to think that everything must be on your own time schedule. In the grand scheme of things, what is a few wasted minutes here and there if it is for the benefit of someone else?
7. Be more spontaneous! You only live once!
8. Learn to better deal with the unexpected. Sometimes the adventures that result from things that don't go according to plan are the most fun. And sometimes they lead you to a better place than planned!
9. Care less about what people think. True friends will love you anyway.
I realize the hypocrisy in my writing the above points. But hey, we're all works in progress, right?

"The most successful people are those who are good at plan B." ~JAMES YORKE

I may need to work a little harder on this one...

Things change. Life changes. We must learn to adjust. We must realize how to learn from our challenges.

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."
~RALPH WALDO EMERSON

Recent Challenges

"Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are." ~BERNICE JOHNSON REAGON

I recently moved into a new apartment for my final year of college at Marquette University. My boyfriend, Trent, also just graduated and moved home to Atlanta, Georgia. After feeling somewhat lost, I have come to realize that this challenge, of being away from him for the next year, will give me the chance to discover who I am all over again.

I have always thought of myself as very driven. I've always known exactly what I wanted and I've worked hard to get there. With Trent's leaving, I feel as though some of those goals have been put on hold.

I am going to try to work harder to find myself again, to work on achieveing my individual goals. Though I may feel ready for the "we," I am going to try to focus more on the "me."

Life is chaos

Life has been chaotic lately, as we all know it can be. I've had family visiting and papers to work on, tests to take (or not take), and craziness going on at work. I'm sure everyone can relate. Here's a quote to help bring us back to earth:

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore.Dream. Discover"-- MARK TWAIN

When things get busy, I have to remember that I'd rather life be hectic than miss out on things.

Chaos Quotes

“Our real discoveries come from chaos, from going to the place that looks wrong and stupid and foolish.”

"Living in continual chaos is exhausting, frightening. The catch is that it's also very addictive."

Chaos in motion

“We adore chaos because we love to produce order."

Sarah, the best friend aforementioned, recently sent me this quote at 3am one morning while studying. She tagged the quote as:
"Story of our lives."

This is most definitely true of her and me. Producing order is, by far, one of the most looked forward tasks of our being. Sad, we know, but we are constantly trying to make sense of things; to organize events, thoughts, and ideas; and most certainly to analyze anything and everything to try to come to a perfectly ordered conclusion.

That's why chaos is so enticing. It's exciting! It's something out of control that we can try to tame. Who doesn't love a good challenge anyway?

Quotes!

“Do you remember the things you were worrying about a year ago? How did they work out? Didn't you waste a lot of fruitless energy on account of most of them? Didn't most of them turn out all right after all?”
-Dale Carnegie

“It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things
-Theodore Roosevelt

Love

" There are eight essential things you need in life: Strength, Courage, Wisdom, Peace, Calm, Joy and Love. Strength to get up every morning, Courage to face the challenges thrown our way, Wisdom to realize that it's not always in our control, Peace within and with those around us, Calm to have a clear mind, Joy to see the good in life and most importantly of all Love - love for those we know closely, those we know at a distance, and those we're yet to meet."

Introduction

My best friend and I have had some interesting experiences in our lives. We like to sometimes think of ourselves as idealists. Therefore, we like to make some sense out of these experiences. We analyze everything, down to the very last detail. The two of us try to be insightful and somewhat philosophical about our reasonings. We often use quotes or proverbs to describe events or happenings. Some people appreciate it. Others think we are merely ridiculous. We say:

"[We] would rather be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring."
~Marilyn Monroe