Sunday, March 8, 2015

"Chef"



Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of watching the indie film, "Chef." The film came out in 2014 and is the most trendy and current film I have seen yet. The plot is centered around a gourmet chef who lost his career largely in part to a tweet that he sent to a food critic that wrote him a poor review. He ends up being inspired by a trip to Miami and starting a food cart that has huge success because of social media.

The film highlights the important issue that I have learned in my public relations classes of the huge impact social media has on our world today. In the film, the chef's 10-year-old boy goes along the journey with his dad to help him start the food cart. He creates a Twitter, Vine and Facebook page for the food cart, where he constantly posts photos of their whereabouts. His dad knows nothing about social media and the boy teaches him its importance and how it can really make a business grow and succeed.



One thing I have learned is that when we enter the real world, employers are going to assume we know everything about social media because we are millennials. One of my favorite people to follow on Twitter is Peg Fitzpatrick, a social media master, who posts and blogs daily about social media tips and hacks.

The whole time I was watching this film in my living room, people kept walking in and saying, "Whoa, when did this come out?" It was so current and revolved so much around social media, I think that every aspiring PR professional should watch it. "Chef" is a perfect example of how negative press can turn into something great, and there is always a way to put a positive spin on things.

The film was very realistic and clearly showed the positive and negative impacts of social media in a business setting. While I had previously looked down upon the idea of working for a start-up, this film inspired me that it could be an exciting and fun career, as long as you are passionate about the company and its growth.

Takeaway: watch "Chef" and be inspired like I was.

Sunday, March 1, 2015

How Moving To Oregon Made Me Appreciate Beer



Microbreweries are everywhere in Eugene and all over Oregon. Since I turned 21, I have realized how much I love trying new beers and going to breweries. There is nothing like it in Southern California (though I think it's on the rise), and so it is something that really reminds me of being here.

It's an atmosphere thing. The beer is good, the food is good, the people that work there are down to earth and easy going, and the overall feel of the inside always gives off good vibes. Microbreweries have really found their niche and understand how to reach their target audience.

Like many other hobbies and activities, the microbrew world has become a culture. It is about more than the beer. Like I mentioned before, it is about the overall atmosphere of the brewery. These companies have done an awesome job of catering to their audience, which is mainly millennials.

Here in Eugene, local restaurants and bars have all the major local favorites on tap: Hop Valley, Ninkasi, Falling Sky, etc. They also have other Oregonian favorites like Windmer, Deschutes and Ten Barrel.

This article analyzes how microbreweries are on the rise in America. It discusses the business and science behind it and why it has become such a craze for young people everywhere. This article focuses on the importance of collaboration; this is what made companies actually start to make good beer.

But let's look at it from a PR standpoint. I see a ton of PR success in Eugene surrounding microbreweries. Stickers, for one, of beer labels are everywhere. Any time you go to a brewery, there are stickers by the register and it has become sort of a trend to put them on your mini fridges, lap tops, water bottles, etc. Stickers are such a basic form of PR that, in my mind, works like a charm.

Another aspect they've mastered is social media. Since most of these labels are run by young men, they are tech savvy and know how to reach their audience. They tweet about happy hour specials, events and new beers to test out. Social media is a major platform for these companies, and they have definitely used it effectively.

Almost every person between the ages of 21-26 like beer. Men and women alike. And this industry has really discovered that and done an awesome job of reaching out to us millennials.

The Job Search: Doing It Right



The job search process is unlike anything we've done in life thus far. We've worked hard to get to where we are: summer internships, portfolio building, intense coursework. And no it's time for us to show it all off.

Forbes wrote a great article about how what millennials can successfully make connections and take advantage of the resources around us. The article offers a lot of great advice, but my favorite piece from it was "Sometimes bigger - and more established - is better." 

The article goes into detail about how working for a larger company can end up being more beneficial to your career in the long run. I completely agree with this statement having experience working for both a large corporate company and a small startup.

While working for a startup can be beneficial and exciting, you make way more connections and learn more beneficial lessons working for a corporate brand.

The job search can be daunting and going through it has definitely been difficult and stressful for me. However, I have a few tips that can make the process easier and less scary.

My first piece of advice is to create an Excel sheet with all the current job openings that interest you. I did that over winter break, and it has really helped me stay organized and on top of dates and deadlines. It is a good place to write down companies you are interested in, and a place to keep the link to their job openings page in order to check it regularly. The Excel sheet has really made things easier for me thus far.

Next, is to be active on LinkedIn. I was totally confused by LinkedIn when I first created an account, but just like any social network, the more time you spend on it, the easier it gets. Something I have just learned over the past few weeks is how important it is to like and comment on things. When you do this you can get your name out there a lot easier. In fact, recruiters can then find you, view your profile and inbox you about job opportunities.

I have not had much success with websites that post job openings like Malakaye and Craig's List, so I would not recommend using those. I have found that simply looking on the websites of companies that interest you and being active on LinkedIn is the most effective way to find job postings.

So while the job search is freaking all of us out, if you take a step back and organize your thoughts and research, it can be a lot more enjoyable. The real world is waiting!