Networking, Networking, Networking!

Can you say networking? Well that was the word of the evening at the UW-Whitewater Career Development Night at the Hudson Business Lounge in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At this event, all of the UW-Whitewater students were able to listen to guest speaker, Jeff Carrigan, founder of Big Shoes Network, as well as be interviewed by two professionals in the field of public relations and conduct one informational interview of our own with a professional. I greatly enjoyed this event because it was a lot of fun to participate in and also a wonderful learning experience. 

The presentation by Carrigan was very interesting and thought provoking because he talked about two big questions students ask themselves. For me, the most important topic of his presentation was the 5 C's to Stand Out. These 5 C's are competence, connections, character, chemistry, and c-suite. Competence is you knowledge about the organization and business, as well as asking good questions. Connections is knowing the right people; for every year in the industry, he suggested that we find 4-5 legitimate contacts that want to see us succeed. Character is being honest in the presentation of yourself, especially when interviewing. Chemistry is making sure that the job is a good fit for you and that you don't make yourself fit by changing. C-suite is thinking like a CEO.

After Carrigan's presentation, we were able to start interviewing with the professionals in the field of public relations. My first interview was with Matthew Wisla, a public relations strategist who recently returned to the United States from working as the Vice President of Communications at the American Chamber of Commerce in the People's Republic of China. Wisla asked many interview questions related to my experiences in Whitewater and why I was interested in public relations. He made really helpful recommendations for interviewing. I am not planning to actually work in public relations after graduation and so he recommended I definitely sell my experiences in event planning rather than just trying to be interested in public relations and writing. 

After my interview with Wisla, I was interviewed by Kyle McCormick, specialist senior e-marketing at Harley-Davidson Motor Company. This interview was a lot of fun because McCormick graduated from Whitewater recently and he was very interested in my campus involvement. He asked questions similar to the questions asked by Wisla, but McCormick definitely focused on the leadership positions I have held on campus, and how those relate to a possible profession in the future. McCormick said that I was very personable and talkative. He really enjoyed that I was so involved and passionate about everything I was a part of. He said that his concern would be the lack of an internship, however, with the many experiences I have had, he said I did a good job of framing those experiences to sound "internship like."

Following this interview, I was able to conduct my informational interview with Mary Anderson, account executive in public relations for Bader Rutter and Associates, Inc. Anderson enjoys her position with Bader, Rutter and Associates, Inc., and said that she loves the variety in the work she does. As an account executive, she is able to work with clients and with businesses. She is able to create publicity and work to organize all aspects of the events her clients are putting on. Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of her job is her position working with interns. Anderson started with Bader, Rutter and Associates, Inc. as an intern herself, and she said, "It is very interesting to see the internship process from the other side. I am now the one doing the interviews and assigning tasks to the interns working in my department." Her suggestion for a student looking to work in public relations is to get started early and do many internships in different areas to find the best fit for you. 

I really enjoyed this event and found it very beneficial to attend. I hope this is available in the future to other students. I would like to thank Dr. Ann Knabe for organizing this event, and also to the sponsors Big Shoes Network, Public Relations Society of America, and the Hudson Business Lounge for supporting such a successful event.