Showing posts with label Interview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Interview. Show all posts

May 6, 2014

How NOT To Interview For A Job

So I am at this place of business this evening, and I overhear someone trying to apply for a job.

Note, I feel bad for the guy who is looking for extra work, but the interview just is going all wrong. 


- Easy-Smeasy - He asks "What is the easiest part of the job?" Ugh, didn't sound exactly like he was looking for a challenge.


- Keep your head down - He exclaims, "And never do someone's else's job!" What about helping where the help is needed?


- Great facilities you got here - He ends with, "And when I work here, my kids are really going to love coming to use the facilities here all the time!" Not exactly, a what will I do for you strong ending. 


I didn't get to hear the whole interview dialogue, but this was enough to get the idea about some things not to do in an interview. 


The funny/sad thing was, I think this gentleman really thought that he was going to get the job after all. ;-)


(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

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September 22, 2013

On The Air With Madhouse

In South Florida, we were on the air with WPEG Power 98.

This is us and the gang from Morning Madhouse at the Westin Diplomat. 

My wife said we were vacationing, I said we were on a second honeymoon. 

Either way, it was nice to tell everyone how much we love visiting Sunny Florida!  ;-)
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September 13, 2013

Communicating 360

My daughter, Michelle, is taking a university class in public relations and as part of the class she was asked to interview 3 people about their perceptions of this field.

So she posed some questions to me and here is how the interview went:


1. In your own opinion, what is public relations?  Why do you think of public relations this way?

Public relations is simple, it's about relations with the public--communicating and connecting with people about what you do, why you do it, how you do it, for whom you do it, when you do it, and where you do it.  It is includes marketing and sales, customer relations, investor relations, government relations, relations with partners, as well as crisis communications, and maybe even recruiting talent to the organization. 


2. What do you think of when you think of public relations? Why do you think of this/these?

When I think of public relations, I tend to think of many of the big, well-known brands like Nike, Coca-Cola, Allstate, and so on--they do a lot of advertising and communicating with the public. They invest in this and it has a pay-off in terms of organization, product, and brand recognition.


3. What do you think the skills are that are needed to work in public relations?

Creativity, visual thinking, messaging, branding, marketing, sales, and psychology. 


4. Would you distinguish public relations from marketing? If so, how?

Public relations, to me, is broader than marketing. Marketing has to do with getting product awareness out there and selling, but public relations involves not only connecting with customers, but also investors, suppliers, partners, even the government, and international players. 


5. Can you give examples of what you think public relations is today? 

Public relations is how an organization interfaces and communicates with all its stakeholders.  It is mainly external or outward facing and differs from internal communications which is inward facing, like talking with employees. Public relations uses advertising, media, commercials, messaging, branding, logos, newsletters, mailings, to get the word out from the organization's perspective--good news and also countering bad news.


So how did this "IT guy" do with answering questions about public relations? 

Not my field, but maybe the MBA and private-sector experience helped, a little.  ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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December 20, 2012

Meet Sammy, The iPhone Guy


Sammy, the iPhone guy, in the Galleria Mall in Ft. Lauderdale was kind enough to talk with me about his experiences repairing smartphones.

Some highlights:

- He learned his trade from watching videos online (Go social media!)
- Smartphones can be taken apart, diagnosed, and fixed in as little as 15 minutes.
- Repairs generally cost between $85-99 and come with a six month warranty. 
- Loves the iPhone, but he says Galaxy is a strong competitor. 
- Most smartphones are damaged by dropping them without cases on (people love their devices naked).
- Many smartphones are dropped in the pool and in the toilet--but amazingly these can be fixed too!

Thanks Sammy for talking with me today about the ins and outs of the smartphone. ;-)
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