Exec Positions Opening Up!
Sadly, PRSSA will be losing a few great members next semester due to graduation and study abroad. On the bright side, this means that there will be a couple of positions on the exec board opening up! I want encourage everyone to run–even if you have only been in PRSSA one or two semesters–because regardless of how inexperienced you might feel, you will learn along the way and we love getting fresh perspectives on our exec board!
The process for running is simple. At one of our upcoming meetings (date is still undetermined), we’ll hold an election. Anyone interested in a position will give a short speech to the group about what position they are running for and why they want it. I know this sounds intimidating, but you have nothing to worry about! Just make sure you cover these points: what position you want, what experience and skills you will bring to the position and why you want it/think you will do well in it. You could also tell us about any new ideas you have for that position. If you don’t have a ton of experience, just focus on the skills or personality traits you have that will allow you to excel or maybe even talk about a class you’ve taken that would be useful. Dont’ sweat it.
We’ll be discussing the elections more at upcoming meetings and announcing positions that will be open. This is a great opportunity to gain leadership experience. I was only in PRSSA one semester before I ran for exec, and was really nervous about it, but everything worked out. Being in PRSSA, and especially being on exec has been a wonderful experience for me and is one of those things you’ll look back on and be glad you did. I hope you’ll all really consider running for a position. Best of luck!
By: Kelly Trettin, Social Media Editor and Webmaster
Trying to find internships this spring or summer?
On Tuesday, October 20, 2009, I attended a small class led by Amy A’Hearn the communications career advisor. When I say small, I mean small. It was a class size of three people including myself and it was wonderful. The class was all about how to find an internship whether it be for the spring, summer, or fall. She started off the class by asking what our priorities were, what did we want out of the internship? What was important to us, location, paid/unpaid, work environment, work hours, etc? She said the key to finding an internship was first figuring out what you, yourself wanted out of one.
Next, she showed us the Pomerantz Career Center’s website (www.careers.uiowa.edu) and located the Career Guide button which brought up a number of sample resumes, cover letters, letters of inquiry, etc. A’Hearn urged us to look at each of these to begin writing and then advised us to go to walk-in hours at the PCC. During walk-in hours, students can have their resumes reviewed by a peer advisor who will be sure to provide them with tips to improve their resume.
To actually find internships, A’Hearn showed us the Expo website on the PCC’s webpage. This site is used to find jobs and internships with companies who are affiliated with the University of Iowa. The easiest ways to look for jobs is to first log-in, then click on the Jobs button, then Search. A’Hearn said to use the “Major Seeking” button which allows for a wider search of jobs within your major that you may have never considered before. Also, for the “Type” you should select Internships. Then click “Search” and a whole skew of internships appear on the page. Expo also has you upload your resume to the site, so if you do find an internship that interests you, all you have to do is click Apply and your resume is already there. I should mention that Expo does have a one-time fee of $32, but that you can use the site all through college and even after.
Also, on the Expo site is a tab labeled ICE-NET, which is an awesome tool! It has alumni from the University of Iowa who put their job information on the website and then you can look them up and ask them about their current jobs. This is a great tool because it allows you to have an informational interview which is when you get to ask people about their job and find out how they got there. Also, the PCC has a whole page on how to go about have an informational interview, A’Hearn stressed that this was a good way to get to know what a specific job was actually like.
The final piece of advice from A’Hearn was that everyone should start a LinkedIn account! This is like Facebook for big people, the real deal. This is a site where you can upload your resume and talk about all the things you are great at (what could be better!). Just make sure your LinkedIn page is professional!
Hope this helps & Best of luck!
Melissa Rasper—Historian/Alumni Relations
Fund Raising, PRSSA style
What do ice cream, guys in Speedos, fifty cent brownies have to do with each other?
They’ve all been part of some of the many fundraisers we’ve done!
Since joining PRSSA in 2007, I’ve been privy to quite a few creative ideas that have been on the table to get us money for our various chapter needs. A few don’t pan out, and some are less than thrilling, but overall, fundraisers are a great way to get to know your fellow members and make some money that will directly benefit your PRSSA experience.
Previously, we’ve taken shifts at Coldstone Creamery which gives us a percentage of the night’s sales depending on how much ice cream is sold. Hands-down the best part of working there, even for an hour or two, is sampling all of the ice cream. My go-to flavor is oatmeal cookie batter, except for the late falls months when pumpkin ice cream is the only thing you should be eating.
During my freshman year, we did Coldstone night in November—not exactly an ideal time to rake in big bucks on ice cream sales. Timing is a key element when putting on fundraisers, and the next year we were proactive in making sure we were behind the counter during the first week of classes in August.
Personally, my favorite fundraiser was one we just completed. At the intramural co-ed swim meet on October 4th, eight members were awarded $300 for the chapter by being back-up timers one early Saturday morning! We really lucked out in that, although it was a home football game, the intramural meets are shorter and people were able to leave in time to watch the game or continue tailgating. The swimmers were extremely nice and very appreciative of us, and I think I’m not just speaking for myself when I say that particular fundraiser was especially easy on the eyes.
Another of my favorite fundraisers (boy howdy, I sure do like making money) is the PRSSA bake sale in AJB! Not only do I enjoy this because I am ob-SESS-ed with baking, but working at the table gives you great interaction with some of the more colorful characters that roam our hallowed halls. Also, people are super supportive of anyone selling awesome baked goods at bargain-basement prices. The sampling that may or may not go on is also a highlight.
But Brittney, where does this money go? I know you’re asking, so I’ll TELL YOU. As rewarding as the fundraisers themselves can be, what we do with the money is about a million times better. Money for hotels, gas, etc. is needed when we go on agency tours or to conferences, end-of-the-semester banquets and socials, some overhead costs, PR Day, possibly bringing in certain speakers—the list of what we can do with our chapter funds is never ending!
The most important part of fundraising, my PRSSA minions, is that you NEED TO GET INVOLVED. The same five or six people can’t raise all of the money for the entire chapter—everyone needs to pull their own weight. This making money stuff is not hard—it’s really fun and we don’t even notice that we’re working because there’s bonding, there’s laughing, and more often than not, there’s a trip to the Airliner afterward.
If YOU have an awesomely creative idea (or even a really obvious one we’ve never thought of before) please, please, please speak up! We’re always looking for ways to get money for our chapter and get our name out on campus.
By: Brittney Wichtendahl, PR Director
