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Andrea Oswald COMM 3939-001 Suzanne Stromberg 1 May 2011 Informational Interviewing Assignment Interview #1 Name: Rosanna Jenkins Business: RX Marketing Title: Founder, CEO Years of Experience: 20+
Rosanna Jenkins is a business professional who founded the Rx Marketing firm based in Denver, CO. Rosanna and her team serve a diverse group of clientele. Q 1: What is unique about your company? What sets you apart? A: “I would have to say that the uniqueness of my business is that we operate within Colorado, Arizona, and California providing marketing, public relations, business planning, and product development. Our business has a special emphasis in the niche market of medical and dental professionals, entertainment industry, artists, galleries and authors. We listen, identify, assess, design, support and are proactive for each client no matter the specific service they are looking for.� Q 2: Who are your competitors? Do you feel you have any achilles heels? A: “I feel that in years past we may have had a few competitors, but since then they are no longer in business. Because we specialize in various fields for the products
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we offer I do not feel that we have any real competition and I am very at ease with this.” Q 3: What are your marketing goals for you or for your business? A: “A current goal of mine is to expand my business during the second half of this year to bring in some fresh ideas for my clients. I would like to get my clients on a level to where I could start sending more of my team members to meetings, instead of my presence always being requested.
This way it gives the team more direct client
management and me less frequent red eye flights!” Q 4: How do you stay energized and inspired when it comes to your work? A: “It’s an a passionate illness. Ever since I started in this business I have always been jazzed about watching a business grow and to grow my business to suit my personality. I really enjoy the thrill of business, developing and creating new ideas. This is where my triple A personality is best fit. I truly enjoy what I am doing.” Q 5: What are the most popular yet inexpensive, methods for promoting a site off line? A: “Social marketing has really taken over as a key component to any business. There are also means of specialized events for business to promote themselves within the business marketing. Another key component is to assist your clients in making sure their collateral is most recent with the trends as well.” Q 6: What advice would you have for young professionals entering your field? A: “Obtain a confidence that you have something to offer potential business. If you have any kind of professional experience with internships, know this is a valuable asset. If you are currently involved in a field to which you would like to pursue your career path, try to stay in this industry as best as you can. Keep your feet wet.” I could not have asked for a better experience when interviewing Rosanna.
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Above you can see maybe a third of the conversation we had back and forth. She was so open to share her knowledge about marketing and public relations field. Not only was she very informative with each question that I asked her, she also asked me questions of her own. She really made an effort to get to know me on a personal level and help me discover some things about the marketing field that I was really interested in. Rosanna and I even stumbled upon the topic of the benefits of going to graduate school to pursue a Masters degree. She gave me an answer that shocked me in a way, she said, “I believe that pursuing a Masters degree is a really ambitious thing for a recent graduate to take on and I commend anyone for involving themselves in another level of education. But I feel that if you are paying for the education yourself and obtain a job upon completing this degree that you will not be making any kind of real money for much longer than you expect. If you are wanting a job earning six figures, I would not recommend getting your Masters right away unless you know you will be making six figures after the payment of your student loans.� This type of answer was refreshing in a way. Rosanna reassured me that it is not do or die in this field to have a Masters degree right away; there is opportunity for it in the future. This interview not only provided me with a great networking opportunity, but a possible future employment opportunity as well. Rosanna asked if I felt the marketing field was really something I would like to pursue further and asked me to send her my resume, and email her after graduation to set up a lunch meeting to discuss a few opportunities. I can say I was shocked to say the least. I know now that no matter the circumstances, networking can be a mutually beneficial relationship for both parties.
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Interview #2 Name: Lucy Spiller Business: Robert Half International/The Creative Group Title: Account Manager Years of Experience: 2+ Lucy Spiller is a business professional currently acting as an Accounts Manager for Robert Half International. I chose to interview her to obtain more information on hiring trends, and to receive her business prospective on being a recent graduate entering the working world. Q 1: How do you feel it is best for recent graduates to prepare themselves for the transition from college to workplace? A: “The number one thing I feel can really attribute to a recent graduates success is confidence in themselves. We know that most of the people we work with straight out of college have a substantial amount of preparation of their resumes, portfolios and even social media websites. The best advice would be to know that everything is going to be a learning experience whether you have been in the industry for five days or five years because technology has been changing the way companies operate for years. Q 2: Do you feel that the job market is improving as compared to a few years ago? A: “ Yes. Business have been going through some sever changes that forced them to evaluate their practices over the past couple of years which unfortunately caused a surge in unemployment. As of today I feel that market is in a much better place for people in search of employment, but the numbers are not exactly where we would like
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them to be.” Q 3: Being that you are a “recent” graduate yourself, what do you feel was the most beneficial experience that may have attributed to your placement in a professional environment so quickly after graduation? A: “I would have to say that my internship experience was hands down the number one factor in my success today. Though I am not working in the same field as my internship was in, my boss saw that because of my professional experience and my credentials, I would be a great asset to this team.” Q 4: If a part time position were to become available to someone would you recommend them to take the position, or to hold out for their desired full time position? A; “ I believe that any offered experience, if it is something a person is interested in, should be taken. Opportunities may be few and far in-between in select industries so I feel everyone could benefit from a part-time experience because it may lead into other opportunities with their desired company. My interview with Lucy was so helpful in understanding more about the state the current state of the job market. In some instances it is difficult to find opportunities for entry-level positions because they are so sought after, so it is more than accommodating that there are staffing agencies such as Robert Half within our local communities. Lucy was really a great resource to speak with due to her familiarity with the job market for recent graduates because she was just one herself a few years back. This informational interviewing assignment was really beneficial in my plans to pursue a career in marketing and promotions. Though many businesses that have listings for these types of positions do not usually use staffing agencies, I am hopeful being apart
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of Robert Half International will supply me with great employment opportunities in the near future.