internship hunting season

It's that time of year again, ladies and gents: summer internship application season. Every aspiring PR/marketing pro is prowling through company websites and twitter profiles seeking clues as to when they hire interns, how to apply, and most importantly how to be hired. I have had an excel spreadsheet of "dream companies" finalized and ready to go since my freshman year of college (can you say eager beaver) with information about locations, intern programs, important dates, contact information, clients, and more. I'm setting aside a lot of time over winter break to apply for various internship programs. While I'm no expert on the hiring process, I can offer a few general tips to anyone else applying for internships (particularly if you're interested in marketing, PR, or advertising). 

1. Tweak your resume and write an original cover letter for each company you apply for.  NEVER send a generic cover letter to multiple companies, you should be catering your words to each position you apply for. Find out who you are writing the letter/email to (stalk company websites and LinkedIn pages until you find who is in charge of  hiring or the intern program, and don't be afraid to call and ask someone in HR if you can't find the information online). I've heard many professionals say that they toss out generic cover letters addressed to "to whom it may concern", so take the little bit of extra time and effort to personally address your letter. 

2. Have an online portfolio available of your work. As an aspiring communications professional, it's critical to show that you can write, create advertisements, work with design programs, perform research, develop campaign plans, and more. A personal website/online portfolio is an efficient and modern way to show hiring professionals your work. Include a few writing samples, some design work, and links to any relevant and professional social media. Include projects from school, previous internships, or clubs. Cater the design of your website to suit your personality and show your creative side. There are plenty of free tools out there to create a free site; I use Wix and have been happy with my portfolio. It was free, easy to use, and very customizable.

3. Have business cards on you at all times. Even as a student I think it's very helpful to have personal business cards for networking purposes. If you make an industry connection and would like to exchange information, having business cards at the ready is a professional and efficient way to do this. On my business cards I included my name, major, twitter handle, LinkedIn URL, phone number, email, and anticipated graduation date. I customized the design to keep things sleek, modern, and minimalistic. There are many websites to upload your own design (or choose a pre-made template), but I chose to print mine from Staples. I got something like 300 cards for $20.

4. Follow up interviews with a personalized thank you. It is so important to follow up interviews with a thank you card. While email is an okay method to say thanks, I think that sending a hand-written note is timeless and really shows your appreciation. Companies will be much more likely to remember the person who sent a hand-written thank you card, and it shows a lot about your character that you were willing to take the little bit of extra time and effort to say thanks. 

5. "Manage your brand". If there is one thing that I learned from attending PRSSA National Conference this fall, it is the importance of managing your personal brand. Each keynote industry speaker stressed the importance of monitoring your online activity to make sure it promotes the best version of yourself. Don't censor your activity so much that people can't see your personality or what makes you unique, but don't tweet about how wasted you got last night. Also, if you think you're being clever by hiding your social media accounts under a different name or making them so private no one can see your posts, you're probably setting yourself up for disaster. Any marketing, advertising, or PR job is going to require some level of proficiency in social media, and companies are going to want to see how you use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. If they can't view these accounts during the application process, they may disregard you altogether. There's also the awkward possibility of a professional asking to see your social media accounts during an interview (I've heard many stories of people having no choice but to pull up their Twitter or Facebook despite embarrassing content). There's always the option of having both a personal and professional Twitter, but I've always found that to be kind of silly. Just have one account and keep it relatively "clean" but still show your interests, personality, and uniqueness. Interact with companies and post about industry news, but also interact with friends and keep true to your personality. Just think before every post "would I feel comfortable showing my future boss?", and if the answer is yes, go ahead and hit send. 

Good luck to anyone applying for a job or internship this winter. In this competitive job market, it's easy to feel frustrated and dejected. Keep calm and remember that eventually you'll find the perfect fit for you.

Xoxo

november favorites

Happy December, everyone! I love this month. I am such a little elf, I get so excited about the Christmas season (and all holidays in general). I love gift shopping for friends and family, decorating, watching Christmas movies, drinking hot chocolate, playing in the snow...everything about December gets me jazzed, I am such a five year old at heart. I'm not really a cold-weather person (I think anything below 75 is arctic and unbearable), but I love fall/winter fashion and the first few snowfalls of the season. To celebrate the start of December, here is a list of my favorites from November. 

MAC Rebel - I love this dark, vampy berry-red lipstick for winter. I love red lipstick in general (MAC Russian Red is my all-time favorite and classic go to), and this darker berry shade has been perfect for the season. The color is mostly opaque with the perfect amount of sheerness. If you're looking for a bold color choice but are nervous about looking too vampy or gothic, I would recommend this! 

 

Breaking Bad - I resisted jumping on the Breaking Bad bandwagon for a while, but now I'm obsessed. I spent many a November night ditching plans and studying to binge on episodes. Anytime anyone tries to talk about it I yell at them and cover my ears because I really don't want to know how it ends. I'm halfway through season five and dying of anticipation.

 

Jennifer Lawrence - I have such a girl crush on Jennifer Lawrence right now. I love everything about her and feel like if we met we would be best friends. Is that weird? Probably. But I love her. 

Hunter Rain Boots - I don't know how I lived before I had my rain boots. I ordered them a couple of months ago and they saved my life for the rainy, cold month of November. I've had other rain boots in the past but they've always ended up tearing or letting water in. These boots are relatively expensive and they're also heavy, which makes walking all over campus a little taxing, but they're warm and super durable. Everyone and their sister seems to have a pair of these so I resisted getting them at first, but they're great and a worthy investment. It's recently snowed a lot here and they're perfect for trekking through the ice and snow, not to mention more sleek and stylish than most snow boots.

Loreal Voluminous Butterfly Mascara - This mascara is definitely my new favorite and when I think of products that I used in November, this is a stand out. My favorite mascara is Loreal Voluminous and this is like the new and improved version. It has a wingtip brush to lengthen and extend lashes to the outer corner of the eye, which is perfect if you love the cat eye look as much as I do. I've tried a ton of mascaras, both low and high end, and this cheap drugstore find is better than any expensive designer brands I've tried. 

Last but not least, I'm loving having bangs, which is something I decided to do in November. I have naturally curly hair so they're a lot of maintenance, but so far worth it! Here's a picture of my mom and me on Thanksgiving, which is of course another highlight of November:

Happy December and good luck to anyone taking final exams right now! Xoxo

bangin'

I can't decide if I want to switch things up and get bangs. I'm long overdue for a haircut and desperately need a couple inches trimmed, but now I'm thinking it's time for a bigger change than just a trim and some long layers. Aside from toggling between shades of dark blonde and light brown, my hair doesn't see a lot of change. I rarely cut it (and when I do it's just grazing a couple inches off for routine maintenance), and I've only done a "dramatic" cut once (in high school I had collarbone length hair for a while). I have some serious commitment issues so I've always been scared to take the plunge and get bangs. I'm constantly told that I look like Taylor Swift (seriously, at least twice a week I hear this) so I figure if she can rock bangs then I probably can too. This is a big decision because my hair grows at a really slow pace so I would be stuck with this look for a while. 

What do you guys think? Classy and flirty or outdated and childish?
XO

thursday inspiration

I hope everyone is having a productive and happy Thursday! Here is a little bit of what's inspiring me at the moment. Enjoy and happy Thursday, it's almost the weekend XO

stressed and fabulous (mostly stressed)

I knew I wanted to work in PR when I met Samantha Jones. And by "met Samantha Jones" I mean that I religiously watched every single episode of Sex and the City so many times that I felt I personally knew each character. Samantha's job as a publicist was sexy, glamorous, exciting, and fun; she worked with celebrities, attended fabulous parties and events, and traveled the world. Sign me up.

Flash forward about six years and I'm more than halfway finished with obtaining a degree in journalism with a specialization in public relations. The glitz and glam are practically within my reach, right? Not so fast. As anyone who actually works in PR knows, it isn't like the movies. There is never a typical work day (code for you work round the clock and bring your work home with you on evenings and weekends), your email and phone will never remain silent or inactive again, coffee will run through your veins like blood, and you will turn into even more of a type-A freak than you ever thought possible. Yes, PR often entails events and parties, and depending on your area of interest there can be substantial travel to cool locations...not to mention the samples. However with the fun perks come stress, and according to CareerCast, PR falls within the top 11 most stressful jobs in the world.

As a college student juggling a full load of demanding and challenging courses, two jobs, and an executive position with a pre-professional organization, I lead a busy life. Add to this mix other extracurricular activities and clubs, a few hours of sleep, and a bit of a social life, and you have a perpetually stressed, over-caffeinated me. Most of my friends don't have jobs, and many of them are shockingly uninvolved on campus. Sometimes it can be frustrating to watch them relax or put extra time into studying while I barely find the time to shave my legs or eat three meals a day (these activities are too regularly skipped), but then I remember that I'm preparing myself for what will likely be an even crazier schedule after graduation. While "the real world" and working will come as a slap in the face for many of my peers, I would like to think I'm somewhat prepared. If nothing else, I have mastered the art of multitasking, hard work, dedication, and time management, skills I know will carry me far in future internship and career opportunities.

I'm excited to jump headfirst into a career field dubbed top 11 most stressful in the world. In fact, I say bring it on. I thrive on the stress, chaos, and energy, and it's one of the many reasons I chose this path of study. I intend to succeed in the PR world, conquer my goals and aspirations, and do it all in a fabulous pair of heels.

XO

fall favorites

Today marks the last day of October, which means that the season for scarves, boots, apple cider, hot chocolate, leggings, vests, tailgates, pumpkin flavored everything, and sweaters is in full force. Soon we will make the timeless transition from pumpkin spice latte's to the famed red holiday cups at Starbucks, and white girls everywhere will instagram their peppermint mochas. While fall is still upon us, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite items for the season.

Every girl needs at least one bold, vampy lip color for the fall/winter season. My pick for a dramatic lip is Tom Ford's Bruised Plum. It's perfect in every way except the price, but I think everyone needs at least one expensive designer lipstick to truly feel like a boss.

Every year I anticipate the release of the fall candles at Bath and Body Works. Leaves has been my favorite fall scent for a few years now (closely followed by Autumn), and I stock up on it in mass amounts because it always sells out quickly. I'm worthless at describing scents ("It smells like....apple leaves" probably means nothing to you), but just trust me when I say this is the perfect fall candle.

 

 

Shearling Darling from Essie's fall 2013 collection is the perfect November nail polish. You just can't go wrong with a deep mahogany polish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the right person rocks a pair of leather leggings, it can be the greatest look ever. Especially when they're paired with heeled booties and a dark, vampy lip. My pick for the best affordable faux-leather leggings are from Tobi (just ordered mine!). I love leather leggings because I feel like Sandy from Grease. Possible last minute Halloween costume?

 

 

 

Socks are such an undervalued accessory. I think that they get a hard time and a bad rep as the "boring Christmas gift", but socks can add so much to an outfit. I love this pair of knee-high socks with button accents from Urban Outfitters. I picked up a pair in cream to wear with my brown riding boots; they're the perfect length for the buttons to show over the top of the boots. I'm sure I'll be picking up some other colors.

 

 

 

 

What's on your fall/winter must-have list?

indiana girls in philly

I'm back from National Conference and have the blisters to prove it. Seriously, the size of the blisters on my feet are obscene and I can't stand without pain...turns out it wasn't a great weekend to break in new pairs of flats and heels. Despite my battle wounds, the weekend was a blast. Amazing speakers like Brian Solis, Mary Henige, and representatives from Warner Bros. left me feeling inspired and ready to do big things in the PR world. Another highlight of the trip was meeting other PRSSA members from all over the country. The energy in the room during chapter roll call was amazing; there's nothing quite like hundreds of type-A PR nerds all crammed into one room. The events, keynote speakers, and learning opportunities were fabulous, but the highlight of my weekend was bonding with my chapter members. It was so fun bonding with such an amazing group of women, and now we have hilarious/priceless (emphasis on hilarious) memories to take with us from the weekend.

Here's a breakdown of what we did aside from National Conference activities...
Friday:
-Arrived in Philly around noon exhausted, jetlagged, running on one hour of sleep and looking like a corpse. Needed coffee injected into my veins.
-Found coffee.
-Saw some essential tourist things like the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, which made my friend Maggie (fellow lover of all things 'Murrica) and I extremely happy.
-Ate at a giant indoor market full of relatively cheap food from all over the world. We could have spent days in this place wandering and checking out all of the different food stands.
-That night, the hotel that hosted National Conference put on a Gatsby-themed dance/social/event. Things were awkwardly reminiscent of a middle school dance until the IU PRSSA girls decided to take over the dance floor. There were feather boas, snacks, drinks, and three men controlling the music who looked to be approximately 107 years old...so I guess you could say it was the greatest night ever.
Saturday night:
-Watched the world series at an Irish pub and ate/drank way too much.
-Found a bar with karaoke. Everyone there was roughly 50 but there were drinks, live entertainment, and Halloween costumes so can't complain.
Sunday night:
-Tequila bar.
-Maggie and I are babies so after finding pizza (our shared boyfriend), we found cookies (our other love), and snuggled in bed watching a movie.
-Went downstairs to meet up with the other girls, proceeded to eat more pizza.
Monday:
-Crammed in some more last minute sight seeing and checked out the "Rocky Steps" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Love Park, and what we thought was Benjamin Franklin's grave but ended up just being a statue of his head (it's the thought that counts). 

Me, Cassie, and Maggie feeling classy in our business proFRESHional attire

 

 Showing off Day 3 outfits (in heels and still a short little baby) with chapter President Christine...for more of her style check out her blog!

 

 Checking out Independence Hall with Maggie and Cassie

 

 "Watching" baseball with my favorite ladies

 

 Me, Maggie, and our main man Ben Franklin

 

#tourists

We found out that next year's National Conference will be in Washington, D.C...I'm already excited!

so profesh

I'm leaving for Philly and National Conference in less than six hours and still haven't opened my suitcase to pack, but I printed 300 business cards so as far as I'm concerned I'm an established, responsible adult (who can't pack for trips). I designed my own business cards but when I got to Staples to print them off, I ended up going with one of the many designs that they offered. I tweaked the template and added my own information, and voila, here you have it:







national conference prep

This time tomorrow I’ll be on a plane heading to Philadelphia for PRSSA National Conference. This is something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time, but in typical Eliza fashion I procrastinated until the last minute and now have tons of preparing to do. I realized (a few days ago, conveniently) that I’m in desperate need of some business casual clothes. A quick trip to the bleak and undesirable place that is my town's local mall left me with a few new tops from Express, some affordable but classic pants from Target, and some new shoes. 

I think these will look so cute with a blouse or sweater, statement necklace, and black pumps

I love the leather trimmed collar on this blouse

 

I'm sure I'll have some outfit pictures to share over the weekend for anyone looking for business casual inspiration. Also on my to-do list is to print my resume and business cards, and get a manicure (my excuse for the splurge is that I'll be handing out business cards and shaking a lot of hands. Valid, right?).  

Things I'm especially looking forward to about National Conference: 

• Visiting classic American sites like Benjamin Franklin's grave and the Liberty Bell

• Eating my way through the city (although my brother and the general male population are disappointed in me because I don't eat red meat so I'll be passing up the Philly Cheese Steaks)

• Networking with industry professionals

• Attending panels on fashion, food/beverage, and entertainment PR

• Bonding with my fellow IUPRSSA chapter members, and also meeting new people from other chapters all over the country!

Anyone have any suggestions of where to go and what to do in Philadelphia? 

italy, here i come!

I recently found out I’ve been accepted into a spring travel course through my university, and I could NOT be more excited! The course focuses on international public relations and communications, and includes spring break travel to Italy. I am obviously thrilled for this experience because it combines three of my greatest loves in life: travel, public relations, and wine. Spending spring break in Florence and Rome is something that I’m really excited about (i.e., can barely contain jumping up and down screaming and squealing every time I think about it). I don’t know tons of details about the trip yet, but I know that it will include networking opportunities, sightseeing, delicious food, great shopping, and a vineyard tour.
 
This will actually be my second trip to Italy; two summers ago I was fortunate enough to make the trip of a lifetime abroad to Italy, Croatia, and Switzerland with my mom, aunt, and grandmother. It was a whirlwind three weeks and definitely the coolest experience of my life to date. We traveled throughout Italy, visiting popular tourist destinations as well as tiny towns consisting of 100 people who didn’t speak a word of English. Rome was the most romantic and interesting city I’ve ever experienced, so I’m really excited to go back, and Florence will be a new experience altogether.
 
I have so much to do in order to prepare for this trip, but as you can imagine I'm already planning outfits and brushing up on the little Italian I know (by that I mean about five words) in anticipation. My mouth is watering at the thought of being reunited with pasta and gelato!
 
Here are a few pictures from my last trip to Italy...I spent a good hour reminiscing and looking through all of them:

it's about time

I’m finally taking the plunge and starting a blog. Years of scouring my favorite food, fashion, and travel blogs has left me wondering why I don’t have my own little corner of the internet to share my thoughts and experiences. Those of you reading this who know me personally (I’m assuming that only three or four people will ever see this post and they’ll be my roommates and mom…) know that I love travel, fashion, animals, anything PR related, and food (especially food). I’m sure that most if not all of my blog posts will focus on these topics, so you have that to look forward to.
 
On the off chance you’re reading this and don’t know me (keep dreaming, Eliza), here are the basics: I’m currently a junior at Indiana University studying journalism, public relations, and marketing. I love all animals, post-it notes and planners, well-made beds (seriously, ask my roommates, I will never have an unmade bed unless I’m sleeping in it), coffee, books, and magazines (I have a little bit of a magazine hoarding problem). In my free time I spend as much time as possible outdoors, traveling, reading, or cuddling with my two dogs. My goals in life are simple: be happy, make other people happy, travel the world, and have no regrets.