Tori Randolph Terhune - Land Your Dream Career: Eleven Steps to Take in College

Acknowledgments

We have so many thanks to give! Huge, heartfelt thank yous to our wonderful agent, Anne Develin, and our publisher, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., and all of our great editors, idea-bouncer-offers, and supporters, including Toris parents, John and Melanie, and Betsys mom, Nancy, as well as Angie Tarr, Jan Edwards, Kim Mooney, Merrilee Montgomery, Dr. Roberta Asahina, Dr. Susan Sivek, C. J. Randolph, Joe Prior, Mari and Dave Terhune, Anne McClintic, Kimberlee Peyret, Reganie Smith-Love, Megan Lerma, the students in the Fall 2011 PR Writing class at Fresno State, and the many students who lent their personal stories to our book. And, of course, our fantastic familiesToris husband, David, and Betsys husband, Brad, and her daughters, Sam and Jackie.

Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts!

Tori and Betsy

Introduction

Tori Randolph Terhune and Betsy A. Hays

Many college students walk across the stage at graduation expecting to be hired shortly thereafter, because growing up they were promised that if they got a degree, they would get a great job. Unfortunately, for many college graduates, this is not the case. Getting a job after college does not depend solely on the grades you receive or the fact that you have a degree. The professional landscape has changed, and companies want proven, experienced employees in their workforce. This book will help you utilize available tools and strategies to take full advantage of opportunities that are only presented to students.

Land Your Dream Career: Eleven Steps to Take in College will demonstrate how you can efficiently use your time on campus to start building a successful career as early as your freshman year. We will lead you carefully and strategically through eleven steps designed to help you set yourself up for success, without focusing on grades or papers. To provide you with the full advantage of reading a book written by both a recent college graduate and a college professor, we provide distinct authorship of the chapters (i.e., chapter 1 is written by Tori, chapter 2 by Professor Hays, etc.). We coauthor two chapters as well, providing you with our joint perspectives in the areas of new and social media and in utilizing all of the books tools to the best of your ability.

The stepspresented in a concise, easy-to-digest wayinclude tips on becoming an expert in your field, building your brand, getting involved in and outside the classroom, allowing for wiggle room, networking, following the 75/25 rule (75 percent thinking, 25 percent doing), and using new media (including social networking and blogging) to launch your career. Chapters include tips, notes, stories, and mini case-study examples of the steps being used successfully.

At the end of each chapter you will find a cheat sheet summary of the chapter. You can use these cheat sheets to refresh your memory and see if there are certain points you want to go back and delve into again.

Before we begin, wed like to share with you why we wrote this book.

Tori

As a recent college graduate (California State University, Fresno, May 2009), I witnessed most of my peers entering the real world with little to no experience, poorly filled rsums , and no job prospects. By the time I graduated, I had three years of relevant work experience, five completed internships, two start-up businesses, more than twenty articles published in newspapers and magazines, the Central California Rookie of the Year title from the Central California Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, and a full-time job waiting for me. While still a student, I guest lectured several times for classes in my department and was honored at graduation as the Outstanding Public Relations Student. My peers asked me for letters of recommendation for their interviews, and I helped many students launch their job searches. None of this was by accident. I had a strategy from day one and set my priorities accordingly. I worked diligently in my classes and achieved good grades, but my focus was getting my career started early (i.e., while I was still in school). My plan worked so well that I wanted to share this knowledge with you.

Professor Hays

For the last fourteen years I have taught in the mass communication and journalism department at California State University, Fresno. In addition to coordinating our department-wide internship program, I also teach the public relations and media ethics courses. As a college professor and a self-proclaimed success junkie, I have always focused on helping my students succeed. Over the years, through my own experiences and through those of my students, clients, and colleagues, I have collected a set of practices and behaviors that enable people to set themselves up for success. This book is the collaboration of tried and true practices that Tori and I both use to thrive. And they have helped others thrive as wellespecially college students like you.

Now lets get started...

Chapter One

Start Now

Tori

A Story

Christy came to campus as a college freshman already feeling behind the curve. She grew up in a small, rural farm-working community that lacked many basic resources, and she felt that high school hadnt adequately prepared her for her future. However, because she was a go-getter, Christy decided to get ahead of the game and get involved as much as she could, soaking up every last bit of knowledge available to her in college. Her freshman year she took a few introductory classes that were related to her interests, and she immediately fell in love with her major, public relations.

When Christy reviewed the catalog requirements for her major, she noticed that she would need to complete an internship. She spoke with an advisor who asked her to take a few more classes before trying to get out in the community, but that didnt stop Christy. She marched over to a community center in a neighboring town and offered to volunteer as an intern to get experience. By the beginning of her sophomore year she had her first real internship and took every class as early as she could.

In my sophomore year I joined our universitys student-professional organization, the Public Relations Student Society of America, and the on-campus student-operated PR firm, says Christy. I was the youngest in the firm and felt like I needed to work twice as hard to keep up. Taking classes early and being surrounded by upperclassmen was really a motivator for me. I just felt the need to get involved in anything I could. I knew that everything Id need wouldnt be in a textbook. It just doesnt work that way.