#FridayFive: Things I wish I knew when I graduated

You are not a bum or a loser if you move home. Whether it is in the hometown where you grew up or a brand new city, moving home will give you a firm launching pad to job search, relax a bit and decide what you want to do next. Plus, half of your friends are doing the exact same thing so don't feel alone.

Do not know your next step? It's okay.  After reading multiple Gen-Y blogs and crying myself to sleep, I figured out it's fine to not have it all figured out. Your parents may be hounding your butt to know what you want to do. When they graduated college, they had a great economy to go into. We do not. Reality check to your parents! You are not alone in this feeling; a lot of new graduates are going through this.

Speak up. You have a passion? Bring it into your conversations as you introduce yourself to new people. "What do you want to do?" (A common question for new grads.). Originally, I was scared to admit my passion. But now when I am talking with people, it comes up organically. Doors have opened up for me to pursue that passion just by having conversations and talking openly with people. Passion for fashion? Talk about it. Passion for children? Talk about it. Pursue avenues to be able to tell people about your passions, you never know who will be that door into an exciting adventure.

Get Community. If you are moving back to your hometown and feel like the only one, or are moving to a new city where you know no one, get out there and meet some people. Having friends who are similar in age or share the same passion will make this transition period much easier. I moved to a new city out of the country to live with my parents. It took me 6 months of being persistent and proactive to have a semblance of a social life. Another great resource is your alumni organization within your university. Contact them and see what events they're planning, jobs they may know about or to see if they know of anyone who is working in the field you are passionate about.

Go easy on yourself. Give yourself some grace and slack for the different emotions that spring up after graduating from college. Unless you are going straight into a masters program, you are finally done with school after it has consumed 15+ years of your life. There is such a thing as a quarter-life crisis. Google it. It is normal to have differing feelings about moving on with your life and to fear the unknown. Now stop giving yourself such a hard time and embrace this new journey!

Is there something you wish you knew when you graduated that you have since learned?

Internship Opportunity with Local PR Firm & The BIG move!

Upon their announcement of their move to the downtown area our friends at Red Energy PR are looking for some new interns! Below is the announcement about their soon to be new office space and also the internship opportunity.

"After an exhaustive search for the best location in the 80903 (downtown) area, I have found a professional building on the corner of Tejon and East St. Vrain. It has just 5 tenants (attorneys, interior designers, architects). Red Energy will occupy 1/2 of the second floor in our own executive suite. The building is a historic landmark and has beautiful restored antique woodwork inside and large sunny windows. The streets are well kept and many of the nearby businesses are historic stone churches..so they are only busy on Sundays!

We will be 1/2 a block from all of the downtown restaurants and shops down Tejon. The suite we are moving in to is better suited for our growth than our current location, as it has a private restroom, a furnished conference room, 3 separate offices and an enclosed sun porch. "

Congratulations Red Energy! 

Red Energy Public Relations, Marketing & Events is currently interviewing for Spring and Summer interns. If interested in a Spring internship for credit we have enough client work that we can "catch you up" this semester to get credit starting now. Clients include shopping, food & beverage, non-profit, sports, products, finance and healthcare. Internships are unpaid and require 10- 15 hours per week. Contact us today if interested, interviews are going on through the middle of next week. www.RedEnergyPR.com

Congratulations Red Energy! 

Internship Opportunity! #INTERN

Once again our amazing friends at Red Energy Public Relations have announced an opportunity for a rising PR/Marketing star to gain invaluable experience. Please see post below:

The Red Energy Public Relations and Marketing Colorado Springs office currently has an opening for a sharp undergraduate and/or graduate level student with an interest in receiving college credit as an independent study or as part of a college internship requirement. Students interested in the field of public relations, marketing, advertising, design, English, journalism, business and communications should apply.

Ideally the student would be available from October 2011 through February 2012 working a minimum of 15 hours per week. Interested applicants would attend regular meetings with our clients and assist with daily tasks such as pitching to the media and event coordination for an International Non-Profit’s gala fundraiser event in January.

Students would gain hands-on experience in writing, photography, editing, research, media buying, business operations/management and client support. Interested students should send their resumes via email to Brittany@RedEnergyPr.com, for review and to request an in-person interview. Students should have their own transportation and professional business attire is required.

The experience, letters of recommendation and pieces for the student's resume and portfolio will be outstanding.

Brittany Bermensolo 719.465.3565
National Event Manager
Red Energy Public Relations, Inc.

617 N. 17th St. Suite 204
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80904

Are you working on your writing skills?

Twitter. Check.

LinkedIn. Check.
Basic writing skills needed for your classes and eventually to become a PR Pro? Sort of.

Every communication and business student alike needs to master their writing. College is the opportune time to take basic writing and grammar courses. Writing for PR is different than writing a short story for English 101. 

PRDaily.com's “8 steps to more concise writing”, lists in detail errors a writer should avoid. I have bookmarked it for future reference, you should too. Your professors will be amazed when you produce short, concise papers. 

PinkBerry's Grand Opening in Colorado Springs!

Yesterday, James attended the grand opening of the Pinkberry store in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Pinkberry is currently the most talked about, best tasting, premium-frozen yogurt. The event was phenomenal and luckily for us, James was able to meet and interview Ron Graves, Chief Executive Officer and Board Director of Pinkberry. 

Ron Graves spoke with Colorado PR Club's, James Burge on how his company markets events to why PinkBerry is on top!

James: How do you publicize events in different cities?

Ron: We use a lot of social media outlets to aid in our word of mouth campaigns. We have over 200,000 Facebook fans and over 80,000 followers on twitter. We depend on word of mouth through those outlets to ensure we receive new and return customers.

James: How do you decide where you will be opening a new Pinkberry Store?

Ron: 1-month before we make our decision to open a new store we have sample events at the location.  This helps to ensure that members of the community will be excited about the potential of a new Pinkberry store. Most of the time we already have fans in a specific location and when we open stores in their locations that fan base has already been established and that translates to a customer.

Our wonderful waitress, Audrey serving up Pinkberry!

James: What are Pinkberry’s core values?

Ron: We have 3 important elements that make us a leader in our market: our people, our product and the environment that we provide. Our products match our company and our stores, fresh, clean and light.

James: Recently you have launched delivery and catering services, why?

Ron: We want to show our customers that they can experience all the things we offer in our store at their events. We cater to birthdays, weddings, corporate events, and also churches.

James: Do you have any new products in the works?

Ron: Now I can’t tell you that, but what I can tell you is that we won’t stray far from our core. Too many times companies branch off to other markets and lose focus on where they started. We will continue to be innovative in our approaches to new products.

James: How do you plan to stay competitive with other frozen yogurt chains?

Ron: Pinkberry is an original brand and we don’t focus on our competitors. We will let the customer's taste buds decide who is best.

With 125 locations in thirteen states and eight countries, we believe the people have spoken! 
Pinkberry it is!

Line wrapped around new Colorado Springs' Pinkberry store

Summer 2011 Internship Opportunity in Colorado Springs

Want to gain PR & Marketing experience through an Internship this summer? Red Energy Public Relations currently has 1 opening left for sharp undergraduate and graduate students with an interest in receiving college credit as part of a college internship or independent study requirement. Email resume to Brittany@RedEnergyPR.com

Red Energy Public Relations
http://www.redenergypr.com/
@RedEnergyPR