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🧑🎓Student Story💭| INSIDE THE ARENA: The Most Important Brand You'll Ever Sell: Yourself We've all been there. An interviewer asks you a question and you have no clue how to answer it. It's one that you should probably know how to answer, too, given the job role and description. What would happen if we were honest about what we lack, or discussed areas that we want to grow in? What if we pivoted during those scary interview moments and *actually* turned our weaknesses into a blatant and unavoidable display of our strengths. Enter Daniel Ramirez-Mendez. A Queens native and recent graduate of the Collins College of Professional Studies' Advertising Program (Class of May 2024), Dan completed an exciting internship at Madison Square Garden, where he worked as a Student Associate Video Editor in MSG’s Sports Division. His main role? Filming and editing projects for the Knicks. 🎥🏀 There was just one problem that came up during his interview, though—he knew absolutely nothing about basketball. 😅 What he DID know? That the company he was interviewing for is so much more than just a "company". It's the heart of New York City. We empower students to walk into interviews with this charge: be authentic, be true to who you are, and always remember what YOU have to offer. 🌟A special thanks to Maria Fernanda Alfonso for bringing Dan's story to our attention! St. John's University, The Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies St. John's University Gina Tarabocchia #StudentStories #SJUCareerServices #Storytelling #PersonalBranding #InterviewTips #MadisonSquareGarden #Advertising #CareerGrowth #StJohnsUniversity

I started my career in communications interning at Financial Times. I remember being in awe of seeing the NYC office for the first time, journalists clacking away on their keyboards, drafting their news stories, hustling to gather sources. A cacophony of sounds fueled by black coffee and tight deadlines. I’d take a copy of today’s paper on my way out and attempt to read it on the train, its giant, pink-tinted pages brushing against pissed off commuters’ shoulders on the subway. I thought I was so cool, yet I barely understood what I was reading at the time 😅. I’ve been finding myself thinking of these memories a LOT lately, especially as I tap into my PR roots as part of this new role. I was in my last semester of college at SUNY New Paltz, and decided to accept a full-time internship at the FT. Swapping late-night brews for crack-of-dawn lattes, college papers for media pitches, quick jogs to my dorm for dreaded 6pm trains back to Long Island. Penn Station. Oof. As I pass the two month mark as the Director of Communications at Smart Electric Power Alliance, I can’t help but think of 22-year-old Natalie who DREAMED of being in a role like this one. Likely while commuting back home on the LIRR. I was, and still am, so passionate about what I do, especially now, working to build awareness and buzz around a 501c3 nonprofit that is fueling the energy industry's transition to carbon-free. What a privilege to be able to find a role that moves you. To be able to align your work with your values. To find a position that, somehow, is the culmination and result of all those little and big career decisions you’ve made thus far. Some of which you weren’t sure were right for you, or too “big” for you, but you did it anyway to prove to yourself you can do hard things and learn along the way. All this to say, I feel fortunate to be where I'm at in my career, young Nat was onto something big, and I'm so glad I don't have to commute into Penn Station anymore 🤪 Share an internship memory with me! #Comms #DigitalCommunications #CareerGrowth #WomenInMedia #OneThingToKnow

“How Did You Turn Your Internship Into A Job?” We get asked this A LOT! Especially because we both started in TV as interns - and got hired from there! #1 - Be A Proactive Intern Instead of being on your phone — be up and doing stuff that isn’t even asked. #2 - Be Smart About Doing Things That Are Visual It gets noticed. #3 - Focus On Showing Your Value (not just what you’re going to learn). Sure, you want to learn. Trust us, you will ALWAYS be learning on the job. But this isn’t an apprenticeship. Focus more on showing you get things done! Especially things nobody wants to do.  (You won’t be doing those things forever)! Things we did as TV interns: - Got coffee & lunch for all the staff  - Packed sandbags in the middle of the desert - Transcribed footage  - Swept the set floor - Took out the trash - Set up & cleaned talent’s dressing room - Moved boxes up and down stairs - Spelled out “Will you Marry Me” in olives on a giant pizza These aren’t little things. These are necessary things to make a show happen. If we weren't willing to do all that -- we wouldn’t have thrived in production life! 🎬 Want to fast track your career in TV? — https://lnkd.in/evJmTgFf ———————————————————————————  👉 We’re the Executive Producers of Jersey Shore, Mob Wives, Growing Up Hip Hop, Black Ink Crew (and tons more)! 🔥 Get a huge advantage over everyone else -- having all our experience in your back pocket! ❤️ Start making money doing what you love! #TVjobs #WorkinTV #EntertainmentIndustry #TV #TVJobs #TVProduction #TVindustry #Graduates #EarlyCareer #Career #CareerAdvice #CareerDevelopment  

What if your biggest career break came from something completely unrelated to your field? That’s exactly what happened to me. While at Michigan State University, I signed up for an extracurricular project to fulfill a course requirement. It seemed straightforward: I would act in Simple, a Langston Hughes play, produced by Black Notes Media Productions. I thought I’d gain exposure to studio production, meet some amazing people, and earn course credits. What I didn’t expect was that this experience would change my career forever. I walked away with a videotape of my performance in the play. That footage became the backbone of my first résumé tape and caught the eye of senior managers at a Detroit news station. This led to an internship, which eventually became my first job in broadcast journalism. The play had nothing to do with news, but it highlighted my potential—something I hadn’t even realized. Here’s what I learned: Exposure reveals hidden opportunities. Stepping outside your comfort zone is essential for growth. Saying yes to the unknown can lead to breakthroughs you never expected. So, the next time an opportunity comes your way, even if it’s unrelated to your field, say yes. You never know where it might lead. Don’t let fear hold you back. Has saying yes to an unexpected opportunity opened doors for you? I’d love to hear your story in the comments below. Michigan State University #CareerGrowth #MediaProduction #BroadcastJournalism #ProfessionalDevelopment #CreativeCareers #Opportunities #SayYes #Fearless #GrowthMindset

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Fall 2024 #engineering #internships are Live! Links to Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World opportunities are on my Linktree. This posting will be pinned to my profile for convenience. #disneyinterns #disney #disneycareers #disneyjobs #engineeringstudents #students #studentsoflinkedin

This morning Maggie Mitchell at SiriusXM joined my class at New York University to discuss her role in #CorporateCommunications, and why it's important to recognize you don't have to pick one passion in life. There were so many great lessons baked into Maggie's presentation (and she's definitely a crowd favorite that will be returning!), but a couple of takeaways that resonated with me are: 1. You don't always get the dream job at first. When I graduated from college I...didn't have a job lined up. I spent hours day after day in local coffee shops and libraries applying to internships on LinkedIn. (I even began studying for my real estate license in-case a career in communications didn't pan out.) And I hustled once I got a job. I said yes to everything for my clients. Bringing coffee and donuts to newsrooms. Delivering pizza in Brooklyn. Finding iced teas and dragging them into the city from my apartment in Rockland County. A client or manager asked, I did it. Working on a new business pitch? Yes, I absolutely am interested in working on that pitch! I also didn't give up. When I applied to Ruder Finn I interviewed with a team and didn't get the job. That sucked. Weeks later another role came up on another team, and I got a job offer. I applied to more jobs than I could count at Edelman. It took years interviewing for three different roles for me to land a job there. None of these were final a "no," it was just a "no" for right now. 2. Connections matter. The point of my guest speakers are to help my students build a professional network to lean on before they even have to. I cannot stress enough how incredible of a platform LinkedIn has been for me to build meaningful connections with people, relationships that have resulted in job offers for myself or others. Talk to people. A door might look closed but someone might be on their way to open it. And if you haven't checked out SiriusXM's Channel 13 (Taylor’s Version) yet, please do so immediately. Seriously. Go do it. #CareerAdvice #CareerTips

Career Day!! Spoke to this fantastic class of 5th graders at Whitetail Elementary earlier this week about working in broadcast news, school PR and now corporate communications at HDR! (Special shout out to that cute kid with the thumbs up in the middle... my son, Evan!) ❤️ My advice I love to share with kids: 1) READ READ READ. Find something you love to read and READ. If you think 'I don't like to read', it probably means you just haven't found what you love yet - try sports or science magazines, books about topics that interest you, cookbooks, whatever! 2) LISTEN. Always LISTEN FIRST before you argue. You may leave the conversation totally disagreeing with that person, but hopefully you also left with a new perspective. 3) GET AN INTERNSHIP. Once you think you have an idea of a job you might like, see if you can shadow a person doing that job for a few hours, a few days, or a semester! That is 100% how I got my first 'big girl' job at KETV; I followed other reporters and anchors, fell in love with journalism, and was the first person to throw my hat in the ring when a job opened up. Thanks to ALL professionals who have taken time to visits classes for Career Days to help kiddos dream big!

As my summer internship with MSNBC's The 11th Hour comes to an end, I'm starting to reflect on how much I've learned and grown over the course of 3 months. So I wanted to offer some advice to incoming fall interns: 👎 You're going to bad at something when trying it the first time. It takes practice to get it right, and feedback will only make you better. 📧 Making connections truly isn't that hard. Fight through that anxiety. Just send an email and say hello. 🧘♀️ Simply existing in a work environment and observing what's going on around you furthers your knowledge more than you know. ✋ Always be willing to help out. Offer to come in when there's breaking news. Ask if there's anything you can take off a coworker's plate. They notice. I promise you, they do. 😁 If you act confident, you'll get more opportunities. You got this job because you earned it and because you can do what you're being tasked, if not more. Make sure your team knows that you're ready to be challenged, and you will. Welcome the challenge. 📚 Last but not least, take some time to yourself! You're in a new environment with all new people; it can be overwhelming. So take a walk around the city, read a book, watch a movie, start binging a new TV show. Do something that can allow you to breathe for a few minutes and recharge so you can be your best at work the next day. I'm not going to lie, this has been some of the hardest months of my life - but in the best way possible. You can't grow without growing pains, so embrace them. You got this, interns! I believe in you! #InternatNBCU #SummerIntern #Undergraduate #JournalismInternship #InternAdvice #BroadcastIntern