Transferring with Ease

People may choose to transfer to other universities for many reasons: financial, social, or a next step from community college. Whatever the case, it can be a difficult transition, and even scarier than where you first came from. Although it can feel overwhelming, hundreds of other students are in the same position. From Temple University’s website, almost half of the undergraduate students have transferred from other educational institutions!

To make the transition even smoother, here are some great ways to ease right in.

 First, remain calm. It’s okay to get anxious about all the details until finally settling in. Until that short adjusting period is over, remember you have been moving on to new things all your life and this is just the next great step to an even more beautiful and bright future.

 Second, whether living on or off campus, there is no excuse not to get involved. Yes, it sounds obvious but this is the key to success. Clubs offer a wide variety of interests to everyone as a well as instant friends. Aside from the social aspect, build a stable relationship with professors as well. When academic life is happy, social life benefits.

 Lastly, have fun. This is college, the only time in life where there is little worry and the options are limitless. No matter what brought on the decision to transfer, it will be for the better. Also, don’t let whatever didn’t work out before hold you back. A personal piece of advice if you ever have a question and you’re afraid to ask, remember, the worst they can say is ‘no.’

This guest blog post was written by PRowl staff member Marissa Reale. 

Making Your GenEds Work for You

Like all liberal arts colleges, part of your time at Temple will be spent taking general education courses – the “GenEds”. Temple’s ultimate goal with the GenEd curriculum is “equipping students to make connections between what they learn, their lives and their communities”. Even with this in mind, it’s easy to lose sight of the purpose GenEds serve in our education. As aspiring PR professionals, classes like “The Chemistry of Wine” and “Math Patterns” don’t offer much in the way of preparing us for our careers. But there are ways to take advantage of your GenEd requirements and make the classes work for you.

With so many options, choosing your GenEds can seem like a difficult task, but it helps to consider your professional goals and take note of specific skills you (and potential employers) find important. Forbes.com lists the top 10 skills employers most want in recent graduates, as determined by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). The list highlights basic skills like working in a team environment and problem solving, and other more specific skills like data analysis and software knowledge.

Using this list as a guide, here are a few suggestions for more relevant GenEd courses:

Education Vs. Experience: How Combining the Two Could Maximize Your Career

With increasing competition in the job market, graduate school has become standard for many people to get jobs in their field.  While a career in public relations has never required a graduate degree, recent studies are showing that a combination of graduate school and work experience could maximize one’s PR career.

Most PR professionals would say a graduate degree is unnecessary. However, as the need for PR specialists continues to grow, a graduate degree may become the new standard. Attending graduate school affords students the opportunity to gain credibility among their peers and colleagues. It may also offer networking opportunities that are not present during one’s undergraduate years.

Before you decide to take out another loan to pay off the hefty tuition, you should know that a graduate degree without experience may not make you more desirable to employers.  In fact, a survey of 32 PR professionals showed that a majority believe in getting a few years of experience before attending graduate school. This is because skills obtained in the field make classroom learning more practical. Also, when a student delays work experience in order to earn their degree, they may be deemed overqualified for starting positions but under-qualified for more executive positions.

A career in PR allows you to choose if graduate school is the right choice for you based on your goals and aspirations. As of now, a graduate degree is not required to earn most positions. However, a more in-depth and refined education never hurts.

This guest blog post was written by PRowl staff member Victoria Goins. 

Senior Year Prep 101

As the weeks of Summer continue to pass, students everywhere are starting to prep for their return back to campus. Among those students are a very special group --the seniors. The one's who are prepping to make this return from Summer for the last time.

There are many challenges that incoming seniors face as they prepare to complete their last semesters in college. From crafting and sending out resume and cover letters, to wondering if "x amount of internships is really enough to get me a job," to the endless answering of the daunting question "so what are you going to do post-grad?" All while dealing with the realization that, in just a few months, the real world awaits.

As one of those incoming seniors, I'm here to attest: this season is a lot.

Rather than stress over the situation, the best way to walk into a new, albeit nerve racking, experience is by taking the time to do a little preparation beforehand. Here are some easy ways that you can prepare to enter your senior year with a little less stress.

Start reviewing job applications. You don't necessarily need to start applying this far in advance, but knowing how job postings and applications are worded and where to find them will be incredibly helpful a few months down the line. Look into different companies that you may not be as familiar with and see what kinds of openings they have, and where you may be interested in applying later.

Reach out to old supervisors and mentors. Now is the time to take advantage of the network you've been creating for yourself. Reach out to your old internship supervisors, managers or any mentors that you've met over the years. Ask them for advice, any strengths or weaknesses they observed in you, and suggestions that they have for your last few semesters.

Discover your interests. While most seniors tense up and roll their eyes each time they're asked 'so, what do you want to do?', it's a question worth exploring. And if you don't have a concrete answer right away, that is more than normal and totally acceptable. Rather than beat yourself up over this, take some time to explore your interests. Social media, media relations, internal communications, corporate communications --the PR world is vast and expansive and has a place for everyone.

Next time someone inquirers about your post grad plans, instead of answering with stutters and uncertainty, explain your interests. Saying "I have an interest in community management and corporate communication" or even, "I'm taking time to explore all of the opportunities my field has to offer," sounds much more confident than "I don't want to think about it."

Review your list of work. Chances are, you've done a lot in your previous semesters that employers would love to hear about. Did you coordinate an event for a student organization? Did you join the student run PR firm on campus? All of these things add up and they matter! Take some time to list all of your work, breaking down your individual work on each project --including the results! Once you've done this, rework your resume to make it come to life as a living portfolio.

Create a portfolio. Speaking of portfolios, if you don't already have one, now's the time to create it! A portfolio is a compilation of all of your work, put together in an organized and easy-to-follow format. Spend some time collecting writing samples and projects you've worked on in a binder or digital format that you can take with you on interviews.

Seniors, we could spend months and weeks preparing for our last lap, but in the midst of all of this, it is equally important that we celebrate the fact that we've made it this far, and that we are close to accomplishing a huge milestone in life. Remember that all work and no play isn't a recipe for success. Make the memories of your last year good ones, and know that you can handle whatever lies ahead.