Thanks to one of my favorite consumer reporters, Asa Aarons, I was on TV this week talking about turning social networking into job opportunities. The experience was amazing, one where Asa showed me the ropes of TV and gave me valuable career advice. I grew up watching Asa, and always admired his reporting, so it was great to get to know him as a person since he’s technically a celebrity to me! He is incredibly sincere, beyond helpful and someone who truely cares about Y-O-U.
In Asa’s distinguished career as an Emmy award winner, he has worked as a consumer reporter and columnist for many national outlets including WNBC and New York Daily News. Having established the highly regarded brand Ask Asa! , known for helping consumers with their problems, he currently reports for NY1 News as the newschannel’s first Employment Reporter.
As I mentioned, the story he involved me in was on turning social networking in to job opportunities. Some job seekers have no idea that there is a hidden job market in the wide world of social media; some don’t know the right tools to use and/or believe in the myth that they have to be technologically savvy. In this segment, I talk about the various techniques that anyone can use to land a gig (or two).
Asa also told me the 3 qualities that a person wanting to get in to TV should have, and I think it applies to everyone in any industry: Strength, Warmth and Energy. These qualities describe Asa perfectly, and considering the success he’s had, I’d take the advice!
Have a question for Asa? For questions, and thousands of answers and helpful contacts for consumers, visit Asa’s site www.justaskasa.com.
And if you have any questions for me, feel free to e-mail me at erikastanczak [at] yahoo [dot] com or connect on Twitter.
Tags: Asa Aarons, Ask Asa, find a job using social media, find a job using social networking, job search tips, Just Ask Asa
After you’ve defined your goals, the next step is to define your niche, if you haven’t already. For those of you that have, feel free to skip over this segment (although you may just want to take a quick peek) .
What do you LOVE to do? Are you an organic nutritionist, fighting for a cause, an accountant who has a secret to saving money, a sales specialist who has mastered the art of selling, a real estate representative who has sold tons of houses in a bad economy, a pet rescuer who has rescued thousands of animals - whatever your talent is, hone in on what you truely love to do, and own it. You actually need to take “owning it” to a new level of being unique compared to your competitors (I’ll expand on this point later in the series).
But let me get back to expanding upon that statement “truely love to do.” If you’re in something for the money, get out. If you’re in something for the status, get out. If you’re in something because you somehow ended up there, set a plan to make your way out. Yes, I know money plays a big part in where we all are right now so it is impossible to get out of a current situation until you have a steady way to bring in money. However, think about this. You only live once. Keep thinking about that statement. You only live once. YOU only live ONCE. No one is going to worry about how you weren’t happy in the place you’re in right now, so why look back in 5-10 years and not be satisfied? My Dad used to say ’*beep* or get off the pot’ – this statement applies perfectly to this scenario.
Figuring out what you love to do? The only way you’re going to become truely successful (see below) is if you are in something that you truely love to do. Get out a piece of paper and a pen. Now would be a good time! And start writing down what you love to do. Seriously, this really helps – you have to see the ideas on a sheet of paper in order to make a decision. And then ask yourself these questions:
- What are my strengths, and how would they compliment this?
- What are my weaknesses, and how would they not mesh well with this?
- Would I really do well at this? (dive deep for this one, don’t sugar coat)
- Why would I do this?
- Can I realistically see myself doing this in 3 years?
- How will this impact my personal life, and can I cope with that?
- If time and/or money are issues, how much time am I able to devote to this so that I can obtain my goals?
You don’t have to make a decision immediately, in a day or in a week. If it takes you some time to figure it out, that’s fine. Just make sure that before moving forward, you figure it out. It also may help to wait a few days, and then revisit your list.
What is your meaning of success? Everyone has their own meaning of success, and only you know what yours is. My meaning of success? To be extremely happy by helping people and pets, and be able to make some money to live comfortable while doing it. Simple, and easy (I usually stick to the K.I.S.S principle)! While figuring out what you love to do, it is equally as important to figure out what success means to you. You have to have the passion to back your every move in order to acheive that success!
Questions, comments, need more advice? Feel free to connect with me on Twitter @erikamcquade (formerly @estanczak) or e-mail me at erikastanczak [at] yahoo [dot] com.
PS – Being recently married, I’m in the midst of changing my name, so you will see Stanczak and McQuade both being used.
Tags: career change, DIY PR, DIY Social Media, job search
THE QUESTION: You may be thinking to yourself, ok, so I have an idea, I have a website, I’m a non-profit organization with a great cause, I need to create awareness, I have a product, I have a service, I have a website/blog or I have a book – and I want more exposure and/or sales - and I don’t want to pay money, nor do I have the money, so what do I do? *pausing for a well needed breath*
THE ANSWER: Get free publicity by doing it yourself (DIY)
Before starting on this journey, which will be very rewarding yet hard work, you need to define your goals.
Ask yourself these questions:
- What do I want to do with this publicity?
- How am I going to use it to get to where I want to be?
You want to be able to define your goals in order to plan for what is about to happen next. Without a plan, your chances at success decrease drastically because your message will be inconsistent, and people will get confused as to what you’re trying to do.
Questions, comments, need more advice? Feel free to connect with me on Twitter @estanczak or e-mail me at erikastanczak [at] yahoo [dot] com.
Stay tuned for DIY Day #2!
Tags: DIY PR, DIY PR Series, DIY public relations, DIY publicity, do it yourself PR
Hello my friends!
I was inspired by the National Publicity Summit that I attended last week to do a humungous, informative series on do-it-yourself PR. Whether you have your own site, blog, are looking to sell a product, book or service or are a non-profit – basically ANYONE with or without PR experience – you can get press for yourself, on your own for FREE! You just need the tools on how-to.
And that’s what I’m going to give to you! I will do my best to teach you how to get press and create awareness and/or gain sales for FREE via TV, newspapers, magazines and radio.
BONUS: I took away some invaluable information from the Summit on what Oprah, GMA, Today Show, The View and Regis and Kelly producers said on how to get on their shows. YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS OUT ON THIS!
Questions, comments, need more advice? Feel free to connect with me on Twitter @estanczak or e-mail me at erikastanczak [at] yahoo [dot] com.
PS: I will be keeping a running list of all the days in the series in this post.
![[1] A Hazy Day in New York City](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2659/3883242306_59fd8c852a_m.jpg "[1] A Hazy Day in New York City")
- Image by caruba via Flickr
I had the privelege of being able to attend the National Publicity Summit in NY this past week, and I have to say, it was probably the best professional experience I’ve had in my 10 year career. Individuals, brands or publicists get to meet the media, and receive invaluable PR education and training. I feel like I learned more in 5 days than I did in my college career!
I’m going to be posting a series of what I’ve learned on here very soon, so stay tuned for some invaluable information on how you, yes you, can get yourself some AMAZING PRESS!
In the meantime, sign up for Bill & Steve Harrison’s (the hosts) Reporter Connection, which is a free way for you to receive queries (via e-mail) from the media on certain stories they need sources for; similar to HARO, which I also highly recommend signing up for too if you haven’t already!
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=5d5811a9-ffda-4c46-b7c6-3f9693b01a85)
I stopped using the tick and flea preventative Advantage last year when I found out that the chemicals used in the product can be deadly to my dog. Certain flea and tick preventatives can cause cancer and damage to a dog’s brain and/or nervous system.
In search of safe tick and flea preventatives, I came across the resource from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) called GreenPaws.org. And wow, I’m so glad I found it! It is chock full of amazing information for any dog owner concerned about keeping their pets and family safe from toxic chemicals.
Check to see if your flea and tick product is safe
Not only do they have a safety product guide, but they also have a toxic fact sheet, which also gives you alternative ways to prevent flea’s and ticks from hopping on to your fur baby.
They’re also rallying to get Petco and PetSmart to stop selling products that are hazardous to our furry loved ones.
You can find them on Twitter @nrdc or on the web at www.greenpaws.org.
Another wonderful resource. Nadine Rosin, a holistic/toxic-free pet living consultant, gives great insight on her blog www.thehealingartofpetparenthood.com, and also does consultations. Nadine’s dog was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 8, and through developing a holistic way of living, her precious doggie lived to be 19! Enough said!
You can find her on Twitter @petparentauthor
Tags: Erika's Dish, greenpaws.org, tick and flea alternatives for dogs
Bernadette Peters and Mary Tyler Moore will be hosting the 11th annual Broadway Barks, a star-studded adopt-a-thon benefiting New York City’s animal shelters by connecting homeless dogs and cats with potential pet parents on Saturday, July 11, 2009 in Shubert Alley (between 44th and 45th Streets, between Broadway and 8th Ave.).
Check here for details on national Take Your Dog to Work Day happening tomorrow, Friday, June 26. Depending on where you live, you may also be able to have a Take Your Dog to Dinner Night too!
Tags: BringPetsHome.org, Fetchdog.com, NY Pet Place Examiner, Pet Sitters International, Take Your Dog to Dinner Night 2009, Take Your Dog to Work Day 2009
Not only can you calm yourself, clear your mind, and get a workout in, but you can attempt to do the same for your dog through Doga, also known as Dog Yoga. This can be a great way to give your furry one some uninterrupted attention, bonding and love while also learning ways to calm your dog and using techniques that can aid both circulation and digestion processes.
It isn’t available in all areas yet, but you can check with your local yoga studio to see if they offer it – or maybe even become a dog yogi yourself! If you’re in NYC, East Yoga offers classes weekly.
Namaste!
Tags: dog yoga, dog yoga classes NYC, doga
With the summertime upon us, it is the best time to enjoy the wonders of Central Park with your furry loved one; they need to let out some energy, and this place couldn’t be a more perfect place to do it.
Central Park PAWS is an organization of dog parents who create various pet events in Central Park, help maintain park upkeep and also keep the communication lines flowing between dog owners and the Central Park Conservatory. They constructed an owners guide which outlines the areas of the park that are dog-friendly. Most recently, they had a Bagel Bark which enables doggies to have some off-leash time while you enjoy a cup of coffee and bagel for breakfast. The Bagel Bark’s are ongoing, so feel free to check their site for news and event updates.
Tags: Central Park PAWS, dog friendly places in NY, NY Pet Place Examiner, things to do in NY with dog
