Tesar-Reynes

With 2010 around the corner, I thought it was a good time to draft resolutions for the New Year. Judging by how I did in 2009, more due diligence will have to be played on my part. Of the 10 resolutions I set in December of 2008, less than half of them were accomplished.

I took a beach vacation to Santa Barbara (which is gorgeous by the way), figured out Twitter, and built a network on LinkedIn. I did a halfway decent job of keeping a work schedule and working out at the gym. But I failed …

We are still in a period where there is an amazing amount of transition. The market is changing as is the consumer. Clients large and small are continuing to test what works and what doesn’t. They thirst for insight.

As this trail continues, once-trusted suppliers fall by the wayside if they do not contribute to the understanding of the future. This means that agencies have to be truly committed to helping their clients through this tough period. It is one of the few times in a client-agency relationship where firms a have a chance to stand out to the client’s corner office and really make a difference.

In some regards, this is not a new investment or a new initiative, but rather a re-commitment to reading the signs that are out there everyday. The winner is the resource that observes, assimilates …

Last week, my partner Bob and I flew into New York to meet face-to-face with a company that had really impressed us. We wanted introduce them to some of our clients and were driven to their headquarters to see a multi-media presentation on their capabilities.

Here we were in their headquarters and the presentation got wonky and did not execute. Instead of ordering in the techs or crying “poor me,” the presenter had an alternative backup presentation on a thumb drive that he plugged in and it went without a hitch.

Yesterday I was in another presentation where the presenter came over the day before and ran it through on his PC. The next day, the PC conked out and he had a backup on a thumb drive. He tried …

During a whirlwind first few weeks at my new job, I’ve kept one adage in my mind to stay on an even-keel:

It’s not a sprint; it’s a marathon.

On some days, I’ve felt like a chicken with my head cut off. So much information is stored on my company’s shared drive. We have clients in industries I’ve never heard of. Thankfully, my superiors have given me time to learn about the work. At this point, I certainly have a decent understanding and thorough appreciation for the businesses and diverse industries my clients endeavor at.

Looking back on the past month, I realize now that if I had organized my first few weeks with some objectives in mind, I might have had an easier time compartmentalizing all the information I …

Marketing managers are inundated with e-mails, phone calls, and requests daily. Convey your ideas to them in clear and concise words, and not only will they thank you for your brevity, but they’ll think you’re smart too.

That’s how my new boss feels about any client contact we have. At PRSA’s International Conference in San Diego last week, she noted this 3-minute drill for communicating with clients and managers. She shared it with us at a staff meeting:

Looks simple, yes?

Why is it whenever we communicate with our superiors we feel the need for longwinded correspondence and pedantic tactics? I can recall a handful of times as in intern when I sent wordy e-mails in …

My sort of go-to Bible on social media is David Meerman’s Scott’s The New Rules of Marketing and PR. A New York Times best seller, David outlines simple steps a marketer can take if budget is an obstacle. Thanks to the Web and social media, creating buzz around a product stays within the realm of possibility.

One of the chapters involves writing online news releases. David’s thinking is, “Why take the time to pitch the media when you can write a news release that goes straight to the public instead?”

The media will generate good publicity, provided a PR person can make it through the 1,000 pitches a journalist gets daily. That’s a big if. Or, marketers can …

When times get tough the resume tends to become plastic. We see titles being changed, jobs being dropped out, graduation dates erased and the early part of careers completely excised.

In my eyes, each of the above has a different penalty. If a person does not include early career information or grad date, there is no harm done. They have not really misrepresented themselves and I can ask them to fill in the information.

The people that get nailed are those who willingly alter their past by creating new job titles/responsibilities and leave out entire pieces of their job history. The resume reads well, but if we catch it, the person will never be presented by us to a client. …

I’m happy to reports some good news. Last week I signed an offer letter for a Social Media Specialist position with a local BtoB firm. A strange sense of accomplishment and duty came over me while I read the letter. My mind kept wandering to thoughts of the next few years of my career.

I pictured the office I’d be working at and what it would feel like to walk through its doors in the morning. I could see myself saying hello to new co-workers as I made my way towards my desk. I imagined logging into my computer, checking emails, and corresponding with account executives and other contacts.

I could see myself knocking on our president’s door. My head would gesture towards her with a friendly nod as she talked busily on the phone …

There seems to be a few things that are in common with many of the people I talk to today. They are fearful, frustrated and reinventing themselves.

I just talked to a person who spent many years in the QSR industry and they have honed a new concept store that will be opened by the end of the year.

Recently I ran into another person who is going into personal career training to help Baby Boomers transition into a new way of making a living.

We are dealing with someone we knew years ago who is trying to buy small distressed agencies and grow a local midwestern network. I had lunch last month with an old candidate who has propelled herself up the organization by becoming …

You’ve been through your first interview. You did well and the company wants you to come back for another. But what should you expect? You know you’re in the running for the job. This could be the next big step in your career, and you want to come as well prepared to the interview as possible.

A job offer means security. It means a step up the ladder. It means a promise that you’ll be able to make a better living for you and your family.

That’s the opportunity presented to me at the moment. I interviewed for a Social Media Specialist position with a BtoB firm last week and have been asked to return for a second interview. There’s one problem – I’ve never been on a second interview before!

So I scoured the Internet for some 2nd job interview …