Communicating in the Workplace

“Effective communications starts with listening” – Robert Gately

Communicating in the workplace as well as any place is a skill that we as college students should be perfecting NOW. Those of us that are Communications majors may be thinking, what do we have to learn that we do not already know? There are many things that we have yet to learn in regards to communicating in a professional setting. The majority of us have had experiences working in retail, the restaurant business, etc. but for the most part we have not had the exposure to a professional workplace that we are able to use our communication skills in.

Among our part-time jobs that many of us hold during the year we have most likely experienced working with a manager or supervisor that had lacked in the communication skills department. According to Richard Slagle “Good communicators know that they must adjust their vocabulary to their audience.” This is very true, especially in the workplace and is a skill that we should all be comfortable with going into any professional workplace.

Communicating to others in a professional atmosphere is crucial to the success of your business. Listening, feedback, and understanding your supervisor all play an essential role in how well you are able to manage and run a business.

Dr. Clinton, a professor from UMES, believes that in order for successful communication to take place in a business atmosphere we must be able to understand what our co-workers are saying and HOW they are saying it. She addresses two major concerns regarding communicating in the workplace. First, we must understand the barriers that can influence effective communication such as “noise” and language differences. Noise can be described as anything that distracts us from receiving a message, such as other people talking, problems outside the workplace, etc. The second most influential barrier is the language differences that can exist between coworkers. Jargon and semantics are the two most common examples of this barrier. Jargon is when we use words that are specific to a particular job or occupation. Semantics is when words can have multiple means for different people.

The most imortant thing to learn is how to effectively communicate what we are thinking to our supervisors or managers by useing the correct language and vocabulary as well as avoiding the “noise” to the best of our abilties. Communicating the message effectively is crucial to how well we will succeed in a professional atmosphere.

Earth Week 2012!

“The Earth is what we all have in common.” -Wendell Berry

This week Salisbury University is celebrating Earth Week by hosting a number of events to raise awareness about taking care of our environment. As I have said before, getting involved with campus activities is a great way to learn new things, make some new friends, and give back to the community.

There are various events being hosted on campus this week (Monday-Thursday) by SGA. Among these great awareness raising events is one called Recycle Madness! This is a great opportunity for students in SCA and any other organization on campus, to get together and give back to the community by recycling items such as aluminum cans, glass bottles, plastic, paper, cardboard etc. As college students it is not hard for us to begin accumulating cans and glass bottles (especially after War on the Shore this past weekend!).

SCA would like to encourage everyone to come on out to Red Square Tuesday April 24, 2012 to participate in the Recycle Madness event. By coming together on campus events like these that give back to the community we are able to enrich not only our lives but the lives of those who live among us on this earth.

P.S.- Anyone who brings three pounds of recyclable materials will receive a prize!

Personal Branding

A subject that has been coming up a lot recently in the business world is the idea of creating a personal brand. According to Dan Schawbel, a blogger from Mashable Business, personal branding is the art of marketing yourself to others.

Creating a brand for yourself may seem like a strange idea. When we think of brand name items we think about companies like Apple, Uggs, and North Face, because those are brand names we are familiar with. When you develop a personal brand you are creating an image for yourself that you hope will “sell” you to future employers etc.

You want to create a brand that represents you as an individual, as a dependable and reliable resource etc. Dan Schawbel describes ten ways in which we can create our own brand.

1. Business cards. The business card may seem like an outdated idea, especially with all the new technological ways of providing someone with your contact information, but having a hard copy to give a future employer is one way to set yourself apart from others.

2. Resume. The resume is ideal for providing someone with your necessary skills and work experience information.

3. Portfolio. This is a way for someone to have a compilation of all the projects and relevant work you have done throughout your career/schooling.

4. Blog/website. Blogging is another great way to express your ideas on anything from work knowledge to gardening tips.

5. LinkedIn. As I have discussed in a previous post, LinkedIn is an excellent way to network with other professionals.

6. Facebook. If maintained properly, our profiles can be another excellent way to market ourselves among friends and colleagues.

7. Twitter.

8. Video Resume.

9. Wardrobe. It is critical to ‘dress for success’ and to wear clothing that is appropriate for the image we want others to see.

10. Email. Most everyone has to have an email account these days, but it is important to understand the difference between a professional email address and a private one.

Keeping these ten tools up to date and appropriate, we are able to begin creating our own personal brand or identity in the professional world!

 

End of the Year Activity?

The end of the semester is drawing near and it is almost time for Salisbury Communication Association’s end of the year activity. As always, we would like to be able to host an activity that everyone will enjoy!

Last year we chose to have an end of the year picnic. We grilled hamburgers, hotdogs, and played corn-hole with some of our favorite CMAT professors!

Go Dr. Dewitt!

This year we are hoping to hold another great event. In the past we have debated ideas such as a game night, going bowling, laser tag, cooking out, trivia night, and even meeting at a local restaurant to grab a bite. If anyone would like to suggest other event ideas please comment on the post with your suggestion!

 

 

It’s time to get LinkedIn

How many of you are familiar with the image above? Hopefully a lot of you! As college students we are too often concerned with updating our Facebook status and getting followers on Twitter, but we are not usually thinking of new ways to market ourselves to future employers. This is where we need to make a change.

If I have learned one thing being a college student it is that there is no time like the present to begin preparing for the future! LinkedIn is a social media tool that can help us do just that.

LinkedIn is a social media site that allows users to connect to other professionals in their field of interest or their desired industry, upload and maintain an online resume, and find job opportunities.

As many of you know, and some are about to discover, finding a job can be one of the hardest and scariest things we do after graduating college, but there is a silver lining. Sites such as LinkedIn are available to us NOW. Perhaps you’re thinking, what can I use that for if I am still in school? I’ll tell you!

According to blogger James Tomerson of TheUndercoverRecruiter.com, there are 7 ways that college students can benefit from using LinkedIn:

1. Getting Job Alerts.

2. Connecting with Professionals.

3. Conducting Company Research.

4. Getting Recommendations.

5. Letting Companies Find You.

6. Connecting with Other Students.

7. Landing International Jobs.

One of the ways I look at LinkedIn is as an online resume. We spend our whole college career doing things that get put on our resume, so why do we wait until our last semesters to begin creating them? The solution is easy, we don’t. If we take the initiative to create a profile on LinkedIn as soon as we get to college it will be that much easier to make connections with professionals and hopefully get hired once we graduate!

I encourage everyone to sign up for LinkedIn today. (Did I mention that it is FREE!)

 

Get Involved- Relay for Life 2012

In 32 days and 18 hours Salisbury University will be hosting their annual Relay for Life event. For those of you who are not familiar with Relay for Life, it is a fundraising event that is done in efforts to raise money for the American Cancer Society. The money raised at these events goes towards helping save the lives of those who are sick with cancer.

Last year Salisbury University raised $76,832.55 to help in the fight against cancer. Teams as well as individuals participated by donating time and money in an effort to make SU’s Relay the best possible. Since 2002 SU has raised over $700,000 to help “Celebrate. Remember. Fight Back.” as the ACS slogan states.

Salisbury University’s Relay for Life Survivor’s Lap 2011

This year S.C.A. would like to encourage everyone to get involved in some way with this amazing effort being put forth by our fellow students, faculty, and community. Together we can make a difference and help stop the spread of cancer.

There are many ways to get involved in this event including financially supporting a participant, a team, or by simply making a donation to the American Cancer Society. Salisbury University currently has 811 participants and 93 teams for this years Relay for Life event and has already raised $26,986 dollars.

Relay for Life will be held on May 4, 2012 at the SU Intramural fields from 6pm-6am. For more information or to make a donation please visit the SU Relay Web site at www.relayforlife.org/su.

2012-2013 SCA Officers

Hey Everybody!

As you all know the end of the school year is creeping up on us and it is about the time to start picking out classes and housing for the Fall semester. While we are figuring out our plans for next year now is the perfect time to consider what clubs and organizations we will be joining as well.

As college students we are presented with opportunities to join clubs and organizations that have to do with our majors/career choices. Joining a club that interests us and is relevant to our future careers can be a great way to network with others in our field and also a great way to make new friends!

SCA is always looking for students who are interested in learning about the field of Communications to come out and join us! Anyone from any major or track can join SCA and we encourage them to do so. We are also currently looking for members who would be interested in becoming club officers.

Becoming a club officer can be a very fun and rewarding experience. Adding membership to a school club on your resume can be beneficial, but adding that you were also a club officer shows responsibility and dedication that sets you apart from others.

SCA would like to encourage anyone who is interested in becoming a club officer for 2012-2013 to contact Cassia Martins, President of S.C.A.. She can be reached through her email (cm72795@gulls.salisbury.edu).