What are your job responsibilities/duties?
I provide comprehensive communication services to companies and individuals. My services include strategic message development; employee communication; speechwriting; presentation development; media coaching; writing articles for publication; issues management; and crisis communication.
What does a typical day look like?
There is no typical day! If I am knee-deep in a client project, I wake early and get to work. I always plan my project to ensure that I have a draft of deliverable to provide my client each week. Sometimes I get a call for a rush project that needs to be completed within an hour or two.
Much of my time is also spent in client development: arranging meetings, providing an overview of my approach to a client's need, and introducing myself to prospective clients.
What do you most enjoy about your job?
Before starting my own company I worked in corporate communications for Fortune 500 companies. Owning my own company means that I continue to be able to do the work that I love, but on my own terms and with more flexibility. If I want to walk the dog in the afternoon, I can do so; it only means that I need to spend an extra hour on my work that evening.
What is the most difficult aspect of the job?
The uncertainty about where the next client comes from is the most difficult aspect of this job. However, after working for five companies that were acquired or sold over my career, I have learned that there is no such thing as certainty in the job market.
What on-campus activities were you involved with? Where did you gain relevant experience?
I worked for the Daily Illini, which I truly enjoyed. I began to gain my experience there, and it continued to build throughout my career, first as a communications coordinator, then as a manager, and then as a communications director before going out on my own.
How did your experience at ILLINOIS and in the College of Media prepare you for your professional life? For this specific position?
The University of Illinois is a fantastic institution. It provided me with an extraordinary education, and the College of Media gave me all the tools and opportunities I needed to gain a foothold in an industry I love.
What advice do you have for students interested in this field?
I have three pieces of advice:
1) Be flexible. The work environment is changing rapidly, and we all need to be ready to adapt to it. Chances are you will have many jobs throughout your career; you can manage your path, but you also have to go with the flow.
2) Have a curious mind. You need to find something that you like about every company and every position you hold. Without that, it will be tough to get out of bed in the morning.
3) Love what you do. It keeps you going.
What is one thing that you know now that you wish you had known when you started in the field? When you graduated from the College?
Trust yourself more than you trust others. If you think you can do something, don't listen to others if they tell you that you aren't ready. You may indeed fail, but you will own that failure, and all failure does is prepare us for our next success.