Getting a new job is always a challenge, especially when the job market is tight and competition is fierce. It can be even more of a challenge when that job is your first one when you’re right out of school. Join “Can You Hear Me?” co-hosts Rob Johnson and Eileen Rochford as they welcome The Harbinger Group Marketing Coordinator Avery Resendiz, who gives “Advice for New Grads Just Beginning Their Careers.”
Meet Our Guest: Avery Resendiz
Avery Resendiz graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a Bachelor’s degree in public relations and broadcast journalism. She has strong experience managing social media platforms and creating effective messaging for clients in a variety of industries, including healthcare, financial, education, and marketing. Always bringing a fresh perspective and creative energy to the team, she researches the latest social media trends, writes and publishes social media content, and creates organizational tools to help clients plan their content throughout the year. In addition to content creation, Avery is heavily focused on data analytics and trends to measure the effectiveness of published content and audience reach.
She also supports email marketing content creation and manages earned media lists. Avery ensures that client lists are up-to-date and contributes to business development initiatives. Her attention to detail allows her to handle various administrative tasks related to client accounts and agency management efficiently. Avery’s multifaceted approach delivers comprehensive solutions for clients and contributes to the growth and success of the agency.
Rob Johnson: [00:00:20] Hello again everyone, and welcome to another edition of Can You Hear Me? I'm Rob Johnson, president of Rob Johnson Communications. [00:00:26][5.9]
Eileen Rochford: [00:00:27] And I'm Eileen Rochford, CEO of the harbinger Group, a marketing and strategy firm. One of our big goals here, and can you hear me, is to make an effort to share the best advice for professionals looking to advance in their careers, and to make you all consider important factors that you may not have considered. And today is another one of those important moments, as we want to be able to give advice to new grads, especially those who are beginning their careers in marketing. [00:00:53][26.4]
Rob Johnson: [00:00:54] Yes, it's a very dicey time for a lot of people. You know, the nerves are flowing this time. Some people already have jobs, some people are looking for them. You know, we feel so strongly about this because no matter how mature and wise we are, wink, wink, we remember what it was like to start out and how vital it is that you get essential perspectives from various different sources. So I was in the job market for the first time 30 something years ago, and and I was doing something unusual, which was TV. It was it was kind of the, the road less traveled. But I realized how important it was to have people giving me advice or sending me on a path or whatever it may be. Doing it alone is tough. [00:01:32][37.8]
Eileen Rochford: [00:01:32] Yeah, absolutely. And I'll just give a shout out to some people who didn't even know my name and were willing to give me a crack at my first job. One in particular, Andy Ecklund at, well, at the time, what was going Harris that is now Golan, but literally never met me before, brought me in for an interview and it was my first crack. Now, I think a lot of that had to do with networking that I done up to that moment to lead me to Golan, but also a lot of jobs that I'd had as an undergrad, and particularly in the summers in between. So, we're not we're not talking about how to land the job today. We're talking about how to succeed once you have it right. [00:02:08][35.5]
Rob Johnson: [00:02:08] Rob. Exactly. And I want to give a shout out one shout out to to, a woman who, at Klbk TV in Alexandria, Louisiana. She was the assistant news director time. Her name is Dan LaRue, and she saw my resume tape. It was awful. She let me. I was going to drive, like, five hours to meet her, even though I had no reason to be there. And she's like, there's something about you. I'm going to give you a shot. And I was like, and the rest was history. So I have that. I have to give a shout out to her. [00:02:34][25.7]
Eileen Rochford: [00:02:34] Same. Same with that. Andy. Pardon me. Ecklund I was, I was kind of a spaz, I don't know, and he just was, like, super nice about it. So I would never got a job or, you know, advanced in my career in PR without him. That's my. [00:02:48][14.5]
Rob Johnson: [00:02:49] Opinion. Absolutely. [00:02:49][0.6]
Eileen Rochford: [00:02:50] So, all right. It is with this in mind, because we are focusing on, once you have the job, that we invite to our show today, someone who is on the Harbinger Groups team, she's, been with us. Gosh, her name is Avery. Recent us, and she's been with us. Gosh, Avery, I think two years. Yes, yes. It's amazing. Started as an intern, a total go get him intern who knocked our socks off so much that we convinced her to work for us even through her senior year in college, which might have been torture, but I do think it was worth it. And that now has been here in June. In late June, she'll have been full time, with us as, you know, fully formed, full time employee. And I think you're the perfect person because you have done so well in your first year as a full time employee. But, you know, you're you're the perfect person to talk about your experiences. So we welcome you and thank you for being with us here today. Welcome, Avery. [00:03:53][62.6]
Avery Resendiz: [00:03:54] I'm excited. Thank you. [00:03:55][1.0]
Rob Johnson: [00:03:55] So, Avery, this is not it. This is this your first time on? Can you hear me? I don't think it is not. [00:03:59][3.9]
Eileen Rochford: [00:04:00] No, no. Right. [00:04:00][0.3]
Rob Johnson: [00:04:00] You're a veteran at this. [00:04:01][0.8]
Eileen Rochford: [00:04:02] Yeah. So a veteran podcaster and like, you know, you're. [00:04:05][2.7]
Rob Johnson: [00:04:06] You've been you've been helpful helping us out. Okay. Before we get into it real quickly just give us your your background where you went to school. We know where you interned. Wink, wink. But, give us a little background on that. [00:04:16][10.6]
Avery Resendiz: [00:04:16] Yeah. So I went to Columbia, in Chicago, and I studied public relations and broadcast journalism there. [00:04:23][6.1]
Rob Johnson: [00:04:23] So I know you've come up with some really good ideas here, and we want to dive into them right now. Really common sense tips that are simple and most importantly, they're actionable. So let's start with the communication piece. Even though you may be an intern or an entry level employee, you feel like this is really important when it comes to just the communication piece. Talk about that. So you have the job, you're new, you're looking around, you're doing a lot of listening. But communication is key. [00:04:49][26.0]
Avery Resendiz: [00:04:50] Oh definitely. So I just want to start out by saying that I know there can be a lot of anxiety coming into a company, a new company full time. So I have this even coming in as an intern at the harbinger Group, I was like, do I know enough to be here? So I just think it's important new grads to know that no one expects you to be an expert. Prior to landing this job, you probably have only been an intern. Watch these programs last only about 12 weeks, so it's impossible to learn everything that you need to know. Prior to starting this job within that time frame. But what your boss does expect you to do is show initiative and learning, and that you're dedicated to your professional development. And I think the best, the best way to do this is through open communication. So you should speak up, communicate that you want to try a project that you're interested in learning a topic. And I think one way I did this is also just by speaking to my colleagues. Most of them have been in the industry for over a decade. So I would ask them questions or I'd ask them to show me how to do something. So yeah, I think the biggest thing is just speaking up about what you want to learn, because it's only going to open new opportunities for you. [00:05:52][61.8]
Eileen Rochford: [00:05:52] That's fantastic advice. Really, really good. Ask for what you need. Ask for what you want. That's one of the things we see around here a lot. So that's great. [00:06:00][8.2]
Rob Johnson: [00:06:00] Can I can I make an observation? Your 12 week internship. Let's see if you've been in our almost two years now. It's it's lasted like 116. No. Yeah. 116 weeks. 12. We can look at that. Look how that worked out. I'm not so good yet. So what you offer, look where it's landed. You so. Right. [00:06:18][17.5]
Eileen Rochford: [00:06:18] So. Yeah. We couldn't we couldn't let her go back to just being a full time student. We really know what that means. But because I. [00:06:26][8.0]
Avery Resendiz: [00:06:26] Learned so much and I couldn't have done that within that short time frame. So I'm thankful for the length that I was able to be here for as an intern. [00:06:33][6.8]
Eileen Rochford: [00:06:34] Wonderful. Good to know. Appreciate that. So, you know, you've you've just closed or are about to in a couple months your first year as, you know, let's say entry level, you know, your first year really is your entry into the workforce. So I guess, yeah, you know, you haven't finished that yet. So you're an entry level employee. How do you personally, see that you've been able to take initiative, and demonstrate, you know, maybe a little bit of leadership skills. [00:07:00][26.6]
Avery Resendiz: [00:07:01] Yeah. So I think that the main thing here is just because you're in an entry level position does not mean you can't lead your team and improve operational processes. I think that your thoughts what as much value as anyone else is on the team. So it's important to not be afraid to speak up and say, hey, I don't think this process is working. Here's why and here's how we can improve it. So always remember that as much as you still have to learn from your team, you also have ideas and knowledge to offer them. And then another thing I think is as a new grad, you might be like, oh my gosh, I need this deliverable from my boss. But they're super busy and I shouldn't bother them. But that's not true at all. One way that I do this is I know that my managers have a larger workload than I do, so I'm not afraid to kind of send a list of things that I need from everybody in the morning in order to move my workload forward. And I feel like this is appreciated more than anything. You're not stepping on anyone's toes. Most likely, they just have forgotten about it because they have a few more things to do than you do. So I think that if you continue to kind of wait for them and you can't move forward, you're not helping your company and you're you're kind of failing your team at that point. And it's impressive. I think that you would feel comfortable enough to kind of keep your team on track and that you're a team player, because we're all here to help one another out and we all have a role, so we should be holding one another accountable. And then one last thing that I just want to mention is being a leader isn't also just about like providing guidance to your team members. One way you can do it is by just stepping up and taking action. There's always going to be these daunting tasks that no one wants to do, because they're either time consuming or just seem hard in the moment. So I can't stress enough that in your first few years to just take initiative and volunteer to do those, you're showing that you're a team player, and your first priority when you're entering a company is to learn. And by doing those hard things, you're learning and you're showing that you want to be there and that you want to contribute to your organization's success. And I think it's also important to say that, like, everybody starts somewhere. So while you might anticipate doing these super important hard projects, which you're going to be on, there are those smaller components that someone has to do. So I would just say take initiative, ask to do it and say yes with enthusiasm. [00:09:15][134.1]
Eileen Rochford: [00:09:16] I love that, and you're echoing a lot of the things that we heard from, very seasoned, PR legend Ron Culp and a few shows back where he was giving advice as well, and observations and that that volunteer to do the hard things and to take on more. He echoes that. Absolutely. So really good advice. [00:09:38][21.2]
Rob Johnson: [00:09:38] It's actually no, we're a no, we're audio only here. But I wish everybody could see the Eileen's, box that she's in on zoom here, because Avery's saying all these things and Eileen is just, like, giddy with, like, oh, it's working. [00:09:51][12.9]
Eileen Rochford: [00:09:52] This is. Oh, and this is advice. [00:09:54][2.1]
Rob Johnson: [00:09:55] Everything is just working great. And I can just see the pride that you have. So. [00:09:59][4.7]
Eileen Rochford: [00:10:00] Just. [00:10:00][0.0]
Rob Johnson: [00:10:01] Listening. No, no. It's true. I mean, she's sitting there saying all these things. Avery. Spot on that, I mean, that we don't have. How old are you now, Avery? [00:10:07][6.6]
Avery Resendiz: [00:10:07] 22. [00:10:07][0.0]
Rob Johnson: [00:10:08] 22. How many? How many 22 year olds do we have on the show? Not many, I think. Avery, you. [00:10:14][5.2]
Eileen Rochford: [00:10:14] Yeah. [00:10:14][0.0]
Rob Johnson: [00:10:15] It might be it, but it's there's a reason you're on. And Eileen is just like, this is. [00:10:19][4.0]
Eileen Rochford: [00:10:20] Gonna go over it. Yes. Yeah. Well, I will just say that there's a reason we hired you. Because you had so much of this innately, or you were taught it by other people, you know, who knows about this? [00:10:31][11.8]
Rob Johnson: [00:10:32] I hope because I hope we can. Because I know we do video. But a component for our for our promotions on the can you hear me? LinkedIn page. Right. I hope we can I hope we can just show a little bit of that just because it just speaks volumes and it's just awesome. [00:10:45][12.8]
Eileen Rochford: [00:10:45] It is. So, Avery is awesome. [00:10:47][2.1]
Rob Johnson: [00:10:48] That's the. So Avery, the next one here is a big one because I know people in general, especially newer employees, can be hypersensitive to constructive criticism or, say, having a boss somebody over you edit your work. But I know how I feel about it. I know how how Eileen feels about it. But you think this is a good thing? It's not something you should take personally and say, oh, I'm not good at what I do. Why is that? Why is it so important in your eyes? [00:11:15][26.8]
Avery Resendiz: [00:11:15] Yeah. So I just can't stress this enough to change your mindset completely about constructive feedback as being bad. You're so new to this industry and the company. There's so many different factors you need to learn about not only your organization, but the clients you work with. Whether it's social and you're learning their brand voice or just overall preferences for how you complete your work. So you're not going to be perfect at writing a blog or a press release. You just there's so much you have to learn about the company and the organization, and that takes time. And you need to take that feedback as an opportunity to grow. So as someone who has worked at the harbinger Group for almost two years, I've seen such improvement in myself and my skills. I used to be so hard on myself. When I receive feedback and see those edits, I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm not good at this. Like, maybe I'm not a good writer. Why did everyone tell me I was. But I changed how I looked at it. So if I no longer am receiving feedback, I can't get better or excel at what I'm doing. And over time, I've received you earn fewer edits. So what that means to me is that I've learned something, and I think that the biggest thing is also it's not personal. My colleagues who have been in the industry for 20 plus years are still critiquing each other and giving feedback. So which means you're going to learn as you go, because they still are. And I just think that you really need to take in the comments that are being told to you, and you just need to when you continue to complete the similar work to implement them, and you're going to see big progress and your confidence is going to go way up as well. So let's remember you're learning these are this feedback as ways for you to learn better and to just do your work better. It's not such a bad thing. [00:12:52][97.1]
Eileen Rochford: [00:12:52] Yeah. It's I mean do we ever stop learning is the question. [00:12:55][2.5]
Rob Johnson: [00:12:55] No. I was getting ready to say, Avery, your boss here is a lifelong learner. I mean, if there's one thing that I've learned just from spending a lot of time with her is, there's real value in that. So it's not that I wasn't, but being around Eileen has reminded me of that. So I'm glad that you're saying, listen, whether you're 22 or whether you're 52 or whether you're 82, we if you're you're never done learning. You shouldn't be. [00:13:18][22.6]
Eileen Rochford: [00:13:18] Yeah. And seeking people who can give you new perspectives, insights about your work, your thought processes. That just makes you a better professional, too. I totally echo everything you're saying, and I love that mindset. It's great advice, for anyone at any age, frankly, the, critique of your work, whether it's written work, visual elements, whatever the case may be, you know, as a marketing professional, every single piece of feedback you get is an opportunity to grow. So really great advice. Thanks, Avery. Thank you. So let's talk about communicating internally. So you've had to also master in your in your first year, being a full time employee, you've also been faced with the internal communications challenge and knowing your audiences as well. So we can talk about them. Yeah. They're collectively as two separate things. Totally up to you, but I'd really like to hear about how you approached learning, or kind of getting your arms around internal communications, communicating with your team to get work done and all that good stuff. Yeah. [00:14:23][64.3]
Avery Resendiz: [00:14:23] So I think there's three main points that come to my mind when you're talking about knowing who you're talking to. So the first is being just understanding your team members and your clients. What I mean by this, as you need to learn their strengths, their weaknesses and their preferences, this is only going to help you tailor your communication and work style better. And then the second is knowing how to communicate effectively. So one thing is everyone has different learning styles. So some might need a visual representation. Others might do better with verbal explanations. So just recognizing what your clients and your team members strengths are in this aspect is only going to make your workdays go smoother, and it's going to save you time and having to go back and re-explain things. If I already know, hey, Eileen does better when I meet with her, over Google and understanding what I'm saying, I'm just going to automatically do that. Why would I waste time and try to communicate via email? So I. Going into the third point is just be willing to try different communication channel channels. So if a client or team member is confused, like I said, hop, be willing to be flexible. Hop on that quick phone call up on the Google me, or go ahead and send an email with new resources and additional information. Because by understanding your clients and these team members and being able to adapt to this communication style, you're only going to create more efficient workplace and a productive environment for all of you. [00:15:45][82.0]
Eileen Rochford: [00:15:45] Yeah. Really smart. The thing that that stands out to me is, is particularly as a as a new person in the workplace, your team, especially if you're servicing clients, or even internal clients in a, in a corporate position, your team isn't necessarily going to give you all those watch outs, all those insights about how each individual, they may you may interact with rather, how they learn, how they work best, you know, together, etc.. So it sounded to me like you may have done a bit of testing to figure out, how to do that. Well, and you also referenced earlier something that I know you to do on your own about me, which is you create short lists for me that are links to the asana projects or tests, whatever the case may be that you need me to weigh in on in order to advance work, and you'll give me that low down, like, you know, rundown, whatever every morning and not every but frequently when I need it. And that way. Because, you know, if I if it's put in front of me and I know it's urgent since it's time sensitive, I get it done. But if I have to, if it's all scattered and things aren't, you know, really kind of put in front of my face, in this organized manner, you're not going to get the action as quickly as you would if you did in this way, and you figured that out all on your own. So that was genius. And it works great. [00:17:00][74.4]
Rob Johnson: [00:17:01] And and the other part of it is like, it's like an executive memo, right? Like you could sit here and share everything you know with your boss, or you could sit there and bullet point or make it make a short list, as Eileen was saying, with all the actionable items and the links and everything else, because bosses don't want to read a four page memo, they want to read something quick that they can, you know, that they can process, that they can take action on if needed. [00:17:22][21.6]
Eileen Rochford: [00:17:23] Right. Yeah. That's that's really smart. [00:17:25][2.0]
Rob Johnson: [00:17:25] That is very, very smart. So you've talked about a lot of things already, Avery, that, you know, where you show your bosses and your colleagues that you're smart, you're capable, you're a team player, all those sorts of things. But sometimes people forget to ask for help. I know it sounds simple, but you know, you're up against a deadline project. You don't want to look like you're incapable, whatever the case may be. But asking for help is vital in this environment. Why do you think so? [00:17:50][24.8]
Avery Resendiz: [00:17:50] Yeah. So first off, asking questions does not mean. You're not smart, capable. So totally get that notion out of your head. It's incredibly important because if you have a lack of understanding of how to do something, your work is going to be delivered with mistake, and then you're going to have to redo it. And no one wants to work with the team member who consistently turns on the sloppy work and who is wasting time where they could be working on other projects and getting it done. So my advice is always read the directions of whatever task that you're given and then ask questions. If you have even a simple, small lack of understanding on one tiny detail that details those important as the entire project. So I've always just asked my team members, hey, can you show me how to do this? I'm not sure. This is the first time I'm completing this, and I've never had anybody be mad at me for that. If anything, they appreciated it. I just think you need to recognize you're all on the same side to help one another. While your main goal is to learn. Their goal is to teach you how to do something because they've been doing this for, like we said, probably over a decade. So definitely ask for that tutorial. And then also asking for help doesn't mean just asking. I want to do something. I think it's also important that when you're feeling frustrated or overwhelmed with your workload, that you tell your boss because they can't read your mind, they don't know how you're feeling. And this also goes hand in hand with if you're not feeling good and you're frustrated and you have a lot to do, you're going to try to quickly complete that work. It's not going to be good and you're probably not going to meet deadlines. So I think that it's just important to let them know how you're feeling. They're going to help make an actionable plan for you to get that done and help you out. So just again, there's no way of knowing how you feel unless you communicate. And overall, no one's going to be upset with you. You need to make the deadlines because if not, you're hurting yourself and organization. Everyone's there to support you. And I think one last thing. You're all working towards the same goal. So as much as if you're feeling frustrated and they're going to help you complete your work or make a plan for you when another team member kind of comes to you and talk to you about it, about them being frustrated in the future, I think it's also important that you reciprocate that. And if you have extra time the next day, say, hey, I can help you with that. I can finish that because nine out of ten times, either in the future or past times, they probably helped you. So I just want to say again, you're working towards the same goal. Help one another. [00:20:06][135.8]
Eileen Rochford: [00:20:06] Out. Nice. Fantastic. Okay, we have one. One more thing to cover. And, it's pretty it's it's not easy, but it's it's important. And I think we can do it quickly. And that is that, I think it's really important. People to remember who are young and entering the workforce this year. How critical it is for from leaders like myself. People who are, you know, running small businesses, who's really where where our reputation is online every day. And it's critical, you know, to our sustained success. So we want our people to be detail oriented and double and triple check everything that they do for accuracy and to ensure that things are the best products every time. How do you do that? Talk about how you, you yourself have learned, and how you utilize different tools or tricks tips to check everything for total accuracy. Yeah. [00:20:55][48.6]
Avery Resendiz: [00:20:55] So one thing is stop rushing your work. Of course, everyone would appreciate receiving it quickly, but they want it to be good. Another way, as I'll kind of just read through all the directions. Thank. If I have any initial questions, go back and then start my project. And I do it in sections. So, say there's three parts to it. I'll do the first part and then through the next day I have to do the second part. I'm going to go back and reread those directions, because it's so easy for that to slip your mind when you're working in multiple days. So I think that's important. And then also I just think that you you need to ask the questions. That's the one thing I know we talked about. You might not feel smarter capable in that moment, but I think that's the smartest thing you can do. You're saving time. You're only hurting yourself and your agency's credibility, and you're not going to excel in your career if you're not asking questions, you're not learning, and you're not completing this work. Good. Because I think, as harsh as it might sound, while you're lucky to be in your position, there's 30 other people who would kill to be there. And what kind of makes you think that if you're not doing a good job, you're not understanding, you're not turning in correct work. Why would they not go to those 30 other people who are willing to stop, read the directions, work through it, ask those questions, and then turn in an amazing final product that doesn't need those crazy corrections. So yeah. [00:22:08][73.0]
Eileen Rochford: [00:22:09] Yeah, fantastic. I can't you you could be someone who's been working for 20 years giving this advice. It's it's so accurate. [00:22:15][6.5]
Rob Johnson: [00:22:16] We did two episodes with Ron Culp. Should we do 2 or 3? [00:22:19][3.5]
Eileen Rochford: [00:22:20] No. [00:22:20][0.0]
Rob Johnson: [00:22:21] But honestly, all of this advice is so good, and and we're talking today about people that are newer in their careers like yourself, but it really does. As Eileen pointed out earlier, it really does relate to everybody, but especially the younger workers who are trying to develop a cadence and develop their reputation within their firm and that sort of thing. So. Bravo. [00:22:41][19.8]
Eileen Rochford: [00:22:42] Yeah. If, folks who listen to this who are new in their marketing careers, just focus in this next year and the things that Avery shared, I think we have real confidence that they will do very, very well in their jobs. So, thanks for being willing to share, Avery. It's really, it's helpful and it's very selfless. So we appreciate it. [00:23:01][19.5]
Avery Resendiz: [00:23:01] Yeah. Thank you for having me and new grads. Good luck. [00:23:04][2.5]
Eileen Rochford: [00:23:04] Yeah. Connect with Avery on LinkedIn new grads. She's a great resource. [00:23:07][2.9]
Rob Johnson: [00:23:08] It's that time. It's that time of year new grads. So that's going to do it for another edition of Can you Hear Me? I'm Rob Johnson. If you'd like to comment on the podcast or suggest a topic, please contact us at our new Can You Hear Me podcast page on LinkedIn. [00:23:21][12.5]
Eileen Rochford: [00:23:21] And I'm Eileen Rochford and we thank you all for listening. If you liked our show, please consider giving us a review on any of the platforms where you can find can You Hear Me? Particularly Apple and Spotify. Your reviews will help other potential listeners to find us and we appreciate it so much. Thanks everyone. [00:23:21][0.0]
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