Tag: Edelman

Internship and Career Fair

Internship and Career Fair

This week the School of Communications held its Internship and Career Fair, and I could not be more grateful.

In my earlier post, Lovin’ the Rambler Network I talked about how one of the major reasons that I came to Loyola University Chicago was because I had a feeling that it would have good connections. Well, in that post I already explained how that decision has payed off for me.

This week was perhaps the finest culmination of the connections I have gained through Loyola. Because of the Ad/PR Reception last year I had already been in contact with Edelman. One of their representatives, Adi Clerman, and I have been corresponding ever since my phone and in-person interviews. I am hoping to be an intern at Edelman when I graduate, because many of their interns turn into full time positions. Working for Edelman, to me means basically that I’ve made it: they are the largest private PR firm in Chicago.

So when I found out that Edelman would be present at the Internship and Career Fair, I knew I had to go and make an impression once again. I bee-lined to the Edelman table and was lucky enough to see that Adi was there. She and I reconnected and spent some time catching up. Last time we spoke she had advised that I continued to try and do as much work as possible at my current internship, so as to be prepared for work at Edelman. So I was delighted to be able to tell her about the fact that I had been promoted and am now a paid Jr. Marketing Specialist at The Plum Tree Group.

As we finished our conversation we talked about my different options for after graduation. The conversation went very well, and I am ever hopeful that I will be joining the ranks of entry-level Edelman employees soon.

Lovin’ the Rambler Network

Lovin’ the Rambler Network

A lot of people ask me why I went to Loyola, a private college in Chicago rather than a state college back home in Minnesota. Some argue that I would get the same degree and same education without having to pay so much.

What I tell them is that I’m not paying for the degree (which, by the way, I would argue isn’t at all the same education I would get at different college) but, rather, I’m paying for the connections. People at Loyola are well connected, and I had the feeling that if I went to school here, they would hold my hand and help ensure that I found employment after graduation.

This Tuesday my Digital Media Campaigns class was visited by Alecia Dantico, @danticoa, who is the Vice President for Edelman Digital, the digital facet of the largest private public relations firm in Chicago. She spent more than an hour talking to my Digital Media Class and ended by giving her card and telling us that we should contact her whenever we want or whenever we need advice.

Then the next day as I’m visiting my capstone professor for next semester, Herb Ritchell, he gives me the contact information for a Loyola Alum who also works for Edelman Digital. So I emailed her and set up a time to meet over coffee. As of writing I’m waiting in the Starbucks at the Aon Center to talk to her about post-graduate opportunities.

So the Rambler Network runs deeper than I thought; and if anything, it is what’ll put me in a better position to land a job after college.