The document outlines the career goals and steps to achieve those goals of becoming a communications liaison/manager. The goals include becoming an efficient interviewee through practice, becoming comfortable with public speaking through local toastmasters, and refining management skills through a certification program. Professional communities like IABC and NAMIC are identified for networking. Dr. Ketra Armstrong is named as a mentor providing guidance, and keeping updated on evolving communications technology is important for remaining relevant in the field.

2. MISSION STATEMENT
My personal career mission is to become a communications liaison/
communications manager for a corporation. I have always been a great
helper. I have always had an ability to listen, understand and try to reach
out and help others out of bad situations. That natural passion was fueled
and expanded further by education in communication. With
communication, it helps to listen, analyze and understand, and help to
express yourself and others. As a communications liaison or manager I
will strive to make and keep connections with organizations and their
audience. I will help to bridge the gap to ensure that the two can
communicate, understand each other, and express any desired needs,
wants and anything in between.

3. STEPS TO ACHIEVING GOALS: STEP 1
Over the next two years become an efficient interviewee
Strategies:
Practice the interview process to gain an understanding of how an
interview with the press on behalf of a corporation would go.
Research and establish an understanding of how interviews went prior,
understand why media wants an interview and what corporations gain
from a good interview.

4. STEP 1 CONTINUED
Tactics
Have mock interviews with professionals. I have a friend who is a reporter
for Source magazine and also my mother owns her own business and
her HR experience can help me prepare for being interviewed.
Research some top potential employees like Noblis, Delta Resources, and
Integrity applications. Check their press release and past interviews
with the media to gain an understanding of what their previous
communications directors did verses what is something that is new and
cutting edge in the field of corporate communications

5. STEP 2
Over the next two years become comfortable and confident with public
speaking
Strategies
Get over my fear of speaking in front of others. Gain confidence with
experience
Tactics
Practice in the mirror
Participate in the local toastmasters, that will push me to speak in front of a
room full of strangers on Nov. 5th at 7:30PM.

6. STEP 3
Refine management skills
Strategies
Gain and update management skills to make sure I have the latest
information available to be the best potential director and leader for the
company.
Tactics
Attend a management certification program. By attending a program I can
gain management skills from foundational to project management to
leadership skills

7. STEP 3 TACTICS CONT’D
Also seeking advice and guidance from those who have been in leadership
positions in corporate America to gain an understanding of what all it
entails.
This step is where a mentor can come in and help to bush me and help me
to blossom into a great speaker.
“ A mentor can give you the benefit of his or her perspective and experience. He
or she can help you assimilate to a new position and give you an insider’s
view on how to get things done.” (Newell, A. 2009)

8. STEP 4
Gain a complete understanding of how to promote an event
Strategy
Get hands on experience with event planning and promoting
Tactics
Use MeetUp. MeetUp is an app that helps people organize events. I can
volunteer to help popular MeetUps in my area.
Once I have done that enough and begin to feel comfortable and confident
in my abilities I can organize my own MeetUp events.

9. STEP 4 TACTICS CONT’D
Network. Network. Network.
Use social media and different apps to connect to other people
who are already in the field of communications and who have
more experience and who are willing to help mentor or teach me
more. Using sites like LinkedIn and Elance will help as well.

10. PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITIES
International Association of Business Communicators (IABC)- This
association helps to foster growth, allows networking opportunities and
helps to maintain the standard of excellence in communications around
the world. The networking opportunities that come as a result of that
are endless. There is also a local DC metro chapter that is not far from
me at all, so it is very convenient. Within this community they also have
their own resources. IABC has articles written by communication
experts that are also members within the community. The articles range
from strategic audience segmentation to communication leadership, to
learning from bad leaders. (International Association of Business
Communicators 2015). The articles are great reads and great ways to
pick the brains of people who have been in the industry for decades so
that beginners can learn more about the communications industry.

11. PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITIES
National Association for multi-ethnicity in communications (NAMIC)- This
professional community is all about making sure that the
communications industry is filled with qualified and capable diverse
professionals. They partner up with the industries top corporations to
make sure they are putting those within the community in great
positions within the industry. They also help to develop the skills
necessary for career development and advancement. Being a part of
this professional community will help advance my career but also gain
placement in a top media company.

12. PROFESSIONAL RESOURCE
Public Relations Society of America- The public relations society publishes
a public relations journal. This journal is open to anyone; you do not
have to be a member to access the database of articles and editorials.
“Our goals [with the Public Relations Journal] are to support and
facilitate an increase in quality public relations research within the
academic community.” (Public Relations Journal 2015). Bridging the
gap between the educational world and the professional world is a great
key for me personally. With the resources, information, and articles it
can help me to gain a complete understanding of what a career in the
communication field.

13. PROFESSIONAL ROLE MODELS
Sarah Lattimore- An entrepreneur who took her decades of experience and
started her own marketing and communications company called
Lattimore Communications. Her company is based out of Lauren
Wesley Wilson- is a multi-tasking entrepreneur who gained success in
the world by being the communications director for a Texas
congresswoman. She now owns her own business that helps to
connect other women of color in the communications field called
ColorComm, Inc.
Atlanta, GA. Some of Mrs. Lattimore’s clients are some of the biggest
corporations in the Atlanta area. She has clients like MARTA, Georgia
Power, Atlanta Development Authority, and SunTrust just to name a few.
I admire Mrs. Lattimore so much because I too want to start my own
business after a decade or two of gaining experience and building a
reputation for myself.

14. PROFESSIONAL MENTOR
Dr. Ketra Armstrong- Dr. Armstrong is not in my field but the work that she
has done and is doing is remarkable and she helps me, pushes me, and
guides me along the way. Currently Dr. Armstrong is the associate dean
at the University of Michigan. She started off as a freelance sports
writer to a Women’s basketball coach to a professor and now she is a
dean. It was Dr. Armstrong who encouraged me to continue with my
education after I completed my undergraduate degree. She pushes me
constantly past my limits.

15. IMPORTANCE OF MENTORING:
BY DR. KETRA ARMSTRONG

16. COMMUNICATIONS: THE FUTURE AND BEYOND
Communications is constantly changing and evolving . Being a liaison/
director means staying in touch and in tune with the latest in
communications which means staying with the latest technology.
Communications and technology go hand in hand. Technology is the tool
by which makes communications quicker and easier for people.
This will continue to grow as we find new ways to stay in touch effortlessly
with each other by using technology.
Social media, the cloud and apps are the now and the future of
communications.
By following my goals, strategies and tactics, observing and learning from
my role models, researching from my professional resources,
networking within my professional communities, staying with the latest
trends in technology and communications and adhering to the guidance
of my mentor I know that I will meet my professional goals.

17. REFERENCES
S. J. Baran. Introduction to Mass Communication: Media Literacy and
Culture. McGraw-Hill eighth edition 2015. ISBN: 9780077507985
Newell, A. (2009, 12/22). 10 reasons you need a mentor, especially mid-
career. The glass hammer. Retrieved from:
http://theglasshammer.com/2009/12/22/10-reasons-to-have-a-mentor-
especially-mid-career/
International Association of Business Communicatiors. (2015). Resources.
Retrieved from: https://www.iabc.com/resources/.
Public Relations Society of America. (2015). Public Relations Journal.
Retrieved from:
http://www.prsa.org/Intelligence/PRJournal/About_Journal/#.Vke-
QvmrTIU
Armstrong, K. (2014, Nov. 18) Mentoring. Diversity Lunch and Learn. The
UCF College of Medicine.. Retrieved from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZLGoZVvjwk