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Spencer Premo
Career/Life Planning Paper
(1) a brief self-assessment which considers both your strengths, weaknesses, and career/ life
interests. Identify who you are. Include results from a current Strong Interest Inventory.
According to the Strong Interest Inventory interpretation,
Strengths- Some personality strengths that I believe to have are a combination of people
skills, having an “eye for design,” empathy towards others, working in groups, creative
problem solving, and persuasion. The Strong Interest Inventory seems to reaffirm my
preconceived positive traits. Section 4 of the evaluation, or the Personal Style Scale
portion indicates that I showed a “clear preference for one style versus the other” in the
sections of Learning Environment, Leadership Style, and Risk-Taking. The scores
indicate that I prefer an academic environment over practical ones. This came as a bit of a
surprise, as I have always preferred taking a hands-on approach when learning, not sitting
through a lecture.
Weaknesses- ADHD, procrastination, risk-taking, test taking, memorization, physical
ability (agriculture),
Career Interests-Advertising and Public Relations are the two major paths that interest me
the most. They have a similar theme that I find to be fascinating. Professionals in these
fields have the knowledge of how to influence or persuade the public to think about a
product or entity. The artistic side of advertising like commercials on television has a
certain appeal to me, and I have been critiquing them since a young age. The creative
and critical thinking aspects that go into creating or reinventing a positive public image
for a person, business, or group is what makes brand development the specific career path
I wish to pursue.
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According to the interpretation of my Strong Interest Inventory, I am currently on the
correct path to work in a field that I show a strong interest for. The top five interest areas I fell
under were Sales, Marketing/Advertising, Politics/Public Speaking, Counseling, and Writing &
Mass Communication. Prior to this semester (fall 2015), I was working towards a Marketing
Major in the school of business. I then switched to the College of Communications with a focus
in Advertising and Public Relations, and have not regretted the choice one iota. My general
occupational theme code given was “ESA,” according to my interpretation. Enterprising is the
only theme in which I was given an overall “very high” rating, with an STD score of 72. My
‘Social’ results showed an overall score of 60, with ‘Artistic’ lagging only one point below at 59.
These results are reaffirming, as I scored the lowest in the ‘Conventional’ theme, with a
“moderate” STD of 55. I am decent at some conventional attributes, but would never consider a
job where I am responsible for the system procedures, organization, or data analysis.
Personal Style Scale
I have considered myself to be a hands-on learner as far back as my memory stretches.
My mother would find me tinkering with random household items, breaking rules, questioning
punishments, and being a bit of a spastic kid in general. Sports like baseball and taekwondo
offered me a way to channel my pent-up energy and competitiveness. Once discovering my love
for skateboarding at the age of ten, I knew I had found a hobby which could satisfy my
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completive nature whilst satisfying my inherit love of risk-taking. To this day, I continue to
skateboard regularly.
One of my most obvious weaknesses concerning my personality is having Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). My ever-elusive attention span can make
accomplishing a task difficult, I get distracted from things very easily and have made great
efforts to cope with this cognitive obstacle. I was a straight-A student until entering the sixth
grade, after being placed in the “accelerated learning program” or “honors” following a creativity
assessment that was used to determine which students showed signs of being gifted. The science,
literature, and math classes I was enrolled in from that point on were seemingly far more difficult
than the standard curriculum. I did not consider myself to be as smart as my peers in these
classes, as I didn’t feel like I was on their cognitive level or fit-in with fellow students. Having
ADHD made keeping up with higher-level courses a challenge. Once diagnosed upon entering
the tenth grade or so, I was prescribed medication and given advice concerning my increasingly
poor academic performance. With the encouragement of my teachers and family, I was able to
squeeze by with a good enough GPA to get accepted into Georgia Southern for the 2011 fall
semester.
I did not have a specific career path developed at the beginning of college, as I was not
sure if I wanted to go into Business or Communications for my major. I was ignorant about what
the differences were between marketing and advertising, eventually deciding that I would get a
business degree. My reasoning was that marketing would provide a way for me to maintain a
certain degree of creative control in my future career, or at the minimum, provide a safety net if I
was unable to secure a position at a marketing firm or agency. I soon found myself more
interested in subjects like sociology and history rather than microeconomics or accounting. The
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subjective nature of the material fascinated me compared to the objective or analytical
components of the business program. This was a big factor that led me to switch from Marketing
to Advertising. For the first time since beginning my higher education, I was excited to take
classes such as Public Relations and Communication Theory.
I spent most of my time at Georgia Southern getting used to the newfound freedom in my
life. The fall semester of 2011 saw the poorest grades in my life. I was able to make it through
public schooling without exerting much effort to study or prepare for assignments. I always did
the bare minimum amount to do an assignment, and I foolishly believed that I could continue to
use this “talent” of mine to coast through the rest of my education. Needless to say, I was quickly
humbled after receiving a 0.67 GPA after only one semester at Georgia Southern.
By clamping-down on my assignments and putting in the effort required, I was able to increase
my grades just enough to remain enrolled. I knew at the time that I was intelligent enough to
grasp the concepts being taught, but I merely lacked the discipline to make a concerted effort
towards success. This wake-up call was a valuable learning experience. I began to buckle down
on my classes. I gradually was able to pull up my GPA next two academic years, and have since
gained a new perspective and appreciation for what it means to “work one’s ass off.”
2) a statement of your career and life objectives for the next five years. Include here a brief
description of the industry, and company(s), in which you have an interest.
In the next five years of my life, I must have a plan that will allow me to climb to a position or
occupation that satisfies my interest in brand and product development. There are many variables
that will influence where I will be from a professional standpoint, and I believe that it is
important to plan for unseen events or opportunities that may arise. The first step in my plan is to
explore other facets of the College of Communication.. After switching from Marketing to
Advertising, I have been exposed a plethora of new disciplines that arouse my interest; Broadcast
Journalism being one of those in particular. The second step of my plan is to find an internship in
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the area to see what type of company or organization would better suit my skills. I have
completed over 300 hours of volunteer work at churches, the American Legion, a child abuse
center called “The Rainbow House,” as well as Goodwill. I love helping others by any means
necessary. Non-profit organizations are always in need of help/volunteers, thus making the
barrier to entry less of an obstacle. The main drawback to this type of extracurricular experience
is that many non-profits are notorious for not having enough resources to give monetary
compensation for volunteer workers or interns.
(3) a brief profile of two contemporary or historical figures whom you particularly admire.
Include here the characteristics which you particularly admire in these figures. (References
expected)
My choices:
- Joe Rogan:
Joe Rogan was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1967. He is an American popular culture icon
who is best known for his role as the host of the popular television show ‘Fear Factor’ in the
early 2000’s, as well as being a color commentator for the Ultimate Fighting Championships
(UFC). He is also an accomplished stand-up comedian, martial arts expert, actor, and host of his
podcast The Joe Rogan Experience. I quickly began to listen to his programs, joining his massive
audience, consisting of over 11 million people world-wide. Rogan’s discussions are always
interesting. His opinions are drawn from his personal perspective ranging from everyday life
experiences, religious beliefs, politics, science, spirituality, recreational drug use, and current
events - to list a few. society works. He is famous for many reasons, including: hosting
television shows (Fear-Factor, Joe Rogan Questions Everything), stand-up comedy, Brazilian
Jujitsu black belt, UFC announcer, and host of the Podcast ‘The Joe Rogan Experience,’ to name
a few. His podcast is awesome. It features a variety of guests larger than any other program that I
have come across. The podcasts themselves are two hour discussions with a different guest.
Many pop-culture icons have been on the programs, and it is interesting to gain an idea of who
that person really is or how they think. Rogan has an insane work ethic that I admire deeply.
What inspires me most is that he is doing what he loves to do. He draws is opinions through
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honesty in a way that highlights his past failures, misconceptions, and personal shortcomings that
affected the way he acts and perceives the world.
Edward Bernays: The father of Public Relations
(4) the results of one interview with a manager in the company or industry in which you are
interested. Include identifying information for this person and a description of how they got to
their current position. ‘
Interview: Lindsay Hess
I wanted to interview a professional in an Advertising or Public-Relations position for
this component of my life-planning assignment/plan. My major is in Communications at UTA,
so I wanted to know how to get a position in the fields that I am perusing. I use social media for
many different reasons in my day-to-day life and study it in many communication classes, so I
decided that I would use an invite-only application aptly named ‘Nextdoor’ to find an
interviewee. This application allows the 600-plus members in my neighborhood (Viridian) to
communicate about upcoming events, labor/landscaping services, inquires, notifications,
vigilantism, and anything else a homeowner may want to discuss.
I received a reply in less than 30 minutes from Lindsay Hess, a 26-year-old nearby neighbor
whom I had never met. I wasted no time to set up an interview with her after reading her
response briefly detailing her past experience. It reads as follows:
“Hi Spencer, I live on Badger Vine and I'd be happy to help out if you're still looking for
someone! I currently work as a copywriter in a corporate marketing team, and my past jobs
include non-profit PR/marketing as well as digital PR/consumer engagement with an
international agency. You can text or email me if it sounds like I might be able to help you out.”
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-Lindsay
I decided not to prepare too many specific questions prior to the interview. I wanted to have a
real conversation with Lindsay as opposed to using a more traditional Q&A style. I wanted to see
what her personality was like, and whether or not I could see myself working alongside
somebody like her. I only jotted a few notes down during our Saturday afternoon sit-down in her
kitchen just two days before Thanksgiving. I recorded the interview in its entirety for future
reference. All quotes included will are taken from that audio recording.
Lindsay is currently a copywriter at Club-Corp®, and works within their
international-marketing division. Club Corp® is an in-house-agency that owns and looks
after over 250 country-clubs and business-clubs around United States as well as a few
other locations world-wide. As a copywriter, she creates content for social media, internal
affairs, customers, or whoever needs her expertise. Work companions are very important
to Lindsay, who is happy to work with her “best friends” every day. I noticed that
working alongside others something Lindsay enjoys about her profession.
o I wanted to ask her top-down questions
Before landing her current position at Club-Corp®, Lindsay worked an internship
with the PR Firm Fleishman-Hillard®. There, she was involved in many different types
of tasks such as consumer public-relations or dealing with and responding to a “crisis
situation.” Lindsay was constantly on-call for Fleichman-Hillard®, which she described
as “mentally and physically demanding,” citing that it was: “hectic as times because the
schedule was crazy and unpredictable. - We had to always be in stand-by mode.”
o I believe that I can expect a certain degree of chaos in the upcoming years, and
Lindsay is not the first person to emphasize this concept.
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communicating with a an intern for the Fort-Worth Symphony
She Graduated from Trinity College, a small Liberal-Arts school in 2011 with a degree in
Acting and Public Relations. During her time at Trinity, she was heavily involved with
the schools’ Theatre program. Still, she managed to carve out time for internships, giving
her little to no free time. Her first internship opportunity was at the Forth-Worth
Symphony as a public relations consultant. Lindsay worked with a small group of
individuals to spread the word about upcoming performances or acts, doing whatever was
asked of her
Lindsay also likes to write in a personal online blog. She said there was “not any
particular theme” to her posts, where she writes about her own experiences and
perspective relating to “Life in general,” as she put it.
“We are digital people, that is just how it is”
When asked whether or not she had a 5-year plan during her, her reply was “I know the
correct answer is yes, but the truthful answer is no.” She spoke about the importance of
staying busy, and embracing the chaos that comes with juggling assignments while
maintaining some sort of a work-life balance.
o She did not actively seek a particular internship opportunities, but instead looked
for what was available in her field of study.
o She was involved with a
College – Fletchmen-Hillard -
