Business Category
The problem with online reviews
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Thu, Dec 31 2009 | 0 Comments
I’m sitting in a hotel lobby this week writing posts. If you noticed last week the pitch was about Hotwire and Priceline. I was trying to book a trip. I was determined to find something good and didn’t want to take the risk with either of those websites. However, I just gave into it and booked something on the sites. I ended up at a pretty nice hotel in downtown St. Louis.
However, when I went to look at reviews on the internet about the hotel, the reviews were all bad. Some were bad for no reason, some were bad because the reviewer actually had a bad experience.
Now, here’s the problem I am having with places that have been reviewed on the internet, this particulary pertains to places on trip, hotel, and food review sites: People are more likely to complain than report a satisfactory experience. I am guilty of it: a lot of times, I end up writing about when something makes me angry or I am unhappy with a situation.
You will always have a few people who are going to report on how the situation was regardless of whether or not the experience was good; but more often people will complain than brag. Honestly, the entire situation isn’t very fair to the establishments.
For example, the hotel I’m staying at has particularly bad reviews. I believe on Yelp, this hotel is rated a 2 out of 5, which is not very good at all. It all has to do with the fact that there isn’t wireless internet for free in the rooms (which is stated on the hotel’s website and is fairly common knowledge in my opinion), parking isn’t free (but there aren’t many places in the downtown area that hae free parking), and the bathrooms are small.
I believe that most places should be given a fair chance and that you can’t go by what all the reviews are.
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Tags: satisfactory experience, bad experience, hotwire
Employers may treat candidates unfairly in these ways
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Tue, Dec 29 2009 | 0 Comments
In the recession, some employers are finding themselves in the position to leave a lot of candidates hanging when it comes to finding employees. Some employers are actually taking advantage of the desperation that many candidates are feeling and they are doing some things that they may not have done in the past. According to World News and Report here are a few things that employers have been doing recently that can be seen as a bit…unsavory.
When an employer has no sympathy for a potential candidate’s time it leads to frustration on the candidate’s part. Employers have been canceling interviews at the last minute with out a reason or an apology. Some are just wasting the candidate’s time by not paying attention during the interview and this is troubling because (and I should know) a candidate spends a lot of time preparing for an interview; this includes looking up the company and reading into the company’s philosophy and mission.
When an employer doesn’t share the company’s timeline to hire with the candidate it is also quite frustrating. A hiring manager always knows when they need someone. They know the time frame that they will be hiring in and not telling a candidate is annoying to all candidates.
Not sharing what kind of salary they pay is also really annoying, especially when they expect a candidate to give what they think they should be paid. There really isn’t any reason as to why a manger wouldn’t share this information. They really should give you some kind of range for you to expect to be paid and this would clear up the entire awkward situation that comes about when its time to talk money.
Finally, this one is the one that gets under my skin, when employers fail to notify a candidate that they are no longer up for consideration for the position. This is rude and extremely common. Many times a candidate sits by the phone (or in my case, shies away from a week vacation) to wait to hear from an employer. A simple email could do if the employer is no longer interested in the candidate.
Here’s one just from my own opinion book: If you’re an employer don’t tell a candidate to expect an interview and then don’t answer emails or the phone when the candidate calls. And give them an interview if you say you will.
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Tags: awkward situation, why a manger, preparing for an interview
If you’re looking for work, here is where you may be able to find it.
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Tue, Dec 29 2009 | 0 Comments
There are so many businesses out there that have hiring at a standstill with hiring and pay raise freezes. However, some industries are coming out as the places to work, where you can find a job and actually do alright.
The industries where jobs can be found include: Accounting, Information Technology, and even food service. This is all according to government data.
There are several surveys out now that are indicating that many companies won’t be hiring anytime soon, but a lot of the companies in the industries listed above will be looking for new recruits and are already out there actively seeking employees.
After shrinking for an entire year, four quarters in a row, the economy is expected to pick up a bit for the July through September quarter; this could lead employers to take away hiring freezes and start hiring people again. However, even with the new unemployment numbers out and showing a decrease in the total number of those who are unemployed, unemployment is expected to increase to 10% by the end of the year. Total job openings stayed steady through June according to the Labor Department.
Of course there are plenty of accounting jobs out there. The college I graduated from often boasts their 100% placement rate for accounting graduates. That number just seems crazy to me. After all, they just took a lot of the same classes I took to get through business school, yet most of them end up working in their field within weeks of getting their diplomas.
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Tags: accounting jobs, labor department, unemployment numbers
It’s time to limit PowerPoint presentations
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Sun, Dec 27 2009 | 0 Comments
PowerPoint has been around for 25 years now, and while it was first geared toward people who had to present in business meetings and salespeople, the program has now become synonymous with anyone who has to give a presentation of any kind; no matter if you’re a salesperson or a 4th grader.
Over the past few years in college, I gave numerous presentations and PowerPoint presentations were not only expected, but required for all of them. However, after reading the expressions on people’s faces while giving presentations over the past few presentations I’ve discovered something: no one cares.
Perhaps it’s just presentations that people don’t want to go to, perhaps it’s the fact that PowerPoint slides often have too much information on a slide. Whatever the reason, I believe that it’s time for people to start coming up with more creative ways of giving presentations.
I think, especially for those in more creative fields, there should be requirements that they have to give presentations that are far more creative than a PowerPoint presentation; and no, I don’t mean passing out candy or throwing t-shirts at the audience. Marketing professionals are expected to be some of the most creative people in the business school and they’re giving the same presentations as accounting majors, something is wrong there.
Another problem I have with PowerPoint presentations is that the audience has become numb to the presentations. They have taught an entire generation how to stop paying attention. They have also taught that same generation how to rely so heavily on one program.
In the corporate world, people often turn something that can be said in two to five minutes into a 20 minute presentation because they feel as if they need to have the visual aid of a PowerPoint presentation. What a waste of time.
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Tags: creative fields, giving presentations, powerpoint slides
Press Release Example
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Fri, Dec 25 2009 | 2 CommentsNEWS RELEASE
Oxford University Transportation System
107 Main Street
Oxford, MS 38655
For immediate release
Media contact: Jennifer Lott McClelland, Public Relations Intern
Tel: 901-555-9665(W); 901-555-9502(Cell)
Email: jjlott2@gmail.edu
Oxford-University Transit Commission introduces new manager
O.U.T. gets full-time manager to oversee daily activities
Oxford, Miss. -The Oxford University Transit Commission is introducing the new full-time manager, Ron Biggs to the team. Tim Lett will be stepping back from the current position as temporary manager to make way for Biggs.
Biggs, a recent hire for McDonald Transit, will be taking on the day to day responsibilities of the Oxford University Transit system. Part of Biggs’s responsibility will be overseeing a proposed expansion of the system if city and university budgeting allows.
“Mr. Biggs is very qualified and will be a wonderful addition to O.U.T.’s management. He has been with us for a little while now and we’re all looking forward to the next few months,” says committee member Carole Haney. “Ridership numbers have been improving every time a new report comes out and hopefully the months ahead will see the same trend.”
Oxford University Transit is the only public transportation system in Oxford. The shuttle service operates six days a week, Monday through Saturday and runs two routes between 7:10 a.m and 6:40 p.m. The red route runs from North Lamar to South Lamar and the blue route runs from the Wal-Mart Supercenter on Jackson Avenue to the Brittany Woods neighborhood.
Oxford University Transit is operated by McDonald Transit, a company headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas that serves 30 public agencies across the United States and boasts 50.3 million passenger trips annually.
For more information on the Oxford University Transit Commission, call (555) 555-1310.
-END-
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Tags: public relations intern, news release, email
