Getting Ahead

[To comment: larry@larrylitwin.com]

Just could not pass this up. I have to share it with you. This ran in The Philadelphia Inquirer on Monday, Aug. 1, 2016 (yes, that’s tomorrow). It specifically deals with fashion design, but I find it applicable to strategic communication, public relations and marketing.

The source: Ann Burton, Wolfgang Harbor, in partnership with LGM Consulting, West Hartford, Conn., offers these tips on how to build a career in:

  • Education: Seek degrees in design, merchandising business, marketing, fashion design.
  • Internships: Look for positions that transition into strong executive training programs, offered by companies such as Bloomingdale’s, Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor.
  • Executive training programs: Tend to teach solid financial practices, management tools, and brand-appropriate taste and merchandising skills.
  • Start-ups: Experience in small or midsize start-ups allows early breadth of responsibilities and signals ambition, passion, teamwork.

This holds, too from Ann Burton – describing merchandise planners, who are among those in demand:

“They are the historians of the company. They know what sold last year, what color, what time, did it rain on the day we ran the promotion.”

For the full story, see The Philadelphia Inquirer, Monday, Aug. 1, 2016 – Page C1.

[To comment: larry@larrylitwin.com]

College care packages

[To comment: larry@larrylitwin.com]

Nine in 10 college students still want snail mail even in the digital age.

That, according to Ricoh Quick Query/Harris Poll survey of 2,053 Americans ages 18-65. Also credit USA Today  and staffers Terry Byrne and Veronica Bravo.

[To comment: larry@larrylitwin.com]

Tips for developing your personal brand

[To comment: larry@larrylitwin.com]

CareerBuilder’s Matt Tarpey offers these tips:

  1. Identify your passion
  2. Prepare an elevator speech (See Larry Litwin’s The Public Relations Practitioner’s Playbook and The ABCs of Strategic Communication when you are ready to craft YOUR elevator speech. Books available via www.larrylitwin.com)
  3. Network, network, network
  4. Get your name out there

More advice on personal branding is available in both of Litwin’s books. If purchased from larrylitwin.com, shipping is free.

[To comment: larry@larrylitwin.com]

10 worst-paying college majors

[To comment: larry@larrylitwin.com]

According to Kiplinger.com, these are the 10 worst-paying college majors during 2014-2015 with starting salary and mid-career salary:

  1. Exercise science = $32,000/$51,000
  2. Horticulturalist = $35,200/$50,900
  3. Animal science = $33,600/$55,200
  4. Music = $35,700/$51,400
  5. Biblical studies = $35,400/$50,800
  6. Child and family studies = $30,300/$37,200
  7. Culinary arts = $34,800/$51,000
  8. Photography = $36,200/$55,500
  9. Social work = $33,000/$46,000
  10. Art history = $38,900/$59,000

[To comment: larry@larrylitwin.com]

Intern to employee

[To comment: larry@larrylitwin.com]

According to Accenture Strategy — a survey of 1,001 college graduates from 2013-2014 — 47 percent say their internship led to a job. That number is trending up — especially for communication majors.

[To comment: larry@larrylitwin.com]