This is Who I am ...

Time after time I receive some really good viral video or presentation. They usually make me laugh and I pass them on. To my surprise I received a request from my friend to assess his personality by selecting a few adjectives that describe him. I did so and then asked my friends to do the same for me. To my surprise here are the results, this is who I really am.

Arena (known to self and others) clever, intelligent, organised, sensible, trustworthy	Blind Spot (known only to others) able, adaptable, calm, caring, cheerful, complex, energetic, friendly, giving, helpful, independent, ingenious, kind, knowledgeable, loving, powerful, proud, quiet, responsive, searching, self-assertive, spontaneous, sympathetic, warm, wise
Façade (known only to self) modest	Unknown (known to nobody) accepting, bold, brave, confident, dependable, dignified, extroverted, happy, idealistic, introverted, logical, mature, nervous, observant, patient, reflective, relaxed, religious, self-conscious, sentimental, shy, silly, tense, witty

Dominant Traits

72% of people think that katerinahejralova is friendly

All Percentages

able (18%) accepting (0%) adaptable (9%) bold (0%) brave (0%) calm (18%) caring (27%) cheerful (9%) clever (45%) complex (9%) confident (0%) dependable (0%) dignified (0%) energetic (9%) extroverted (0%) friendly (72%) giving (9%) happy (0%) helpful (18%) idealistic (0%) independent (9%) ingenious (9%) intelligent (36%) introverted (0%) kind (27%) knowledgeable (18%) logical (0%) loving (18%) mature (0%) modest (0%) nervous (0%) observant (0%) organised (27%) patient (0%) powerful (27%) proud (9%) quiet (9%) reflective (0%) relaxed (0%) religious (0%) responsive (9%) searching (9%) self-assertive (9%) self-conscious (0%) sensible (27%) sentimental (0%) shy (0%) silly (0%) spontaneous (9%) sympathetic (9%) tense (0%) trustworthy (36%) warm (9%) wise (18%) witty (0%)

Created by the Interactive Johari Window on 28.11.2009, using data from 11 respondents.
You can make your own Johari Window, or view katerinahejralova's full data.

New Week and New Me

I found myself strangled with work for University and no time to play. The last two weeks were very exhausting. But my Globalization report: “Media Ownership in the Czech Republic” has been submitted (at last), so happy days. What more, I managed to create a nice database with all media contacts in from the Czech Republic....it may be useful one day. 

It’s funny that every PR agency says "We work hard and play harder". I suppose that it is true in a way, but why can’t you work and play in the same time? Public Relations is fun, you get to be creative and build relationships... OK, so what is the downside of this? I suppose that research, building databases and outreach  is not much fun, but that’s why you have all the unpaid Interns working for you, isn’t it? So why is it that you cannot work and play in the same time? The logo should be “We know how to work hard and play in the same time”

Uni work may seem more daunting and in a way dull. The one big Uni rule is:

“We decided that you have to do it, so do it. Doesn’t matter if it has nothing to do with your degree or if it doesn’t interest you at all.”

Over the last two and half years (nearly), I had to deal with number of things like that. The first place would go to Quantitative Analysis. Oh my, how much I was fighting against the Uni rule, not wanting to obey.  But on the other hand, I could have picked some modules instead of those already chosen for me (if they weren’t core). This way I got to do modules such as the Intro to Management, Marketing and then my favourite Marketing Communications. That was hard work but so much fun! If you select your career, you do it because you having fun doing it, right?

There has been so much pressure on me recently and I wasn’t exactly coping well. I always let thing get to me, unfortunately. So when the offer to do some pampering came, I was happy to give it a try. It was the first Christmas present this year – a makeover in a hair salon and professional photoshoot. I’m not a model so I was only looking forward to the hair cut though. I went for a new hairdo. Te shortest I’ve ever had! It is quite funny to see how a change like this can improve how you feel about things, particularly if you are a woman.

 Do I look like a PR girl now?

So I am back, still searching for the perfect PR Grad Scheme or Job. (Not sure If I want to spend another x years just learning) I’ve applied only for the WPP Grad Scheme so far. I like the idea of trying three different disciplines and then making the final decision. I know that I like consumer PR and technology, but wouldn’t say no to corporate comms or B2B. I just need to try things I suppose. See how I can have some PR fun.

I've updated my PR Portfolio at http://kat4pr.wordpress.com/ and intend to add more things in the upcoming days. It is important that my future employer know what I've been up to, right?

Rising Star under Pressure.

Over the last few weeks I’ve been busy searching for a PR Grad Schemes. I must say that it is not that easy. Some of the big and most desirable companies are already in the stage of closing applications.

Eh? I personally don’t get it.

Why WPP had a deadline on 17th November 2009 when the Grad schemes start in September 2010? OK, they need to select the best candidates for the interviews that will take place in January (BTW, don’t forget about me!) It must be a tough job to be in charge of the selection process. The pressure must be huge! At least I hope that it is, there is lots of pressure on our side too. Being in top 100 (out of nearly 2000 application) is just beyond belief. But I still have my hope.

This whole process of applying for Grad Schemes whilst still at Uni has lots of cons. I am under so much pressure to succeed. I feel like I have to show everyone that I am capable of getting into a good Scheme, finishing University with Honours, have shiny personal life and be always at hand to advice or counsel others.

I am no superwoman!

I also need to get the counsel and feel that you trust me and appreciate everything I do. Since I am a person who would do anything just to be there for my friends and family, I spend a lot of time putting them first. I need to become more assertive otherwise anyone will get to me and will hurt me. Or perhaps just think a bit more about my needs.

In the light of the recent changes (or rather attempt to change things) I took one day off and went to the town centre to have a look around shops and so on. It was quite nice to do something by myself, with no one I knew around. It did get a bit lonely in the end though. The first person who actually spoke to me yesterday was this random 40-something guy at the bus stop. He asked me what country I was from. When I told him he said “Oh, I thought so, you Czechs are nice people” Hmmmm. What did he mean with that? I usually get some stupid comments or invitations to do whatever...I always ignore these things. But this guy put a smile on my face for some reason. Perhaps I needed to hear something nice.


Today is Friday and I have many things on my agenda for today and the weekend so I should better start with number 1. There is an assignment on “Ownership of the Czech Media” due next Wednesday. All I know is that some 90% of Czech media are owned by foreigner companies. I still haven’t found a link to Rupert Murdoch but I feel I am getting close.

 Photograph: Saul Loeb/Getty Images

Being an Involuntary Twitter Spammer

This week, together with many others, I’ve become a target of hackers on Twitter. Unfortunately, I didn’t see it coming! Why was that? Aren’t I experienced enough in the online world to assume that not everyone wants to network but also make my day a real pain and laugh like mad on my account? I must admit my 6th sense failed this time.



I received an innocently looking DM from @thegreenmama. She is really interesting person to follow so when she DMd me I didn’t find anything wrong and I clicked on the link that was added to her tweet. Yeah this was only the beginning. The link was phishing. And I stupidly enough entered my log-in details. Someone kick me right now please!! But nobody did...

 After few hours many people @ or DMd me that my account was compromised. The number of DMs went from 50 to 65 in just 20 minutes and even more came later. This would be fantastic if it was in any other occasion. I did change my password as soon as I found out but still felt very ashamed for having to apologise for my stupidity. Sorry folks one more time!

I’ve changed my opinion about social media after this. They are fantastic, can give us lots of freedom, let us ‘meet’ all sorts of great people but in the same time they can compromise our credibility and literally ruin our online lives within seconds. Something we all have been building for months can be gone in a blink of the eye. Poor @thegreenmama, I don’t think that she noticed the attack on her Twitter account because I’ve just received another suspicious DM from her. Please, somebody tell her! I tried but no luck...



As I said, I am going to come back down to Earth now and see if I can save the broken bits of my social media presence. I need your trust in me and my decisions. I failed once, I‘ve learned from my mistakes and I will be much more careful from now on.

Grad PR Job Hunt Cont'd

As I mentioned in my previous post my job hunt has started. In the search for the perfect 2010 PR Grad Scheme I decided to do something slightly unusual – visit the Autumn Graduate Fair sponsored by The Independent. It was quite hard to find it to start with, particularly if you go with friends and you are not in charge of the map –thnx Howie :) The venue for this event was located in between Victoria and St James' Park in the beautiful Royal Horticultural Halls.


I must say that I found it slightly disappointing. Since I am passionate about Public Relations and all that comes with it, I really don’t want to apply for IT Consulting, HR or Finance Business Placement. I may consider Management Consulting or the fancy Bloomberg Summer Internship programme but I am a PR girl...
 
I wish there was more of these Grad Job Fairs available in London before Christmas. I should perhaps consider organising one that will serve the need of us, PR & Events Management & Marketing & Advertising & Marketing Communications & Journalism & Sociology etc. graduates. I don’t want to sound like a person that moans about everything, but honestly there was nothing for me on the Show. I received this interesting email prior to the event with a list of matched companies, based on my profile and preferred sectors. One of them: ‘Cisco Systems - Associate Sales Representative’ – seriously? What a joke! I hate sales.
 
There is one good outcome of this. I finally found the time to sit down and update my C.V. and start working on my online PR Portfolio. The latter still needs some polishing since I want to include my student assignments too. At the end of the day I am a PR student and what else can represent what I am capable of better than examples of my hard work at Uni?

I noticed this poll at LinkedIn: ‘When hiring a public relations employee, what area is most important?



A Education
B Current media Contacts
C Writing ability
D Previous agency experience
E Spokesperson experience’


What would you pick? Only one answer counts. Isn’t it fantastic?

I always thought that a person comes in a package. We all have culture background that affects our life choice, ethics and many other things. I will have BA in PR but does it mean I have great writing skills? I have done very relevant PR internship but is it enough? I have worked on a large media contact database but is it what you expect? I don’t have experience as a spokesperson but can’t I learn it? I wonder what will be the result of this poll. Here is the link. So feel free to vote. Don't forget to let me know what you picked. I am curious.

Overall, this week wasn’t very successful in terms of finding one great looking PR Grad Scheme. Hope that the next week will be better. I’m staying optimistic.

Search for a Grad Job Position in PR Starts Right Now

I have noticed that some great and very desirable to work for communications organisations and companies are receiving application for the Graduate Scheme for the year 2010 already. The WPP has a deadline for the Fellowship Programme 2010 on the 17th November for instance! That is really early! I suppose they want to find the right candidates who will spend the time working for them in different positions, possibly across the world. I have to start working on my PR portfolio ASAP so I will have time to submit a presentable and worth the time to read application.

WPP Group is one of the organisations I would love to work for once I graduate. There is still so much to discover in PR and Communications in general and being accepted into the fellowship programme would mean a lot to me. I feel like I have so much to offer and I am not frightened to fight for what I deserve. I really don’t want to end up as some real estate receptionist or anything similar. I am a naturally committed person who loves PR and doesn’t let anyone down. I even hate to be late.

Due to the fact that I am 24 already, I think I have a clearer idea of what I want to achieve in my life. I want to prove to myself, that I am capable of delivering a fantastic job and being rewarded financially. Having an internship is a great experience but it doesn’t pay anything for all the time spent working really hard. I need to see some results and in return some appreciation.

I know I have what it takes but unfortunately it is not enough. Over the next two weeks I will have to undertake a huge research into the deadlines as well as update my CV. I want to be original and I have some creative ideas that I want to do before I apply. I know that it means lot of extra work, alongside Uni stuff and so on, but it is a key to attract attention and win my interview. My PR portfolio is going to be simply awesome!

Well, I should better start right now!

Back to Uni - This Time as a SENIOR!

After nearly a four-month break I returned to London Metropolitan University to finish my studies of Public Relations & Events Management. As a senior I have obvious advantages. I know the location of most of the lecture and seminar rooms, I know that if I need something from the undergraduate centre I should better email or call than queue for hours in hot and steamy corridors of the Stapleton House, and so on. It is fun to watch the freshers who are constantly getting lost with their timetable and a map in their hands. Oh gosh, how long has it been since I was a fresher? Feels like ages ago.

I had to make some changes to my timetable at first. I swapped year long Dissertation module with Project module (spring semester). Over the summer I have realised that I am much more interested in Public Relations that in Events Management so my choice was clear and easy: Public Relations Dissertation/Project. I am already thinking about the topic and I think I have a pretty good idea of what I am going to devote my individual work to.

My timetable for the autumn semester is as the following
1. Venue Management for Events
2. Public Relations Strategy
3. Current Issues in Events Management
4. Globalisation and the Mass Media

I am lovin’ my modules. I’ve been to all of them already and I think I will have so much fun this semester. All of the assignments are so interesting and I already know that I will learn a lot. Venue Management for Events will see me attending an event – Elton John’s concert in Wembley Arena as a volunteer and observing the venue services and facilities – this is so exciting! The lecturer is the ever so fabulous Nicole Ferdinand.

My lecturer for Public Relations Strategy is already well known to me from the previous semester: Gareth Thompson. He taught the Technology & PR module. We will have to work in groups to create a BRIEF presentation as a client to an agency and then individually come up with the appropriate PR strategy based on the brief. I can’t wait to crack on this one.

Current Issues in Events Management are taught by a new young lady who is so fabulous. She certainly knows what she is talking about. The assessment of this module is a report and then an exam. I think that once I do all the readings I should be just fine. It is all about the common sense.

The lady lecturer for Globalisation and the Mass Media is so passionate about her module. She has completely captivated my attention. We will attend the London Film Festival in Week 3 as a part of this module, which is just so fantastic! We are going to see a new British film ‘The Scouting Book for Boys’ at the VUE cinema in Leicester Square.

As I said before, this semester is filled with excitement and a strong will to discover and learn new things. It is something I never experienced before, I used to be scared of doing things like presentations or group work. But now I look forward to everything what this semester brings along! Fingers cross that my attitude will stay this positive.