Minutes 3/26/12

Prepared by: Jacqueline Pfeiffer
Present: Carmen, Brooke, Leah, Casey, Jordan, Robert, Remington

Presentation:  Brooke presented the minutes from our last class.  Suzanne mentioned that Brooke did a really nice job of breaking up the different discussions/topics.

Topic: Oprah in St. Louis!  Oprah visited Sweetie Pie’s, which is located in the Grove, and the class watched a video of her visit.  We discussed Oprah’s influence over brands and mentioned that this was very good for Sweetie Pie’s brand.

  

Group Work:  The two branding groups met one final time to talk about concluding presentations.  Suzanne said that giving closure to a presentation is something that we all need to work on and something that is very important.  She said that it’s okay to use key works (In conclusion…), but you need to be graceful about the way you do it.

Presentations:  Both of the branding groups presented their proposals for improving Charlack’s image.  Robert, Leah, Jordan, and Casey changed Charlack’s name to “Hightop” and proposed splitting the city into a residential area on one side of the highway and a business district, complete with casinos and lodging, on the other.  Brooke, Carmen, Remington, and Jacqueline proposed rebranding Charlack by emphasizing its park, encouraging community gardens, and holding wellness events to improve community spirit.

Discussion: What do you do to prepare for an interview?  The class suggested a number of things including: researching the company and/or the interviewer, dressing appropriately, using breath mints, relaxing, smiling, arriving early, anticipating “classic” interview questions, and using a firm handshake.

Topic: First impressions.  Suzanne told us that first impressions are essential in interviews.  Often, superficial things, like appearance, are very important and the interviewer forms his opinions on these aspects almost immediately.  A person’s comfort with their knowledge about the company and the job they are applying for also plays a huge role in the interviewer’s opinion of them.  To go along with this, Suzanne mentioned the “fundamental attribution error,” which occurs when a person makes an assumption that leads to another assumption.  For example, if you saw someone wearing a motorcycle jacket, you might also assume that they are a risk taker. 

Topic: Interview questions.  Today, the trend for interviewers is to use open-ended questions.  For example: “tell me about a time when you had to multitask, how did you prioritize your work?”  These questions allow them to determine personality traits, but aren’t a great indicator of a person’s future success in a company.   To prepare for these types of questions, Suzanne mentioned using the “star method,” which you use by thinking of a situation, task, your action, and the result.  Each should be very specific and you should be able to article them in a sentence or two. Another type of interview is the structural interview, which asks very specific questions and therefore is a better indicator of traits, but they are not common outside of large companies.  

Next class we will read an article that dispels a number of interview myths.  For Wednesday, everyone should have read the first part of Delivering Happiness and come prepared with five discussion questions on a piece of paper.