Why Collective Bias Won Me Over!

Hello world!! I am officially a college graduate with, gasp, a JOB and this is my story.

So you may ask, where are you working and how did you make your decision!?  Well just to give some background for those who don’t know me, I’m Annette McCormick and I recently graduated on May 5, from The Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor’s in advertising and public relations.  During my time at Penn State I held various leadership roles such as president of Advertising Club, vice-president of Phroth, amongst other leadership positions and my group of AAF (American Advertising Federation) Competition classmates placed first in the Northeast region for a Nissan sponsored full-encompassing campaign and presented against 12 other colleges across the country in Austin, Texas on June 2, 2012.  As you can see, I was really involved in college.  The first links to getting a job is leadership experience, networking and internships.

My Intro to Collective Bias

When I was a college junior, after an Advertising Club meeting I approached John Andrews with an eager enthusiasm surrounding digital and social media.  After looking like a stalker (he wound up presenting to every class I was in) in all my 400-level communications classes, he eventually said that I should think of CB and submit a resume, etc.  And after a few interviews I was hired as an intern…in Arkansas! Now, for a New York girl this was the most intimidating part.  I had never been to the South, much less for a whole summer!

My CB Summer Internship

After being at CB for one day, it was clear to me that the atmosphere and culture in Northwest Arkansas was not only pleasant but truly enjoyable.  The biggest question I would always get from friends was, “Arkansas!? What’s in Arkansas?” or my favorite, “Well at least it’s close to the ocean so you will always be at the beach”.  My response was a slight chuckle and a “you have no idea where Arkansas is do you?”

As an intern I can genuinely say that I received a top-notch education on blogger-brand interaction, understanding social media analytics and brand development.  All of this knowledge made an invaluable impact on my experience as a senior in college, and perhaps even provided me with an edge of real-world experience.  No intern coffee runs for the office, instead I was treated as a valued employee who went on client meetings, event promotions (San Diego!) and only occasionally did mailings, etc.

By now I’m sure you all can assume that I am a new hire for Collective Bias.  I am so excited to share with you my story and my reasons to come to CB.

Why CB and Arkansas won me over:

1.   Company culture.  Right away this was a big factor for me.  I knew from day one that CB fosters a creative and collaborative environment with respectable, personable employees.  I would never want to work for a company that hires insufferable people. The people I work with are hands down the best.

2.   Experience. I will continue to gain experience and knowledge from all levels of our staff.  I find it very admirable that senior-level employees are just as accessible and willing to assist you in any way possible.

3.   Positive hear-say.  Penn State has the third largest alumni network in the country with “one of every 117 Americans with a college degree is a Penn State graduate”.**  Needless to say, when other companies were giving me offers or showing interest, I would ask around to see what I would be doing for a certain company as an entry level.  Almost all of those honest answers helped me pick my best fit at CB.

4.   Financially a good option.  Hey, let’s be real.  I have student loans and Arkansas allows for cheaper living options than a major city, but as you can see being happy going to work each day is way more important than a specific salary or location.

5. DOGS IN THE OFFICE.  ’Nuff Said

6.  Tossed into the Fire.  This was certainly scary, but within the first few days of work, or let’s be honest the first day, I was given a lot of responsibility and projects.  For someone like me, who strives with situations like this, it was a breath of fresh air that a company would trust me this early on in my career.   A lot of companies like to “train” their new hires for three months, which simply means you can’t touch any piece of business, I like to call it babysitting, so thankfully I don’t have that here!  (Granted CB does do onboarding, training as-you-go etc., but the level of trust and responsibility are outstanding).

I thank my lucky stars I’m with CB!

**http://admissions.psu.edu/info/alumni

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