Marketing You!

In today's competitive job market, job seekers and career changers need to stand out from the rest of the resume-and-cover-letter set. One of the best ways to market yourself is to emphasize skills that you possess beyond the standard qualifications.

If you are a real estate agent, you do a lot more than just sell property. You have good interpersonal skills; you read, explain and negotiate contracts; you can assess the value of a piece of property and you work independently. Each of these skills is considered "transferable" because it can easily be transferred from one profession to another.

Identifying your transferable skills is a major focus of Sabine Gross-Vasquez's class, "Marketing You: Personal and Career Development Strategies," Tuesdays from 5 to 9 p.m. beginning Jan. 10. The course was initially designed to prepare international students, who are enrolled in UCR Extension's Post Graduate Management Program, for internships. "It's about who are you, what do you want out of life and how do you get there," Gross-Vasquez said.

She covers resume writing, networking strategies, interviewing skills and negotiation techniques. The text is the best-selling, job-hunting book "What Color Is Your Parachute? A Practical Manual for Job Hunters and Career Changers." In one exercise, Gross-Vasquez assigns her students to write a story about themselves and their goals. They talk about hurdles or obstacles they have faced, what they did to overcome them and what the measurable outcome was. The stories reveal a host of skills that students may not realize they have such as building, writing, diagnosing and creating. "It basically jolts the memory," Gross-Vasquez said.

Domestic students review various job listing sites and pick out the jobs they are really interested in. They look at the average income and determine if it is sufficient to support themselves and their families. They also research the steps they need to take to get the job or to move to the next level. For example, most agencies require firefighters to be certified paramedics. Sometimes individuals need to boost their qualifications by enrolling in a certificate program or taking a course in their chosen field.

"Each job entails a skill set and you need to do what you can to make sure you have that skill set," said Gross-Vasquez, who is president of World Wealth Institute, which specializes in real estate, teaching and strategic life planning. She has been teaching business and management courses for UCR Extension since 1986, and was the Instructor Excellence Awardee in Summer 2011.

Learn more about the "Marketing You" class offered at the UCR Extension.

Event Planning: Hollywood Style

How does someone become an event planner to the stars? In addition to creativity, quality work and satisfied customers, it takes connections, connections, connections.

Celebrity event planner Mary Litzsinger was doing marketing for a healthcare company when she planned an event with actress and author Suzanne Somers, who was promoting one of her product lines and, no, it was not the ThighMaster.

After Litzsinger started her own company, VP Events, Inc., in 1993, she continued planning events for Somers while marketing her services to celebrity publicists and others she knew in the entertainment industry. Today, her company is a high-end boutique business catering to celebrities and other high-profile clients and corporations.

Litzsinger's most memorable production was the premier party for ABC TV's "Commander in Chief" series starring Geena Davis as the first female President of the United States in 2005. After talking with Davis about her vision for the event, Litzsinger replicated an inaugural ball featuring a presidential motorcade down Wilshire Boulevard, a red, white, and blue balloon drop and a White House cake. While most of the details were borrowed from the real thing, Litzsinger used her artistic license and swapped the blue on the Presidential seal with pink, which is Davis's favorite color.

"The most important thing you always do is put the needs and wants of the client first," Litzsinger said. Even so, Litzsinger had to postpone start of the event because one of the guests, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, was dealing with a crisis at Los Angeles International Airport where a JetBlue Airbus had to make an emergency landing when the nose wheels jammed. "We had to balance the needs of the client with the needs of the mayor," Litzsinger said. Everything else went off without a hitch but Litzsinger acknowledges that doesn't always happen.

Risk management is one of the topics she will discuss in "Principles of Event Management," a required course for UCR Extension's Professional Certificate in Event Management, which begins January 9. Litzsinger's students will have to identify things that could possibly go wrong with an event and then come up with contingencies to minimize the risk. "You always have to have a Plan B," Litzsinger said. Weather can be major risk especially for outdoor events. Litzsinger recalls desperately searching for a tent at the last minute on a busy holiday weekend. Now, she always has a tent on hold just in case.

Litzsinger's degree in marketing and experience working for corporations planning black-tie dinners, book signings and press conferences, helped her develop the tools she needed for full-scale event production. She also teaches event planning online for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. "I teach because I believe it's really important for people to get some level of education prior to becoming an event planner," Litzsinger said.

Learn more about UCR Extension's Professional Certificate in Event Management.

Doing Business in China

Doing business with China presents many challenges and opportunities for U.S. companies looking to expand overseas. But, despite the obstacles, the reality is international businesses can't afford not to be there.

"You cannot do business in a global economy without being involved with one of the largest players in that economy," said Debbie Mrongowius, an international business consultant. Mrongowius is teaching "Doing Business in China," one of three new classes introduced this year as part of UCR Extension's Certificate in Management with an International Business concentration. The other two classes are "Introduction to International Trade" and "Global Investment Management."

Kathy Craig, program representative for UCR Extension's Business and Management department, said the International Business concentration helps managers or business owners navigate the global environment. "This certificate emphasis is beneficial in learning about the business standards, international trade procedures, adapting marketing to various cultural, political and environmental factors, and business strategies," Craig said.

"Doing Business in China" explores Chinese history, culture and economic structure and how those are reflected in China's business environment. The class begins Thursday, Feb. 16. Mrongowius said some of the potential obstacles faced by foreign businesses in China include:

• China's control over the media and other forms of public information, including the Internet.
• Local level interests and protectionism among individual provinces and municipalities.
• China recently ranked 91 out of 183 countries on the IFC/World Bank Doing Business ranking, which looks at how conducive the regulatory environment is to starting and operating a business in each country.
• Although increased interaction with foreigners has led to a better understanding of one another, there are still many deeply entrenched customs and behaviors that can and will lead to conflict.
• Employee turnover is high, so business managers need to adopt a more hands-on approach to train and develop local staff to insure the business runs smoothly.

Despite the challenges, Mrongowius said China also presents many opportunities including:

• There is a huge pool of talent to be tapped, beyond cheap labor for manufacturing.
• China's historic and cultural ties throughout the region make it an ideal partner for developing business and creating more business opportunities in Asia.
• The potential customer base is huge. Only about 20 percent of China's population is considered wealthy by American standards. That leaves 800 million potential consumers for whom incomes are rising along with access to information.

"Human nature being what it is, people want what they do not have," Mrongowius said. Mrongowius has a bachelor's degree from Cornell University, a master's from the University of Basel (Switzerland), and an MBA from Rutgers. She has lived and worked in Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland, China, US, and Singapore for multinational corporations and as a consultant with academic institutions and non-governmental organizations.

Find out more about "Doing Business In China" and UCR Extension's Certificate in Management with an International Business concentration.

Five ways to reduce stress

Stress Busters for the Holidays and Beyond.

Most everyone goes into the holiday season worrying about something whether it's overeating, finances, health or family. Needless to say, all that worrying creates stress on the brain and the body. Hugh O'Neill, co-owner of Mindful-Way Stress Reduction, teaches proven techniques for reducing the effects of stress on your life. He also has some suggestions to relieve short-term stress including:

1. Put your self care first. Stop putting your wants and needs last after feeding the cat and walking the dog. Put self care on top of your to-do list and you and those around you will be happier and healthier.
2. Look for ways to simplify your life. Minimize the troubling thoughts and images that bombard your brain from watching crime shows on TV, reading about the latest Hollywood break-up or hanging out with unpleasant people. Your body doesn't respond well to such negative input. Garbage in, garbage out.
3. Go for a walk. Savor your surroundings. Look around with a fresh eye. Listen with a fresh ear. Concentrate on your breath as it flows in and out.
4. Pay attention to what you're eating while you're eating. Turn off the TV, put the book away and just focus on your meal. It will improve your digestion and help you eat less.
5. Do something out of your normal routine. Go rock climbing or skydiving. Take a singing class. Volunteer at the local food pantry.

O'Neill's class, "Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction: An Integrated Approach to Health and Well-Bring," offers intensive training in mind-body relaxation techniques, meditation and gentle yoga-based movement. A free information session will be held at 6 p.m. on January 12.

More than 30 years of research on Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) shows that these mind-body practices greatly decrease the negative impact of stress on our health and enhance our lives in many ways. MBSR is about cultivating the ability to pay attention in the present moment to what is going on with us and around us in a non-judgmental way. This can be as simple as concentrating on brushing your teeth and not thinking about your noon appointment.

"We're teaching people to come back to the present because it's the only place we have any decision-making power to influence things in our life," O'Neill said. The course is designed for people dealing not only with stress but with a wide range of conditions including disease, chronic pain, and physical and mental illness. "Stress hormones create health problems as the body responds viscerally to what we think," O'Neill said.

Studies have shown that people, who participate in MBSR, have stronger immune systems and experience measurable health benefits. O'Neill has taught MBSR at Eisenhower Medical Center, Loma Linda University Medical Center, College of the Desert, UC Irvine and for various public and private agencies.

Learn more about the "Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction" course offered at the UCR Extension.

Holiday Fun Facts

Test your Holiday IQ:

How many letters and packages were delivered by the US Postal Service last holiday season?

1. 500 million
2. 1 billion
3. 10 billion
4. 20 billion

Answer: In 1822, the postmaster of Washington, D.C. complained about having to add 16 mailmen to deliver Christmas cards. He proposed limiting the number of cards a person could send during the holiday season. Obviously, he didn't get his wish. Last year, the US Postal Service hired nearly 40,000 temporary workers to deal with the 20 billion-plus cards, letter and packages that were sent during the holidays.

Test your holiday IQ and learn more holiday fun facts by taking the following quiz:

1. If you received all of the gifts in the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas," how many would you receive?
   
   1. 126
   2. 280
   3. 364
   4. 415
2. What is the most popular holiday song played at shopping malls?
   
   1. "Jingle Bells"
   2. "Here Comes Santa Claus"
   3. "White Christmas"
   4. "Frosty the Snowman"
3. China is the leading country of origin for which traditional holiday gifts and items:
   
   1. Christmas tree ornaments
   2. Stuffed animals
   3. Roller skates
   4. All of the above
   5. None of the above
4. What movie appears more often on TV than any other holiday movie?
   
   1. "Miracle on 34^th Street"
   2. "It's a Wonderful Life"
   3. "White Christmas"
   4. "A Christmas Carol"
5. Match the country with the person or thing that brings gifts to children during Christmas:
   

   Syria Germany Russia Norway Italy

   An old woman on an broomstick Grandfather Frost A mischievous elf The smallest camel that accompanied the Three Wise Men An angel with a crown of candles

Answers: 1) C; 2) A; 3) D; 4) B; 5) A-d, B-e, C-b, D-c, E-a

Sources: www.christmas-celebrations.com; US Census Bureau; International Council of Shopping Centers; www.squidoo.com

Weekend Photo Op

Timmy's 10th birthday party. Snap.

New prom dress for Leanna. Snap, snap.

Picture postcard sunset. Snap, snap, snap.

Life is just one giant photo op thanks to the proliferation of iPhones and other camera-equipped cell phones. Whether it's a family gathering or a spectacular display of nature, anyone can point, shoot and share their images in seconds with friends, family and co-workers. But, while the technical quality of cell phone photographs is constantly improving, the creative skills of the photographers are typically mired in the dark (room) ages instead of the digital age.

Jesús Manuel Mena Garza, who has more than 40 years experience in commercial and documentary photography, can help you turn simple, smartphone snapshots into elegant images. His course, "iPhone and iPad Photography," will teach you not only how to take better photographs with your smartphones and iPads but also how to store, edit, print, send and display them on blogs that Garza will help you create. The class meets from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays, Jan. 21, 28 and Feb. 4.

The trick to turning snapshots into treasures is to visualize and analyze the scene before shooting to determine the best way to capture the image. Students will evaluate photographs by masters such as Ansel Adams and Annie Leibovitz and compare them to their own. They will learn how to use composition and lighting to their advantage. Each student will open a free blog account where they can post their photographs and share them with the class. Then, everyone will have the opportunity to honestly evaluate their work.

Garza encourages his students to critique each other's work offering positive feedback and exchanging ideas. "Sometimes students don't listen to the instructor but they will listen to other people in the class," said Garza, who taught at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco before moving to Riverside several years ago. He maintains several photography blogs and a website at www.jmmgarza.com. "In this new class, I expect every student to get better and have fun along the way."

Rising Star

Yvonne Sudarshan, who retired from her career as a pediatrician several years ago, found her second career while meeting with the college counselor at her oldest son's high school in Texas."The job seemed really interesting to me so I asked him 'How do I do what you do?'"

The counselor suggested she look into UCR Extension's Certificate in College Admissions Counseling program. Right away, Sudarshan found the online program to be easily accessible, and the instructors were very knowledgeable, responsive and encouraging to students in the courses. She started the program last year and is finishing her final course, a practicum, this semester.

Sudarshan volunteers in the Counseling Department at her son's high school to get practical experience. She works one-on-one with high school juniors, showing them how to explore colleges, keep track of their applications and develop resumes to enhance their chances of acceptance.

Once she completes the certificate program, Sudarshan will begin her job search. Some Texas public schools require counselors to have three years of teaching experience, but the private and charter schools have different requirements.

"I plan to volunteer for now to get more hands-on experience and then begin looking for an opening in my area," Sudarshan said. Another option she might consider is to start her own private college counseling service.

Learn more about the College Admissions Counseling Certificate program.