Translation LLC

           

            I was first introduced to Translation in my one credit Career Planning course, which I mentioned in my previous post, when my teacher showed us an interview of Steve Stout (the Founder and CEO). While the whole video was entertaining, one thing that Stout said that really stood out to me:

“If you put in a very authentic fashion, a packaged good and product in the right proximity to popular culture, you’re gonna have product sales thrive as a result, and the fact that it was written about as a phenomenon and people didn’t understand it. That was my kind of eye opening moment that I could go into that industry and cause that phenomena to happen very consistently”

            I then looked more extensively into what Translation was about. Do you know remember the Super Bowl Bud light Commercial with Stevie Wonder? That was done by Translation, but it was the new Wrigley Campaign that really caught my attention. Translation reinvigorated the classic yet static brands (double-mint, big red, and juicy fruit) by reanimating the jingle with the help of pop culture icons and artists. Chris Brown, Julianne Hough, and Ne-Yo sang the new jingles for double-mint, juicy fruit, and big red respectively. It is the way that Translation has taken advertising to the next level that made them so appealing to me. It surpasses the “buy now” effect, and has evolved into a culture-creating phenomenon. 

To learn more about Translation you can go to their website: www.translationllc.com

Also, check out my website: www.sebastianstryker.com 

Greenteam Global

          Why GreenTeam? To be honest, the first reason why I chose to apply for an internship there, was because one of my life long friends' father is the VP of Brand Strategy. “It’s all about the people you know”. Don’t get it twisted though; I didn’t want an easy "A". I wanted to get a real sense of this “corporate environment” that everyone always spoke of- I want to work hard. The personal connection just pointed me in the direction of a firm without searching for one. 

            Not only did I know an executive, the company itself is very intriguing to me. GreenTeam’s mission statement is: “to inform, inspire and awaken brands so that people, planet and business can all thrive”. GreenTeam’s Work includes, but is not limited to: National Geographic “A campaign to promote the health of oceans”, Coca-Cola/Walmart “an in-store campaign to promote sustainability”, Jaguar “a campaign to save Jaguar’s namesake” and Dominica “a repositioning of a country”.  

            Who doesn’t like to think of themselves as a humanitarian? A person “of the people, for the people”. I thought to myself: “not only is this the kind of career I want, but I would be doing good, actual good, in the world”.

Learn about the rest of my journey in the up coming posts.

Why I started to create my "own brand"

As i was signing up for classes for what would be my last semester i Stony Brook, i needed 16 more credits to graduate. I signed up for two business classes (Ethics, and Marketing Strategy), two anthropology classes ("Personality and Culture" and "Male and Female"), and a TA position for one of my anthropology professors. I still needed 1 more credit! I went through the class search data base to find a simple 1 credit filler class. I found a simple bullshit class called CAR210:

"Career Planning focuses on a systematic approach to the career planning  process, including goal setting, professional communication, job market trends, and career research strategies. Analyzes the value of extracurricular service, and leadership experiences, and how to convey this value through written and oral presentation. Examines components of successful transition to the workplace."

Never would i have expected that this class would have such a profound impact on me. The class made me really think about what my goals and objectives were and what i wanted to get out of a job, or as i now learned to think of it, a career.

I then started to think about applying for jobs. Where would i apply? How would i apply? Does my resume look good? After some serious thinking i soon realized that i did not have the grades, nor the job experience to land me the job that i wanted. How could i make myself ("my brand") more appealing to a prospective employer? What would happen if they googled "Sebastian Stryker"? Can they find my Facebook account? My Twitter? My Instagram? What is Linkedin? How do i make an account? I had all of these questions and many more running through my head, and couldn't stop thinking about them.

This is why i started to create my "own brand".

Check out my next post to see how i went about it.

www.sebastianstryker.com
www.linkedin.com/in/sebastianstryker

The Start

It all started when the mack truck that reality is hit me right in the faCHe (that CH is pronounced aggressively, "fa-CHE"). For some reason i was under the impression that my charm and whit would get me where i needed to be in life. I put off all the planning, and figured it would take care of itself. Unfortunately, as i assume most of you know by now, that is not how things go. 

My first reality check was when i applied for a job at the Apple Store in the Smith Haven Mall. A close friend of mine, Aybike, was currently working there. She had put in a good word with her manager and got me the opportunity for a first round interview. I showed up to the interview, which was in fact more of a group event, where myself and the other applicants went through a few different exercises. I was on coast; telling jokes, smiling, leading discussions in my group, taking charge in group tasks, an all around crushing. I left without a doubt in my mind that the job was mine. I told my dad how i would be able to get him a discount once a year, and even how great it would look on my resume. A few weeks later a received an email (which i will take a screen shot of) that informed me that i did not make it to the next interviewing stage. Later in passing my friend Aybike told me about a conversation that she had with her manager where she mentioned how all i had to say about Aybike was that "she is so little!". It was that one little sentence that i had completely forgot about saying. It was the one small thing i said as i was putting on my jacket and leaving that ruined all the prior work i had done. It was then that i learned i had a long way to come... 

E-mails: 

Letting me know i wasn't chosen:

"Hi Sebastian, 

We wanted to communicate that, with a multitude of incredible, qualified candidates interested in the store, we have certainly had many decisions to make. At this time, we have chosen to move forward with other candidates. Please know that we have carefully reviewed each candidate's experience and skill set before contacting him or her with our ultimate response.

I want to personally thank you for your time and interest in Apple. We wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

Sincerely,"

My response:

"Dear ****** *******,

Thank you for all of your help throughout this process, i am sure you have plenty of people's need to attend to. Might i ask one more favor from you? As unfortunate as it is that i wasn't asked to move on to the next step of the hiring process, it would do wonders for my personal growth to know why i wasn't selected. I don't ask because i am upset or doubt the methods; i ask so that i may improve my interviewing skills, as well as my demeanor in a proper corporate/business environment.

Once again,

Thank you so much for your time.

Sincerely,

Sebastian H Stryker
Stony Brook University, Business School"

Check back in to learn more about how i started the journey to brand myself.