Blog #4

I have done more this summer than I have probably done in the past two years. From the responsibilities I was given to the responsibilities I gave myself I truly was the busiest I have ever been in my entire life. I created an entire new filing system & binders for all things current and past. Additionally one of the first things I decided to undertake was cataloging all the artwork in the building and gathering all information and paperwork for each piece. Considering there are more than 50 noteworthy pieces in the building I didn't know what I had gotten myself into. I definitely learned first-hand knowledge about contemporary art and dealt with everyone from Bangkok to London, to Paris in seeking information on the pieces. That entire project took me the whole 8 weeks pretty much considering how much work was needed to put into it. I created a massive spreadsheet for each piece in addition to a binder that is meticulously organized by artist's last name with all the artwork's documents in a sleeve behind a printed picture of the piece. The whole purpose of this project was to get an appraisal for insurance on the pieces.
In addition to the art, I was in charge of writing all checks to all celebrities, PR companies, employees, etc. This gave me an in-depth knowledge that not many people get. I saw all money coming in to the company and all money going out- and know exactly what each payment was for. I had (and still have & operate) my Talent Resources email address which aided me in being received as more professional as opposed to being an "intern". At all events I was introduced as "assistant" as opposed to "intern" which was really nice. I worked with The Teaologist as a bartender for a Kelly Bensimon jewelry sale event. Additionally I attended the 2011 Kemba Walker NBA Draft After Party and was in the VIP with Chris Paul, Rudy Gay, Stephen Curry, Jared Dudley to name a few. I was able to attend a private showing of the Broadway show Priscilla Queen of the Desert for a fundraiser for Governor Cuomo. I also went to a private charity fashion show at the Gansevoort Park hotel with model Jaslene Gonzales and designer Stephen Mikhail. I organized the entire transportation for our biggest event of the summer: Piaget Charity Polo Classic hosted by Nic Roldan. I rented our SUV for Talent Resources employees to get to and from the Hamptons, in addition to designing information cards about our company for all guests in attendance. I also rented and drove the Uhaul in Southampton in order to transport all the stuff for the Polo event to the next event on Sunday. I also was in charge of the door/guestlist so I was in charge of turning people away and letting them in. Since the event was a charity event I set up all the forms of payment. I was in charge of setting up and maintaining our PayPal account in addition to figuring out an on-site payment system so people can donate money on site with their credit cards. I used the app Square-Up and brought my iPad and used the small card reader to swipe everyone's credit cards to make donations for the charity: Rally for Kids with Cancer. Among those in attendance was Miami Heat's Chris Bosh & his fiancee, Asher Roth, Kelly Rutherford, Meeka Claxton, Deena Lohan, Kathy & Richard Hilton among others. I also attended the Svedka After After Party hosted by Rob Kardashian at the Yotel. Celebrities in attendance were Theresa Guidice & her husband, Angelina from Jersey shore, Adrianne Bailon, Denise Richards, Melissa Gorga & husband. I met Shenea Grimes in the office she was really nice. I also attended the Rue La La NYC Launch party at the Rivington Hotel in SoHo. Additionally I was in charge of posting job listings, hiring and interviewing candidates to replace my position. This part was probably the most interesting for me because I was able to see hundreds (and I mean hundreds) of resumes and cover letters. This part alone gave me SO much confidence because the resumes and cover letters were absolutely TERRIBLE. Maybe I am extremely anal when it comes to that but ideally a candidate would have both resume & cover letter in PDF form, and one page each. You could not imagine how many people sent in resumes that were 2 pages long with basic formatting and in .doc form. A lot of people sent in pictures (which was not asked of course) which I thought was really unprofessional considering this is not a modeling job. Matthew actually informed me that we cannot hire people who attach pictures to their resumes because it is considered discrimination.
I feel this internship has given me a ton of confidence and a deeper knowledge of myself. I was able to see my work ethic in comparison to the other interns in the office and how I am able to work in a setting where I am essentially an employee instead of an intern. I definitely am interested in working for Talent Resources in the future and am going to schedule a meeting with Mike Heller & his mother in Los Angeles since they asked me to aid in opening their Los Angeles offices and oversee our house in Malibu that we hold events at.
I have a lot I need to improve on but I know what I need to work on therefore I feel like I have completed half the battle.
I had an amazing summer and made so many new friends and contacts and definitely a job offer for the future!

Blog #3

All the departments at Talent Resources fascinate me. I would love to be Carbon Copied or Blind Carbon Copied on every email sent in addition to having the time to read all of them. I think the department that interests me the most, probably because I know the least amount about it, i. Companies call that department all day every day saying how much they have to spend on a celebrity appearing at their event or holding their product. I think the dynamics of working in a department where relationships with celebrities and their publicists is key is really exciting to me. The problem is that there is so much going on in that department I barely get a chance to talk to anyone there to learn about what they do. The head of that division is Matt Kirschner and he is a genius. He is so good at what he does, I truly envy his passion and enthusiasm for his work everyday. Although very young, he makes huge deals and executes large events with precision. I have gotten to ask him a few questions after 6pm (end of the workday) when things aren’t AS crazy. I was able to ask him how he got to where he was today at Talent Resources and what advice he has for someone like me who is interested in working their way up in the company. He said what he did was he stalked Mike (our CEO/founder). He literally followed him everywhere, sat in on every meeting, paid close attention to how he spoke about the company, and studied him like a hawk. Through this “stalking” as he called it, he was able to take Mike’s style of talking and pitching to clients and make it his own. I also think that in this company (from personal experience) it is always ok for an intern to ask to sit in on a meeting or phone call to learn. The worst that could happen is they could say no, but the possibilities of things that could happen from being proactive are endless. I find that in this industry, people are so focused on the million things that they are doing, that they really cannot take time to hold an intern’s hand. I really like that though, I definitely feel like I never had training wheels and just figured everything out for myself. This is a very “self-starter” type company in the sense that I absolutely have the chance to leave a footprint behind me when I leave here. Most companies, interns come and go and they never are given any sort of freedom to change or give ideas. I will continue to ask Matt questions when I am able to tie him down and make him listen! I still want him to elaborate on advice he would give me in addition to telling me how he arrived at Talent Resources. s Celebrity Resources. Celebrity Resources, is where all the celebrity wrangling happens

Blog #2: Computer Literacy

At my internship, we spend all day on our computers/laptops sending emails, making spreadsheets, answering phone calls, and tracking media impressions. One thing that I have noticed is the lack of computer literacy of those of us working in the office. I have realized the absolute imperative need for a computer course in school and/or integration into the job. Computers are not intuitive for everyone, and not everyone has a "self-starter" type of attitude to where they might call IT instead of trying to figure out the answer for themselves. We spend so much money on an IT guy to come in to our work to help us with issues that most likely would not occur if everyone was basic-trained in Apple computers and software programs. This first hand, on-site experience of the immense importance of computer literacy supports my decision to take as many computer courses as I can during my senior year. I am already signed up to take two for the fall, but in addition I am going to take advantage of the Annenberg workshops that teach us how to use various software programs. I think that even though everyone in the work force (in my industry) has a computer and email address, their level of literacy is not where it should be. I find myself helping people at work with computer questions and teaching them shortcuts that save precious time. I was excited to learn that the Apple store here in SoHo has an auditorium that has an ongoing schedule of classes that is open to the public on everything from basic training to advanced software usage. Hopefully before the end of the program I will be able to make it to a few of those classes and share what I have learned at work.

Freedom of the Press?

I read the news obsessively on my Blackberry at least 4-5 times a day. Usually, I go to KTLA.com first because they have the juiciest stories. I understand this is possibly because of their sub-par journalistic standards, since they usually post facts that aren't 100% verifiable. Next I go to LAtimes.com, then CNN.com. Usually I pick websites that have a good mobile format for my Blackberry OS so I can easily navigate the news I want to access. Now that you know my routine I will share a recent experience.

I have been following the story of the tragic beating of Matthew Stow, the Giants fan who was brutally beaten on opening day at Dodgers' stadium. This story really struck home with me because I am from Northern California and while I am not an avid MLB fan I am an avid NBA fan. The Northern vs Southern California rivalry is very strong and I definitely feel that tension living in Laker territory now, as a Los Angeles transplant. I still proudly wear my Sacramento Kings jersey on game days if I go to Staples. After Matthew Stow's senseless beating for wearing the wrong colors, it has made me think a little harder about celebrating my hometown pride here.

Early Sunday morning I was reading the news like I always do before I went to sleep and read a story that the LAPD had captured one of Stow's attackers. I immediately called my parents and told them the news since I knew they had been following the story closely as well. I was very happy at least one of these men was off the streets and that he could possibly lead detectives to the accomplices in the beating. Just yesterday, I read on LA Times that the Chief of Police for the LAPD was very upset at a few news sources for posting a mug shot of the alleged attacker. Apparently not all the witnesses of the attack had viewed a photo lineup of the suspect, and with these leaked photos it could compromise the case. The LAPD is relying solely on witness identification and with these leaked photos, the defense can easily throw those identifications out. This made me so upset, especially since one of the news sources that had allegedly leaked the photo was KTLA. Just this afternoon I was again reading the news on KTLA hoping that they might mention something about the photo or about the investigation and I was appalled to see that they had the photo up on their website of one of the alleged attackers Giovanni Ramirez. In the previous stories I had read on KTLA I had not seen a photo of him, but after reading that LATimes article, I was extremely upset at KTLA for continuing to plaster the attacker's face on their website- potentially compromising an entire case.

This made me think, is KTLA just hiding behind the First Amendment? Do they feel that despite an ongoing investigation, that the public has the right to see the picture of Ramirez? I personally see no use in posting his picture since he is captured and poses no threat to the public. I would respect KTLA a lot more if they followed more stringent journalistic guidelines... but then again I read their news knowing that they have loose morals when it comes to fact checking and other journalistic guidelines. But am I just perpetuating this bad behavior by feeding into it? Most definitely. I suppose if I am that upset with them I should stop supporting their news site, but I just want to have both sides of the story. I read a few different sources in order to attempt to get a more well rounded picture of a story. These are just a few of my thoughts on a current story that is at the forefront of my mind at the moment.