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Brief Interviewer Before Meeting For Advertising

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VICTORIA A. ARLIA
294 McKenzie Drive | Pittsburgh, PA 15235
H: 724-984-1569 | C: 724-922-7591 | varlia@msn.com


February 15, 20—

Geoff Tolley
Copy Supervisor
Blattner/Brunner
One Oxford Center
Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Dear Mr. Tolley,

After our brief discussion last Friday, I assumed it would be helpful if I provided you with an insider's view of my experience before our meeting today. (You know - a kinda "crib sheet", if you will.) So, with just hours to spare, here's the skinny...

A glimpse of my experience...
I've spent the last six years calling myself an advertising copywriter (four of those with actual business cards to prove it), honing critical experience in both the consumer and business-to-business markets. From direct mail and print campaigns to radio and television, I've written for many mediums to both develop and assist clients at they prepared for market introductions, product launches and the daunting world of cyberspace. (Okay, in between interning and volunteering, freelancing and consulting, I have also spent considerable hours bartending, where I've almost perfected a wicked, but yummy Banana Chocolate Martini.)

How trade show experience puts the squeeze on my competition...
At élan communications, I had the outstanding opportunity to work for a wide range of world-class clients, both national and international. As the in-house agency of Exhibitgroup/Giltspur, the world's largest exhibit company, élan afforded me the chance to focus on the fast-paced world of trade show marketing. In addition to strategizing and conceptualizing year-long trade show campaigns, I've produced everything from journal advertisements and pre-show mailers to marketing collateral and internal correspondence. I also had the opportunity to travel, work closely with client teams and product managers, and really learn an area of "full-service marketing" most marketing professionals know little about.

Other riveting credentials...
...proficient in researching, interviewing, editing, and proofreading. My spelling-stellar, and my grammar-solid. I skim magazines for the ads, surf the web for kooky sites and play a mean game of Ad-Mania, just to marvel at my useless bank of pop-cult knowledge. (Oh, and did it mention I can dazzle you with one helluva funky martini?)

And, since you're gonna ask, "yes, I am employable"...

I'll probably begin to answer that question with some canned response about the wonderful opportunities I had working with some of our city's best creatives, possessing highly functional, detail-oriented ability and an innate proficiency for organization, but for the sake of brevity, (huh???brevity???) I'll nail it to the core: I am good at what I do because I've decided to make an "honorable" living doing what I love. But, the martini talen is always a bonus.


Look forward to meeting with you,

Victoria A. Arlia

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William S. Frank, M.A.,
            President/CEO
25 Reasons I love consulting.
by William S. Frank
  1. Brand. You are your own brand, and you can define it any way you want. For many years, I provided outplacement to the ex-employees of Schlumberger, the world's largest oilfield service corporation. When departing employees left the company, they didn't request outplacement in their severance package. They said, "I want Bill Frank."
  2. Demand. The world will always be full of terrible problems that need solving.
  3. White Hat. I can be a helper and get paid for it.
  4. Pay. I can be paid to do things I'd gladly do for nothing.
  5. Variety. Every day is different.
  6. Happiness. At this stage of my career, I only work for people I respect and care about. If a client micromanages me or is otherwise no fun, I complete the assignment and replace them.
  7. Talent. I'm using 110% of my talents and stretching myself to the max.
  8. Change. I can change my focus any day I want. If you're a McDonald's franchisee, you don't say, "Hey, I've got this great idea for a meatball sandwich—let's try it out today." In consulting you can adjust your focus hour-by-hour, as long as your clients still understand and appreciate what you do.
  9. Income. No one else would pay me as much as I pay myself.
  10. FUN. I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing.
  11. Retirement. I can write and consult as long as I am physically and mentally capable. Peter Drucker worked into his 90s, and when asked which book was his best, he said: "My next one."
  12. Job Security. Although clients come and go, no one can come into my office and say, "Pack up your stuff . . . You don't work here anymore." In 29 years, I've only had one employer: ME.
  13. Travel. I don't have to travel unless I decide to. I travel if it's both FUN and profitable—or at least FUN.
  14. Commute. I live five minutes from my office, a corner office in an upscale six-story tower. In winter, I leave a heated garage at home and drive to an underground heated garage at work. There's seldom time to hear even one song on the radio.
  15. Vacation. Consulting is more fun than vacation (except on Wailea Beach in Maui).
  16. Friends. I have developed hundreds of close acquaintances and several lifetime friends.
  17. Time. I can work as much or as little as I like: four-hour days or 18-hour days. (Of course, my income will reflect that.)
  18. Employees. I can work with employees, subcontractors, partners, or alone—I've done it all.
  19. Passive Income. I've developed several products that provide "mailbox money." I earn while I'm sleeping.
  20. Ethics. I've never had to violate my values or personal code of ethics. I've never had to lie, purposely deceive or harm others, or promise things I can't deliver. I go to bed with a clear conscience. That doesn't mean there's never any conflict. But the conflict is conducted according to generally accepted business practices.
  21. Virtual. My career is fairly portable. With the Internet, e-mail, cell phone, and FedEx, I can work nationally, even internationally from my office—or anywhere in the world.
  22. Purpose. I make a difference in peoples' lives every day. I see it in their faces, hear it in their voices, and read it in their thank-yous.
  23. Experience. Every painful or joyful life experience makes me a better consultant. So does every person I meet or book I read. Grey hair can be good in consulting.
  24. Structure. I have to work very hard, and the clients expect superb results—but I get to structure my days, weeks, months, and years.
  25. Boss. Most of the time, I love my boss.
As I was posting these letters online, I realized I want to communicate my love for consulting. It's just a great business. The single letters, taken together, may create a picture of enjoyment, but in a burst of creativity I listed some of the reasons consulting is such a good fit for me—and perhaps for you, too. They are not prioritized; this is just how they came out.