Name: Katherin King
Degree: Strategic Communication
Expected Graduation Date: May 2016
Company: Buxton
Buxton Customer Analytics Company didn’t have a communications position available for Katherine King, so the company made one for her.
King met her boss at one of OSU’s career fairs. Buxton is a company that helps retailers, restaurants and health care systems understand who their best customers are and where they are. Managing recruiting efforts is one of King's responsibilities. This includes coordinating employee speaking engagements at universities and conferences, such as representing Buxton at career fairs.
“My role here has grown drastically since last May,” King said. “I wear a lot of hats, as many marketing people say.”
Her duties include writing press releases and blog posts, managing company social media plans, creating the Buxton internal newsletter and leading committees.
King uses several skills acquired throughout her undergraduate studies. These skills include Associated Press style writing and the fundamentals of graphic design.
“OSU gave me the skills to be creative in a strategic way,” King said.
Being in Gina Noble’s Advanced PR Writing course on the Monday after the 2015 OSU Homecoming Parade, a tragedy for OSU, is one of King’s fondest memories in the Paul Miller Building Noble spent this class period teaching crisis communication.
“It was sad but a learning experience and real-life example of what you have to do in a crisis situation,” King said.
King’s advice for sophomores and juniors is to be involved in professional clubs and organizations.
“I joined AdClub and PRSSA late in my college career, and I wish I would’ve known these clubs were important to potential employers,” King said. “Employers were not as impressed with my involvement in a sorority as they were with my professional experience.”
King advises graduating seniors is to be confident and knowledgeable about personal wants and desires.
“I wish I would’ve known out of school to be more confident in myself and in what I wanted to do,” King said. “This was all a question mark when I didn’t know what value I could bring to a company.”
King also advises students to learn how to morph personality characteristics for a professional setting, whether these characteristics are extroverted or introverted.
“Learn how to place your personality in a professional setting and make it work for your benefit,” King said.