Name: Diana Rodriguez
Degree (Major/Emphasis): Communication in Entertainment and Tourism
Graduation Year: Spring 2019
Current Position (Location/Station): Santa Ana, CA
Title: Project Coordinator, Recruiter

diana_rodriguez

What made you choose your major/career?

  • I chose Comm. as a major because I wanted to communicate better with people and it's a broad major, you can do anything with that degree. The career I chose is half communication and half HR, I write the company's newsletter and handle recruiting by phone screening, review resumes, and the onboarding process.

What communication classes do you recommend students take?

  • Media design class, I think it was COMM 301? Very handy when you want to learn art communication.

Share with us a pivotal experience at CSUF that got you to where you are today:

  • Working on the LCI newsletter. I was still exploring in what field I wanted to get into, and becoming the LCI newsletter editor helped me with that. I got to meet new people on campus and write stories about special events that were happening on campus.

What do you do in your job (duties)?

  • I work with the Talent Acquisition Manager, screen resumes, phone interview candidates, coordinate interviews with the hiring managers, participate in local career fairs, use social media, job boards, internet sourcing, and other technical means to source candidates for open jobs.

What do you think helped you land your current position?

  • Because of my internship at OCTA, I made a portfolio of all the flyers I did, the on-air script for the Spanish radio, and keep track of meeting minutes during our quarterly diversity outreach meetings. Also, I was the newsletter editor for LCI, and every month I wrote content to fill information for students/alumni of what they needed to know, as well as featuring them on the first part of the newsletter calling it the "LCI Spotlight."

How did LCI help you?

  • I engaged more with networking events and I got the opportunity to be the newsletter editor for my senior year at CSUF. I connected more with people in the networking events and the job opportunities that get posted on the LCI Facebook page; with that, I landed my internship at OCTA.

Advice: to students pursuing a career in your field:

  • Be open to anything that you see yourself doing, even if you're scared. I follow Neely Galan's quote where she says, "If you're afraid, do it anyway!"

How have your goals and aspirations changed since you graduated?

  • To be honest, yes. I wanted to work in the social media world and do campaigns for different brands and companies, but all of that has changed ever since I started my first FT job at Cordoba. I started with recruiting and I love it! Bringing new people on-board and doing interviews are some things I didn't know I would fall in love with doing.