Online Reputation

To: Chandler Olson

From: Nathan Stevens

Date: Sep. 26, 2017

Subject: Online Reputation

Memo to Chandler,

            Upon review of his online reputation, we have concluded the following: Chandler Olsen shares minimal information publicly via social media. Most of his online profiles have security settings keep people other than his “friends” from viewing his profile. This could be for privacy reasons or to protect his personal information. This is a smart thing to do; however, it keeps employers from viewing his profile and seeing what he is capable of professionally. Building an online profile can be beneficial in making a good impression for other professionals. That being said, it is his decision regarding his online security.

            I did find posts from an Instagram account. Chandler has a dog. It is a black Dachshund. There are a few pictures on his profile that show him with his dog. There are also a few pictures of him with puppies. I assume that at some point a dog he knows had puppies, but it is definitely safe to assume he likes dogs. Dogs are a great influence on people. They show that people are personable and easy to connect with. I may assume that Chandler is a fairly nice guy and would be easy to work with.

Before college, I could see that he owned a pet snake. This is an interesting choice in pet but again comes back to his love of animals. It was a Brazilian Rainbow Boa. This is a relatively large snake and I am sure it took quite a bit of effort to care for. The snake also had snakelets relatively close to when he sold the snake. I am assuming that he sold the snakelets and made a little bit of money off of them. Just before he moved to college, he sold the parent snake. I am guessing that his new landlord didn’t allow pet snakes.

            The next thing I noticed were his cars. He owns an Acura TL. It is a 2004 – 2006 model painted Champaign white. The headlight and taillights are darkened and the rims are blacked out. There is a drop kit on the suspension and overall it looks like he takes good care of it.  He also owns a white Ford Ranger with a lift kit and big off-roading tires. I’m guessing that it’s a 1991 0r 1992 model. It also looks well maintained. I can gather two things from this. One, I know he likes to work on his cars which means he has experience in mechanics. He also has a “do it yourself” mentality. He can most likely learn to do anything he wants which is a great skill to have in an employee. The second thing is a little different. I also noticed he owns a Honda CRF 250R Dirt bike. This, combined with the customized Acura, gives the impression that he likes to drive fast. He might be a bit of a risk taker. This can be hard as an employer to see for fear of his employee potentially getting into legal trouble. There isn’t anything to worry about though with just a quick background check.

            There are a couple of pictures on Instagram of Chandler at Lake Powell. They are taken in different years and all in the summer time. In one of them, he is riding a surfboard on a boat wake. I think it is safe to assume that he takes a yearly trip to Lake Powell in the summer. He also likes to participate in water sports. In all of the photos, he is with friends and family which makes me think that personal relationships are important to him.

            Chandler also took a trip to New York about three years ago. There is not a lot of detail given on these pictures. The only thing I was able to gather was that he was there for three to four months, most likely in the Summer. I can also see that he went with a group of friends. Given the time period and the season, I am guessing that he was there for either a Summer sales job or a study abroad program. The reason I speculate that is because very rarely do people take a vacation for four months with a group that big.

            A few pictures were taken during that time that weren’t in reference to him being in New York. One was showing a before and after of him getting a haircut. He had probably 18 inches of hair before the cut and only about two to four inches after. In another photo he mentioned that he missed his hair. I am guessing that he either cut it and sold or donated it. If that is the case, that is a respectable thing to do. On the bright side, the shorter hair did make his appearance more professional, which may have helped if he was there for summer sales.

           

            

A Letter to my Cousin

Matt,

            I appreciate you reaching out to me for information about this topic. I hope that my response will help you better understand the basics of technical and professional communication.

 Professional communication can be broken down and defined as follows: according to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary1, professional means “exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, and generally businesslike manner in the workplace.” Communication is defined as “a process by which information is exchanged between individuals…” So, together, technical and professional communication is the process of exchanging information in a courteous, well mannered, and respectful way. You might ask, “How do we do that?” There is no simple answer to that question. In all honesty it was difficult to pick which areas are most important to discuss. After much thought I have decided on two principles that I feel are most important when considering professional communication. They are as follows: identifying your purpose, identifying your audience, and determining the most appropriate method of communication. 

            Having a purpose is essential in communication. Our audience should be the priority of our message and our purpose should be what guides our communication. Identifying a purpose is simple. We need only answer one question: “why?” Why am I writing you this letter? To inform you of what I know about professional communication. Just like that, my purpose is clear and I can go to work on my letter.

Identifying an audience is a little bit harder, but just as important. Knowing our audience will greatly influence how we communicate. For example, I speak to my parents in a different way than I would speak to my friends. I would speak to my employer in a different manner than that of my parents. We change the way we present information based on who we are talking to. Joseph Moxley, of the University of South Florida, advised that we consider four questions when identifying our audience: 1. Who is your primary audience? 2. Is there more than one audience to consider? 3. What circumstances could affect how well your message is received? 4. How much does your audience already know?2 By considering these four questions, we can be sure that our message is appropriate for our intended audience.

            The last principle I want to cover is determining the most appropriate method of communication. Types of communication are broken down into 3 different categories: written, oral, and graphic.3 Written communication can be anything from a formal essay to a simple Facebook post. Letters like this one are also considered written communication. Oral communication means your message is spoken. This could be a presentation to a committee or a simple phone call to an associate. Graphic communication, put simply, is visual communication. This can be done with graphs, charts, tables, or even photographs.

Because there are so many methods of communication, it can be hard to determine which is the most appropriate. In some cases, it may be appropriate to use more than one method. Jumping back to the beginning of my letter, it is important to remember your purpose and your audience. If my purpose is to sell a product to a company, I would most likely need a written proposal and an oral presentation that provides sufficient visual information to make the sale. If my purpose were to announce an upcoming meeting It would not me necessary to have a fully prepared presentation to announce it. A simple e-mail would suffice, and maybe an oral confirmation by phone.

There are a lot of principles of professional communication that I did not address in this letter but I hope this gives you the start you need to go and learn more on your own. It really is a fascinating subject and it will, without a doubt, help you be more successful in the professional world. Good luck on your journey to becoming a world class professional communicator!

Sincerely,

Nathan Stevens

P.S. Here are the references to the footnotes I put in the letter!

1. “Professional.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/professional.

              “Communication.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/communication.

2. Moxley, Written by Joe. “Joe Moxley.” Writing Commons, writingcommons.org/open-text/writing-processeshttps://writingcommons.org/open-text/writing-processes/think-rhetorically/712-consider-your-audience/think-rhetorically/712-consider-your-audience.

3. Hassett, James M. A Guide to Effective Communications: a Handbook for Forest Engineering Students. Syracuse: SUNY ESF, 2003.