MrAndrewBradley

It's no secret that I enjoy cruising and a cruise up the Pacific Coastline was just want I needed. It was planned well before I had even considered leaving my job and starting my own company , so there was some stress associated with how I would be able to take a vacation and be the only employee of a brand new company, but luckily my clients were all fantastic and I could still keep in contact via email. With 189 days to plan there was plenty of advance time to buy new shoes and pack, but the day before we left I was busy. Last minute client projects and meetings, then down to Lodi to pick up my grandma and run a few other errands (like picking up pizza , going to the eye doctor and getting my car washed ... who knew it would rain the day we got back?). My dad and I started day one of the vacation out first with a flight to San Diego , carrying a majority of the luggage (four checked bags and two carry-ons). We got the car and took the first load of luggage up to our h...

Well this week was pretty amazing for a variety of reasons, but Thursday stands out as the best (and most interesting) work day.  First I woke up at 5 am and headed from Fort Bradley to Specialized Parts Planet in Rancho Cordova for a series of live shots on Good Day Sacramento .  The idea: have fun, while showing that buying used auto parts from Specialized Parts Planet is more cost effective and better for the environment than buying new parts from the manufacturer. We took a door off a Mercedes that would retail for $800 to $1,000 new, but used it is only about $400.  You can get everything from a tail-light to a hood for almost any car you can think of at Specialized Parts Planet, even Ferrari's .  After playing with cars in reasonably good condition and a 2003 Ferrari for the first few shots we moved on to the main event, the "CRUSHER." The reporter played hang man ("Good Day Sacramento" was the answer) and Tic-Tac-Toe on a few cars before watching th...

As many of you saw yesterday, I have accepted a full time position with Augustine & Associates as a Public Relations Specialist.  I have been working with Augustine on a freelance basis for the past two months (you may have seen my posts about Specialized Parts Planet coverage) and based on that work they decided to hire me on full-time.  Although I have been in the office part-time over the last four weeks, today was my first official day (I got to fill out lots of paperwork) and Tuesday will be my first full week of 8 hour days since I was laid off in September . It has been and will continue to be great to be part of a dynamic team of individuals that are truly world-class. My Job Search Statistics: 659 - e-mails labeled "Jobs" in my Gmail Inbox  100s - of contacts (and new friends) made at Tweetups and other networking events 100s - of tweets and Facebook status updates 70 - blog posts 24 -  " job search " blog posts 5 -  major resume rev...

Well Sam's Club has out Halloween items, Costco has out Santa and reindeer , but my sights are on November right now, not for my birthday or for Thanksgiving , but the election .  No this is not a political blog, no I will not tell you which way to vote, but as some of you may know I sit on a volunteer committee for Citizen Voice .  One of my projects is to find a representative from each side of the nine propositions on the California ballot and set up debates between the supporters and the opposition.  Each debate is 10 to 15 minutes long and is then placed on the Citizen Voice website for every Californian to watch.  Why do I do it?  Why does Citizen Voice take the time to film debates for each proposition?  Simply because it is important to have informed voters and with a voter guide numbering nearly 130 pages, we all recognize that very few people will actually read it from cover to cover, but perhaps they will watch videos from their computer o...

This week was full of good news.  On Monday I had an interview with a public relations company in downtown Sacramento (I do not know if I will make it to round two yet), on Tuesday I had an interview with the public relations/advertising agency that I have been doing freelance work for (see previous posts about Specialized Parts Planet ), later that same day they offered me a part time position working in their office for about 25 hours a week.  Although I am still looking for a full time position, this could lead to that and/or help me continue to build a more robust portfolio of work experience that I can take with me to other opportunities as they present themselves. Most importantly it gives me a huge burst of confidence that all of my hard work, persistence, networking (which will continue), education (through "webinars" and events) is paying off in ways that I may have never imagined. Beyond interviewing, I also went to the Bradley Lodge , where my mom, grandma and...

Since my blue-tooth went missing (I know where it is, but I cannot figure out how to get it), I decided to take part in News10's obstacle course that proved you cannot text and drive at the same time. I already knew this, but it was fun to take my car through a narrow set of cones while dodging small children, basketballs and random stop signs.  Although I did not knock over any cones or hit any kids I did prove that I cannot type accurately on my BlackBerry while driving (which means I probably should not be trying to type on it in the first place).  The best part (for me at least) I got a free blue tooth courtesy of Yakety Yak in Rocklin, a few News10 key-chains and some other goodies.  So make the pledge , use a blue-tooth while driving (please not when you are walking down the street, that kind of freaks me out) and do not text while driving. Basically when you drive make paying attention to the road your first priority - Hang Up & Drive . To top off the day...

A lot of people have a difficult time defining Twitter , which I think is appropriate since it (and social media in general) is still evolving into what it will become.  It started out as a way to quickly update your friends (followers) on what you were doing (similar to a Facebook status update ), now has moved to include elements of that, but also includes people sharing news, event information, product information, sales information, quotes and other information that their followers might find useful.  For me, Twitter includes elements of all of the above, plus an element of fun.  I have been able to meet tons of great people at " Tweetups " (where people from Twitter get together and meet face to face, basically a networking mixer), learn about sales or discount offers at stores and restaurants, learn about social media, get in contact with media and other people that I would have never otherwise met, develop friendships outside of my "normal" circles, u...

It was a busy day and evening, but for your sake, I will focus on the evening.  First, I attended the SacTweetup at 3 Fires Lounge , part of the Marriott Residence Inn Downtown . I had the opportunity to meet new people and see many of the people that I have developed friendships with through these events, Twitter and other social gatherings, like last week's " Chick-Fil-A Meetup."  In an interesting twist on the standard event, Matt Barnes (basketball player) came to the event and announced in person (before he posted it on Twitter ) that he had signed with the Los Angeles Lakers . You would think that would be the top story from the event, but no, after a long campaign led by a few individuals (whom I call my friends ) Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was unable to make it, saying he was stuck in meetings via Twitter .  He then posted that he would punish legislators if they did not pass a budget by making them watch " Jingle All the Way ," that story was ...

After speaking with a few people at Sacramento's News10 (KXTV) , Angel Cardenas went out to Specialized Parts Planet in Rancho Cordova on Monday and the story aired today . The story hit both of our key points, saving money and a green alternative to buying new auto parts.

Photo Credit | Dennis McCoy - Sacramento Business Journal Sometimes you never know what could happen if you are willing to help someone, especially during a job search.  Almost immediately after being laid-off I knew I would not only have to proactively network, but also give back to the community and my industry by helping friends, helping reporters and doing whatever I could to keep my skills sharp while looking for paying work. I have helped Citizen Voice and Safely Out with a variety of projects including the Swim for Life and set up mini-debates for the June 2010 election.  I helped do media outreach for " Jamba Jump Day ." I have helped reporters by volunteering myself as a source .  I have helped friends move and this week I helped two reporters find sources for articles that ran in today's Sacramento Business Journal and Sacramento Bee .  One reporter needed to find people that had been unemployed for more than a year and another that had kept the...

In just a few years I went from having a Facebook account to actually using it (now with more than 700 friends), signing up for Twitter (my first tweet was on October 16, 2008, since then I have "tweeted" nearly 1600 times and nearly 450 people seem to care) and now I attend "TweetUps" throughout Sacramento and Placer County , have joined a Meetup group or two, have been featured in several news stories just because I use social media, perhaps most importantly I have been fortunate enough to meet hundreds of great people from throughout the Sacramento region. Mashable.com declared today, June 30th " Social Media Day ," so like any good member of the Social Media universe I attended the official Sacramento party at News10 (KXTV) .  The event, which included lunch, was sold out within hours (tickets were free, but limited to the first 75 to sign up) and it was a great opportunity to meet the people I follow on Twitter, talk to friends I have met via ...

  Photo Credit | Dennis McCoy - Sacramento Business Journal After you hear the bad news, you go into an initial state of shock, then you pull yourself together, get organized, get motivated, set a goal and make every effort to reach the prize. That is my story, my plan and my hope.  After being laid off in September I did not know what to expect, I was in a state of panic, yet had a calmness come over me too, I had no idea what to do next, I packed my things, reached out to my network of business contacts and friends, updated my resume , searched for jobs, applied to jobs and waited.  Now, although I have not heard the words "you're hired," I have a plan, I am taking action and I am staying positive.  I wake up daily with a purpose, I look for jobs, I keep in touch with my network (with calls, in person and through social media),  I try to attend at least one networking event per week ( SacTweetUp , PlacerBizTweetUp , SPRA luncheons/mixers and IABC lunc...

Over the last few months I have continued to use multiple methods while searching for my new "dream job." Beyond the traditional search (looking at Craigslist.org , the Capitol Morning Report , Monster.com , CareerBuilder.com , Indeed.com ) and attending Bayside Church's " Career Coaching ," I have used social media sites to expand my reach and my networking, making lots of great connections and meeting leaders throughout the Sacramento PR and business community.  My search started off by expanding my social media network, I added new LinkedIn connections , started to follow additional people on Twitter and went through my address book (Google contacts to be exact, I currently have more than 1400), researched industries and companies and began my "search." Although I haven't landed my job yet, I have used my "sabbatical" to learn new things by participating in Webinars, many hosted for free by companies like Careerealism and CirclePo...

During an election night party Bill Romanelli of APCO Worldwide approached Gary Dietrich , founder of Citizen Voice and Safely Out , saying that he wanted to swim a 10k to raise 10k for Safely Out.  As the weeks and months went by the event slowly evolved into something more. Saturday's " Swim for Life ," hosted by California Family Fitness , included not only Bill swimming a 10k (440 laps), but the "Sports Guy Celebrity Floatie Challenge" featuring Gary Dietrich, Pat Walsh (the "Sports Guy" from KFBK 1530 ) and KTXL FOX 40's Paul Robbins and many other local swimmers.  All swam laps to raise money to put Safely Out kits into the hands of our most vulnerable citizens. The no rules "Floatie Challenge" was won by Paul Robbins, who did pre-interviews in his hippo tie, suit jacket and board shorts and Bill completed his Swim for Life, doing two extra laps, in about 2.5 hours. It was a great event and most importantly we not only had gr...

MEDIA ADVISORY SAFELY OUT™ “Swim for Life” WHAT: Swim-A-Thon and more to raise funds for SAFELY OUT™ disaster evacuation kits. WHEN: Saturday, April 24, 2010 – 1:00 pm    Schedule:     - Bill Romanelli Available for interviews                12:45 pm to 1:00 pm     - Bill Romanelli starts 10k swim                1:00 pm (should finish around 3:30 pm)     - The “Sports Guy” Celebrity Floatie Challenge                1:15 pm     - General public swim for SAFELY OUT™                 1:45 pm to 3:30 pm     - Gary Dietrich available for interviews            ...