Laughing Matters

Thinking of cracking a joke next time you’re in a job interview? Jamie McLaughlin, CEO of recruitment firm Monday Talent, tells Laughing Matters that while this could be a good approach, you should take a step back and make sure you read the room! He also goes into details on:  * The importance of the right humor in interviews, especially as most today are virtual * Why sarcasm can be a quick way to humor but isn’t always the best way to help people relax * An embarrassing story of an interviewer who tried to weaponize humor

Join us on this episode of Laughing Matters as we chat with Pat Fitzgibbons, Senior Public Relations Manager at M&T Bank/Wilmington Trust, whose career journey is filled with humor, from newsroom antics to his family’s political legacy in New Jersey. Pat shares: ·       Tips on how to prepare for a career in communications and how to infuse a daily dose of LOL in college  ·       How his father and grandfather used laughter to forge connections and navigate local politics – and why he feels his own election win was “rigged” ·       His memorable elevator encounter with the CEO of Bear Stearns that turned a potentially awkward situation into a laughing matter.

Life is a highway for most of us, but especially for Jenni Ruiz, the Bronx native who works as a senior marketing manager for trucking software company Transfix [https://transfix.io/]. Jenni is our latest Laughing Matters podcast guest, where she talks about why humor is essentially a job prerequisite in trucking & freight, as well as:  ·       Why her first career was tough and the importance of working somewhere you can be yourself ·       How she learned to watch where she’s walking the hard way ·       Her passion for comedy and acting (check out her film “Playing Sam” [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14961358/] coming to streaming services this fall!)

On today’s episode of Laughing Matters, Brandi Boatner, Manager of digital and advocacy communications at IBM, joins us to talk about how she uses humor as a dynamic public speaker and advocate for her profession. Her insights include: * How she linked an IT infrastructure campaign with yoga poses.  * How humor can play a role in attracting students from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds into communications.  * A hilarious cringeworthy moment in Grand Central Station that taught her valuable lessons about resilience and self-acceptance.

In this episode of Laughing Matters, Paul Merchan and Steve Cody interview Gloria Rodriguez, the founder and president of Comunicad, a Ruder Finn company, and a pioneer in multicultural communications and advocacy for the Latino community. She shares some of her amazing stories and insights from her career, such as: ●      The time she took clients to Puerto Rico to help support Hurricane Maria relief efforts and helped expand the aid to our furry friends ●      How she uses humor to bridge the gap between Latino and mainstream cultures and to overcome challenges and stereotypes in the media industry ●      How she convinced a former U.S. president to restore funding for job training programs for Puerto Ricans in New York