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Themes and symbols most commonly found to celebrate Día de los Muertos:

Family

Skeletons (Calacas a.k.a. La Catrina)

Skulls (Calaveras}

Marigolds

Pan de Muertos

Monarch Butterflies

Confetti (Papel Picado)

Candles

Altar (Ofrendas)

Photographs

Brands are adapting to Día de los Muertos: And they are taking inspiration from Día de los Muertos themes and symbols

Nike Cortez: To release a Day of the Dead sneaker inspired by marigolds and skulls. 

Stripes Convenience Stores and Coca-Cola: Will offer two limited-edition Day of the Dead celebratory cups inspired by the Mexican celebration, Stripes Stores and Coca-Cola logo. With headquarters in Texas, the cups will only be available in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. 

SweeTarts: Set to release a new skull and bone shaped edition just in time for Día de los Muertos.

Pixar: Slated to be released in the fall of 2017, the Día de los Muertos animated film titled, ‘Coco’, centers around a little boy who discovers how how “families stay woven together across time through the simple act of remembrance.”

PopSugar Latina: Developed articles with DIY food and decor ideas in honor of Día de los Muertos just in time for the celebration. Take for example this DIY candied apples idea inspired by sugar skulls. 

We want to hear from you: What other fun references have you see in celebration of Día de los Muertos?

Yuliana Salinas

Networking does not come naturally to most people though, so it’s important to understand that overcoming an initial hesitation to network can be easy if we understand both why it is important to network and how to do it effectively.

Why Network?

Networking is crucial to personal and professional development, and starting now allows you to build a base of contacts you’ll have for years to come. Networking is for everyone, and it’s really easy to do so! 

Networking provides you with the opportunity to discover something new whenever you exchange information with other people. It is also a chance for people to get to know you, what you do for a living, what your aspirations and passions are. But more importantly, I’ve learned that networking is about giving and if you give, you get. In other words, networking is congruent with the purpose of life -- to love, give, serve and add value. 

How to Network

There are two well-known approaches to networking: 

The goals-based approach is what comes to mind when we think of networking -- a one-time transaction -- and it is often one person needing something from someone else. Meanwhile, values-based networking is done with unknown long-term benefits. By developing a relationship based on mutual interests over time, eventually a situation may arise where one person can help the other.  For me, networking has been a combination of both approaches. It is good to remember that life is constantly evolving and changing, and we don’t know what situations we will encounter and when.  Where to Network

Virtually every social setting provides an opportunity to network. From events designed with networking as a clear goal, like a reception or a career fair, to more casual and less obvious situations like grocery shopping! If meeting people at events is difficult for you, start slowly. Push yourself to find new opportunities and just keep practicing. It will become more natural over time. Something I remember to ask myself is: what do you have to lose? Not convinced yet? Seek to meet resourceful people who know lots of other people!

Know your Story Well

It’s important to know in advance what you would like others to know about you or what you need from them. For career purposes for example, having an “elevator pitch” is a quick way to effectively introduce yourself - remember to cover who you are, what you do, what makes you competent, what value you could provide and anything that makes you unique.  Listen and Be Interested

Listening with intent to someone else’s story is as important as knowing yours and sharing it. Be genuinely interested, and ask about someone’s job or hobbies to give you a context about them. This gives them a chance to explain future opportunities or something they’ve got going on right now that you or someone you know may be able to help with. 

Follow Up and Follow Through! 

Ask if you can get in touch, give the other person your contact info, or take theirs. If you say you’ll follow up, do it! It’s your word. In order to maintain meaningful relationships it is key to genuinely care about helping people you meet solve problems. To do this, you must learn enough about people to have a reason to keep in touch and regularly connect people with one another. Remember, it’s all about giving! 

Irene Acosta Moreau Business Development Manager

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has become a social media trend that managed to not only raise money, but also increase awareness of this deadly disease. The success is in its distinction from other non-profit campaigns. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is about challenging someone you know to either donate $100 or dump a bucket of ice on his or her head and post a video of it. The fun part is challenging someone before you dump the ice bucket on yourself and continuing the chain. It’s engaging and the timing is perfect! In the middle of a hot summer, people will want to cool off. It shows that knowing your audience and timing are crucial in having a successful campaign.

Getting consumers to share your content:

As marketers we know the best way to get your content buzzing is by giving people something that catches attention and generates a feeling of excitement while inspiring to share the content seen. In the case of ALS, it’s not simply doing the challenge but filming it as well. And everyone has posted videos. Getting celebrities to share the content with their followers did a lot to get the campaign more attention. People who didn’t know about ALS have jumped on the bandwagon after seeing videos of their friends or favorite celebrities participating.

I know all of my Ukrainian friends, some of who barely speak English, have done the challenge and my newsfeed is filled with their videos. Other brands have taken up the initiative and posted videos of their employees doing the challenge at the end of a workday. Not all have been able to successfully do the ice bucket challenge and some people have gotten hurt in trying to outdo others. 

Utilizing social media to its utmost:

There is no better way to get the attention of millions of people than through social media and the ALS ice bucket challenge did exactly that. People shared content on multiple platforms. There were short Instagram clips share by us regular folks and elaborate videos shared on Facebook by the likes of Bill Gates and Paul Bissonnette. Interestingly, Facebook in particular has seen a lot of videos uploaded directly to their platform rather than sharing those on YouTube or Instagram. Twitter has seen mentions of ALS jump from barely anything in the beginning of the summer to 600K mentions in the last month. 

Below is a chart from Topsy showing the extreme spike in numbers.

Image courtesy of USA Today News:

Lastly, the power of a good cause is in itself a great way to get people involved. According to alsa.org, the ALS Ice Bucket challenge has raised over 88.5 million dollars as of August 26th and the association has almost 2 million new members. So while you’re still waiting for your friends to challenge you don’t forget to head over to alsa.org and donate as well!

Iryna Hutnyk

Before we begin, let’s debunk that myth that says taking a good picture depends on the quality of your camera, lens and artistic eye. The truth is, with today’s technology, even camera phones are capable of snapping a great shot.

As an art student and a creative, I’ve learned that the camera does not make the photographer, but there are habits that you can incorporate into your practice to improve. With these next three tips, you’ll see how applying these photo-taking skills regularly will not only become natural but you’ll have the pictures to prove it! 

1.    Read your light.

Your camera does not see light as your eyes do. A key tip is to look for your light source and have your subject face it so that you can take full advantage of the available light.

Sometimes, however, this is impossible. Light sources are not always available or maybe your subject is not movable, but this is exactly why your camera has a flash, so use it! Do use it sparingly, though. Using a flash can kill a picture in a snap (literally).

Pro tip: If you want to create a cool silhouette have your subject against your light source, and have them make a dynamic pose.

2.    Composition is key.

Before you take your shot, take a look around. Then take a look through your lens. Is there something special you want to include in the picture? Or is there something you should crop out? An ugly water bottle or piece of garbage may not look good with the rest of the scene; remove those undesired objects when possible. Also, remember what focal point or main subject you want to capture, and try to enforce it with the rest of the scene.

Trying different angles can improve your picture too. Usually, when you are trying to take a picture that is meant to portray an energetic environment, giving a tilted angle to the photograph can help deliver the motion that a straight composition lacks.

Pro tip: Review your picture from corner to corner after taking it and maybe take a second one without that little detail that escaped your artistic eye in the first attempt. 

3.    Wait for the perfect moment.

Taking your time is always a good habit, but a bad habit is to snap the same scene over and over again, thus ending up with 50 frames of the same scene.

Sometimes, you’ll find yourself in situations where you know something exciting is about to happen and it’s going to happen fast. In this case, prepare your camera ahead of time, be ready and then snap away! You will most likely get unique moments in each photograph.

For example, at our Copa Coca-Cola youth soccer tournament, there were a lot of action-packed moments and one-time opportunities to snap the picture. But being able to anticipate those moments helped me get some great images for the client!

Pro tip:  Sometimes you’ll have to sacrifice something in the picture to capture it, and it’s okay! I personally do not like using flash, but sometimes I have to use it in order to be able to get that moment.

Pro tip #2: DO NOT FORGET TO FOCUS! An unfocused and blurry picture shows nothing, so always focus before snapping your picture. 

These are just some basic habits that I try to apply every time, regardless if I’m using my Canon60D or my iPhone. Lastly, and most importantly, PRACTICE! Taking pictures and experimenting with new techniques is always fun and will help you develop a keen sense of detail.

PIlar Amado

1. Convey Excitement

This seems like a simple and common request, yet I find more often than not many candidates struggle with this portion. I always do a quick phone screen before bringing a candidate in for an interview, and if you’ve gotten this far, this means you have successfully caught my eye from the other 100+ candidates. So far, so good!

2. Don’t Slack Phone Interviews

This is no time to slack – start doing your company homework. This is your opportunity to separate yourself from the rest. From a recruiting standpoint, I’ve read your résumé and know how you look on paper, but what I really want to hear from your end is excitement and genuine passion about your background and past experience, and more importantly, what you’re looking for in future experiences – particularly with our company.

So how do you convey this? Just pick out one or two things that you learned while at a past job or internship and what the positive impact was. Additionally, show me how this experience is transferable to our company and how excited you are to begin a new journey.  

3. Explore Start-Ups Too!

No matter what field you are trying to break into, it’s extremely important to look at companies of all sizes, not just Fortune 500 companies. Explore start-ups or small businesses – companies that are just starting to make their mark on their industry. These businesses are constantly looking for new talent with fresh ideas and an eagerness to learn and work.

4. Consider Part-Time and Contractor Work

More and more recruiters are seeing gaps in résumés due to low job markets. As a graduate, you’re competing not only with your classmates, but also with experienced professionals who are eager to get back into the workforce. For this reason, companies are looking for candidates who are willing to do contract or part-time work, a growing trend that can be positive for both the company and the candidate.

While a full-time position is the end goal, looking for contract or part-time work can help get your foot in the door, and if that opportunity doesn’t become long-term, it will at the very least have given you experience and knowledge in your field that you otherwise wouldn’t have.

5. You got the job, now what?

So you’ve set yourself apart, nailed the interview and landed a job – congratulations! Now comes the real work. You want to do your job and do it well, but once again, don’t forget to set yourself apart as a valuable asset to the company. You can do this is by learning the entire life cycle of the process you are managing, something that will allow you to assess any gaps or improve efficiency in processes.

Another way to set yourself apart is by making yourself available. While you’ll have plenty of tasks of your own, there will inevitably be some downtime, and when that happens, reach out to assist another team or committee. Why does this contribute to your success? For one, it allows you to build a rapport with people in different departments, all while helping another team out. Secondly, it will showcase your willingness to help and try new things and keeps you top of mind with peers and management.

With these tips in mind, what other tips have proven to be helpful for you? Go ahead and share with us.

Happy hunting!

Gabby Galivan

Elemento L2 HR Manager