A long time coming...

Since I have had so much time on my hands, I finally put together a portfolio of my work. Enjoy!

Aris Brand Book

View more presentations from Ari Ratner.

Kurtis, the Stock Boy & Brenda, the Checkout Girl

Sounds just out of a movie, doesn't it? I will be the first to admit that I was not a big fan of a certain QB in the NFL. But after reading this story, who cannot respect, admire, and root for the upcoming (hopefully) Super Bowl winning QB. I hope you enjoy...

--

In a supermarket, Kurtis the stock boy, was busily working when a new
voice came over the loud speaker asking for a carry out at register 4.
Kurtis was almost finished, and wanted to get some fresh air, and
decided to answer the call. As he approached the check-out stand a
distant smile caught his eye, the new check-out girl was beautiful. She
was an older woman (maybe 26, and he was only 22) and he fell in love.

Later that day, after his shift was over, he waited by the punch clock
to find out her name. She came into the break room, smiled softly at
him, took her card and punched out, then left. He looked at her card,
BRENDA. He walked out only to see her start walking up the road. Next
day, he waited outside as she left the supermarket, and offered her a
ride home. He looked harmless enough, and she accepted. When he dropped
her off, he asked if maybe he could see her again, outside of work. She
simply said it wasn't possible.

He pressed and she explained she had two children and she couldn't
afford a baby-sitter, so he offered to pay for the baby-sitter.
Reluctantly she accepted his offer for a date for the following
Saturday. That Saturday night he arrived at her door only to have her
tell him that she was unable to go with him. The baby-sitter had called
and canceled. To which Kurtis simply said, "Well, let's take the kids
with us."

She tried to explain that taking the children was not an option, but
0Aagain not taking no for an answer, he pressed. Finally Brenda, brought
him inside to meet her children. She had an older daughter who was just
as cute as a bug, Kurtis thought, then Brenda brought out her son, in a
wheelchair. He was born a paraplegic with Down Syndrome.

Kurtis asked Brenda, "I still don't understand why the kids can't come
with us?" Brenda was amazed. Most men would run away from a woman with
two kids, especially if one had disabilities - just like her first
husband and father of her children had done. Kurtis was not ordinary - -
- he had a different mindset.

That evening Kurtis and Brenda loaded up the kids, went to dinner and
the movies. When her son needed anything Kurtis would take care of him.
When he needed to use the restroom, he picked him up out of his
wheelchair, took him and brought him back. The kids loved Kurtis. At the
end of the evening, Brenda knew this was the man she was going to marry
and spend the rest of her life with.

A year later, they were married and Kurtis adopted both of her children.
Since then they have added two more kids.

So what happened to Kurtis the stock boy and Brenda the check-out girl?
Well, Mr. & Mrs. Kurt Warner now live in Arizona , where he is currently
employed as the quarterback of the National Football League Arizona
Cardinals and has his Cardinals in the Super Bowl. Is this a surprise
ending or could you have guessed that he was not an ordinary person.

It should be noted that he also quarterbacked the Rams in Super Bowl
XXXVI. He has also been the NLF's Most Valuable Player twice and the
Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player.

Bradford made the RIGHT choice by staying…

Jason Whitlock recently penned a column about Sam Bradford, University of Oklahoma's start QB. He titled his, Bradford made the wrong choice by staying. His article is linked below and my letter to him is below that. I hope you enjoy.

http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/9080876/Bradford-made-the-wrong-choice-by-staying

An open letter to Jason Whitlock, columnist for Fox Sports.

Dear Jason,

This is not the first and certainly not the last time I disagree with you. But for some reason, this time I disagreed enough to write you an email. I respect your opinion and have enjoyed watching and reading your material over the past years, but was surprised money was your main argument for Sam Bradford to come out. What happened to money isn’t everything? And we should feel bad for Matt Leinart? In his three year career, he has made around $18 million based on salary alone (USA TODAY). So he has in fact made more than just what he was guaranteed; $14 million. You compare him to Alex Smith, the #1 pick a year before. In four years, his salary is around $22 million, just $4 million more and one extra year. I know saying ‘just’ 4 more trivializes the actual amount, but I am trying to make a point here:). I bet Leinart has made some nice coin off of endorsements too…but we are just talking salary [I do realize he could be making more money, but sometimes there are more important things than JUST money].

Let’s look at Bradford’s opportunity outside of just the money. Like Tebow this year, Bradford has the opportunity to win another Heisman and be the only college football player in its history to join Archie Griffin as a two-time winner. He has a chance to take his team back to the National Championship and avenge the loss to Florida this year. And most importantly, he has the chance to graduate with the class he came into college with. These three reasons should be reasons enough for Bradford to return and I believe he made the right choice.

Let’s also not forget that he isn’t throwing a way the opportunity to play in the NFL. Unless a freak accident happens (what’s the rate of college stars that get seriously injured, enough to never play the sport again?), Bradford will be a first round pick at the very least. A similar year to this one’s and he will undoubtedly be a top 5 pick and make his money. But let’s say he has the same fate as Leinart…should we feel bad for him?

I appreciate you taking the time to hear my thoughts and look forward to a healthy debate during next year’s draft.
Sincerely,

Ari Ratner

Ari Goes West

I experienced my first big-boy interview. What I mean is that I was flown out to the company’s headquarters, put up in a hotel for a couple of nights and reimbursed for my meal expenses while I was out there. It was a great experience overall but before I get started, please feel free to email or post any specific questions. I will answer what I can.

Wednesday, January 7^th

I arrived at my destination mid-day. Familiar with the city, I had planned on picking up my car and heading immediately to the hotel. Considering I was 30 minutes outside of downtown, I wanted to familiarize with the area where my interview would take place. As I relaxed in my room, I set up plans for dinner that night with a family friend who happens to work there. It was a nice way to spend the first half-day out West; relaxing with good company. I came home and watched some TV before bed – that’s what being 3 hours ahead will do…at least to me.

Thursday, January 8^th

The interview wasn’t until Friday, so I figured I could spend a part of the day downtown. Again, I had been there before but I wanted to pick something up for my nephew as well as get away from the hotel. I did though manage to get a quick workout in at the Hotel gym, and it gave me some energy for the rest of the day. Before I left the hotel though, I received a call from the HR department at the company I was interviewing for to confirm my arrival and see if there was any information they could help me with. It was an indication of how serious this company takes its interviews.

As I left the hotel, I quickly realized the weather was not going to hold up for a long time away from the Hotel. I made my way downtown to the local University, picked up a couple of items for my nephew and managed to eat a great Greek lunch before I headed back to the Hotel. At this point, the rain was coming down fairly strong and I realized a movie was on the radar. I watched Zack and Mira Make a Porno and to my delight, it was a good comedy. I definitely recommend it. After the movie, College Football’s National Championship game was on and while I am not a fan of either Oklahoma or Florida, I love the sport so it was easy for me to watch. Unfortunately – still haven’t gotten over 2006 – Oklahoma came up short and Florida won what could be its first of two straight National Championships. I ate a pretty average dinner and got to bed around midnight, realizing I had to get up early for the big day.

Friday, January 9^th

This was it. I set my alarm for 6 AM thinking I could go to the gym for a half hour for some energy. When I finally woke up at 630 AM, I decided to get a banana from the continental breakfast and start on USA Today’s crossword puzzle. I figured working out my brain was a good idea. I arrived at the Recruiting building 15 minutes before my scheduled time. There were many other candidates checking in but I quickly realized they were there for other positions. As I checked in, I was told my recruiter was would be out shortly to go over my day with me. As we went over my day, I realized that I was interviewing with two different teams and meeting with a total of 4 people. She did how inform me that my first interview wouldn’t be for another hour or so. I didn’t mind because there were plenty of things to do while I waited. The hour quickly passed and I was on my way to my first interview. The company has 5 recruiting shuttles ready when a trip is needed. Thankfully the shuttles are Hybrids. My first interview was with a Group Product Manager. Unfortunately, our meeting was only scheduled for 30 minutes, but we wound up speaking for almost 45. It was a great conversation; I shared information about my experiences and she shared her background and opinion of the company. It was a good way to begin my day because it gave me a great base of information about the company and its products. It was pretty traditional, as far as interviews go. My second interview lasted almost an hour and a half. This conversation was much more animated and it seemed to flow very smooth. We had an interesting discussion about which product the company should get rid of if it had to and while I don’t think he agreed with my answer, he seemed to have respected it. The whole time I tried to remember; they are not interested in the answer but how I arrived at it. After our conversation ended, he informed me that my next interview wouldn’t be for another hour. Unfortunately, I thought to myself that maybe they had me tentatively scheduled to meet with someone if the first two had gone REALLY well, but oh well; not going to kill myself thinking about what if’s.

My third interview lasted through lunch. It was with a Director for a different product team and he was very impressive. At lunch we talked about PRO$PECTS, my Brandcenter experience and some professional opinions I have. I also asked about his background, the company and the specific team he was a part of. The interview concluded with a 20 minute case study question about cereal. Before I tell you what the question was, it was a unique twist to most traditional interviews but I was fairly prepared for this type of question. Looking back, I don’t know if I am comfortable with the answer I gave, but I believe I did well trying to explain how I arrived at it. Here is the case study:

You are Brand/Product Manager for AlphaBits cereal. On your first week of the job, while your boss is away on his honeymoon, Production calls up and says there is a problem with this week’s inventory. Unable to reach your boss, you have to make a decision on whether to distribute the product as is or cancel delivery for the week. The product, which contains letters of the alphabet, has broken apart. The letter L for instance, has become to I's. The letter A has become a triangle with two I's. As you can see, it could be a real problem. What do you do?

My last interview was fairly quick. What seemed like 8 hours after my initial interview with my recruiter was actually only 5.5. Similar to the first interview, it was fairly traditional with questions centering on my past experiences. I then returned to the recruiting building and checked out.

Overall, I came away very impressed by the experience and more importantly, the company. There is little doubt why it is the market leader. I met and was around very bright candidates and employees and it seems like everyone is drinking the Kool Aid…and I don’t doubt why. The talent in itself is a reason to get motivated and the campus was a sight to see. It was the best experience I have had in my months of job searching. The detail and respect they have for each candidate should not go unnoticed. Actually, if more companies hired the way they did, maybe they would also be market leaders as well. I am just saying….Oh and for those who know who I interviewed with, there was nothing evil about it. : P

Help is on the way...or is it?

As I signed into my Monster account, I was told that in a little over 3 days, I would have a new experience with Monster.com. Normally I would be a bit intrigued because this is certainly a space that could use some innovative changes. With that said, I am not that excited. If the past is any indication, there will not be drastic changes. Unfortunately, drastic changes are needed.

While Monster still ranks as one of the highest employment sites on the web, that doesn't make it a useful one. The jobs available are muddled with what seems like SPAM. Not only does it offer little organization in your job search, but the other services are fairly lacking. With all of this said, only time will tell. I plan on checking out the new Monster and reviewing its changes.

The bigger concept from this post is how Monster is telling its users. Had I not signed on, I would not know Monster is changing its site. Similar to what ESPN did, it should offer its users a glimpse into the changes and even have built a network of loyal consumers to test and offer feedback on the changes. Who knows, maybe they have already done that, but some PR could have helped make that known. In fact, why doesn't Monster have a presence on Twitter or a company blog. These are all very easy to implement and maintain and like similar big companies, they seem to not be important. It should be common sense in 2009, shouldn't it?

2009 is Here

I hope everyone enjoyed moving into the New Year. I had a good night, but kept it fairly low key. I was reading a Twitter friend of mine's blog and thought I would copy her idea and post what I hope for in 2009. Kristin Maverick's blog is a great read; please check it out.

Anyway, here are my goals for 2009:

- Employment with a company I can get excited to work for
- Moving out of my parent's house
- Become more patient over the little things
- Spend as much time as possible with my nephew
- Continue to follow the things that interest me
- Learn something new every day
- Share my feelings with those interested in hearing them
- Take the next step in my relationship with Shirin (that does not necessarily mean an engagement)
- Go to at least one OSU game in the fall (trivial, I know)
- Continue to be passionate
- Stay motivated to work out
- Thank everyone who is necessary to thank
- Travel outside the United States
- Read
- Continue to work on crossword puzzles
- Volunteer to help others less fortunate
- Overall, continue to grow as a friend, brother, son, boyfriend, cousin, nephew, professional and grandson.

I wish everyone's 2009 is filled with success and happiness.