How well do you know your SoC professors?  Erik Brooks, Ph.D. joined the School of Communication in 2023 and teaches courses like Mass Communication, Political Communication, Interviewing and Focus Groups and Message Design II. Dr. Brooks’ research focuses on diagnosing and addressing political polarization in the United States. With his unique expertise in politics, his Message Design II students recently completed their campaign, “Local Change, Lasting Impact,” whose mission was to raise awareness of local politics, boost confidence in engaging with politics and highlight the importance of local governance in our community. The group hosted local officials to meet and speak with students before the election, creating transparency and connection with their local leaders. 

How did your career begin?

“My career has taken quite the unorthodox path to get to where it is now. My academic career began at Arizona State University (ASU) in pursuit of a film degree, as I wanted to work in the film industry after graduating. However, during my Junior year I became heavily interested in politics and communication, and decided to switch my career focus to that of a political communications specialist. I then attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte to pursue a master’s in communication studies with a focus in politics. Shortly before graduating from UNC Charlotte I did another ‘180’ and decided to use my talents and skills to serve my country in the United States Army. After some time, however, I sadly suffered a career ending injury forcing me to be medically retired from service. During the process of picking up the pieces from my military career being suddenly cut short, I decided to pick up where I left my academic career and pursue my Ph.D. I attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for my doctoral program and focused my research and studies on political communication once more.”

Did you have an internship during your educational career?

“I did have an internship during my educational career. During my Senior year at ASU, I was lucky enough to receive a 5-month internship working as a communications intern at the Arizona House of Representatives, where I worked with numerous State Representatives, as well as the Speaker of the House. During this time, I was able to help operate social media accounts, assist with constituent outreach, write press and news releases, collaborate on interview preparations, and help prepare public speeches, among other communication work.”

Did you always intend to work in academia?

“A professional career in academia was genuinely never a thought in my mind for the longest time. To be honest, I had a very jaded view of academics in general stemming from a number of unpleasant experiences with quite a few professors and their classes during my undergraduate years, simply because they didn’t agree with my opinions or perspectives. I viewed instructors/professors as intolerant, biased, and arrogant. While I know this by no means is representative of the majority of professors, as an undergraduate student, this was all I knew. I swore I would never become one myself, especially as I prepared for my master’s program at UNC Charlotte. However, thanks to a number of life-changing professors that I worked with and studied under at both UNC Charlotte and Chapel Hill, my worldview toward the profession changed quite significantly. This, combined with a desire to never let any student go through their academic career without at least one professor that they know genuinely cares about them and their success, I began to see myself in this role as a long-term career.”

If not, where do you think your career would have taken you?

“If I had not sought to become a professor, I likely would have pursued a career as a strategic communications specialist for the government/military, or for political campaigns and elected officials.”

What was the job-seeking process like for you?

“The job-seeking process to receive a professorship was grueling and intense. Part of this was due to the inherent nature of the academic job market in which there are exponentially more new Ph.D. students on the job market each year than there are high quality tenure-track and non-tenure track positions available. This makes every application incredibly important—each one is just as important as the next and requires the utmost effort and attention. There is no ‘breezing through’ an application, with each often requiring unique papers, essays, statements, and commentary. For those interested in a future academic career, I cannot stress enough the importance of preparation and patience. Find others you trust to review your application material ahead of time and help perfect your application ‘persona’ and marketability.”

Any advice on succeeding in job interviews? 

“There are obviously a great number of interview tips that one can give and receive. But, the two pieces of advice that I would stress to everyone, no matter what, are: 1. Audibly practice potential responses to interview questions ahead of time, and 2. Tell your story—u​nderstand what makes you unique and do not be afraid to share that. First, while it is a well-known practice to think about what you may say in response to potential interview questions, I have found that many interviewees do not actually verbally practice these. It is one thing to think about how you would answer something, and another to actually practice speaking and saying it. Physically write (or type) out potential things you know you might want to say, then practice speaking them out loud how you would ideally like to during a conversation with an interviewer. Verbally speaking through these responses even just a few times will help prepare one much more than just thinking it through in their head. Second, most professional employers are not solely interested in your qualifications for the job you are applying for. Many will be interviewing countless qualified individuals. They want to know what makes YOU unique. They are essentially trying to ascertain: Why you? They assume you can do the job—as can the other applicants. But, they often want to know how you would complement their culture, environment, and sometimes profession—what do YOU bring to the table that others cannot? Do not be afraid to tell your story. Every person is individually unique, even though not everyone thinks so. Everyone has a story to tell. ​Whether you have overcome some sort of adversity, accomplished inspiring feats, achieved unique milestones, or made an impact on others’ lives, weave this into your professional narrative of why YOU are who the employer is truly looking for.”

What advice would you give students currently struggling to find a job? 

“The job market—academic or not—is incredibly difficult and daunting. It is easy for anyone, whether you have an associates, a doctorate, or anything in between, to become discouraged when the job opportunities are not working out as you intended. So, my first piece of advice is to not let the “failures” or rejections diminish your enthusiasm and determination or dampen your resolve. You should not think of these occurrences as you being wrong for the job, but rather the position or employer not being right for you. Coming out of a fairly prestigious doctoral program with timely and relevant academic research, I felt confident in my ability to get a number of great job offers. However, after 30+ applications, 10+ interviews, and many, many rejections, I realized that all it takes is the one right job. I ultimately received one job offer—right here at Chapman. And I could not be happier that it worked out this way. Chapman was where I truly belonged and it was the perfect fit for who I was, both as a professional and individual. But, this took time, patience, and the determination to not give up when the rejections came. Not receiving a particular job offer is not a failure. The only true failure is giving up entirely.”

Any networking tips you can share?

“As someone who is incredibly introverted and adverse to social situations, networking did not come easy for me. There are a number of generic networking tips that are well-known, such as ‘do not be afraid to put yourself out there,’ or ‘know how to market yourself to others’, among others. These are indeed true, but the tips that I always love to share are ones that I find to be generally overlooked and concern connecting with potential professional mentors or advisors. Often as students interested in potential careers it can be quite daunting to figure out where to turn to for advice and information on the career we desire. However, whether it is in the film industry, marketing, engineering, or academic realms, there is generally something that inspired our interest in that field—some sort of product, broadly speaking. While not guaranteed, it is often possible through research to figure out who specifically was responsible for, or involved in, what inspires you. This could be a screenwriter, a public relations specialist, a Disney imagineer, or even a political campaign manager. Someone out there is doing the exact thing that you desire to. Reach out to them! Although you may look up to them or their work, the reality is that most people probably do not know who they are—they are often not celebrities. And, believe it or not, when many professionals find out that someone is just as passionate and interested in their work as they are, they are generally more excited than you think to speak with you. Find their email (if available) and just send them a professional (yet passionate) message. Simply ask if they would be willing to share a little bit about their journey and how they came to do what they do, and if they would be willing to share any advice or information on how you could potentially follow in their steps. More often than not, these individuals will be thrilled to speak with you. At worst, you do not hear back from them. At best, you may even make a long-term professional connection and relationship.”