CM Access

Make no mistake: I would much rather watch a great campy movie and eat cookies than go to a panel discussion on media or marketing. It’s just so much easier to do nothing.

But luck won’t land that great new job in your lap. At some point, you must confront the dreaded career-enhancing recommendation: networking.

There are so many ways to actively build relationships with professionals in your field of choice. Since we’re in the creative industries, this includes, but is not limited to, regional chapters of the following:

American Marketing Association
American Institute of Graphic Arts
Ad Club
Direct Marketing Association
Public Relations Society of America

So what’s stopping you? I’ve heard “it’s expensive”, “it’s boring”, “it’s a waste of time”, “it’s far from my work/house/school”, “I don’t know anyone”, and others…

All of these excuses lead me to one conclusion: lack of effort. It’s not easy, and just showing up to the wine-and-cheese event won’t earn you points.

I’ve found that the best way to meet people through industry organizations is to get involved with the groups. If you’re a writer, offer to write press releases. If you’re an event planner on the side, offer to help with the programming committee. Many associations suffer from lack of motivation, so your offer will not go unnoticed. And what better way to have a reason to talk to someone?

Showing that you give your talents for associations is a great way to beef up your resume, meet people with professional interests related to your own, and who knows, you might even like “networking”!

Oh, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t plug CreativeCamp here. It’s way fun, but don’t take my word for it!

Check out Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi and the many other books, blogs, articles and resources that will help you improve your networking skills.

Technorati Tags: Networking, industry organizations, resume enhancers, Never Eat Alone

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 2nd, 2006 at 9:12 am and is filed under CM Access, CreativeCamp, Resume, Networking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.