& That's A Wrap!

In just under one month, I will be able to say & that's a wrap to my college career. I can't believe how quickly this moment has come. It comes to me with a great deal of excitement because I have realized I have been in school for about 21 years of my life... 21 long years my friends. From elementary to high school to university to my post grad. The haul has been long, at times tedious, but mostly extremely rewarding. As I look back, on this past year, it has been quite intense. This post is dedicated to what I have learned in the past eight months in college. The funny thing is is that I have learned more in eight months at Sheridan then in the other 20 years I've spent at other institutions. No that is by no means a jab to previous schooling because I have found every experience that I had an opportunity to learn, extremely valuable. But one thing is for sure, I can say that Sheridan College has taught me invaluable skills related EXACTLY to what I want to do in my advertising career. Of course, I learned all the technical skills I will encounter in the positions I am now suitable for. And of course, there are a million other things I plan to learn while I'm on the job, but I feel confident in my postgrad education. Besides technical skills, I also learned a lot from my teachers and peers. They have taught me a lot about myself and those lessons are the MOST valuable that I will carry with me everywhere I go.

First off, I want to thank every teacher I've had: Doug, Ana Maria, Tina, Annie, Colin, Yvonne, Maureen & Iryna. You have all offered me your expertise to soak up and have prepared me for what I will encounter. I came into this program unsure of anything advertising, and now I feel more confident then ever to apply what you have taught me in the real world. You all have tested me in some way; whether it be mentally (on a test), my organizational skills (by giving me a thousands projects;) or physically (by making me walk up so many damn stairs to your class). Each of you have played a paramount role in who I will become in the advertising industry and for that I am forever grateful.

Another group I must thank is my peers. I came to Sheridan with seven other post grad students, all from different walks of life, and all of which have been great teachers to me as well. Whether they knew it or not, they have also played such a big role in who I will be as an advertising professional. So thank you, to each and every one of you, for you in some way, have affected me in a positive light. Whether it be teaching me a new skill when I was frustrated on photoshop, always willing to lend a hand when I felt overwhelmed, for making me laugh, for sharing your personal experiences with me, for celebrating successes with me, and the list goes on and on. I am forever grateful to have shared these experiences with you. A quote I liked to live by is "Be the one who has an understanding and forgiving heart, the one who sees the best in people. Leave people better than you found them". I guess what I'm trying to say here is that you all have left me better then when I started. <3

WAH..But I'm not a Sales Woman!

At the beginning of this semester, my instructor in my Professional Sales class, who by the way is actually so awesome, told us we had an assignment that coincides with the Oakville Beaver. My first thought is, okay that's pretty cool that we get to work with an actual newspaper to gain some real world experience. That was until I found out that we were expected to sell advertising space in a special Convocation Sheridan issue in the newspaper, to prospective clients. My second thought, "ugh but I'm not a saleswoman. I hate selling people sh!t". That right there is straight up honesty, I had no desire to call clients to sell anything. I don't like being sold to, so why would I want to do it to someone else?

Luckily, this is an assignment for school, so my hand was forced to make some calls. My partner and I gathered at my house to review the facts about what we were selling and then we split the list and started calling the client list we received from our rep at the Oakville Beaver we were assigned to work with. Not going to lie, my heart was racing the first few calls. A lot goes through your head. The person could reject me or not be interested. Then it hit me...so what?! That's the worst thing that could happen is that they aren't interested? Then my motto in life would come into play, "ON to the next one". These sales calls were not life or death and ended up being pretty fun. I say fun because I finally made a few sales and that my friends, that actually felt really good! I sold the highest priced advertising spot with my first client! That was a win for me and my partner! I guess what I took from this whole experience is that doing things that make you uncomfortable forces you to grow as a person and can end up giving you some earned confidence. I have a new found respect for people in sales and realize the hard ass work it can be to be successful. I think I'll change that title to, "I CAN be a sales woman, if I want to".

Lesson Learned--> Do something that challenges you and puts you out of your comfort zone. That is the only way we can grow. 

Until Next Time!

M

Nailed It!

After reading this post, I want you to come out of your next interview being able to say "NAILED IT"! My last post spoke of the art that is networking and I also briefly mentioned my interview at Simon Pure. That being said, I figured I’d write a few interviewing tips that I found helpful to help me prepare. Like I stated before, networking comes with practice and through practice you will be able to engage in meaningful conversations that will elicit potential business relationships. Another fine art in the advertising industry is your ability to interview well. Interviewing to many, is a scary process. I mean the spotlight is solely focused on you and you need to be okay with that. You need to be a good salesman to your potential employer and sell yourself. It can be hard to do for many because many of us don’t necessarily enjoy talking about how great we are. But I think if it comes from a genuine place as to why you’re so awesome, why WOULDN’T you tell them all the things that make you so wonderful?!

         Here’s a few tips for you to help you nail your next interview:

#1. Research the company. Knowledge is power and knowing about the company you could be working for only shows that you took the initiative to look them up and now you can give them the authentic reasons why you want to work for the woman/man sitting in front of you. Being able to demonstrate how your personal values align with that of the company only exhibits how great of a fit you are. Plus if they ask you questions, you don’t want to draw a blank here.

#2.  Practice some possible questions ahead of time. I know what you’re thinking, why would I tell you to almost fabricate a script? No that’s not what I’m saying. I think it’s a solid idea to practice potential questions only because sometimes let’s face it, nerves get the best of us and we can struggle to answer. If you have an idea of the main points you want them to know about you, it can only help you be ready and smoothly answer anything they ask.

#3. Be Authentic. This one’s simple. Be YOU. Don’t be a mould of who you think they want you to be. At the end of the day, you want to be able to be yourself in all aspects of your life and you are pretty damn' awesome!

#4. Bring a hard copy of your resume or portfolio. In case they didn’t print one off you have one available. Also your portfolio displays your best work, which is a key self selling feature. So show off your proudest work.

#5. Ask questions and bring a note pad. Writing down information they give you so you don’t forget only makes you look very into the interview and that you hold it as highly important. Asking questions shows you have a mind of your own and you’re interested in an unanswered aspect of the company.  

& last one.. drum roll please…

#6. Breathe. Don’t sweat it too much. Know you are a capable human being and this isn’t life or death. The person in front of you is just that.. A PERSON.

Hope those tips help you!

M

Good Things Come To Those Who Net-TWERK It

Now what the hell do I mean by this blog title? Well, last Wednesday after our full day of class, we had a networking night round 2 again. This event took place in the Marquee at Sheridan. Past grads came back to talk with us, give advice, and in some cases an interview! My fellow 7 classmates, yes my class is that small that we can all fit in the same elevator, were sitting at tables and the past grads rotated through. Now the next question I will answer is the net-TWERK part. As we all know, or in some cases actually you may not know, but TWERKING is a racy dance move. How does a racy dance move have to do with a networking night? Simple, because it’s an art. Watch below to see what I mean...

After watching that video, think you could do that on the first try? If you can, then you’re superwoman and the rest of us, it takes practice to master. Kind of like the way networking works. You need to practice talking to people. Sounds kind of silly because we have been speaking since we were born. I mean you need to learn the proper interpersonal skills and interview skills that show you are a confident and amazing human being, without sounding too cocky of course. I can be thankful that my previous work experience has already given me a lot of these skills. I work at The Keg Steakhouse and I am a cocktail waitress. I speak to so many people every shift and all age ranges. This has given me some valuable tools when it comes to personal interaction. I have learned how to style flex. Style flex is a fancy term I just learned in my sales class. The funny thing is I didn’t realize I was doing it until I learned there’s a proper term for it.

         Back to the networking night itself… I found it very beneficial. Take a look at my horrible videographer skills.

 I gained a lot of insight on the industry and I feel grateful that these people, out of the goodness of their hearts, came and chose to speak with us newbees. Everyone was so friendly and extremely willing to help us out and answer every question we had. I learned something about the media industry too. I know my teacher, Colin, would be proud to read, that I have now added media planning to a possible career choice. Although he’s been an advocate since day one, I guess I needed further convincing. Also, out of this night, I got an interview for an internship. Yay, my first interview for the industry! It was at Simon Pure Marketing, which is an awesome promotional and experiential agency. I also feel really grateful for the experience, and being offered this position or not,  I have full faith that whatever unfolds in front of me is surely to be amazing. I have high hopes for my future. I’m just getting started :) 

Until next time,

M

The Greatest Gif!

         You’re probably thinking I’m missing a T at the end of my title. That’s what I would have thought too if you asked me a week ago what a gif is. In my creative class, our assignment was to create an animated gif for our public service announcement assignment. A PSA about any charity or social cause we want. As soon as I was assigned this, I turned to my classmate and asked, what the hell is a gif?! Then I learned, it’s an animated banner with movement. My anxiety rose a bit, as I’m not a Photoshop wizard or anything of the sort. By the end of it, I figured it out and I must say that I’m kind of proud of my gif. I had a nice warm fuzzy feeling, the type you get when you’re bundled up by the fire with a nice cup of tea, all because I figured it out on my own. Yes, I’m giving myself props.


Now, I must tell you what social cause I chose to advertise for was. It’s more then likely that you’ll have heard about this one. I decided on picking “BellLet’s Talk”. It’s an initiative for mental health attempting to end the negative stigma associated with it and foster mental health awareness by encouraging honest and compassionate conversations about it. This topic has become some sort of taboo, nobody talks about, because they’re afraid of being different and unaccepted. It’s really important to make people aware and to let those that are suffering know that it’s okay and they don’t have to feel alone. That being said, here’s my gif…Enjoy :)

The Real World Is Coming REAL fast

So it fully just occurred to me today as I was talking to my aunt on the phone and she asked me when I graduated from my post grad, that my answer was just over 2 months. Wait WHAT?! That means the real world, where I actually go into the workforce as a professional, is quickly approaching. My shock doesn't come from the feeling that I am not ready, but more so from the feeling that I feel like I blinked and I'm almost done school. All I can say is that time flies. I read a quote today that's actually quite fitting that said "the bad news is times flies, but the good news is you're the pilot". And that couldn't be more true. I also use the expression time flies and it always has this negative connotation, but that quote made me realize that we are ourselves have the control of where we give our time.

I have now been at Sheridan for just over 5 months, and I can say it has been quite the ride. I remember my first day back in September, thinking April was so far away. Now I'm sitting here in February saying how quickly the time has went. Back to the realization that I graduate in just over two months. What's next? I'm not completely sure but I have just applied for an internship at MacLAREN McCANN downtown Toronto in the Account Management department. MacLAREN McCAAN is a huge advertising agency that has been around since 1922. They have clients such as Cloud 649, MasterCard, Xbox Canada, Wendy's Canada, and General Motors, just to name drop, I mean name a few. I think this would be an amazing opportunity, and I'll find out within the next few weeks, as interviews are on march break. The other thing I loved about this agency was the fact they are multi disciplinary and that they offer a wide range of services. The ones that sparked my interest the most were the cause marketing and health and wellness marketing. I would absolutely LOVE to work in either of these departments because inspiring, helping people and fitness are my life's passions. I know I would thrive in these areas because my work would come straight from my heart and my pure love for it. Do I have a plan if this internship doesn't work out? I plan to take a couple months off and take my time to apply for jobs that I will be truly passionate about.  I truly believe in the power of positive thinking, so I'll keep my hopes high and that if it's meant to work out for me, it will.

Keeping my fingers crossed,

M

PSAs All The Way!!

So I'm writing to you this week on a topic that I hope to get involved with when I branch out into the big bad advertising industry. PSA advertisements, to be exact, are my sh!t. By that statement I mean that this is the EXACT type of work I would love to do and be involved with. For those of you who are unfamiliar with PSA, it stands for Public Service Announcement. These ads are based on social issues that need to be brought to the attention of the public. They are typically apart of a public awareness campaign and are meant to inform and educate people like you and I. Many of these ads are extremely powerful and play on our emotional heart strings. Take a look at this one that the NFL aired from the 2015 Superbowl on domestic violence.  

That my friends right there is a masterpiece. I got chills watching it because it has such a powerful message. When you first watch it, you're kind of confused as to where the advertisers are going with this idea about the whole ordering pizza conversation. Then eventually, we come to realize that she is using it as a code to let the police know she is having an emergency. That being said, this advertisement in my opinion was extremely effective and appropriate. When we look at the target audience for this PSA, it can be safely assumed that the target is males and females aged 25+ that may be in serious relationships. This ad is clearly not for a younger audience due to the content and being able to comprehend the conversation. Looking at the medium used, it was television as it was aired during the Superbowl. Many people in this target would be watching the game while attending Superbowl parties. Sure it is easy, in this case, for an unintended audience such as children to possibly see this advertisement if they are at the same party as their parents. For the most part, I think the intended audience would most likely be the ones tuned in because on another note the game runs a bit later in the evening, decreasing the likelihood of a younger audience. The message is clear that even though you may feel like you can't say something in a situation like that, there are ways around to keep yourself safe and it is the duty of our law enforcement to, in some cases, read between the lines.

It is brilliant ads like this that remind me why I love advertising. It is a beautifully creative way to inspire change in people and that, I have concluded, is my calling. I have a deep seeded passion to inspire and motivate people. I want to inspire others through positive messages and create awareness on topics that are affecting our society. It is through awareness that we can make change happen & I can't wait to be apart of that.

Thanks for reading,
M