Why I value LinkedIn

I first learned about LinkedIn during my senior year at Michigan State University while attending Arb Camp, hosted by Connect Ann Arbor. Joseph Jaffe was the headline speaker. Michigan State University alumni Derek Mehraban, CEO of Ingenex Digital Marketing, was also in attendance. This was right before social media started really taking off, in the fall of 2007.

Derek and others began talking about all types of social media platforms I had never even heard of before. It was beyond the MySpace and Facebook that almost everyone had been familiar with at the time. I didn’t know how useful a LinkedIn profile or Twitter account could be for a college kid. I was also able to meet Charlie Wollborg of Curve Detroit. This also happened to be my first real taste of networking, which I will later find out is also a very valuable asset!

I really enjoyed the platform of the seminar, the attendants actually did the planning! It was an open forum where people where allowed to post on the board what they wanted to talk about, what room they would be in and what time they would be speaking. You essentially were able to pick the events you wanted to attend instead of sitting through boring topics that were not interesting to you.

At the time I was interested in finding new and innovative ways to get noticed in the job market. Sending my resume into the abyss of Campbell-Ewald’s job board was not getting the job done. Then I was informed of LinkedIn, an online network of professionals. I feel in love with the idea of having something else to supplement a resume, allowing others to gain an understanding of your personality and character; not just how you can arrange words on a piece of paper.

I was one of the first people in my group of friends to start using LinkedIn, along with the group of students from Michigan State who also attended. I quickly began informing others of this new found tool. I thought it was great being able to showcase all of your other talents and interests while also being able to see the profiles of people you might be interviewing with at a certain company. Bringing a personal element to the interview is always helpful, especially when you have something to talk about other than describing “a difficult time when…”.

I started getting really involved with LinkedIn when I began actively searching for jobs. I dedicated my time to developing my profile, getting recommendations and connecting with other professionals who might offer any advice. I also took the initiative to help others in my networks in a similar position and posting jobs in the appropriate groups. Recently I have been getting messages of thanks, praise and the “why are you doing this?” To me it is simple, I’m in the same position so I know the difficulties of finding that great opportunity. I’ve had the pleasure or working with great and talented people at Michigan State and in the Detroit area. There are great people who have been misplaced in the advertising industry, and if I can lend a helping hand I would be more than happy to help. I know by myself I probably won’t make a giant footprint, but if I can help one person, it will make all the difference to me.

With that being said, I’d like everyone that reads this to make an effort to post one job this month in your respective networks on LinkedIn. It can be for any position, any location, any level and anything you think might be interesting for someone to pursue. You can also feel free to post the jobs here in the comment section or the link to a position. Also feel free to post any success stories from using LinkedIn, or any social media for that matter. I look forward to seeing and hearing about the results!

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If you thought Detroit was “dead” you should have been @ The D Show

Last night was the 3rd Annual D Show, also my third attending. It was held downtown at the Max M. Fisher Music Center.

My favorite part of the show is seeing all the great work coming out of this blue-collar city. However, this year I was very impressed with a video tribute during the award ceremony for George Katsarelas, an executive creative director at Leo Burnett Detroit who passed away this summer. Katsarelas had been chairman of the council that oversees the D Show. Now I didn’t know him personally, but I remember him speaking at previous events. Just from listening to him speak, I knew he was a great person to model in the industry. This tribute also highlighted his humorous side and his brilliant, creative mind. One line I recall was commenting on how cool he was; “George didn’t need skinny jeans to be cool… he just was” While there was a fair share of skinny jean, black rimmed and spiked hair colleagues in attendance, you don’t have to be like that to be considered creative. Some people even looked like a long lost Jonas Brother (sorry had to throw that it there, no disrespect).

On a brighter side; Mark Ford, a division president at Time Inc., announced during the ceremony who won the advertising campaign contest to “sell Detroit”. Campbell-Ewald was the winner of the advertising campaign contest, which is aimed at keeping young creative people to live and work in Detroit. I was very pleased with the advertising community joining together for this initiative. Even though Campbell-Ewald won the competition, I hope all the agencies can work cooperatively to draw top-notch talent looking for a challenge.

Minneapolis recently launched a similar campaign, called “MinneADpolis”. A group of agencies worked together to highlight the great work of the industry and all the great aspects of living in Minneapolis.

Now Detroit might be a hard sell at the moment, but after last night I can assure you there is still oil left in this well.

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Adcraft PM presents “Wine of the Worlds”

I recently attended “Wine of the Worlds” hosted by Adcraft PM at D’Amatos. The committee did a great job on the event.

I’ve been trying to get more involved in the Detroit advertising community after a little bit of an absence. I enjoy the events and the people I have met at these events. While I don’t expect to “land” a job at any of these events, it’s a great way to hear other people’s stories.

Luckily I was able to be introduced by a friend to some other circles of her friends. I met a very friendly and helpful guy from Doner. He was previously in finance and had just recently made the career switch to advertising. He was in a similar position as myself, attending events solo. He pointed out that it could be nerve-racking at times, but once you start meeting people it becomes easier to mingle and make contacts. He also suggested business cards, which I just received this week.

This week I’ll be attending the 3rd Annual D Show. I’ve been to the previous two and enjoyed them tremendously. I always enjoy seeing cutting edge advertising and creativity from the city of Detroit. I’m also glad that Detroit is making a push to attract creative people. This will only make the agencies stronger and more competitive nationally.

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My first 313 Digital event and what I took away

I attended my first 313 Digital event yesterday evening. It was a creative knowledge event sponsored event sponsored by Reuters. I had no idea what to expect but was very impressed with the overall event.

The speakers were Molly Beauregard (Professor from CCS) and Dennis Lim (EVP Creative Director from Campbell-Ewald). They were both great and had great presentations.

Molly is a sociology professor and gave valuable insight in that field. She explained the “black turtleneck” rule. She explained this as walking into an art gallery and seeing the leggy blond in the black turtleneck, causing you to become intimidated and walk away. She also made points about the best creativity is in the moment, you should take on new ideas, creativity is a connection and a watch pot never boils. The watch pot theory explains that ideas pop when you walk away.

Dennis Lim was the second speaker. He presented a flow chart that began with fear. He discussed that fear breeds everything amazing and that it is the mother of invention. He also noted that how you learn to deal with fear determines your success. The next step was method, doing what you know. He used the example of his experience in judo, stepping on the mat an performing. Then came point of view. He spoke about an associate who said, “there is no security in this business.” He replied, “your only security is your portfolio.” Your portfolio is what you have to add to this world. My personal favorite thing he said was pertaining to interviewing and not getting hired. He said, “That’s their loss, not mine. I still have my POV and portfolio.” Finally came courage, which results in fear driving courage. Every closed door opens another door and there is always a way to overcome fear. Other points he made were that the the biggest survival tool is adaptation and becoming valuable to someone.

I enjoyed the event and also enjoy the Adcraft Club of Detroit events. These provide great learning opportunities and provide great opportunities to meet new people and learn their perspectives. I’m looking forward to attending another event very soon.

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