Building Bridges, How to Land the Job

So… I spoke on my first panel, and can I mention how empowering it was? The PRSSA chapter at my alum, CCNY PRSSA holds an annual “Building Bridges” event where they invite recent grads to talk about the importance of internships, networking and how they landed the job they currently hold.

President of the CCNY chapter, Kellie Jelencovich, as well as fellow SM guru Jenn Spivak, hosted myself and 4 other recent grads for this years’ Building Bridges where we focused on Social Networking to meet the right people and land the right job!

The 5th Annual Building Bridges speakers included:

· myself- Alex Suazo, PR & Marketing Assistant, Shiraz Events

· Adam Maldonado, Junior Engagement Planner, Tribal DDB

· Javier Garcia, Global Assistant Account Executive, Y&R

· Natalee Facey, Assistant Media Planner, Draftfcb

· Genevieve Santos, NYC Publicist & Founder of Gorgeous on the Go

I was excited to talk about a few points I felt were super important, since I’d been doing SOMETHING right, as I was actually starting at my new job that day.

My main points for recent grads/job seekers were the following:

1. Get online! Get on Linkedin, request friends and colleagues, get recommendations on there when your work ethic is fresh in someone’s head! Getting those thumbs up will increase your visibility. Social media is your friend! Create a bio… doesn’t matter if you don’t do anything important, add all the things you’re good at, your education etc. “FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT!”
2. Get your resume out there… to recruiters to friends to HR professionals! Have them rip it apart and put it back together. You have to know what HR department are looking for in your specific field.
3. Appreciate internships, do them because you want to, and get the most out of them! They want to see that experience, that you put your professionalism and networking before anything else.
4. Network, network, network! Nurture your professional relationships like you would you relationship with a bf or gf! Take $20 out of your check, and take someone out for a drink or coffee that you want to get to know, and hopefully benefit from. But nurture that relationship, networking is a 2 way street!
5. Business cards with all your info—be professional, don’t let them walk away without all your info. Things as easy as Vistaprint or Staples Instant Business Cards , you can order/design your cards and pickup within 4 hours! Get out of your shell… everyone’s doing it! By not taking that step and introducing yourself, you’ve lost half the battle.
6. Join Meetup and go to Meetups that interest you! There are plenty of people out there, ready and able to help you develop your brand and professionalism!

Best of luck!!!