This past November I decided that I wanted to move to New York
City after I graduate in May. At that point in time I had no plans or ideas of
how I was going to make that dream come true. A month later, I found out that
the CU
Advertising Collective was going to New York over spring break for their
annual trip. I took that as a sign that my dream of moving to New York was, in
fact, possible!
I began the networking process by talking to my advertising
professor who ran a very large advertising agency in NYC before she came to
teach at CU. I respect this professor a lot and she was very supportive of my
aspirations. She told me, “Picking up and moving to New York was the best
decision I ever made.” She then sent a message via LinkedIn to her former
students who are living and working in NYC asking them if they would be willing
to meet with me just to give me some insights and advice.
I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of people who responded
and were willing to meet with me! From there, I had 14 more contacts in New
York than I had before. I met with these amazing people while I was In New York
and had the opportunity to tour many offices including Twitter and Foursquare,
and received tons of useful advice regarding job searching, interviewing, my
resume, and moving to the city. I was in awe of how helpful and wonderful
people were to me.
At a Bolder
Young Professionals event, a networking group in Boulder, I met networking
guru Nancy-Chin Wagner. I did not
know who she was before being introduced to her, but soon found not only is she
one of the coolest ladies around, but she grew up in the Bronx and worked in
New York for many years. I explained my goal to her and she whipped out her
phone and gave me the phone number of a former CU alumnus who moved to NYC after
graduation four years ago. I called the alumna and we scheduled a time to meet
while I was in NYC. Once I was there, she gave me many tips regarding apartment
hunting and introduced me to another CU alumnus. He has been so helpful with
job searching and connecting me with people who are looking to hire in the city.
Nancy also put me into contact with her niece who lives in
Chinatown. When I was there she showed me where I could get authentic Chinese
food (which was delicious!) and she also sent me some media-related job
openings. It amazes me that I met all these people just by simply approaching one
person at a networking event.
Another event that greatly helped my networking process was
Career Services Executives Tell All Panel
in February. I listened to
executive, Cathie
Black’s, story of graduating college and moving to NYC with friends. I felt
inspired to see someone who started off just like me and has now accomplished
so much. Cathie is the past Chairman/President of Hearst Publishing, an author,
past President of USA Today, a former
NYC schools chancellor, and many more accomplishments. I approached her after
the panel and although I felt a bit intimidated, I asked for her contact
information and told her my goals and that I would be in New York over spring break.
She gave me her contact info agreed to meet with me while I was in NYC.
Not only was she willing to meet with me, but she also was
willing to help me connect with people in New York! Cathie introduced me to her
friend who is the founder of a fantastic PR firm and I was lucky to be able to
discuss their internship program! I was also awestruck by the fact that such an
accomplished businesswoman was willing to help me find job and internship
opportunities. Cathie at one point told me that “following up is key,” and it
definitely has been an important piece of advice. Following up with Cathie led
to me finding out about this wonderful internship opportunity!
The power of networking has changed my life and has turned my
dreams of moving to NYC into an actual action plan. Following up and thanking
everyone for his or her time is also very important when it comes to
networking. Networking can happen anywhere at any time, so be prepared. You
never know how the people you meet can change your life!
If you are unsure about where to network in Boulder, Bolder Young
Professionals hosts great networking events every month, and I would highly
recommend joining this group as a current student or even as a seasoned
professional. I have learned to be open to talking with as many people as
possible and learning as much as I can because wonderful opportunities can
arise from the most unplanned meetings!
