Networking with the Professionals

I attended the networking event hosted by the Canisius College Ad Club on April 28^th. It was held in the Grupp lounge in the student center.  There were two members of the advertising community in attendance. One was Bill Patterson of “Gelia” and the other was Zack Schneider of “15 Fingers.” They talked about their experiences in advertising. They discussed how they got started and then talked with the students about whatever they wished.  They emphasized the importance of having a good portfolio, and offered suggestions, such as finding a client of theirs, mocking up a campaign to the quality of the agency and then presenting it as a portfolio piece. They strongly encouraged potential interviewees to research the agency and ask pertinent questions about it. Bill Patterson imparted one important yet (to his eyes) largely overlooked piece of advice. “Don’t be an asshole.” He said that an alarming amount of people act pompous and entitled, and that it is in a potential employee’s best interest to be polite and pleasantly respectful, which, as a Canisius student, I don’t think any of us will have a problem being. I also learned a bit about the relationships between different agencies. It seems to be cordial some of the time, and quietly antagonistic some of the time. For example, creative people will bounce from one agency to the next and are sometimes poached. I think I benefited a lot from this event.