Once you find an organization or two that are in line with your interests and goals, begin going to the meetings. Be sure to dress appropriately. Prepare yourself by taking along a small notepad (one that fits into a pocket or purse). You may need this to write down the names of people you meet and where they work.
You will also need to prepare yourself in another way: rehearse what you are going to say when you are either introduced to other people at these meetings or when you introduce yourself. Yes, introduce yourself! In most of these organizations there is no formal procedure for introducing new members. You will be expected to mingle on your own and introduce yourself.
Most of these meetings will begin with a coffee or cocktail hour, during which you can walk around and decide who looks friendly and open to talking with a stranger. Begin at one end of the room and take a visual survey of everyone there. Some people will be standing alone. Those people are usually the easiest to approach because they too may be new members and feeling a bit adrift. Then there are the little pockets or groups of people. Some of these groups may be difficult to break into if they are made up of friends who are involved in a personal or intimate conversation. Study the groups carefully before you intrude.
The best way to access the approachability of a group is to move slowly through the crowd and stop close enough to overhear what each one is talking about. If it seems to be of a non intimate nature, wait for a natural break in the conversation and try to position yourself in a way that makes it easy to turn and casually strike up a conversation with one of the group members. You could interject something related to what you overhead in the conversation that was of interest to you. For example, "Excuse me, but I thought I heard you mention that new agency that just opened last week. Do you know anything about its founders?" However, do be careful that you do not interject with a gossipy or prying question. You could also begin a conversation with a personal (but not too personal) question like, "You look so familiar. I've been trying to figure out where I might have seen you before."
Once you manage to break into a group or strike up an individual conversation, you should then briefly state why you have joined this organization or why you are thinking about joining it. Then stop talking about yourself and shift your attention to the other person or people you are meeting. Ask what each of them does and why they are here. If this type of interaction is uncomfortable for you, practice beforehand in front of a mirror, while you are driving, or with a friend. Do it until it becomes easy and natural. It is important to make a good first impression. After all, you may just find yourself saying hello to the personnel director of your favorite advertising agency.
One word of advice: prepare more questions to ask other people than material about yourself. People love to talk about themselves. If you can focus more attention on other people than on yourself, they will go away thinking that you are terrific. Plus, if you can keep people talking about themselves that keeps the spotlight off you for a while. That could be important if you are a little nervous and need time to compose yourself, catch your breath, and get comfortable. On the other hand, be sensitive to the person you are playing with chatty questions. If you sense reluctance, you may need to offer a polite, "Excuse me, I'll talk to you later," and move on to other more receptive contacts.
Networking with friends and relatives
You can also network right in your own backyard. Think about everyone you already know friends and relatives. Is there anyone who in any way may be associated with advertising? It could be someone whose golfing partner is an agency account executive, or someone who works for a radio or a television station or a newspaper or a magazine who might have a personal relationship with people in the agency business. There may even be someone in your circle of acquaintances who uses the services of advertising professionals. Ask around. You may be surprised at the connections you will find.
If you discover a few potential contacts, make a date to get together. Go out to lunch and plan to pay for it. These people have the potential to help you, so you do not want to give them the impression that you are taking their time for granted. Even close friends and relatives should be treated with professional courtesy. Tell each person you meet with exactly what your goals are and which agencies you have identified as compatible with you and why. Find out who they know in advertising and what they know about specific agencies and the industry in general. See if they can introduce you to anyone who would be willing to give you more information. Also, ask if they would mind making a call to one of these people to help you get your resume and cover letter to the appropriate person. Be sure to ask each of your contacts if you are imposing by asking for personal assistance. Always preface your request with the acknowledgment that if they feel uncomfortable in any way about making a phone call, that you understand perfectly. If any of your contacts are hesitant about calling someone for you, ask if they would mind if you called the person yourself and used their name. This can sometimes be just as effective, and it certainly takes your person off the hook.
Send a thank you note to every person who helps you make a contact or gives you advice, recommendations, or leads. It is also thoughtful to keep these people informed of your progress when you land an interview or get a job offer.
It probably will not happen overnight, but with persistence, several meetings, and perhaps even follow up lunches under your belt, you are likely to make some significant contacts. Keep in mind that you may not get a job from these contacts, but I can guarantee you that they will play an important role in your professional life at some time in the future. This is the reason that networking never ends. It will become an important part of your professional life no matter how high you rise in the advertising community. Always remember that you cannot have too many friends in business. Of course, the other thing to always remember is that you have to be a friend to have a friend.
Ready, set, go
When your resume and cover letters are ready to go out, you can begin sending them to each agency on your list whether there is an available position or not. It is important just to get your materials out there because the nature of agency business is change. New accounts are added every day, and that often creates an immediate need for new people. Thus having your resume on file will give you an edge over any applicants who respond to an ad when a position is advertised, if the position is ever advertised at all.
Once you have sent your cover letters and resumes out, be sure to follow up each one with a phone call to see that your materials have arrived. During that call, ask if you can arrange an interview with the person you addressed the letter to. You may be told on the phone by the assistant or the receptionist that the agency is not hiring right now and your contact person is not accepting appointments for interviews. If that happens, ask if you could come in for an agency tour (if you have not done that with this agency yet) with someone in the department you want to work in. If you are still put off, then ask the person you are speaking with to please keep your resume on file in the event that a position opens up. Then you can call back every six months or so, just to check on the status of available openings.
