Hi All,

I'm a recent Syracuse University grad who has worked as a merchandise planner and assistant buyer, and want my next position to get me started in a career in marketing. I'm particularly interested in the tech industry and startups. Here's what I'm doing to get my foot in the door:

Social Media & Following Companies

Since I'm interested in all things digital, I figured I really need to build an online presence. I got started by creating an about.me profile, expanded on my existing LinkedIn profile, started tweeting and following interesting companies and people (Gawker, TechCrunch, NYTimes, NPR Jobs). I even tweeted a compliment to a digital marketing evangelist at Google on a presentation he made, just because.

Hustling to the Rocky theme song is cheesy but effective - image 1 - student project

Hustling to the Rocky theme song is cheesy but effective - image 2 - student project

Getting a YES

I got lucky and got my first "yes" on the first try. Last Tuesday, as I was going through some old emails and creating a list of old contacts to get in touch with, I found an email from someone at an urban art gallery who was looking for a social media intern at the end of last year. I thought I might as well email her to check if the position was still open since it would really do wonders for my resume to have social media experience for a business. Lo and behold, the intern she had hired just gave her 2 weeks' notice an hour prior to my email! AND she offered me an interview right off the bat!

Hustling to the Rocky theme song is cheesy but effective - image 3 - student project

I just interviewed last Thursday, and I think it went pretty well. Fingers crossed! Of course I followed up after the interview with a thank you and add a few more ideas I had for managing their social media:

Hustling to the Rocky theme song is cheesy but effective - image 4 - student project

Events

I started "hustling" at networking events a few weeks ago. I made myself a business card and went to the NY Creative Interns' Warby Parker Panel as well as a Marketing Mixer I found via Meetup. I plan on attending several events in NYC during Social Media Week, and for those of you interested, it's from Feb 19th-21st. I believe they even have a few social events leading up to it.

Takeaway

What I'm really taking away from this experience is to not try this "getting a yes" exercise once, but doing it consistently. Eventually, something will stick.

Sonali Teli

Business Analyst Transitioning to Marketing

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