Most Promising Minority Students Class of 2012

It has been quite the whirlwind of a month so far and it's only February 6th. These past few days I have been in New York City with 49 other Most Promising Minority Students in advertising w/ the American Advertising Federation. It was an incredible 3 day event, I got to meet anyone and everyone I could possibly work for in advertising, as well as future colleagues. 3 days filled with lots of hand-shaking and talking up my skills and visiting  3 awesome agencies: Digitas, Deutsch, and DraftFCB. It opened a lot of doors for me to get my foot into the big leagues in the industry and even led to an official job offer. I now know that moving home jobless is definitely not going to be an option, now I just have to choose what I want to do and where I want to move.

Lessons learned from MPMS:

1. In advertising, the day you stop learning new things, you're done.
2. The connections you make with fellow MPMS'ers are just as important as the ones you make with the recruiters. It's all about networking.
3. Focus on what you want to do in an agency and strive towards it.
4. Advertising is way too time-consuming if you're not passionate about your work.
5. Handwritten card or email doesn't matter, as long as you follow up and maintain that relationship.
6. Recruiters hire people, not paper. Show your own personality in everything you do.
7. Keep a relationship with the recruiters by coming up with conversation topics including keeping up with recent agency news: new business, losing business, awards, etc. 
8. Always ask for feedback, whether you get the job or not. Especially not. 
9. Planners must have a naturally curious.
10. Be prepared with good questions, always.

I got back from MPMS on Saturday, hopped off the train in Providence, put on a dress, and went to Snoball. The next day I hopped on a plane to DC. Now I'm here for my 3rd CPAC a few days early to help the ACU staff prep for the conference starting Thursday. I'm shadowing the Communications Director again this year, should be an awesome CPAC since it's an election year. Now I am standing at a crossroads in life. Madison Avenue or the Hill? We'll see.