Find And Follow Your Passion With New York Creative Interns

This post was originally posted on Work It Brooklyn:


On November 10th, join creative college students and young professionals for a full-day of discussions and workshops designed to give you the tools needed to create you dream career. Meet creatives from the most exciting companies in New York City, get an edge in your career, and make amazing connections.

Our friends at New York Creative Interns are hosting another spectacular event and Work It Brooklyn is so stoked to announce our involvement as media partners for this amazing event. Speakers include creative professionals from Travel Channel, New York Magazine, USA Network, Behance, MoMA PS1, and many more. The event also includes a 50+ company career fair.

Start your Saturday morning keynote is Tina Roth Eisenberg (aka @swissmiss), attend the internship and career fair and choose amongst several cool sessions to attend over the course of the day.

For our Work It Brooklyn peeps, might we suggest:Seeking Success Within: Reveal What You Want & How To Achieve It with Rhonda Schaller, Director // Center for Career & Professional Development Pratt InstituteFrom Creation to Compensation: Overcome the Starving Artist Stigma with Rebecca Taylor, Communications Director // MoMA PS1; Tim Smith, Manager // Marvel Comics; Opus Moreschi, Colbert Report; Sarah Cooper, UX Designer // GoogleCreative Alchemy: Convert Opportunities into Career Gold with Monico Lo, Senior Art Director and Megan Nuttall, Senior Writer // both of kbs+The Art of Negotiation: How to Earn What You're Worth with (friend of Work It Brooklyn) Jim Hopkinson, President // Hopkinson Creative Media

But, hey, if that particular line-up is not your thing, check out the schedule and choose the sessions you’d like to attend.

Details:Find & Follow Your Passion: A Full Day ConferenceBy NY Creative Interns in partnership with the Center for Career & Professional Development at Pratt Institute.Date: Saturday, November 10, 9am - 5:30pmLocation: Pratt Institute. 200 Willoughby Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11205Register: conf.nycreativeinterns.com

Tickets: Students: $50 // Recent Grads: $75 // Young Professionals: $150Work It Brooklyn members, use the code WorkItLove for 20% off any non-Pratt ticket.Register and learn more: conf.nycreativeinterns.com

Health and Wellness for Freelancers & Independent Workers

Gentle readers, your MatchGirl is happy to announce that registration is now open for the next Work It Brooklyn event. Read below to learn more!


We’ve all been there, working away for hours, focused on only the task at hand - maybe staring at a computer screen as we write, maybe it’s hours bent over jewelry wire, or time spent standing in front of a canvas. And then we look up and realize it’s 4PM and all we’ve eaten all day was that bagel with our morning coffee. That we’ve been in the same position for hours.

Friends, this is no way for a creative entrepreneur to live!

Whether you freelance, working from home or coffee shops for multiple clients, or are starting your own business, like so many of the members of Work It Brooklyn, you’re spending a lot of time focused on the business you’re trying to grow. But how much time are you spending focused on yourself?

Our next event, April 18th from 7 to 9PM and graciously hosted by our friends at Human At Ease,  is centered on how to stay healthy and well while you are focused on growing your business, and the best way to make all the parts of your life balance while you are doing this.

We’ll have a discussion, led by our own Aja Marsh, of North Brooklyn Runners, and with panelists including  Dishan Elise, a certified personal trainer and the founder/owner of Human At Ease and Kim Ann Curtin, a life coach who is founder and CEO of The Wall Street Coach.

Whether you’re working on starting your own business, freelancing from the cramped confines of your studio apartment, or a member of our community with a focus on food, health and wellness, this event will provide answers to achieving a better, healthier, life balance.

Don’t worry - we’ll also have our signature speed-networking, too!

Want to join us? Register here.


A few words about our amazing host!
Human at Ease is a fitness and wellness studio whose goal and desire in strengthening the “whole” person is to facilitate an overall sense of well-being & fulfillment, and to improve overall quality of life using one or more of our various offerings. Their objective is for the community to recognize Human@Ease’s name for what it is--a haven for strength & serenity. A place where we can all learn to “Love Ourselves”. At Human@Ease we all share in a common vision of positive human change.

You: The Brand | Part Four - Make It Work

Gentle readers, on Tuesday, your MatchGirl promised to come back to you with some tips on taking all that you've learned over the last few posts - your new resume, your awesome social media presence and a little bit of chutzpah - and making them work together. To sell yourself to people you've never met before, to people you're just meeting and to people who you really want to get to know.

This is something your MatchGirl has written about before, for her friends at Brokelyn and for the fine folks at Social Media Week NYC, and it's something that I'd like to share with you.

Here are my five points to remember when attending a networking event or trying to sell yourself to a prospective employer:

1. Elevator Pitch: I've been talking about this since 2010, and I've written about it several times. Practice this. Most times you only get two to three minutes to tell your story. Make these minutes count.

2. Listen as much as you speak: Something else that your MatchGirl has touched on here. You need to remember that looking for a job, promoting your brand and building your business is all built on connections.

3. Keep moving: If you're at a networking event, don't spend the entire evening talking to one or two people. Move around the room. Excuse yourself and talk to some new faces. That's why you're there, after all!

4. Follow Up: After the event, or an interview, or even an impromptu meeting, where you've grabbed a business card, follow up. Shoot the person an email, connect on LinkedIn, or even Tweet at them to say hi. Keep the lines of communication open.

You: The Brand | Part Three - Now What?

All right, gentle readers, if you've been following along the past couple of posts, you are prepared for the next step: Taking the pieces of what you've put together and doing something with them.

What?
Come now. You didn't think that people would just come to you, now that you've got this beautiful resume and those coordinated social media profiles, did you?
If you are your own brand (hint: you are), you need to get out there and sell yourself!

And yes, gentle readers, your MatchGirl is well aware that this might be the hardest part of all.

As many of you know, I co-host networking events for creative freelancers and entrepreneurs in Brooklyn. I attend as many events as I can, that are geared to tech and social media especially. If I have an opportunity to network, I will do my best to get myself out there. When I was working for an agency, I did it on behalf of the agency - smiling, shaking hands, speaking in a positive way about all the cool things we were doing or had in the pipeline - and I'd do it for myself, as well. Here's the thing, dear readers, it's 100 times easier to sell something or someone else than it is to sell the idea of yourself.

A few things you're going to need to get started:

Business cards. Even in this digital age, many people still like to collect paper business cards to add to their collection. Don't use price as an excuse. You can get beautiful, custom cards a few bucks. Services like Moo Cards (where I actually got mine for free, using a Klout perk) and VistaPrint offer great products at very affordable prices.

A charged phone. Others may not be as on top of things as you are. Make sure your mobile is charged so you can take the phone number and email address of anyone you meet who you'd like to get in touch with in the future.

Chutzpah. Going to events and putting yourself out there requires a lot of gumption. You're going to need to go up to people you don't know and introduce yourself - representing the brand of you. You're going to need confidence to do this - confidence in what you're selling.


Next post? How to talk about yourself without coming across as a braggart or a bore.

Photo ᔥ

Collaboration

Gentle readers, as many of you know, at the beginning of this year, your MatchGirl joined the street team of Seth Godin's Domino Project. I believe I reflected on it for the first time in February of this year. And I got my first big jolt of inspiration after devouring Godin's Poke the Box- and wrote about it here.

The thing is, dear ones, your MatchGirl continues to be inspired and motivated by this project, even though it has officially come to an end.

What is it that's kept me so motivated?
It's keeping in touch with the other members of the street team, scattered throughout the world.
It's watching them take deep breaths and do the scary things they weren't sure they could do.
It's being part of the community.
And it's keeping the collaboration going.

Your MatchGirl is a big fan of collaboration.
Of coming together.
It's part of why she was so excited to help in the founding of Work It Brooklyn. And why she continues to encourage all of you to come together.

Through working together, we can make good ideas great.
We can make small accomplishments big achievements.
We can turn the germ of an idea into something that will change the world.

No one can do it alone, though.
I promise you that, gentle ones.
No matter who you are. No matter how big your personality. No matter how much money you have. No matter who your parents are.
Anything you do solo in this world can only be made better by coming together with other smart people. Whether they code or write or market or keep your ego in check. If they give you answers and keep your ego in line (no matter your talent) they're worth your time.

What's the best collaborative project you've worked on? What inspires you to keep connecting and collaborating? I'd love for you to share your stories with me.

New Channels for Old School Businesses

Tonight, gentle readers, your MatchGirl is moderating a panel on how to use social media to promote your creative business. It's a Work It Brooklyn hosted discussion. And it's important.

On a call just the other day, a colleague asked if we were doing enough to cater to small businesses. Do digital events and social media conferences preach to the choir, or do they seem open and inclusive, and, to my mind more importantly, educational, to the public at large? Your MatchGirl finds the tech community in New York to be one that's super welcoming and inclusive. But she also agrees that conferences are often expensive and geared towards those already working within the industry.

That's partly why I'm so excited for tonight's Work It Brooklyn event. Through it, we hope to educate people on how to use social media to promote their creative business. To promote themselves. We've got an amazing group of people on board, all of whom have built their own brand and business via online social networks and non-traditional means.

This event will give you a little education on how to use social media platforms, and your existing networks, to promote yourself. The world of social media platforms is about more than looking at pictures of kids and kittens. It's about more than 140 characters of what you had for dinner. It's about more than a fucked up little kid, fresh from the dentist's office.

It's a tool. And what you do with it is up to you.



Interested? Register here.

Work It Brooklyn: Using Social Media to Promote Your Creative Business

As you know, gentle readers, your MatchGirl spends a lot of time in her day-to-day working and living on social networks. As a social media professional, she has to spend a lot of time thinking about how people connect and communicate. As a person who loves to connect people, she spends a lot of time using these platforms for herself.

Next week, Work It Brooklyn presents a panel discussion on using social media, and non-traditional means, to promote your creative business.

I'm really excited to be moderating this panel - we've got Aaron Goldfarb, author of How to Fail and The Cheat Sheet; Kiki Valdes, painter and founder of Ownzee and OpenZine; Jeff Ramos, personal branding specialist; Laura Zapata of The Cools; Allison Robicelli of, well, of course, Robicelli's!

These are all people who have not only used social media platforms to promote themselves and their creative businesses, but who have really thought "outside the box" to make things happen for their businesses.

Next Wendesday, November 9, Work It Brooklyn is please to present this panel at Brooklyn Winery in Williamsburg. For more information and to register, please check out the Eventbrite page: http://wib11911.eventbrite.com/


Space is limited, so register (here) today!

One More Networking Tip: Listen

As you know, gentle readers, tonight is the Work It Brooklyn event at Brooklyn Winery. I hope you've registered and we'll see you there.

Last week your MatchGirl wrote a post for long-time friend of Unemployed Brooklyn, Brokelyn, in which she advised you all on How To Work It Best at Work It Brooklyn and, of course, any networking even you might find yourself attending.

I wanted to add one more, though, dear readers. Briefly.

Listen.

This is something that is hard to do. Of course, you are at a networking event to promote yourself, to meet people who can help you, to find a new job or a freelance gig. You're there with your own agenda. Everyone is.

But this is something that I have learned, in years of going to these events and in over a year and a half of facilitating Work It Brooklyn, listening to those around you takes you very far. Listening to the person you are speaking with, truly listening, will open up a million avenues for you. You'll learn what they do and where they work and what they are there to find. During this time, don't think about what you're going to say or what you might say, just listen. And when they're done speaking, they'll listen to you. You'll find out who they're connected to, and, you just never know, they might be able to facilitate an introduction to someone you've been hoping to meet.

This is tip number eight.

What is your best networking advice?

Meeting People... In Real Life

Gentle readers, in March of 2010, just before I found a position at my current company, your MatchGirl wrote a post entitled Connection. In that post, I wrote about how I was ready for more than what I was getting. I wrote about how the internet was great for making connections (you, dear readers, know your MatchGirl is a fan of the online connection) but that perhaps, especially in the world of job hunting, looking online for a job just seemed, especially in this economy something not that likely...

And I still feel that way. I love connecting with people online. I love my Twitter community - the people I talk to every day online, but only get to see occasionally, the people I met first IRL but I get to keep up with on the internet. But there is something about face-to-face interaction that seems to make people really connect.

It was to that end that Work It Brooklyn (and so many of the other networking communities) was created. To get creative people talking to each other face-to-face. (I hope I'll see some of you at Wednesday's event, by the way!) When you meet someone in real life, you get a sense of who they are. When you shake their hand and look in their eye, you get an chance to get a sense of the person behind the Tweets or the person behind the snarky remarks in a Facebook group or you just get to meet the person that you've seen sitting two tables over from you at Cafe Grumpy, plugging away on their laptop as often as you are. If you work from home or work for yourself, you get to meet people who do the same. Maybe that's your new lunch partner, or, hey, your new web developer.

Your MatchGirl will never stop networking online. She loves it too much.

But when you come together in real life, you never know who you might meet. You never know what ideas you may be exposed to. You never know what old friend you might see and what connections they might have.

My advice to you, gentle ones, is to meet new people. In real life and online.

Work It Brooklyn Is Back!

Gentle readers, as you know, something that your MatchGirl loves - something that she is excited to talk about and to put her time and energy behind - is connecting people. And out of that, collaborating with two amazing women who share the same passion, Work It Brooklyn was born.

And though we've had a shaky path, organizing events around our increasingly busy schedules as well as our day jobs, we try to bring you a few events every year. Where you can meet other people like you. Where creative people can come together and have a drink and exchange info via our signature speed-networking. Where people can get hired. Where people can exchange services. Where people can just find the moral support they feel they are missing when the office life turns into the unpredictable path of a freelancer.

Your MatchGirl, dear ones, is excited to announce that there will be a fantastic Work It Brooklyn event right before summer ends.

Graciously hosted by Brooklyn Winery, in their lovely courtyard, the next Work It Brooklyn event offers  intimate conversations and a chance to really connect with other creatives and creative freelancers living and working in Brooklyn.

Work It Brooklyn is back!

We invite you to come to a fabulous end of summer mixer in the courtyard of Brooklyn Winery in Williamsburg on Wendesday, August 31st from 7 to 10PM.

Bring a stack of business cards and your best three minute description of who you are and what you do!

And, of course, come prepared to work it!

Plan on Tweeting the event? Awesome! Use the hastag #workit and don't forget to follow us @workitbrooklyn and join our Facebook group to keep the discussion going.
We can't wait to see you!


Wednesday, August 31, 2011
7 – 10pm
Brooklyn Winery
213 North 3rd Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211

The event will take place on Wednesday, August 31st, and registration is free, but please remember to register by Monday, August 29th. We need to know who is coming!

All The Help We Can Get

Gentle readers, your MatchGirl has benefited a lot from the kindness of strangers (many of whom have become friends) and acquaintances - especially when she was unemployed. I try, as often as possible, to return those favors. Part of why I'm excited to continue with Work It Brooklyn, as sporadic as those events may be, is that it helps to connect people who want to and need to meet new people.

This weekend I received an email from a woman named Phyllis, looking for someone to help her with her resume.

I thought I would share that here and I hope that one of you is able to help her out.

Dear MatchGirl,

I have worked in the service industry for twenty some odd years. I have never needed a resume. I have always been hired by merits and recommendation . It also helped being young and cute. I have tried many ways to put together a resume, but there is too much to tell. They come out awful.

I have moved back to Brooklyn after many years to care for an elderly parent. I know very few people here.

If you might know someone in Brooklyn that might help me put one together I would appreciate it. I can manage a small fee.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Sincerely,
Phyllis C.
Brooklyndreams13 [at] yahoo [dot] com

Now, I don't know Phyllis and I don't anything about her skills. But I know that one of you can assist her with a resume.

Can't you?

Dreams

Abide in the simple and noble regions of thy life, obey thy heart. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Write down your top three dreams. Now write down what’s holding you back from them.  – Michael Rad

Ah. Your MatchGirl, a little bit, gentle readers, believes that dreams are like wishes. If you share too much, too soon, they won't come true. Don't worry. My top three dreams are at the forefront of my thoughts every day. And I've shared them with the people I know can help them come true - and the one person who is nearly as invested as I am in making them come true.


The one thing holding my back? Me. Of course. The only person who can truly hold you back from your dreams is yourself. I work on that every day.

What's holding you back from your dreams?

Also ... maybe this will inspire you ... just a little bit:

Work It Brooklyn Industry Focus: Music

Registration is now open for our next event– Industry Focus: Music!
Click here to register.

—
It’s no big secret that Brooklyn is the epicenter of independent music in America and Work It Brooklyn is psyched to announce, in partnership with Women In Music, a very special Industry Focus event on Wednesday, April 20th at Coco66 in Greenpoint. This panel and networking event geared towards independent musicians and artists (of all genders) is bolstered by a panel of heavy-hitting music industry professionals eager to share their knowledge and insight as well as answer your burning questions as well as a select group of local industry VIPs who will be ready to network with participants during the mingling slots of the event.

The Panel
• Jeff Price, CEO/Founder/President, Tunecore
• Liz Leahy, CEO/Co-Founder, Section 101
• Michael Corcoran, President, MusicSUBMIT
• Ben Markowitz, Product Experience Manager, Fanbridge
• Jayce Varden, Director/Co-Founder, Pledgemusic.com
• Shamita Carriman Esq. (moderator), Carriman Law Group & Women In Music
Have questions for any of these panelists? Please email them to info@workitbrooklyn.com

The Evening
• 7:00-7:15pm Check in and Mingling
• 7:15-7:40pm Speed Networking
• 7:45-9:00pm Panel Discussion and Q&A
• 9:00-10:00pm Mix, Mingle, and Demo Exchange

What is Speed Networking?
Think musical chairs meets speed dating, where attendees get to meet and speak through this spunky and time sensitive activity.

Demo Exchange!
Bring a handful or two of your CDs to swap with other musicians, VIPs, or anyone else you encounter. There will also be a table where you can put your CDs as well as collect those of other attendees.
Look forward to seeing you there!

Projects!

Gentle readers, your MatchGirl, besides being a working girl, has been working with a variety of projects, so I thought I would take a moment to share them with you.

If you want to read more of my writing, as I have been blogging less on Unemployed Brooklyn of late, you can check out the blog for my company, From Bogota With Love, where I edit content, create the editorial calendar and, from time to time, write here.

If you want to know more about the direction that my life is moving, as Boyfriend and I look for an apartment and start a life of living and growing together, you can read about that (and please follow!) A Precious Environment. I'm blogging there 5 days a week.

I've started a Tumblr, too. Found, by MsMatchGirl is a place for me to share random things I find on my travels through the interwebs. It's updated from time to time, with no particular rhyme or reason - except that I've found something that I think is worth sharing.

I'm still working with Aja and Joann on Work It Brooklyn and you can find out more info on our blog, follow us on Twitter and join the conversation on our Facebook page.

Of course, I'm sure you all follow me on Twitter already!

There are a few other things in the works and a few other things I'm really excited to share with you. And share them, I will. In due time!

Success?

Your MatchGirl is remiss, once again, that it has been so long since she's properly written.  There are just so many things going on in life and I have not, to be very honest, gentle readers, been able to put words to blog in a way that would be even remotely interesting.


Yet, yesterday morning, I saw this tweet from Kneale Mann and it started me thinking of the nature of success.

 
You see, dear ones, your MatchGirl currently has a lot going on - from work to personal projects to personal life changing (more to come on that in a future post) - and, pretty much, all of these things are good. Ones for the win column. A success you might say.


When I was unemployed, I had no fear of failure. I felt like I could go no further down than that November day in 2008 when I got laid off for the simple fact that I was one of only a few people on salary and benefits and the poorly run company could no longer afford to pay it (however paltry it was). So I started blogging. Putting myself out there into the world wasn't scary. And when I started Hire Me Martha, even after appearing on her show, I had no illusions that I would be hired. It was simply good publicity for her. And, as all my gentle readers know, I was embarrassingly single for much of the past couple of years of blogging, and I had no fear of putting myself out there - it couldn't get any worse.


Things have started to turn around. And, though I am by no means successful, I am heading in that direction.


What does it mean?


I'm not sure yet.


Will I make more money? God I hope so.
Will I find happiness? Seems likely.

Is success, in the end, about reaching the summit of the mountain? Or about all the amazing steps it takes along the way?

Work It Brooklyn - We're Back!

That's right, friends, Work It Brooklyn is back!

We know it's been awhile since you've heard from us, but we are now getting busy revving up for an exciting 2011 for WIB and have set the date for our next big mix-and-mingle event: Wednesday, February 23, from 7 to 10PM. We'll be at Public Assembly in Williamsburg, where we'll have plenty of room for speed networking and general excitement.

Register to join the fun at Eventbrite. And while you're busy clicking links, make sure you migrate over to our new Facebook group to join the discussion and mingle, in advance, with your fellow creatives.

To keep WIB running (for operating costs and to bring you bigger and better events all year long) we will be asking for a suggested donation of $5 at the door, though we will turn no one away. Unless you didn't register, of course!

Get those business cards ready!
Aja Marsh, Briana Campbell, and Joann Kim
Work It Brooklyn
Blog | Facebook | 2.23.11 Registration

P.S. Have a friend that wants to join our mailing list? Have them email us.

About

Work It Brooklyn is an event-based networking organization formed in 2010 to connect inspired creatives working independently within the creative fields. Graphic designers, dancers, musicians, tech gurus, painters, and others gather in our evenings of productive debauchery. WIB is devised as a forum to connect folks working from home without the benefit of a network support system, opening up the opportunity to meet and forge partnerships, fine and create work, instigate healthy competition, and encourage the exchange of ideas and potential collaborations, all the while having a whole lot of fun.
Work It Brooklyn is produced by Aja Marsh (North Brooklyn Runners), Briana Campbell (Unemployed Brooklyn) and Joann Kim (Greenpoint Food Market).

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