Networking opportunities at it’s finest

Well, maybe not.  In my last post, I wrote about a few opportunities that I had to get out and meet people.  I would not say any of it was a waste of time, but I certainly have not embraced it to the fullest potential.  I blame myself here.

Junior League of Boca Raton

I had joined this group of ladies who bring a lot to the table for the community.  There is no question about that.  However, one of the reasons for joining this organization was to meet new friends.  I started attending the meetings in August, and I have not made a single friend or acquaintance.

In fact, I just do not fit in with these ladies.   I was not raised poor, but these ladies are way out of my class.  They ALL have the same large Louis Vuitton purse and white Mercedes.  I will stick with my little Honda Civic with way too many miles on it.  Maybe I am little envious because I work so hard to just maintain where I am.

I have met a few friendly people, but mostly they seemed to have formed their own cliques already.  My guess is that I have missed some gatherings because they all seem to know each other fairly well now.  As for me, I could not even tell you even one of their names.  It is probably my fault since I have not signed up for any volunteering shifts.

I did not sign up for the shifts because I was under the impression all these food opportunities would be handling a variety of meats making sandwiches.  I was wrong.  There are other opportunities but none of them really fit my schedule outside of work.  At any rate, I do not think I am going to continue attending the meetings for this group.  I have no clue what they are ever talking about, and after a long day, I just want to go home.

SMX East

Being on a major budget, I flew to NYC and stayed with my cousin in Queens.  She had a nice apartment with a nice couch that fit my excessively tall self just fine.  The first day, she had to work so I hopped on the train and headed to the city alone (for the first time).  I was more freaking myself out about taking public transportation.  How ridiculous, right?

Well, in reality it was not bad at all.  I took the train and followed the streets to the address.  I made it to the Javits Center a little later than I wanted to.  I did not miss much since I was on the free pass and sell-me-your-product seminars.

I went in the first meeting, where it was Bing-Yahoo talking about their ad network and such.  It was just about noon when I finished that seminar.  I decided to check out the food court and I met with Ben.

Ben was a young guy who just finished at NYU and was looking for a job.  He wants to be a trend analyst.  Considering he has a great education and lives in a city of opportunity, I am sure Ben will make it one day.  However, he was telling me how he wants to attend Miami Ad School.

I wish that I had the money to continue going to school.  At one point, I was so ready to go back to school for my MBA.  Then, I evaluated my student loans and how much more debt that I was going to add to it.  That idea died along with my bank account that is now paying back what I currently owe.

Anyway, I met a few people who were really nice at the convention. However, I wish that I had the money to attend the educational side.  When I came back, my office asked me if I attended the event.  They told me I should tell them next time because they would have paid.  Let’s just say it was not a secret, where I was going and what I was doing.  I’ll leave it at that.

However, they did finally order me business cards!  You would be excited to if you have been working for years and no one ever agreed to order them for you.  Yes, I have asked (numerous times).

Anyway, after SMX, I did attend the Big Ad Gig at the New York Times Building.  I was an attendee and not a participant, unfortunately.  The people who were chosen had major advertising portfolios, I have nothing.  At the end, I walked up to Calle Sjoenell, Chief Creative Officer at Ogilvy to introduce myself.  I had about 30 seconds to say something and make an impression before the rest took him away.

Me:  Hi.  I am Jacquelyn Marks.  I have applied to your company about 25 times and I am stalking your HR person on LinkedIn.  Nice to meet you.
[we shake hands] Calle:  [laughs] Nice to meet you.  Oh, good.

That was it.  Then I spent the rest of my trip in NY running around eating and drinking.  I am still paying for this.  Sigh, I hate being broke.

That was really all I have done for the networking idea.  Honestly, it is hard when you work so much and cannot keep up with what is going on.  However, would anything really change if I met someone who was going to be a mentor or friend?  Who knows?  I am not giving up nor shying away from anything else that comes my way.

To see pictures from my NYC trip, check it out here.