SAA Grad Night 2013

Monday, November 4^th was SAA Grad night, an event where students would get the opportunity to interact with different people, who are working in the advertising industry in all different fields; whom once graduated from Sheridan College. It was great attending because these people gave us a lot of insight on what to expect when looking for a job, some good tips on how to go about that, and a lot of them are graduates of 2012, so they went through the same process as us graduates of this year will undergo.

The event was held at the Sheridan Student pub “The Marque”, from 6:00-9:00pm.  At the beginning of the night, students were given some time to settle in, enjoy some snacks, and chat amongst each other.  When the main event started, each graduate was seated at a single table, and groups of 2-3 students would have 10 minutes to ask whatever questions,  network with the graduates and take tips from them.  Each table was numbered, students would move to the next number up for ten minutes.  There was a break after five shifts, and then after the break, they allowed us to have 4 more shifts before the night came to an end.  This was an excellent experience because graduates told us how they got to where they are, what they did, when they started job searching, and provided us with business cards to stay in touch; should any job openings be available, they would notify us via e-mail if we’ve asked them.  Two graduates I met last night at grad night were actually hired, by attending grad night last year. The girl who hired her was present last night, as well as the girl who got hired who told us her story.

It is much appreciated by all the people who had the gratitude to put together this superb and very joyful event. It was a great way to start preparing for what is coming for us grads, and to look forward to the real world.

Some of the great tips from last night were, when looking for job postings online, don’t let the requirements such as 4 years or 3 years experience required scare you; as grads from last night informed me all the jobs they applied for had minimum 3-4 years experience, and they got the job, whether they didn’t take the job and worked elsewhere, they still got offered a job. Also, to just apply to as many places as you are interested in as possible, and to really personalize those resumes and cover letters, because it makes it that much more legible and they will feel like you actually care; chances of getting called in for an interview will be greater.

Toronto ad week 2013

Last week was ad week downtown Toronto, at different venues. I was present at the 2012 Cannes winning commercials presented by the Globe & Mail. It was at the TIFF Bell Light box, there were several different events showcasing different commercials at specific times, the ticket I had was for 12:30-2:30pm. Different commercials from all around the world were played, and many different agencies from around the world were recognized during this showcase.

The event was well organized; attendants were escorted accordingly into the theatre, and were offered free popcorn to enjoy the show.

There were a lot of humorous and well executed television commercials from different companies such as Coke Cola, Pepsi, Ford, Hyundai, and many others that don’t come to mind. Some of the best commercials that won awards were from countries such as New Zealand, Brazil, and the U.S. 

There were so many commercials played over the course of two hours, I’d have to see them for a second time to remember them exactly. Some of the funnier ones I still remember, but can’t remember exactly which company it was for, as a commercial needs to be played at least 3 times before it registers in one’s brain.

I would definitely recommend attending ad week in the years to come, for those who couldn’t attend any of the events, it was a great experience, and really entertaining; had I known it would have been that much fun, I would have tried to attend at least one more event during ad week.