Eating, drinking and networking your way to a new job for $25.00 a day!
I have developed notoriety among my friends and colleagues for attending a record number of networking events over the years. I’m addicted to meeting new people and learning about different industries; I love to hear about a ‘day in the life’ of someone else within the marketing or creative field.
Meeting people face-to-face is the key to developing or maintaining any successful business relationship. While you might discover a new lead or uncover some useful information via the web, the majority of meaningful interactions take place in person according to Keller Fay which is a leading full-service marketing research and consulting company dedicated to word of mouth marketing.
“Around 3.5 billion word-of-mouth conversations take place in the U.S. on a daily basis, of which just 7% take place online via instant/test messaging, chat rooms, email and blogs. The remainder take place offline either face to face (75%) or on the telephone (17%).”
If you are developing a personal brand for a new job search; looking for speaking engagement opportunities to amplify your company’s thought leadership presence within any given industry; or to learn from your peers, there is nothing more effective than face-to-face meetings.
The majority of these events have a nominal fee of $25.00- $45.00 for you to attend and they always feed you! Due to the increasing level of marketers out of work, there is a growing number of candidates and a dwindling number of positions. Employed marketing and creative executives also attend these events. I have heard from numerous very talented marketers I wish I had attended more events while I was employed to expand my network, and I agree.
Within the marketing and creative associations alone, there are a never ending stream of events, luncheons, breakfasts and cocktail hours across the city. Following is a brief list of the events I typically attend.
Marketing and Creative Associations:
CIMA: Chicago Interactive Marketing Association
AMA: American Marketing Association
BMA: Business Marketing Association
CADM: Chicago Association of Direct Marketers
IABC: International Association of Business Communicators
LMA: Chicago Legal Marketing Association
ANA: Association of National Advertisers
Illinois Technology Association
Chicago Executive Leadership Association
Young Professionals Group of Chicago
Marketing and Social Media “Meet-Ups”:
Chicago Interactive Design Development Meet-Up
Chicago Web 2.0 and Social Media Marketing Meet-Up
MBA Alumni Business School Marketing Events
University of Chicago Booth School of Business Marketing Roundtables
March 29th, 2009 at 2:03 am
Great article, Mike. Thanks for posting.
March 30th, 2009 at 10:04 am
Very nice!
Put this on twitter so I can RT you.
Lisa
March 30th, 2009 at 10:25 am
Lisa,
I just posted it on Twitter! Thanks for the Re-tweet!
March 30th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
I couldn’t agree more. I am a convert to the 25 dollar a day program.
Be sure to include DePaul University’s Kellstadt Marketing Group to your list of universities. We have an exciting program planned on April 25. 100 person max. Quality time with presenters and marketers. Sorry for the shameless plug!
March 31st, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Nice one Mike. I like the networking group list, plus the idea of a meal solution. Who needs to cook? Just sizzle at events : )
March 31st, 2009 at 5:13 pm
Lori,
I have had several requests for events to be added to the list. It looks like we will need to do an addendum to this blog. Thanks for reading.
March 31st, 2009 at 5:17 pm
Glenn,
Thanks for the comment. I didn’t mention in the blog that the food isn’t the most healthy. I guess that means you have to do more moving and shaking at the event to work off the food. I’m game!
December 29th, 2010 at 12:52 am
Awesome tips! Keep up the great work. Happy New Year, 2011!! http://www.avionicsnet.com
March 7th, 2011 at 6:20 pm
I prefer the sign: “No entry”, to the one that says: “No exit”.
March 28th, 2011 at 12:28 pm
Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I’ve really enjoyed surfing around your blog posts. After all I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon!