Well last night was the final night for the Fashion Campus NYC program. Overall, I really feel that the program helped me to put things in perspective.
The first night we heard from Uri Minkoff, founder, CEO and brother of Rebecca Minkoff. He truly is a brilliant guy and a few simple things he said have stuck in my mind. One of the most important things he said was that you should be at least two of three things; you should be nice, you should be on time and you should have a good product. He explained that if you are nice and have a good product, people will forgive you if you're late, whereas if you're rude but have a good product people will still hold that against you. Throughout the night Uri really emphasized how important it is to be nice in this industry. There are so many people who will step on people's toes just to get what they want and while it is important to be passionate and driven, it is just as important to treat people with respect.
The next night, Tuesday, we were broken up into workshops that we chose. I chose to participate in the Social Media/ PR workshop. PR professor, Tom Handley, spoke to my group. He was extremely smart and funny and truly does know everyone there is to know. He was not afraid to joke with us and use real life examples to explain to us how essential PR and Social Media are for the success of a company.
Last night there was an industry panel that consisted of someone in Business Development at Bumble & Bumble, founder of four card, a PR company founder, a product copywriter at Ralph Lauren and a Brand Manager at Sam Edelman. All of these people had great insight and tips for students looking to break into the industry. Here are a few things I learned from them...
- When it comes to your resume, less is better. People tend to look at resumes very quickly
- It is extremely important to research a company before you go in for an interview
- Do not be fake when it comes to networking, network with purpose
- Try new things even if you fail
- Ask for what you want.
After the panel spoke, there was a social with food and various industry leaders looking to meet potential interns. I spent my night enjoying the delicious food and talking to as many people as possible.
This event really was a great learning experience. It helped to remind me of simple things to remember when trying to find a job and it also informed me about various positions in the fashion industry that I didn't even know existed. Overall, this was a great experience and I highly recommend other students to get involved in these types of workshops.
It is really great to hear advice from a successful industry leader sharing tips when it comes to worth ethic, even more surprising when they are sharing tips when it comes to being nice. I think this quality is often overlooked, you can really never be too kind or respectful, these are two qualities that I admire most and strive for. At the end of the day, it does not matter what field we are in, we are all human beings who should strive to respect ourselves enough to constantly work on improving our behavior and self and respect others enough to show them that. Especially nowadays, you can have a great product but what it really comes down to is the impression that your service leaves on the customer. Punctuality, product, and personality are going to stick out in people's mind when thinking of you, and this is a wise tidbit by Uri that I will carry with me the rest of my career.
ReplyDeleteI am envious of your participation in the Social Media/PR workshop given by Tom Handley, as social media is a huge part of my job! I have never heard of him before however so I will look him up and see if he has any articles or advice readily available online, so thanks for sharing! Sounds like you had an invaluable experience, and I am lucky to hear about the key points, as it helps me as well. Learning really does never stop, and I am lucky that you passed on this info, it's next best thing than participating!
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