Tap Into the World of Multicultural Marketing and Find New Opportunities

Attend Networking Events Narrower in Scope

Posted by Jeanette Guardiola on 11.05.09 @ 03:34 PM

Jeanette Guardiola

There are many of us looking for jobs out there, and naturally we are encouraged to exhaust our resources. One of those less obvious resources is tapping into the world of multicultural marketing. Being a minority increases your ability to identify with other markets, in addition to mainstream markets, and this ability can lead to opportunities. Pursuing the world of advertising in the multicultural sector can be beneficial because it opens up doors in directions that you may not have thought to look previously.

When I think of multicultural advertising and the people in it, the phrase "it's a small world" comes to mind. Everybody seems to know everybody else personally. By getting into this sector, you are increasing your odds of knowing more people specifically and making specific connections that may lead to other valuable connections.

Why might you want to consider this route? Because recruiters of some advertising companies will actually pay out of pocket for the chance (not even necessarily the guarantee) to get a talented minority professional to fulfill a position, and higher officials in major ad companies are charged with diversity initiatives to increase the presence of minorities in the workplace.

After having spoken to a senior recruiter at a major social-networking website, I came to realize that she was almost desperate to meet young professional minorities to potentially hire. I couldn't fathom how this could be, when I know that there are many of us out of work and looking. Perhaps the connections just aren't being made. It goes without saying that meeting people in the field, in person, at networking events and applying to a post on Craigslist just don't match up. Yet I hear people say, "I've applied to every job on Craigslist and have yet to get a response." Maybe Craigslist should be part of our arsenal of resources, but it certainly shouldn't be a main one, especially when you consider the volume of people who use this resource.

Still, in all, it is true that we just want to be revered for our abilities, not merely for being a minority. However, these opportunities exist and we need to be made aware of and take advantage of them. One of the best ways to do this is by attending networking events and meeting other people, aside from your friends, that is. The best networking events are those narrower in scope. I've been fortunate to meet a ton of brilliant people in the field who may prove to be valuable contacts. The ones I've attended include Adversity, Global Hue events, Black Creatives and She Says. There are more, but these are the ones that I found to be most fruitful.

It is important to make pertinent connections in the field in order to pave a way for you and your endeavors, and often that means stepping away from the computer and heading out to meet people at events that were made for us.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeanette Guardiola is currently employed as a freelance art director for a Hispanic ad agency in lower Manhattan. She is also a recent grad of the Fashion Institute of Technology where she received a B.F.A in advertising design and an A.A.S in communication design. Her professional experience ranges from working in creative departments at ad agencies such as Leo Burnett and Y&R to tutoring college students in Adobe CS3 and doing production design.