Humber Graduates Share Their Expertise

Last Friday Humber College was proud to host the annual Grads Give Back event at the North Campus. Humber College marketing students attended the event to gain industry insights and professional advice from past Humber College marketing program graduates. Humber College understands the importance of students remaining up-to-date with industry trends and opportunities; as such, Humber frequently makes these types of opportunities available to students. to further expand knowledge and learning out of the classroom.

The event featured insights and experiences from seven graduates within various industries:

Presenter #1: Zac Stanley- Digital Agency

Presenter #2: Dylan Morrow- Sales Account Management

Presenter #3: Natasha Persad- Social Media Marketing

Presenter #4: Lakshmi Mani- Office Administration

Presenter #5: Marc Boileau- Digital Agency

Presenter #6: Grace Vanden Heuvel- Retail Marketing

Presenter #7: Steve Lorini- Social Media Marketing

Each presenter shared his/her own personal insights and experiences since they graduated from Humber. Throughout the event, each speaker touched upon a few common areas including: education, job search, employment and future opportunities. Three key topics came to light:

1. Job Search

Nearly each of the speakers touched upon the issues, challenges and opportunities associated with searching for employment. One of the most apparent messages pointed out that applying for a job should be taken seriously. It is not simply a passive activity that you do while sitting on the couch watching a movie. Similarly, the presenters stressed the importance of getting out there and pushing through the clutter to find a job that truly suits your skill set and abilities. The most common sources that the graduates used to find jobs include: monster.ca, careerbuilder.com and the school employment centers.

2. The Transition

Managing the transition between college life and professional life can be very difficult for many students. Zac Stanley and Marc Boileau discussed the importance of managing the differences between school projects and work projects. Marc explained that the main issues within the transition are due to the increase in the level of stress and responsibility that new graduates face. Similarly, Zac stated that, “Everyone likes to have fun, but once you start working; it’s a different type of fun.” Both the graduates clarified that you don’t have to put your social life on hold - you simply have to alter it to suit your new professional life.

3. Be Realistic

Being realistic in finding your first job was one of the main points that appealed to me. Marc Boileau did an excellent job in conveying the importance of setting strong but realistic job search criteria. Marc says that the most important aspect is to, “Get your foot in the door,” even if it requires taking a job that pays less or has longer hours. If you are able to get started within your industry, then you are a step in the right direction. In addition, Steve Lorini not only agreed with Marc but he also explained the importance of taking advantage of the various opportunities and contacts that are available.

Overall, the event was a huge success. I would like to extend a very special thank you to the returning graduates for sharing their personal insights and industry expertise. If you have the opportunity and are able to attend the event next year, I highly recommend you do so. Not only will you gain insights into career options, but you may also uncover new trends and opportunities to kick start your professional life.

Humber College Honour Pin Ceremony

This past Tuesday the Humber College business school recognized the academic excellence of a group of Marketing Diploma students. Faculty and family members acknowledged the students during the annual Honour Pin Ceremony.  

The ceremony highlights the academic achievements of students who achieve an overall average of 80% during the academic calendar year.

Throughout the event a number of speakers concluded that achieving honours is not an easy feat. In fact, achieving honours means much more than simply attending classes and receiving good grades; it encompasses a wide variety skills and attributes such as: hardwork, determination, team work, communication, analytical thinking and problem solving. Excelling within college provides you with more than just good grades. It helps establish the foundation for your future career and success.

In this blog I would like to share with you three tips that I believe can help students achieve both academic and personal success while studying at Humber College.

Tip #1- Get Involved

Becoming involved within the school through both academic and extra circular activities can prove to be very beneficial to a student’s success. Whether it is joining a club such as Toastmasters, a case study competition team, a sports team or even speaking engagements, getting involved can lead to great opportunities.

Tip #2- Stay on top of your studies

Although this tip seems fairly basic, it is very easy to fall behind within your studies. With a full course load, multiple assignments, group projects and your own social life, it can feel very overwhelming at times. Organize, plan and take your time to ensure that everything is completed on time and properly.

Tip#3- Don’t be afraid to ask for help

The sooner you realize that your teachers actually care and that they want to help you succeed, school becomes an entirely different playing field. This has been one of my greatest lessons while studying at Humber. Take advantage of the services on campus; Humber offers various learning centers and tutoring services to ensure that students are successful. 

Not only does achieving honours make you stand out amongst the crowd, it also gives you a sense of accomplishment.

-Tim

Art of Marketing Conference

This past Monday a few Humber faculty members and marketing students visited the Metro Toronto Convention Center to attend the nationally acclaimed Art of Marketing Conference. The Humber College students attended the event to network with marketing professionals and to remain up-to-date with evolving trends in the industry. Humber College frequently makes these types of opportunities available to students to further expand knowledge and learning outside of the classroom. For example, last semester students were invited to a branding presentation by Martin Lindstrom in downtown Toronto.

The conference is a one-day event which features seven internationally renowned best-selling authors and leaders from across the marketing industry. The speakers share their industry expertise and experience on today’s most critical marketing issues. The Art of Marketing conference attracted a crowd of over 500 individuals, including a number of Humber College graduates. In this blog post I am going to highlight three key overall themes of the event

First, I would like to share the names of the speakers that presented at the conference and their role within the world of marketing. I highly recommend taking some time to research each of these individuals and listen to what they have to say about the future of marketing.

•        Speaker #1: Mitch Joel- President of Twist Image
• ·      Speaker #2: Bryan Pearson- Chief Executive Officer, LoyaltyOne
• ·      Speaker #3: Eric Ryan- Co-founder, Method
• ·      Speaker #4: Youngme Moon- Harvard Business School
• ·      Speaker #5: Scooter Braun- Brand Manager for Justin Bieber
• ·      Speaker #6: Randi Zuckerberg- Head of Marketing at Facebook
• ·      Speaker #7: Martin Lindstrom- Global Branding Expert

 To try and summarize all of the information presented from entire event into one blog post is simply impossible. Instead, I would like to provide you with insight into three themes that truly captured my attention.  

1. The Customer

Having a well-rounded understanding of your customers seems like a very basic skill that every marketer should have… and luckily it is! However, many of the presenters suggested that there is much more to the average consumer than many people realize. Not only do consumers purchase products but they can act as a valuable source of information for your brand. Mitch Joel presented one of the best examples through the explanation of the Amazon Price Check Application. Consumers are able to take a picture of a product while in a retail store and instantly compare the price to the exact product that is being sold online through Amazon at a cheaper price. Amazon is literally placing the ability to instantly comparison shop in the hands of the consumer. Although this may be scary to retailers, it’s a strike of genius for Amazon! Not only has Amazon increased their sales, but also they have gained vast amounts of information from users such as: product information, customer product preferences and even shopping habits, which would be otherwise very costly to acquire.  

2. How different are you, really?

Marketing is all about creating an identity and developing a brand that makes you unique amongst the crowd. Most people associate brands with large corporations, however brands exist at a much smaller levels. For example, you have your own brand and your own set of unique values that people use to identify you. Youngme Moon, challenged everyone to “Take a moment and ask yourself: How different are you, really [than everyone else]?” She suggested that simply because you think that you are different and unique does not actually mean that you are. Youngme suggested that it is essential to look at yourself through the eyes of a neutral party to truly assess your difference.  She used examples of Ikea and Mini Cooper to portray her point as she noted that true success is not dependent upon being better, but that it is dependent upon being different within the eyes of the consumer.

3. Don’t be realistic!

I decided to include the theme of ‘not being realistic’ into the blog as it literally challenges the entire fundamentals of my childhood. Growing up, I was constantly told to be realistic in my views. As many other children, I dreamed of big and magical things; however, reality slowly kicked in and my views began to plateau into a sea or normalness. Scooter Braun boldly said to stop! Scooter suggests that being realistic will limit you from your full potential and achieving all that you could. He says that it is important to shoot and dream as far as you can and work as hard as it takes to get there… he promises that if you try your best, even if you don’t succeed, you will be happier within life.

Overall, the event was absolutely amazing. The information provided by all of the speakers was extremely insightful and powerful. I highly recommend attending a future Art of Marketing conference, or simply researching the works of the featured speakers to gain an insight into the future of marketing. I would like to end by extending a very special thank you to Humber College for letting me attend this event!

I would like to leave you with a quote from Scooter Braun and a short video highlighting the Art of Marketing.

“ Everyone will say that you are a dreamer and a failure when what you are doing is not working… but when you hit it, they will call you a genius”- Scooter Braun 

Promotional Video, The Art of Marketing - Toronto - March 5th, 2012 http://youtu.be/QgB5WtwQd0E

- Tim