Here with Andrew

There are so many great things happening on this campus, in our communities, in our city, and in the rest of the world. Companies spend a great deal of money on advertising/marketing their products/companies/brand all the time (The average Fortune 500 company spends $40 million on SEO, Search Engine Optimization, everyday, Article here).

But on our precious school campus, we find a lot of it everywhere. Different clubs do different things. Some like to use chalk to get their message out. Almost every group uses FB. Tweets are shot here and there. Amazing numbers of posters are, well, posted everywhere. Flyers/Postcards are passed and dropped on the floor every other second.  Being involved in a variety number of student organizations, I must say that i’m guilty of mass promotion as well through various means.

At what point do you feel like it’s too much, if ever? Does it ever get so overwhelming that it turns you off? Becomes unappealing?

To me, it seems like all marketing efforts on this campus go with either a quantity or quality approach, not often a solid balance of both. You have the occasional really innovative promotional act that makes people go WOW. And then you have the event that’s everywhere. Washrooms, flyers in your hands, booths, posters, people who dress up in costumes.

What do you find to be effective for grabbing your interest and convincing you to attend whatever event/activity that they’re promoting? What’s the turning point? Thoughts?

In the last while, i’ve found it semi-difficult to think up topics to write about. I feel like school has really consumed the time in my life in the past while and I didn’t want to be blogging about all the midterms I was plowing my way through.

In the last month, i’ve done a million applications for jobs and extra-curricular activities, studied many hours (but not enough) for midterms and such, wrote a paper that actually stressed me out as I tried to reach the word count (which doesn’t really happen for me in other cases because I usually have too much to say about topics so that was weird), and basically rinsed and repeated  my work-school-sleep-eat schedule over and over again. I must say that the last month has really tested my ability to be responsible for the work I want to get done both academically and non-academically.

I must say that first year passed quickly. Although it’s not over (about a month to go including one week and a half of classes and three weeks of exams) I feel like it’s basically the final stretch. I faced a lot of successes and failures (especially in the past while) and first year really helps you experiment and adapt to feelings you may not have felt in high school and such. I just know that this year was a great year to learn and I have no doubt that UBC will provide a similar experience for me next year.

Before I end off, I do want to review something new that I tried in the past while. I’m a fanatic for taiwanese cuisine (particularly food at bubble tea restaurants) and a restaurant called WellTea opened in the village in the last while. I must say that it is a different change from the typical food at campus but it is quite expensive for its portions and the quality. But then again, campus life is super expensive in general. If you plan on trying it, I do recommend having taiwanese deep fried chicken (which is by far my favourite item to order at these places) with noodle or rice as a different change from all the food at the village/at the Sub.

Good luck with all the finals!

At practically all university events, you get freebies all over the place from pens, to post-it notes, to water bottles, and magnets. I’m sure all of us would agree that freebies are great. But for your own sake, please be safe and aware that sometimes freebies cause most pain than they’re worth.

First of all, there is no free lunch (common principle in economics). Most of the time, you have to wait in line or use up your time to get these “freebies”. Sometimes, the benefit just isn’t worth it.

Secondly, free pens can either be heavenly or be a complete nightmare. This year i’ve had two bad experiences with free pens. One leaked onto my notes, and the other (which I was conveniently using today) gave me cramps after I wrote about 3 lines because it didn’t allow me to get a firm enough grip on the pen, causing slide and hand/finger pains.

Another deadly one was an umbrella. Some of the clubs at UBC give away umbrellas as part of their advertisement for their clubs. But one time, the umbrellas were clearly poorly manufactured and I got my finger caught and cut in the part where you open up the umbrella (as I was trying to push it open).

Last but not least, some of these water bottles that are given out are disguised as those new “better for your health” Sig Swiss Made quality bottles. However, I noticed that one of them ones I collected (which I don’t use because I have a great water bottle handy) began to chip on the inside and on the outside from no apparent use!

Freebies are great even if you don’t use them but be aware of these little details that can completely wreck how your day is going!

First of all, I must apologize to the community/to all my readers (or however many there are)/to myself. In an effort to adapt to my new life of work and school, I seem to have failed in other aspects of life that are important to me (even started to sleep less because I opened at work a lot!). But I do have my little own tidbits about networking I want to talk (refer to Phoebe Yu’s blog for excellent to dos/don’ts on networking.

Last weekend, I attended the 2009 Enterprize Canada Business Conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Downtown Vancouver. This was a conference full of workshops regarding entrepreneurship, information about businesses in general, and special skills such as negotiation. The weekend schedule looked roughly like this.

Friday – Opening Ceremonies, Workshops, Dinner Social/”Networking”
Saturday – Innovation Challenge, Business Plan Presentations, Gala Dinner, Night Event
Sunday – Back home we go!

Not only did I learn more about myself and what I need to work on to start up my own business (which I am planning on doing sometime in my life with some friends hopefully) but I also got to experience my first “networking” advertised event. And here I move on to my tips for people going to their first networking events!

1. Always introduce yourself to people with confidence Although I wouldn’t say I have much experience networking, I noticed that first impressions really affect how the conversation goes along. If you start off strong, you’ll literally be on a roll. Don’t let networking become a mechanic and rigid thing to do; it should flow well and this skill is definitely an important one in our society.

2. If it’s your first networking event, go with some friends. I did some “research” on networking and they suggest that when you do introduce yourself to business professionals, it is best to be alone so you can get their undivided attention. Plus, that really allows you to develop your relationship with the professional. However, when you first start off, it is hard for probably 98% of people. It really helps to have some friends to talk to and just lighten/warm up a bit before everyone gets rolling. Plus, you attract other colleagues in the same boat as you and they often join and you all have a nice conversation and really help each other develop those strong verbal skills.

3. If you have business cards, great. But don’t hand them out aimlessly. Although I learned this before, I was reminded of it before. Look for quality people who care to listen to what you have to say/give input. There was a group of us speaking with a fellow colleague but the rest of the group ended up showing little interest but in the end I landed a business card because I was engaged in the conversation. If you don’t show respect, don’t expect to get it back in rigourous situations like these. Having one or two great quality contacts is better than having a stack of business cards.

4. Remembering Names is Important. If you don’t remember the person’s name, then the connection is damaged severely. The tip they gave us was to practice dropping their name in the conversation, especially after you introduce yourselves to each other. Being able to recall a name and special highlights of the conversation if you ever meet up with this person again will really show a strong sense of caring.

5. Be firm, but not overwhelming. I know many people go to networking events to look for jobs, but don’t let that be the focus. Sometimes, the best connections are those who can forward you off to other contacts. Networking is about building a network and not necessarily finding a job from the one employer you want because there are many options out there.

6. Notes/reminders actually do help. The first time I heard about bringing a notepad and pen around while I networked, I thought it was a bit silly because it would look unprofessional if you suddenly went to a corner to scribble stuff down. I used my phone at this event and made brief notes/name reminders and it really makes that big of a difference. Not only does it help you get a written reminder, you also unconsciously think about it more after you’ve noted it, thus remembering it better.

7. Last but not least, Don’t forget the Follow Up. If anything is to come out of networking (other than your personal development), it is the follow up, especially within a week. This may seem obvious, but many students forget to do this and this really puts some students apart from others. You may not get anything apparent out of it, but its respectful and will make you feel better. Plus it will give you practice for the future when you may ever have to follow up with a client or even a friend after doing you a favour.

I encourage everyone to go to a networking event, just to feel the vibe and practice your verbals a bit. Humans are social animals and we need to interact to develop. If we can’t interact, we really aren’t preparing ourselves better for the real world to come. Best of luck!