The AMA SF began its new year with another SOLD OUT event: its second annual Career Fair. This year, the event was held at the incredible offices of Yelp. We hear people say, “Career Fairs are a thing of the past!” We at AMA SF don’t believe that is true! Those that think that have not attended one of our career fairs, where more than 225 marketers from all different career levels and job functions made connections with each other, as well as recruiters from companies such as Yelp, The Creative Group, FocusVision, CBS Interactive, Vitamin T, Crawford Group, and BAARC. This event was not just for job seekers, but for anyone interested in stepping up their professional game and expanding their network. Along with various recruiter booths, the fair also featured three amazing workshops on different career-building topics:

• Presenting on Resume Optimization for Marketers was Gloriane Yi, a Senior Direct Hire Recruiter from Vitamin T.
• Building Your Personal Brand: How to Stand out in Today’s Job Market was led by Lisa Gibello, Senior Vice President of Creative Recruiting & Client Development at The Creative Group.
• Pathway to Becoming a Digital Marketer was delivered by Heather Meza, Director of Marketing & Services from The Crawford Group.

All the speakers shared great insights and tips on how one can land a job by building their own brand, gaining the required skills for their dream job, and optimizing their resume to stand out among a crowded field of candidates. The featured presentation on The Creative Group’s 2019 Salary Guide, by SVP Lisa Gibello, was very insightful. She discussed current hiring trends, compensation practices, and interview best practices. Lisa emphasized sharing the “story” about who we are instead of just what we do or where we have worked in the past. As per Lisa, our story is what separates us from other marketeers. Being marketing professionals, we should first learn to market ourselves. She also shared The Creative Group’s proprietary salary guide and how to calculate competitive salaries within your local market. According to Lisa, it helps to have a good understanding of salary ranges to aid you in negotiations during the recruitment process, where most people get stuck and hesitate. This year, for the first time, the event included an optional Portfolio Review Station curated by an incredible group of creative industry leaders. These seasoned creatives helped to guide young minds by giving wonderful feedback on their portfolios. The amazing group of portfolio reviewers were:

• Gerardo Garcia-Jurado, Creative Director at The Trust for Public Land
• Tony Wessling, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Chromium
• Gareth Walters, Vice President Creative at Greenberg Strategy
• Jordan Joseph, Lead Digital Designer at Affinity Creative Group

The Career Fair was a perfect one-stop source for jobseekers or anyone looking for professional growth—from advice on crafting a resume, to building your personal brand, to constructive feedback on a portfolio, and (most importantly) networking opportunities. This event gave attendees the chance to interact directly with high-profile companies and to make connections with them. And, a huge “thank you” goes out once again to our sponsor, Kathryn MacDonald. You might have seen Kathryn mingling discreetly among the crowd and taking these incredible shots of the event.

If you regret that you missed this event, I am sorry, you will need to wait another year for our 2020 Career Fair. But, don’t worry. There are many more wonderful events ahead this year. Make sure to subscribe to our email list so that you will be the first to know about our upcoming programming.