BMA Milwaukee

            On Tuesday evening I attended the BMA speed interviewing event at Manpower in Milwaukee. Prior to Tuesday I had never attended an event like this. I had no idea what to expect and to be honest my initial attitude toward the event was rather negative.

            The majority of the people in my class have majors in marketing, advertising, and public relations so I was expecting the event to be geared towards them, which it was for the most part. I am majoring in print journalism and I figured this event would be of little to no use for me in my future endeavors.

            I was enlightened and surprised by the event. I had an opportunity to meet with three different people who hire individuals for a living. They gave me feedback and tips on my résumé; valuable information that would have been difficult to acquire anywhere else.

            The final portion of the event was the actual speed interviewing. I had the opportunity to participate in four five-minute interviews with professionals from different marketing and advertising corporations. The advice I was given on interviewing skills was tremendous. Up until Tuesday night I never really had a chance to interview with a professional company. I have interviewed for a number of different part-time jobs in the past but none had high expectations. For the most part, I interviewed really well. I was able to answer questions quickly and the overall comfort and flow was pretty solid. I reaffirmed my prior beliefs that I am a good interviewee and that I can likely tackle any interview I may have in the future.

            I thought this was a valuable experience and I would recommend this event for anyone looking to land a professional job in the near future. The advice these men and women had is incredibly valuable.