Midlands madness as bouncing Brummies mingle for England
On 30th June 150 Birmingham-based marketers joined for an evening of offline networking, proving there’s more to life than London
Review of the Birmingham Link-up
Après Bar played host to 150 marketing & media professionals on Wednesday night as digital recruitment advertiser, Only Marketing Jobs, strode into town for the seventh leg of its official regional networking tour. Jobseekers, networkers and recruiters gathered to share industry thoughts, make important new contacts and learn why meeting people is crucial for personal & business development.
Whilst for some the the occasion was about finding marketing jobs, others found purpose in imparting knowledge and learning from like-minded industry folk. Attendees traversed all marketing disciplines, from product to brand management; event organisers to social media enthusiasts; and general creative types.
Structured networking
The development of online networking often hides the human instinct to socialise, where face-to-face interaction is the number one way to build trust, whether in business or social circles. Networking expert, Lloyd Dalton-Brown, of Networking Training, treated the audience to a thoroughly enlightening set of interactive tips on how to maximise social events, where a combination of pitch and passion encourages an open and honest exchange of knowledge.
With minds refreshed with networking hints the marketers set about making new contacts through seven 6-minute ‘capsules’ of conversation. During what was a frantic 45 minutes the congregation covered a myriad of marketing topics, learning much about their industry and meeting interesting peers keen to both absorb and impart knowledge; literally hundreds of business cards were exchanged during a thoroughly vibrant period.
The branding stage
The beauty of face-to-face networking is the opportunity it provides to show people what you do that’s different; it’s personal branding. Sure, you can build your online profile and write a great blog but where’s the real sincerity in that? These events afford you a ‘stage’ on which to perform your talent, showcasing your uniqueness. These attendees worked the script perfectly, as conversational couples waltzed the room like Fred and Ginger, gyrating their way through the high-tempo interaction with verve and gusto. Bravo Birmingham. (View pictures of the event, courtesy of Simon Harding - Go to the ‘events’ tab and use the password: only100)
CV appraisal
New to the Link-ups is the free CV consultation, where jobseekers are encouraged to test Mark Lester, of Platinum CV Services, on his ability to identify weaknesses in individual’s application profiles, and provide solutions. Following-up his Leeds debut with a straight-talking synopsis of attendee’s CVs, Mark was rammed from start to finish with inquisitive marketers hoping to understand the ‘black art’ of a successful CV.
Champagne, motor bikes & a camera
The much-heralded champagne draw capped an inspiring few hours. Account manager, David Kuczora, was delighted to receive a bottle of bubbles from integrated DM solutions company, refresheddirect. Great guys, great company.
In addition a digital camera was scooped by Jon Nealon, group account director at Cogent Elliot; this prize was kindly offered by the wonderfully enigmatic local marketing recruiter and draw sponsors, CV Bay. If you’re looking to hire marketing staff in the Midlands area, this is a company you should be calling.
An impromptu prize of a pair of Goodwood Festival of Speed tickets were won by internal communications consultant, Kareen Griffiths. The tickets were kindly donated by clever designers, QRky Ltd.
Success of these events can often be measured by the eagerness of attendees to scarper home. Whilst typical evenings conclude at 9pm, Birmingham was still rocking an hour later. Enough said.
Thank you to our event partners:
It would be great to hear the thoughts of attendees. What was good about this event? What could be improved? Comment below or join the discussion in our LinkedIN group
Simon Lewis | Editor | Only Marketing Jobs
Related posts:
- The Birmingham Link-up | Networking for Marketers | 30th June 2010
- The Manchester Link-up: networking your way to a successful career
- Midlands recruiter optimistic about jobs bounce
- Leeds a hot-bed for marketing networkers
- Milton Keynes rocks to the networking beat
- Marketing jobs in Manchester: 60-second interview
- 4 useful links you need to click today
- No drizzle in Brizzle with South West marketers hot for networking
- Social networking for UK marketers | the 2010 regional diary
- UK’s largest marketing community enhanced by college tie-in
