Black Tie Lounge

I'm on a roll with this modeling thing. Now that I have a photo shoot on Tuesday that I worked on my own to get, I've been pretty serious about finding other opportunities. It's namely craigslist that keeps me abreast lol. There is a model call in Adams Morgan tomorrow for a show taking place at the end of the month. I'm going to roll by and see what happens. If they like me then I'm in, if not it's onto the next one. My motivation in all of this is to use what I have to legitimately make some money without having to cross or push back my boundaries in order to get it. Unemployment is no joke. I've gotten into a gripe with the unemployment office. I was supposed to receive my benefits August 30 and I have not gotten any check. I do have much to be appreciative about. I have a roof over my head courtesy of Albert and Irish Curry, which by no means has been easy. I am also fed, which is ironic because the very Bible I believe in says if a man doesn't...

I'm having flash backs of when I was submitting essays for internship applications. I got word form DCPS that I made it to the next round for the job opportunity I applied for. Now I'm crafting an essay on why I want to work for them. Sound familiar? As much as I was striving to get back to the city, ever since my last rejection note from a PR agency I really wanted to work for, my heart toward the DC area has changed. This is in part due to the fact that I found a job that matches my personal and professional interests and that I have the ability to get paid twice as much as I would at any agency. An agency is not the only way to go, so now I'm not going to be so narrow minded. So the question is why do I want to work for DCPS... It's several hours later and I finished my writing test about a half hour before they wanted it. I feel good. I'll let you know how things go. We'll see.

Before I start my daily job search and before I devour this vegetable platter because it's lunch time, even before I write the long over due thank you cards to my mentor and his staff for letting me use their office space to conduct my job hunt I must blog. After about three weeks away from the city, I have returned for an interview--an informational interview to be more specific. I just got off the bus from D.C. and luckily it was right around the corner from where the office was. It feels good to be back in New York, even if it is for a brief amount of time. As the bus drove down Fashion Ave (7th Ave) toward Penn Station, I couldn't help but say to myself "I'm home!" New York has the ability to make every other city look like a town. New York's public transporation system makes every other cities' look slower, clearner, and less crowded--but I can't help but love it because New York's is more reliable. Shopping in New York makes every other pla...

I'm very optimistic right now. I've been unemployed for about 3 weeks but I have strickingly regained my sense of hustle back. I'm not complaining --to be honest I'm actually in a better position than before. Last week I got a chance to connect with some very senior people in the advertising and PR field. No they haven't dropped my name to get a management position, but they have been very helpful as far as directing me to agencies and careers that may be a good fit. It is amazing how willing senior level execs in this industry are to help a young brother like myself. I am lucky that they were even down to earth enough for me to feel comfortable around them. Imagine this, a CEO of his third corporation sitting down with you and telling you that he's having lunch with another CEO of the largest PR firm and that he is going to be intentional about finding something for you. Or how about hitting it off with someone that works for a major communications holding comp...

Well New York, tt's been a rocky one but we've made it to two months. Already I see that you are trying to get rid of me, but I'll be faithful and love you because I know I was meant to be here. All the afternoons in the parks, late nights walking from midtown to the bus, all the millions of people that have a part with you I'm gonna stay true. I'm gonna stick this out with you. We'll see where I am by the end of the month. The internship has ended and I've had a lot of time on my hands. Last week I took a lot of down time and got a lot of rest, which was good. I was going to head to Boston to get away for a bit. After some serious encouragement from a person that I consider my professional mentor, I sense that there is a greater ray of hope for me in the job market here than I once did. I want to take the time to thank Bill Heyman and his team at Heyman Associates for spoiling me to death. They put me up in a corner office with a great view of the Empire S...

As much as I want to use my blog to express what is going on around me in this time, I have to be smart about it. For the past six years, I have been a student, so I have had the freedom to talk about what I wanted on my blog. Vent my frustrations as I pleased etc. etc. Well, now that I am a professional I feel as though I have to take a different approach. I thought it would be a good idea to include my blog site on my resume, so that my future employers could catch a glimpse of who I am and want to hire me. Good idea ey? Maybe not so much. My past few posts have been venting sessions because work at an agency is not in the least bit glamorous. So why am I pursuing this? Well for one, I've spent six years as a student caught the revelation that I am going to be a lifetime learner. At an agency it is all about learning the clients business and learning about the tools that you can use to help them grow. I don't want to be in a position where I am stagnant and after two months o...

I should be on craig's list looking for apartments right now--seeing as how the place I'm at is kicking me out next Saturday. I should be looking up information for this intern project seeing as how I have a meeting with the team to brief them on the research that I should have. I'll more than likely just pass out after I finish this blog. It's 10:30 and I just got home from a full day at the agency. Not really. I was in meetings for most of the day but one meeting really set the tone for my day. I got a call from my Account Sup saying that the agency's hiring group contacted her. Pretty much they were interested to see if am worthy enough to be hired. She told me to set up a meeting with the account team and to come prepared with a list of my strengths and weaknesses. Basically, I had to come ready to tell them why they should hire me. I was really hoping this meeting would take place later in the week. Just my luck the only time available for everyone on the team ...

I survived my first week as an employee and resident of New York City. I was homeless all last week and have settled into an apartment in the East Village close to Alphabet City . I feel like a kid in a candy store with all of the shops, bars, restaurants, and parks to visit in this area. I'm such an explorer, but for these next couple of weeks I'll be exploring on a budget. I got through last week surviving on the free lunch that the ad agency provided for attending seminars and pizza stands where I could get a slice for under $2. This is definitely going to be rough. As much as I want to work out and stay healthy, my diet is out the window until I can come to a place where I have a decent amount coming in. I'm definitely not here for the money. Yeah I could have stayed in SWVA or Nova and found a decent job but when I got the call to come up here and work for the summer, I knew I had to see if I could do it. Today's Father's Day and I told my uncle that I had to c...

I've been MIA from the blog scene for quite some time, so I have to return and give the people what they want. This week is pretty exciting. Oscah has his debut performance at Radford University. I'm excited. I've been learning more about media relations and how to approach reporters. I'm getting some insight into what it is like to work with artists, which has its ups and downs. To be honest, I'm being pulled in so many directions right now with finishing graduate school and looking onward to ward my career I have not been able to give his performances the attention that I have given if I was full time. As an aspiring PR account supervisor, I can't help but wonder how similar what I'm doing for him may be to doing client work. I'm holding my breath hoping that it is not this rough. I really wish I could have sat down with him and been more strategic about the moves he wanted to make and the PR programs that could support those efforts. We've been ab...

So in the midst of defending framing as an ethical way to practice public relations, I'm still attempting to answer the same question. I'm in the middle of studying for comprehensive exams which will be the roughest test I've taken so far. Can you believe I'm using my spring break to do this. Right now I'm in the "do what I gotta do" mode so it will get done. Last Thursday I went to the Mosaic Career Fair hosted by the American Advertising Federation and USA Today. If I haven't shared this let me give an update. Last December I did a job shadow at Arnold Worldwide. As you should know, I worked with The Bahamas last summer, which is one of Arnold's clients. I was not interested in advertising and honestly I can't think of my motivations for asking to do a job shadow. I believe it was along the lines of career exploration and I know that they do some integrated PR in their campaigns. Oh, well. I did the job shadow, met some really cool people, an...

I'm closer and closer to graduation. Closer and closer to a full time job. Closer and closer to deadlines. One in particular is in two soon to be one day from now. I'm applying to Ruder Finn's Executive Training Program . I'm a little nervous about being another intern and in NYC at that. Dear readers if any of you know someone that has a cheap room to rent that is a decent living arrangement, please talk to me. I'm not only applying to Ruder Finn but Weber Shandwick and Golin Harris' summer program as well. All those applications are due by Friday. It is funny how ideas do not come to me until hours before they are due. I'm not a procrastinator but it seems like I have to work extra hard if I start really early. I don't know what it is. To my future agency employers, please don't hold this against me. I get things done and I perform under pressure. I had to lay down Ogilvy's internship program because of time. I'm no where close to finishi...

I've been in Jersey for the past couple of days catching up with old friends and considering my options for possibly making moves up this way. I can say that I'm a bit nervous about landing a good job here considering the harsh economic times but I am excited to go after the opportunity. On Friday, I attended a career development workshop hosted by THE LAGRANT FOUNDATION and Ruder Finn. The practitioners at Ruder Finn were helpful, and it was nice to meet the more people in the travel and economic development practice. This practice is one reason that I am attracted to Ruder Finn. Walking around 5th Ave and looking at the scenery so characteristic of NYC made me feel at home. I hope there is an opportunity this way. Thinking about all of this makes me want to work even harder in school and not slack off. It is really good to be here. I fly to Charlotte and then drive back to Blacksburg tommorrow. I'm flying out tommorrow primarily because I don't want to be on the road ...