Name: Samantha Coffman
Year: Senior
Major: School of Information with focus in Human Computer Interaction
Hometown: Orange County, CA
Fun Fact: I studied abroad in Sydney, Australia last semester
Name: Amie Diamond
Year: Senior
Major: Communications and Digital Studies
Hometown: Westfield, New Jersey
Her Campus: Can you give us some background behind the inception of the Digital Media Club?
Samantha Coffman/Amie Diamond: The Digital Media Club was founded by students in the Ross Class BCOM 329, “Social Media and the Changing Nature of Business Communication.” The students saw an opportunity to share their class learnings with the rest of the school and founded the club with the help of their professors, Dr. Mary Hinesly and Dr. Amy Young. The founders’ goal was to spread digital literacy on campus and connect digitally-savvy students with professionals in the industry.
HC: What are DMC’s main goals for this school year?
SC/AD: Our main goal coming into this year was DMCareer15. Last year was such a success and we received amazing feedback from both companies and attendees alike, so we wanted to deliver another great recruiting event. Additionally, we hope to increase our workshop frequency this year, as well as introduce some new types of events with awesome company collaborations.
HC: How has the club changed since it was first founded?
SC/AD: The club has grown a lot since it began last year. We started out with a small group of exec board members and have grown tremendously. We now have three committees (Marketing, Events, and Social Media) with about 10 members in each committee, a full exec board, and a strong DMC member community.
HC: Organizing a career fair is an amazing feat! Can you tell us about what went into planning DMCareer15?
SC/AD: It takes a lot of commitment! We began planning our fall recruiting event about 8 months in advance during the Winter semester. Working closely with our advisor, Dr. Mary Hinesly, and our executive board, we spend a lot of time contacting companies to get them to attend the event. Recruiters have busy schedules, so sometimes you have to think outside the box and find creative ways to reach out to them. After we have our company attendees set, our VPs of Social Media and Marketing work with their committees to spread the word to students about DMCareer. We also have to coordinate things like the application website, event space, catering, guest speakers, banners, and more. Our executive board meets constantly in the weeks leading up to DMCareer to ensure we put on a great event for the students and companies!
HC: What can we expect at DMCareer15? What companies will be present?
SC/AD: This year, you can expect a few similar companies that we had last year – Yelp, Carat, and Are You A Human – as well as some new faces – 365Markets, Lochbridge, and VentureStartApp – among others. Just like last year, there will be an interactive Twitter component where students can tweet at companies and use unique company hashtags in order to interact with companies even after the event is over.
HC: Do you have any advice regarding prepping for DMCareer15 or for a career in digital media in general?
SC/AD: The best advice would be to come prepared, do a little research on the companies, and have some questions ready. For a career in digital media, we recommend finding what you’re passionate about, whether that’s graphic design, user experience design, digital marketing, data mining, etc. and hone it, practice it, and sell it.