Trina Boos
Pilon School of Business
Degree: Advertising and Marketing Communications - Management
Year of graduation: 2002
Connecting Like Minds
“It’s who you know.” How many times has that been said to be the key to success? Trina Boos certainly took those words to heart during her studies at Sheridan.
The advertising students in her program didn’t really know each other. There wasn’t a lot of mixing between the first and second year students. In fact, there wasn’t even much mingling within individual class years.
Trina had an epiphany. Why not create an online networking space for budding advertising professionals? This idea came to life as Ad Lounge.
“Initially, we had only 15 members, and the topics of conversation ranged from ‘what's happening on Friday night?’ to the prof's outfit from the day before. But, by the time we graduated, word of mouth about Ad Lounge spread like wild fire,” recalls Trina.
Students from other GTA colleges, including George Brown, Ryerson, Humber, Fanshawe, Centennial and Seneca jumped on board with Ad Lounge. They came from various advertising, marketing, communications and design programs. “I saw the growth happening so organically, and realized we were onto something,” says Trina.
She began pitching the concept of Ad Lounge to ad agencies and brands, looking for professional participation in online industry discussions. It wasn’t long before Ad Lounge developed into the 5,000+ member organization it is today.
Explains Trina: “We had an HR Director in one corner giving resume advice. We had a Creative Director in another corner doing portfolio reviews. We had an Account Director on another side talking to recent grads about marketing strategy and giving interview tips.”
“People began to form real relationships, though they didn't yet know one another in person. This was when Ad Lounge evolved from a simple online community to a mainly event-driven organization with the goal to bring like-minded people together, educate and inspire.”
Ad Lounge is now known for its networking events that connect both students and industry professionals.
And connecting people is exactly what Trina likes to do. She is also the president of Boost Agents, a specialist recruitment firm for the marketing, communications and creative industries. Her company is based in Toronto which the Trinidadian-born Trina fell in love with because of the city’s diversity and potential for opportunity.
As a recruitment specialist, Trina is in an ideal position to offer some advice to new advertising grads. Her two top tips:
· Market your uniqueness – sometimes, things that might seem irrelevant on a resume for an industry position can actually show your character and skills.
· Be involved in as many extracurricular activities as you realistically can – these show your determination and motivation beyond just going to school.
“I don’t care so much what they learnt in school; I care about what they’ve done during school,” says Trina.
http://www.boostagents.com/
http://www.adlounge.ca
“It’s who you know.” How many times has that been said to be the key to success? Trina Boos certainly took those words to heart during her studies at Sheridan.
The advertising students in her program didn’t really know each other. There wasn’t a lot of mixing between the first and second year students. In fact, there wasn’t even much mingling within individual class years.
Trina had an epiphany. Why not create an online networking space for budding advertising professionals? This idea came to life as Ad Lounge.
“Initially, we had only 15 members, and the topics of conversation ranged from ‘what's happening on Friday night?’ to the prof's outfit from the day before. But, by the time we graduated, word of mouth about Ad Lounge spread like wild fire,” recalls Trina.
Students from other GTA colleges, including George Brown, Ryerson, Humber, Fanshawe, Centennial and Seneca jumped on board with Ad Lounge. They came from various advertising, marketing, communications and design programs. “I saw the growth happening so organically, and realized we were onto something,” says Trina.
She began pitching the concept of Ad Lounge to ad agencies and brands, looking for professional participation in online industry discussions. It wasn’t long before Ad Lounge developed into the 5,000+ member organization it is today.
Explains Trina: “We had an HR Director in one corner giving resume advice. We had a Creative Director in another corner doing portfolio reviews. We had an Account Director on another side talking to recent grads about marketing strategy and giving interview tips.”
“People began to form real relationships, though they didn't yet know one another in person. This was when Ad Lounge evolved from a simple online community to a mainly event-driven organization with the goal to bring like-minded people together, educate and inspire.”
Ad Lounge is now known for its networking events that connect both students and industry professionals.
And connecting people is exactly what Trina likes to do. She is also the president of Boost Agents, a specialist recruitment firm for the marketing, communications and creative industries. Her company is based in Toronto which the Trinidadian-born Trina fell in love with because of the city’s diversity and potential for opportunity.
As a recruitment specialist, Trina is in an ideal position to offer some advice to new advertising grads. Her two top tips:
· Market your uniqueness – sometimes, things that might seem irrelevant on a resume for an industry position can actually show your character and skills.
· Be involved in as many extracurricular activities as you realistically can – these show your determination and motivation beyond just going to school.
“I don’t care so much what they learnt in school; I care about what they’ve done during school,” says Trina.
http://www.boostagents.com/
http://www.adlounge.ca