Friday, March 9, 2007
NBA,WNBA,D-League Job Fair: Day 1
Hello basketball fans! My name is Brandon Mefford, and I am a senior at Muhlenberg College in Allentown Pennsylvania. I have had the distinct pleasure to attend the highly exclusive NBA/WNBA/D-League Teams Job Fair presented by CareerBuilder.com in Chicago. I have been a college basketball player the past four years, and my passion transcends also to the business side of the sport I love. How did I get this one of a kind opportunity? Experience.com. I received the usual weekly e-mail from Experience and I saw “NBA Job Fair” in the subject. I didn’t think much and set it aside. However, one of my friends forwarded me the same e-mail and thought it was a great opportunity. “What do I have to lose?” I asked myself. I filled out the application and sent in my resume. A week passed and I didn’t hear anything. On Monday, I got the call from Experience saying I was a semi-finalist and interviewed me over the phone. A few days later, they notified me that I was the winner. I was ecstatic. Experience.com has giving me the opportunity of a lifetime. Last year’s job fair had 100 participants and 60 of them received jobs. Was this my lucky break? I think so!
March 8th
Travel day! I was up at 6 a.m. to catch a 10:15 flight out of Newark Airport. Everything was on time and the flight lasted just under 2 and a half hours. I spent most of the flight trying to keep calm so I played a lot of sudoku. After landing at O’Hare Airport, I took a van to the Hilton on Michigan Ave. I was born in Chicago but haven’t been there since. It is an amazing city. The city was clean, friendly, but the weather was just as cold as New Jersey. Once I checked in, I explored the hotel. It was monstrous! I then went to check in, and that’s where I met a lovely lady named Buffy Filippell, President of TeamWorkOnline.com. She was so friendly and kind. We talked for a while about how to succeed at a job fair. We also spoke about her role in the profession.
The orientation was next where all 159 participants gathered, mingled, and listened to some great speeches. I met participants were from all over the country. Many other participants were very similar to me: young, energetic, ex-athletes, and had the same dream as me. The orientation started and we heard from members of the NBA, WNBA, and the D-League. We were then put in front of panelists comprised of ex-job fair participants. They explained what they went through and their best techniques to get attention. After a short break, we attended a social. This was absolutely crazy. All the participants and all the team representatives were gathered in one room with appetizers. This was a very competitive environment. Everyone was meeting with teams that they wanted to work for. People would wait in line to talk to a rep, while others would butt in and make their presence known. I spoke with a bunch or teams such as the New Jersey Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves, Orlando Magic, and the Indiana Pacers.
After spending 2 hours in the reception hall, I was invited by Ben Milsom of the Indiana Pacers to go out to dinner with their team representatives. Five other students at the job fair and I went to one of Chicago’s finest steak houses, Gibsons. We spent more then two hours talking about how they got to where they were, obstacles they faced, the culture of the team, and the employment opportunities available. It was an amazing dinner with amazing company. I can’t wait to see what the actual job fair tomorrow has in store.
March 8th
Travel day! I was up at 6 a.m. to catch a 10:15 flight out of Newark Airport. Everything was on time and the flight lasted just under 2 and a half hours. I spent most of the flight trying to keep calm so I played a lot of sudoku. After landing at O’Hare Airport, I took a van to the Hilton on Michigan Ave. I was born in Chicago but haven’t been there since. It is an amazing city. The city was clean, friendly, but the weather was just as cold as New Jersey. Once I checked in, I explored the hotel. It was monstrous! I then went to check in, and that’s where I met a lovely lady named Buffy Filippell, President of TeamWorkOnline.com. She was so friendly and kind. We talked for a while about how to succeed at a job fair. We also spoke about her role in the profession.
The orientation was next where all 159 participants gathered, mingled, and listened to some great speeches. I met participants were from all over the country. Many other participants were very similar to me: young, energetic, ex-athletes, and had the same dream as me. The orientation started and we heard from members of the NBA, WNBA, and the D-League. We were then put in front of panelists comprised of ex-job fair participants. They explained what they went through and their best techniques to get attention. After a short break, we attended a social. This was absolutely crazy. All the participants and all the team representatives were gathered in one room with appetizers. This was a very competitive environment. Everyone was meeting with teams that they wanted to work for. People would wait in line to talk to a rep, while others would butt in and make their presence known. I spoke with a bunch or teams such as the New Jersey Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves, Orlando Magic, and the Indiana Pacers.
After spending 2 hours in the reception hall, I was invited by Ben Milsom of the Indiana Pacers to go out to dinner with their team representatives. Five other students at the job fair and I went to one of Chicago’s finest steak houses, Gibsons. We spent more then two hours talking about how they got to where they were, obstacles they faced, the culture of the team, and the employment opportunities available. It was an amazing dinner with amazing company. I can’t wait to see what the actual job fair tomorrow has in store.
# posted by Anonymous @ 2:30 PM 
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