A New Take On Social Media (Featuring Jay Miletsky)

Now this is a guy you want to work with. Jay’s east coast, high-energy attitude is exactly the type of personality that makes social media exciting. But! His take is a bit different from the previous interviewees. He doesn’t believe social media is the complete answer. However, “It does have its benefits.” Jay believes social media is important, but it’s not the end of the world if you are not 100% throwing yourself into it. Read it and weep:

Me: So what’s Marketing Mango all about?

 Jay: Well, we first started out with 15 years of traditional marketing. You know: print ads, TV, radio, etc. But we call ourselves “hybrid” because we believe in incorporating social media marketing with the traditional marketing.

Me: Do you believe in “branding yourself”?

 Jay: No! I hate that stuff. Look, standing out is important but quit trying to be somebody you’re not. Be yourself. Do what your good at and don’t go out of your way to be someone for someone else. Be clever.

Me: So what can students do to be clever?

 Jay: Let me tell you a story about how I got into college. I never had the best grades in high school. I was a pretty much a B- / C+ student, but decided around my junior year that I wanted to go to a Top 20 school. Wasn’t going to happen with current GPA, so I decided I had to do something different to stand out. I decided to write a children’s book – a really bad one that I don’t think even made any sense.  I sent it in to a publisher, and got back the standard “Mr. Miletsky: Thank you for your submission. Unfortunately…” rejection letter. Perfect – exactly what I wanted. While I was sending in my college applications, I made copies of that letter and stapled them to each one. Long story short, I was accepted to all of these schools the “A” students were being accepted to. If you do what you love, your passion will show and that is what people will see and that is what will make you unique.

Me: Do you hire based off of an online portfolio?

 Jay: We hire based on what that person does to impress us. We had an opening once and received loads of applications but there was one woman who stood out and eventually got the job. She applied with a letter explaining that she was out of work, but experienced and knew she was the right one for the job. She was straightforward and she was real. These are the type of we look for.

Me: Where should students look for a career?

 Jay: Before that, you have to look at yourself and ask the question, “What do you want out of life?” Don’t go get a job without loving it what you are going to be doing. Once you decide on a place you can see yourself at for a while, then go above and beyond to get there. A good friend of mine is a DJ and wanted to work at a radio station. She sent them a mix and was denied by the guy. She drove to the station and assertively told them she would be working there – even if it meant filling in for other jocks on weekends or holidays. She got the job, and today she’s syndicated in over 40 markets.

Me: What is your favorite childhood memory?

 Jay: Every winter, at least a few times a year, my dad and I would go skiing out our favorite mountain. We had to wake up at 5:00am to get in a good day of skiing. I hated waking up that early. That is probably what I miss the most. Although I thought I hated waking up, I always had the best time skiing with my dad.

 End.

What we learned from Jay: Be unique, be passionate, and be yourself.

-Cat