promotional products
I plan on attending every career building event that school offers this semester. Dont get me wrong; Im no super-prepared student. Rather, I just like to get free stuff. One thing that career counselors dont mention about your job search is that employers like to give out tons of promotional products, like pens, mugs, t-shirts, and even USB flash drives. You can usually find them right next to their array of colorful, glossy pamphlets and informational books on the table. Often, the only hurdle to obtaining these materials is your own self-conscience at grabbing for free stuff. But once you get past this, you can boldly approach tables and shamelessly ask for the cool t-shirt that sports the companys logo all over it. Of course, I also approach legitimate employers to look for potential employment, but the promotional products of other employers can help break the monotony of job searching as well as give you a chance to add a couple coffee mugs to your kitchen cabinet.
I always wondered if giving out promotional products helped companies get their name out. I guess it does, since so many companies continue to do it. The effects of promotional products can be subtle. Every time a person uses the promotional mug, she may glance at the company name on the mug containing her precious cup of coffee, or she may grow more and more familiar with seeing the companys name in her hand as she washes the cup that contained her precious cup of coffee. In either case, she grows accustomed to the company name so that it grows familiar to her. And people always like to stick to familiar things when faced with a quick choice. So the next time she goes out to buy something in a hurry, or has to quickly recommend a brand or company to her friend, this company that so graciously gave her these promotional products will be first on her list.
Ok, so I dont know if I think all this as Im trolling through the career fair, looking for promotional products. But I do know that you dont want to grab every promotional product out there. Some of them you simply dont need, no matter how enticing or novel they may seem. You can only grab so many free t-shirts and oversized, plastic pens until you realize that sometimes its better to only take what you need and the leave the rest for others.