Walked into a Tedx community meeting for fun to see if I wanted to help out with the production of it. Spent about a half an hour mooching off of the free beer and talking with everyone in the room. It was hosted by a co-working space, so there were creatives everywhere.
One thing leads to another and the woman I'm talking to takes me back to another woman who just left an Ad agency to found a nonprofit. I handed her my freelance business card (simple card with my website, contact info, etc.), and 8 months later she emailed me asking me out to coffee. She then convinced me to join as a Creative Director and a little over two years later, I just helped finish transitioning our digital products into a new company through a merger.
Moral of the story: First impressions matter, Have a portfolio that is well put together (explain yourself, be a smart designer, as others have mentioned here), and always put yourself out there, go to meetups, go to events you might not be normally interested in, you'll meet people you never thought you would meet.
Walked into a Tedx community meeting for fun to see if I wanted to help out with the production of it. Spent about a half an hour mooching off of the free beer and talking with everyone in the room. It was hosted by a co-working space, so there were creatives everywhere.
One thing leads to another and the woman I'm talking to takes me back to another woman who just left an Ad agency to found a nonprofit. I handed her my freelance business card (simple card with my website, contact info, etc.), and 8 months later she emailed me asking me out to coffee. She then convinced me to join as a Creative Director and a little over two years later, I just helped finish transitioning our digital products into a new company through a merger.
Moral of the story: First impressions matter, Have a portfolio that is well put together (explain yourself, be a smart designer, as others have mentioned here), and always put yourself out there, go to meetups, go to events you might not be normally interested in, you'll meet people you never thought you would meet.