By JENNIFER PRESTON on New York Times, Feb. 29, 2012 –
When Anne Klein shut down its designer line in 2008, Eileen McMaster was among the fashion professionals there who found themselves without jobs. After years of working long hours, she took some time off, turning her attention to improving her health, becoming a Pilates instructor and wellness consultant along the way.
Now, with signs that the struggling economy is slightly improving, she is looking to get back into the fashion industry. To help strengthen her position in the job market, she returned to the classroom last year to develop expertise in social media that she can layer on top of her deep marketing and corporate communications experience.
“I didn’t have the social media savvy in the way I do in other areas of marketing,” said Ms. McMaster, 44, of North Babylon, N.Y., who signed up for the social media marketing boot camp online courses at Mediabistro.com. “When I left fashion, social media wasn’t even something we were doing in the industry. Fast-forward four years, and if you are a brand and you are not on social media, you are missing a huge audience.”