claricecareerthoughts

[claricecareerthoughts]

Maybe it really was the friends we made along the way?: What sending 10 cold LinkedIn introductions a day taught me

Image of Brawn & Brains taken from Miss Tam Chiak

The very first job I ever landed was through an unexpected connection. Freshly out of high school, I was looking to make a little spending money and was clicking through endless part time job listings, dropping my resume into anything that had a quick-apply button. It wasn’t an awful strategy - I would likely have landed something but mayhaps later than sooner - but my father had a better idea. “What about Brawn & Brains?” he’d asked. Brawn & Brains was a coffee shop we’d frequented for years and on my next visit I’d asked the owner if she might be interested in hiring more part time servers. The next week I started my first shift. 

Since then, I’ve been a little reluctant to reach out. I feel awkward, uncomfortable with making first contact when it comes to a job search. It feels like I’m intruding on someone’s space, or imposing. It’s much safer hiding behind the screen of already posted job openings, asking the career questions I want to ask only to long-established friends even though they don’t have the answers I’m looking for. 

Image taken from Canva

Coming into the Digital Media Marketing class, I didn’t think this would change. However, in the short months that have passed, I’ve found myself opening up drastically. I’ve finally learned to accept that to be honest, it’s just not that deep. That not getting a response from someone is far from a personal rejection. In a world where our phones are constantly pinging and our attention all over, why would my notification - if it pops up at all - be met with any sort of malign intent. 

For a week I made 10 cold call introductions on LinkedIn a day, scheduled informational interviews with really interesting professionals, went to networking events, and even drummed up the courage to ask friends and family if they might know people who might have experiences that might interest me. It’s a big exciting change and I’ve come to embrace it. 

Nervous about starting out on this new journey, one of the first people I reached out to was someone I was sure I could relate to and who could relate to me. Sian Mitchell, now a Strategic Marketing Executive at Canadian Tire, had just graduated from the same Digital Marketing Management program at George Brown the year prior. Speaking to her about her networking strategies in a coffee chat, Sian empathized with me about how difficult it could sometimes be to get started regardless of how vital we knew networking was. It was comforting to hear that it didn’t come naturally for most of us, and that helped me build the confidence to just start trying. My relationship with Sian also helped me see how valuable networking could really be. Generously, she offered to help me reach out to her connections and coworkers, opening up avenues to coffee chats and conversations. At the same time, connections of family friends made time in their schedules to speak with me. 

Image taken from Canva

In this process, I learned a great deal. I could now better piece together what it might mean to be a social media manager or what it might look like at a non-profit versus a marketing agency. I heard about interesting perspectives in the industry - like how the value of influencers could be read in terms of the content they produced rather than their audience - and got a better grasp of what could help me get ahead in various disciplines. Even though these chats have yet to lead directly to a job opportunity, they have been amazing in helping me orient myself in the world. 

Classmates have also been a great resource and network. I’ve passed on opportunities that didn’t resonate with me and others have kindly pointed me towards others that I might or given me pointers on what might help me secure a co-op position. It’s all made me feel warm and looked-out for despite how difficult and tiring the job search can get. It makes me feel like I am part of a community that cares and wants me to succeed. 

Image taken from Canva

Through this all, the biggest learning point that I have had is that there isn’t any harm putting yourself out there. Though we most often think of what can go wrong, there is so much that can go right. Even if we don’t get exactly what we think we want when we want it (jobs don’t fall from trees) being open to all the possibilities that come with connecting to other people can bring us so much joy and warmth. I may not have secured a co-op yet but that might not be the point. I’ll be walking away from these experiences with a new mindset, a wider network, and a better grasp of how to use it and this can only benefit me in the long run. 

[claricecareerthoughts]

Why Every Job Matters and Every Conversation Counts: A Conversation with Sian Mitchell from Canadian Tire

image taken from LinkedIn.

Speaking at George Brown College’s Digital Marketing Media Seminar, Sian spoke about her work as a Strategic Marketing Specialist with Canadian Tire. Working primarily with top of the funnel campaigns, Sian’s day to day consisted of a dizzying array of tasks from social media planning to campaign coordination and slide deck making. I was surprised to find how broad her work could be and thinking about what might help her thrive, I realized that it was time management, collaboration and the ability to learn quickly that were crucial. And these, I realized, were skills she built throughout her career outside of marketing. 

“Any experience can be turned into a relevant experience” with the right framing Sian told us. For instance, understanding customer communications, organization skills, and teamwork were all skills I honed in my front desk roles at gyms that would be valuable in any marketing team. Learning how to communicate these transferable skills in terms of their value in marketing, she revealed, was how she carved out a career path and how we can too regardless of our previous experience. 

But getting where she is now, Sian shared, wasn’t exactly an easy journey. As part of George Brown College’s postgraduate program, she found herself in search of a co-op in a crowded job market. One where opportunities seemed scarce and the competition immense. With less experience in marketing under her belt than some of her peers, she knew that she needed to find other ways to stand out from the crowd. 

Turning to networking, Sian reached out to countless people in the marketing world hoping that they could help her get a foothold in the industry. Eventually, through her persistence, she eventually found her co-op opportunity. Sharing the tips that helped her land her exciting role, Sian encouraged us to cast out nets wide and to not be afraid to drop a cold message- after all most people are sympathetic to the struggles of early career steps. If we do manage to connect with our recipients, Sian said that the most helpful question she then asked was whether they knew someone else that might be willing to sit down with her for another informational interview. This then helped her more efficiently expand her network, connecting with people who would inherently trust her more since she was associated with someone she knew.  

In a coffee chat with Sian later, however, I also learned that as much as persistence and a wide net could help, there was also a method to cut through the madness. That it was just as important to reach out to new people as it was to connect or reconnect with already warm leads, people who might have crossed our paths briefly that we might have spaces, communities, and strong interests in common. In a space where we do not have previous employers and strong networks, these are the people most likely to be our advocates and who might be willing to introduce us to others. These tips are crucial for our job search as in a crowded marketplace, it is not enough to simply send in our resumes and hope for the best. Instead, it is important for us to create networks and stay top of mind; in case jobs open up within our network we want to be someone they remember and want to reach out to even before a posting is made. 

These perspectives on how we can view ourselves, as already skilled and capable, and others, as potential mentors and resources in our job search, are great insights on how we can get ahead in the competitive job market. By keeping focus on our purposes, skills, and interests but still opening ourselves to the myriad of possibilities we might encounter through conversations with others, we might just find our way to our dream careers.  

[claricecareerthoughts]

Delight And Trust: How Brands Can Win The Consumer Journey

Michael Sauve, Director of Social and Digital, North Strategic (Image taken from Linkedin)

“Conversion begins by winning the customer journey… Think broadly about opportunities to win.” - Michael Sauve, Director of Social and Digital, North Strategic

Today’s customers can be tricky. With a gleaming sea of options for them to choose from and exceptionally easy ways to do so with technology, they are more fickle than ever.  According to Qualitrics, 80% of customers have switched brands because of poor customer experience, and poor customer service experiences are the biggest factor in their making the switch. 

In this climate, taking control of the customer journey is the clear key to brands’ success.  That is the message that Michael Sauve, conveyed in a digital marketing seminar I attended at George  Brown College. 

Brands, Sauve said, need to put themselves in the shoes of consumers. They need to not only have a strong grasp of their messaging and how they are putting it out, but also of where and when consumers are coming into contact with it, and what they feel, think, need, or want at every moment of the customer journey. With steep competition, every moment of delight or understanding counts. Moments where you meet consumers where they are - Zojirushi, a rice cooker company, serving up the perfect recipe when stomachs grumble, or Decathlon telling you exactly how many blue fleeces are left in the nearest store in your size - help build trust. They build a sense of reliability and even excitement that can help you stand out in a sea of sameness. Being able to visualize, understand, and articulate the relationships between these moments, marketing channels, and messaging brands are using are key skills in Sauve’s role in Digital Ecosystem Management.

In today’s marketing landscape, customers are not only flighty, but wary. Consumers’ growing concern around privacy and data usage as well as technology companies’ responses to these fears were also a salient topic in discussions during the seminar. As third party cookies are being taken out of digital landscapes, being able to own one’s data is no longer just an asset but a crucial need. 

How brands can gather information about consumers that is genuinely helpful in their efforts to grow and reach the right audiences in the right places in their journeys  while working not to tread on consumers’ sensitivities is central to todays’ conversations about the future of digital marketing.

In my other classes at George Brown, we have discussed how transparency and communication are key to winning consumers’ hearts. Consumers need to know the whats, hows, whys, and wheres of information collection. They need to be asked, and have easy ways to retract consent. Information collection should also ideally be aligned with the consumer journey. A customer curious about the brand and in the consideration stage might be inclined to provide their email, but they likely would not be thrilled to hand over their phone numbers until a purchase is made.

Though building out processes where whether or not consumers will give you their information is uncertain and entirely in their control might feel daunting, ultimately it can bring great benefits to brands. With this, you will know when you have created an offer that consumers, of their own conscious and complete volition, are interested in and build a reputation that is real and lasting.

[claricecareerthoughts]

Why your interests and passions outside of work are key to growing your career

Images taken from Instagram and LinkedIn.

Reflections on seminar sessions with Darren Richards (left), co-founder of Be Rich with Style and Caleigh Heck (right), Global Digital Marketing Specialist at D2L.

“Be intentional about the brand or business you want to work for” Darren Richards, co-founder of Be Rich with Style.

When speaking at a Digital Media Marketing Seminar I attended at George Brown College, Darren spoke about how his passion for the fashion world shaped his career. From his first internship with Harry Rosen, a leading Canadian menswear brand, to a jump into entrepreneurship, starting his own clothing brand with his brother, it both drove him to seek out opportunities and opened doors for him as people saw how excited he was about what he did. 

Taking over the floor at the Seminar, Caleigh Heck, Global Digital Marketing Specialist at D2L, spoke about how valuable it was to be involved on campus, encouraging students to take advantage of college activities, to be a part of volunteer initiatives, and connect to its networks. Saying that she believed it would’ve helped her greatly in her early job search. All these are opportunities to make impressions, to be remembered for who you are and what you want to do with your time.  

These perspectives make it clear that it is not just what you do and how good you are at it that matters. It also matters that you care. These aspects of your character - what matters to you and who you are are part of your personal brand. And, in today’s highly saturated job market, being someone can be the difference between getting the job and not; character helps you stand out in a sea of sameness. It helps others remember you when they can understand your story better in an interview, and makes it more likely that someone else might think of you when a job opens in their company. 

In other words, beyond the traditional job searching activities, such as perfecting your resume and practicing your interview skills, today’s competitive job market requires you to step out of your comfort zone and connect to others on a human scale. It is not enough to passively attend seminars or networking sessions in your field and it is instead your many other interests that could feel peripheral or tangential to your work that could bring you the best opportunities. We need to reach out to people who are doing things that excite us. That we are watching eagerly and would love to be a part of. Though we certainly cannot view and value the connections in our everyday lives in terms of how they are going to support our careers, we need to be open to the possibilities that they might have if opportunities arise. 

I think the biggest lessons I left with from the seminar were that we shouldn’t be afraid to reach out. In their enthusiasm to hear what we thought, and openness to connect with us and speak about our interests, and to help us in any way that we could, I felt reassured. Often, it feels uncomfortable to approach strangers, with worries that it would be bothersome or embarrassing to do so floating in my mind. But from these conversations it was clear that others could be just as excited and open to hearing from a student as I might be to speak to them. As such, moving forward I am bringing in the resolution to be bolder, to be more open to reaching out to others in and outside my direct network.