When we are young practitioners, fresh out of university and keen to make the move from Chief Caffeinated Beverage Collector, AKA an intern, to officially employed, preferably paid PR guru, we are told time and time again to ‘network’.
For most of us, (or certainly for myself), this originally meant catching up with one or two of your classmates, perhaps that one cool-ish professor that was less intimidating than the rest, and re-tweeting everything Kelly Cutrone and Sophia Amoruso posted. Unsurprisingly, this left me with nothing besides a building sense of resentment and a Twitter feed filled with half-bitchy-half inspiring platitudes.
How could none of my internships, work experiences or unpaid placements have resulted in a position? Why was I not stomping around a multi-storey office in my Louboutins with a Prada bag yet? How come Nina Garcia hadn’t snapped me up to be her fresh faced, charmingly Australian sidekick?
The obvious answer is, that I wasn’t utilising my resources. I trolled away on traditional, mainstream job boards with the same CV and got almost no attention, and it wasn’t until my penultimate year of my first degree, (I have two), that I changed my approach.
It wasn’t so revolutionary, I just changed my message. I started seeing myself as one of my potential clients. Where was my angle? What were my skills? What could I offer that no one else could? And how could I share this?
Simple. Social Media.
As Michelle Malina, (@MichelleMalina) said in her Business2Community, (@B2Community) article, ‘Branding is the new black’. I began reading digital blogs and journals, and actively engaging with the authors. I reinvigorated my LinkedIn page, and actively respond to the follows, likes and connections. Before long, I had a following of industry influencers, innovators and peers who were just as passionate as me from around the world!
To a girl from a relatively small town in South Australia, this was the pinnacle of coolness.
Now, on a daily basis, I email two or three relatively close contacts in the US, UK, Spain, Norway and from other states in Australia. I am re-tweeted by the Public Institute of Australia, (@PRIANational), and an active contributor in my states forum for Young Practitioners; and all of this through maximising the potential of social media. I write for a national magazine after we connected on Facebook, I review for a local arts and events organisation and promote the content via Twitter, I was offered my current, (PAID), full time job over LinkedIn, and I have participated in cyber launch parties and interviews in other continents whilst in my PJ’s through the power of Skype and Vine.
The point, my lovelies? Maximise your own personal brand and present your messages openly through an active and engaged social platform. In essence, market yourself as your own client, and build your own professional, international network.
Tweet it, until you make it.
