My Key Takeaways From Digital Media Seminar Series #1

Being in a new city is exciting. Building my career in a new environment is even more exhilarating but extremely nerve racking. Leaving my marketing career back in the Philippines and moving here with no guaranteed job was a tough choice that I made. I wanted something different. I want to grow and get out of my comfort zone. I want to dip my toes in uncharted waters and see how far my bravery and perseverance will take me. So, here I am, In Toronto, trying to establish a new life and seek possible career opportunities. To be honest, I feel like I’m starting from scratch again and as expected, it is daunting. Taking a post-graduate program at George Brown College and attending digital media marketing seminars give me that boost in self-confidence that I need and give me hope l that I can thrive in a new city and build my career from here.

During the first seminar we had with George Brown College alumni, Aadhar Mehta and Stephanie Lee, who work at FleishmanHillard HighRoad and Wavemaker, respectively, there were a couple of insights and lessons I picked up and thought are very helpful for international students like me who are anxious about finding co-op opportunities and full-time work opportunities after graduating. First, finding a job is a full-time job. It takes time. I remember Aadhar’s first tip was to start early looking for a co-op. Starting early will give me an advantage over others— my competitors. I was reminded that my current classmates now are my competitors amongst many others from different colleges and universities in Toronto. Getting a head start will definitely be beneficial due to the cut-throat competition.

Second, the importance of LinkedIn. I’ve always had a LinkedIn profile since I graduated from my Master’s Degree back in 2015. My professors back home mentioned that it would be great if we had LinkedIn and I’ve always updated the Work Experience portion of my profile every time I made a career move. But it was only here in Canada and in George Brown where I realized how big of a deal it is to have an active and updated LinkedIn profile. Not only do I have to constantly update it, but I also need to be active on it by engaging on posts, taking certifications and posting them on my profile; and even adding personalized notes when I want to make a new connection. Before, I used to just click “connect” when I want to connect with someone but now, I am more conscious and I try my best to always add a note. I realized that adding that extra effort into writing a note will get me noticed and stand out from all the other connection requests of possible employers and colleagues on the platform. Third is to apply to roles that interests me but also be open and flexible. As Stephanie mentioned during her portion of the seminar, my co-op here will not be my forever job, so I should apply to roles that meet most of my requirements in job but also I shouldn’t let one posting pass just because it didn’t have maybe one or two things on my checklist. Fourth and the final take away that really resonated with me was to take advantage of opportunities such as volunteer work and part-time opportunities available. Back in the Philippines, when I was in college, during summer time I would always be in an internship or a part-time job. They were always desk jobs. I guess the stark difference here is, it doesn’t matter if it’s a desk job or a sales job, or a service job. Work experience is work experience and it’s important to have Canadian work experience since employers would look for that.

From the insights I picked up, here are a couple of Starts and Stops from all that I’ve learned from the two speakers:

1. Start looking for a job. Stop waiting for the right time or for free time. Make time. 2. Start taking my LinkedIn and Twitter profiles more seriously. Stop linking my instagram to my Twitter.

3. Stop looking for the perfect job opening. Start looking for the one that’s interesting even though it doesn’t tick all the boxes on my checklist.

As a marketer, I've always felt like I needed to always be in the know of the new trends in the industry. I’ve always wondered how does everyone get to stay updated and on top of the new marketing, social media, and technology trends given every busy day at the office.. and I liked the tip that Stephanie mentioned: stay up with all the trends by subscribing to newsletters and taking advantage of free resources and certifications in order to continuously learn about the new updates in ever-changing and fast-paced world of marketing and advertising. My key learnings from the very insightful seminar (aside from all that I've mentioned already above)? 1) I shouldn’t be afraid to speak up and ask questions. 2) I should put myself out there and get noticed by potential employers; and one way to do this is to be active on my professional social media accounts such as LinkedIn and Twitter. Post, engage and send out personalized notes to connections. 3) I should be open and flexible. There’s no harm in entering uncharted waters.Take a part-time job that isn’t a desk job to widen my network and gain work experience in Canada even before getting into a co-op and applying for a full time job. If you've reach this point and still reading this, I hope what I've written above also help you if you're going through the same situation in life.