Networking My Way To Success

"Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen." -- Brene Brown"

To successfully land an internship or full-time job in Canada, networking is key. I've never really networked before back home. It wasn't a thing. I landed the jobs I applied to, but I never had to network. With that being said, as a newcomer in Canada, networking was new to me. It was something outside of my comfort zone. If you can recall in my first e-journal for this class or even in my first-ever blog entry, I mentioned that I moved to Canada for personal and career growth. So even if networking was daunting for me and aside from it being necessary, I really tried my best to get out there and network whether it was online or in-person.

Networking in Action

The Marketing Seminar Series class really solidified the importance and power of networking. All the speakers and our professors, always reminded us how significant it is to take networking seriously.

From all the people I’ve had the chance to listen to during our marketing seminars and people I have met through in-person networking events, I have stayed in touch with Nosa Atoe from Salt, an Experience Marketing agency. I met her during a networking event organized by the college and I felt like we really connected. Although Salt is not currently hiring for January co-ops, I still made sure to inform her about my interest in the company for a possible full-time employment opportunity in the near future. To keep in touch, we email and we’ve even scheduled a coffee chat since we both live in the same area!

Aside from those mentioned above, I have also widened my circle and started to hang out with my colleagues at my part-time job at Browns as well as meet new friends through close contacts. Even though the latter ones mentioned are not official networking events, I still consider them as such because through them I am able to widen my circle and meet people from different industries and walks of life. From what I’ve learned through various speakers networking happens every day, you are marketing yourself to new people you meet.

When I was looking for a job, both part-time and co-op opportunities I used GBC careers, LinkedIn, and Indeed. Aside from those tools, I also attended job fairs and events. I feel like the two most useful tools for me were GBC Careers and LinkedIn. GBC Careers was helpful since I found my co-op from there but with LinkedIn, it was where I was able to discover interesting people in the industry. It was also a place for me to see what’s new in the world of Retail, Digital Media Marketing, and Fashion Marketing. My LinkedIn profile which was pretty much dormant for the past 7 years and only gets the occasional visit when I’m about to look for a job or transfer from a job, has seen more action than ever in the past 6 months alone! I’ve definitely been active on this professional social platform and used it to my advantage in terms of networking and finding a job. I even joined several groups such as the Social Media Marketing group and the Fashion Marketing and Digital Media Group, a group for Fashion and Marketing professionals.

My First Canadian Work Experience

Because I am doing part-time work in retail, I haven’t had the chance to do any volunteer work. Despite this, I am able to gain significant paid work experience at my part-time at Browns Shoes (which by the way, I landed by going in store and introducing myself to the manager and chatting my way to a part-time opportunity... Something I've definitely never done in the past). Through my part-time, I am able to see the Canadian market, and observe their buying behaviors and purchasing journey in person. I believe my experience at Browns helps me understand the Canadian retail market and customers first-hand. This is significant to me because I still want to work and land a job in Fashion Retail or E-commerce. Even though I have experience in this industry already, it’s a completely different playing field since I come from a country on the opposite side of the world, with the market and the industry being different in various ways.

The Start of Something New

I’m happy to share that I will be doing my co-op at Harry Rosen this coming January. When I was searching for a co-op, I definitely wanted to stick to what I was interested in, Fashion Retail. I want to stay in my lane but still experience growth. I believe I will still experience this growth I'm yearning for because despite Harry Rosen being a fashion company, they specialize in menswear. I’ve had very little experience in the menswear department as I’ve mostly worked with footwear and accessories which most of the time are skewed toward women. This time around, I’ll be challenged by working on marketing campaigns that will be promoting products tailored for men. Despite applying online for the role and getting my first interview through my online application, I decided to visit their booth at GBC’s Career Fair a couple of weeks back to meet the hiring team. I believe that introducing myself to them in person helped me get that second interview locked in and the job offer sent to my email.

You CAN Do It.

Take it from me, put yourself out there. In networking, you absolutely cannot be shy. Muster up all the confidence in you to get out there, introduce yourself, and make an impression. Do things that will help you with self-confidence. One thing that helps build my confidence is doing things out of my comfort zone. Aside from going to these networking events and widening my circle of friends, I attend karaoke night every Thursday at the Wheatsheaf Tavern and sing in front of a crowd even if I know I don’t have a golden voice! I do it because it helps me get over stage fright, improve my self-confidence, and heck, it’s fun!