During the new semester so far, I feel as though I've really been focusing on the future. I've been participating in more leadership positions in clubs, signing for my first apartment, looking for internships, and networking with more professionals than ever before. The technological world has been a fundamental part of my newfound seriousness. Recently, I've had two experiences that opened my eyes to what lies ahead.
The first of these experiences was going to the PR+ Social Media Summit hosted by my college. It was a conference for professionals and students where speakers presented their unique insights into social media and other public relations tools. As a PR major, I was pretty stoked about it! For part of the day, I got to tag along with one of the speakers, which was a rewarding experience. I felt very relaxed and yet excited because she was so kind and friendly. I sat in on some presentations by top PR execs and learned some very valuable pieces of information. One thing that really stood out for me (and that a lot of speakers emphasized) was that social media is not the traditional marketing tool; it must be customized to each company's or client's specific needs in order to create and maintain the best mutual relationships possible. Even though social media is a technological invention, it really is all about people.
The second experience I had was less exciting, but still pretty important. I joined LinkedIn and started connecting with some of the people I met at the Summit. It was a nice way to follow up. Although I'm still figuring out the mechanics and social norms of this latest social media endeavor (what else is new?), it's nice to know that face-to-face encounters can be paired up with online interaction. It makes the whole networking process a little easier.
I think what I've learned from all of this is that I don't need to be scared of meeting and talking with professionals. They were once in my shoes (some not too long ago!) and a lot of them are pretty awesome people. I can learn from them, but I can also just enjoy their company. I was always told to "be yourself" when going in for an interview, but until recently I took that to mean "be the part of yourself you think they will like". This notion, of course, is ridiculous because not only do I not know the individual interviewers or their preferences, but I also don't know how to be what I think they might want, i.e, the super outgoing go-getter with loads of experience and absolute professionalism. Sure, I've got some of that, but I've still got a long way to go. I may be 20, but I'm still a kid. Going to the Summit really showed me that. And that's OK because a little naivete and fresh perspective can be valuable in its own right.
