Why I attended...
I attended the presentation as I was looking for inspiration and guidance from professionals working in the media and marketing industry. I was interested in hearing about the steps they took to get to where they are and lessons learnt along the way.
What I thought...
I thought it was great. In particular I enjoyed the speech by Mat Baxter as it was entertaining, authentic and relevant for young media professionals. We were able to hear about how they earned respect in their given fields and had the opportunity to ask questions at the end.
We were also invited to have drinks and speak with attendees and speakers after the presentation. This was a great networking opportunity and allowed us to reflect on the presentation.
What I learnt and can take away with me...
I learnt to be patient when it comes to career progression and that anything really is achievable if you set your mind to it. Also learnt was the importance of continuous learning and development along with having a career that’s both stimulating and challenging.
- Mentors – Mentorship can be obtained from those we may least expect, from family and friends right through to our work colleagues. The speakers communicated the importance of obtaining a mentor; in particular one who can offer us personal guidance, career inspiration and assist us in areas of problem solving. Also mentioned was the fact that we may have different mentors at different stages of our career and that having a mentor that shares similar values and goals will allow for a successful partnership.
- Goal setting – The presentation recognised the fact that we’re not always going to have an endpoint in our career in terms of knowing where we’ll be, but it’s still beneficial to have goals that move towards an area of interest and allow us to continuously learn and grow.
- Patience – In life we often get sidetracked by other colleagues and friends, and compare ourselves to others in our profession. Matt mentioned that sometimes we may have a feeling of what we should be doing, not what we want to do. This, he said, disrupts our current career path and can result in a lack of career direction. This highlighted the importance of working hard, staying focused and doing what’s right for ourselves rather than moving around the workforce with no clear direction.
- Risk taking (Claire Hatton from Google) – Sometimes we need to take the road less travelled to get to where we need to. From working in the airline industry to pursuing her passion for photography and now heading up Google’s local and government markets, Claire highlighted the importance of expressing ourselves creatively through our career and choosing what’s best for us at the different stages of our lives. Being born in the UK and having worked overseas as well as Australia, Claire really brought new meaning to the ‘Think global, act local’ notion which is evident in her career path. Her presentation was inspirational for individuals wanting to work overseas and broaden their horizons further down the track.
Matt also talked about risk taking through the Naked venture he and a few of his colleagues started. Here we were given an insight into what it’s like to start your own venture and also the successes and challenges that come with this.
Sarah Harding
ACP Magazines