This is the first post to kick off my new blog so I want to take this opportunity to tell you how this blog came about.
After graduating from university, I started working as an administrative assistant for a non-profit and assisted with a lot of simple ground work and supporting duties. It was no where close to being the most exciting job in the world (or even in the organization!) but it gave me a lot of room to grow. After a year or so, I was promoted to the position of executive assistant and events coordinator and took on larger projects and supervisory roles. It was from that point forward that things got much more interesting: I felt that I could finally take full ownership of a project and call it my own. I was later promoted to a junior manager role and was entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing key aspects of administration.
Looking back, this was a great start to my career because the small office environment allowed me to understand business operations from both a ground-up and top-down perspective. I’ve also had the fortune to work closely with the CEO and Board of Directors as well as meet high-level government employees and corporate leaders. It’s not every day that these opportunities come about!
Sometimes, your heart whispers and tells you to change things up a bit and tackle new challenges. That moment eventually came knocking: I readied myself to take a big leap of faith and started a new chapter in life. I resigned from my position and travelled a bit to give myself some new perspectives and insights. I also took some time to research the job market and figure out where I want to be in the next 5-10 years. I had enjoyed the marketing and communications aspects of my previous job so I decided to look for a career with a stronger focus on these two areas. Although I have the relevant skills and background, I wanted to gain more focused experience in these two areas so I began volunteering for a national event and took a lead role in executing its marketing initiatives. I also decided to enroll in part-time marketing courses to supplement my existing education and experience. In addition, I signed on to do some consulting work to help my former employer with improving its website and electronic resource library, both of which are important tools for client and public engagement.
My big leap of faith took a lot of courage to pull off. I knew that making a significant career change would be difficult to pull off and I was also aware of the possibility that I may need to take a step backward in my career progression. Although these thoughts were scary at times, I truly believe that a career can’t be developed by simply walking down a straight and well-worn road. You need to take some side roads here and there and, on occasion, even take a few steps back. By doing so, not only will you encounter new people and ideas but you will also carve out a unique and rewarding path for yourself.
I invite you to follow my blog as I share new and interesting finds in marketing, communications, PR, and brand management as well as I offer my own thoughts and perspectives on these topics and on life in general. The focus of my blog is on engagement: how engagement is the key to successful marketing, and how to action this concept and make the interactions meaningful to your target audience. What better way to discuss engagement than by engaging with others?
P.S. I’d love to hear from you. Please leave me any comments and/or suggestions to help me make my blog be of value to both you and me.
Engage to Market, Engage Your Market 