Social Media Panel Reflection

Read about my experience talking to a group of panelists from my dream profession!

If you had the chance to talk with an expert in your profession, what would you ask?

If you’re anything like me, you have a career goal/path in mind. Something that you’re working for. The long hours of studying, training, memorizing and practicing can’t be for nothing right? For me, it’s my extremely cliche dream to take on a big city as a young creative in the advertising world. Despite the natural talent I’m praying I have, it’s also a good idea to talk to professionals that are currently in the job you want to have one day to get their perspective. I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to talk to a panel of Social Media/Advertising Content Creators and Strategists recently and I wanted to tell you guys what I thought about the experience.

I started by preparing 10 questions that I wanted to ask them. The questions addressed things I was curious about in their jobs and how they relate to human connection, global versatility, fun travel, strategy tactics, and how your personal life affects your job.

10 Questions

1. Do you have to be globally/culturally conscious in your position?
2. How do you achieve this?
3. Did you stay close to home after college or did you move away?
4. What are the advantages/disadvantages of each?
5. How much and in what ways do you connect with your coworkers in projects and throughout the day?
6. What do you do to get inspired?
7. Do hobbies affect what projects you take and are given?
8. What’s a memorable trip/place your job has taken you to?
9. In Social Media strategy, do your strategies cross platforms or do you make a serpent strategy depending on the platform?
10. What’s one part of your job that makes you smile?

The panelists gave insightful information about Social Media management and thinking on your feet, especially in a time like the present where uncertainty has become the new normal. They all expanded on their experiences having to rethink how their brand is making content due to the epidemic and they showcased creativity, sensitivity, and quick thinking in this process.

Due to lack of time, I was only allowed one question. Which did I ask? Since I was particularly interested in the connection between the panelists personal lives and their jobs, I decided to ask the following question: “Do hobbies affect what projects you take and are given?”, or in other words, “How does having a well-rounded life outside of work impact your job?”. The response was a little different than I had expected. The panelists expressed than in an agency setting, it could prove particularly helpful to be knowledgeable and interested in a variety of things but overall, the thing that is most important to carry from your personal life to your professional life is passion. Having a sincere curiosity and passion for learning new things will be a great advantage when you get assigned a client with a product you know nothing about. Passion will help you dive deep into the project and knowing more about the product and audience will make your pitch better and your clients happier. Every once in a blue moon, you may get assigned a project that aligns with your hobbies simply because you are more knowledgeable about it, but more often than not you will have to learn about a whole new product and having a natural curiosity and passion in your arsenal of tools will help you with that.

From now on, in my clumsy, slightly winding journey to achieve my goals, I will remember to carry the passion I have for travel, gymnastics, art, connection, writing, history, and my family through everything I do. Passion is the name of the game, remember it.