Yesterday’s Mass Comm Week forum “Getting Creative With Your Digital Career” featured an interesting panel of digital media “rock stars” who came to speak to students about finding their niche in the ever-evolving digital world.
Meg Turney, Annie Werner, Kolten Parker and Trei Brundrett had a lot of really awesome points to make about being proactive in your career, making great things (web pages, software, YouTube videos, tweets, etc!) but there were a few moments that particularly stood out to me.
1. “EDITING! Editing is so important. It is so helpful when you can edit your own material.”
I think editing is something that has become one of those things that is so easy for students to think: “Well when I get a real job, there will be someone to do that for me.” I know I’ve been guilty of that way of thinking, so to hear Meg Turney say that really spoke to me, because it is important and I do need to learn how to do it (and get good at it!).
2. “The internet has watered down the importance of a resume. Be aware of what your online brand is.”
I feel like Kolten Parker’s words are important to keep in mind, especially since I’m graduating in December. I feel that a lot of emphasis has been placed on resumes and cover letters in my past classes but not enough emphasis has been placed on physical evidence of your skills. Parker also talked about being aware of your online brand and making sure your online presence is something you’re comfortable with a potential employer seeing.
3. “You have a responsibility to make your own internet.”
I think Annie Werner’s background and the fact that she made up her own job at Tumblr made her a really inspirational person to me. I like the notion that my dream career might not even exist yet and that I could be the person who invents it. Part of the way I can do that is by following Werner’s advice and making the internet the way I want to make it, by getting creative and trying new things.
4. “When I’m hiring people, I look for the things that they made.”
Trei Brundrett put a lot of emphasis during each question during the forum on the importance of actually creating good, functioning things to show people you want to work for so they have actual evidence of your skills and creativity. Brundrett really made me want to try out new mediums and to learn a little more about coding so I’ll have more to show future employers.
This forum was all around a really awesome experience and made me start to seriously think about a career in digital media.