Networking Blog - Connect with the opportunities

Connect with the opportunities

Time flies. I still can’t believe that it’s almost the end of this semester and what fruitful it is! In the past 12 weeks, we were pleased to have 9 marketing seminars which provided us with a lot of industry insights and tips for networking and job searching. Although all the speakers are marketing professionals, they specialize in different areas of marketing functions. Among them, Blair Roebuck, Vice President of Marketing Science at Valtech, is the most inspiring speaker to me. From her sharing, Blair has mentioned that the main duty of a marketing scientist is to create value from the data for the clients. In the process of job searching, I always consider what I can gain or get from that opportunity or the company, or how’s the benefit. However, sometimes we have to stand at the employer’s point of view. What value can we provide to them? Every employer would like to have valuable employees to work with them. Valuable means they can bring something useful and beneficial to the company. It can be lowering the operating cost, introducing more opportunities to the business, generating more profits for the company. So, how about me? This question has appeared in my mind so many times. And I found that seems I still haven’t had enough knowledge, skills or experience that can bring value to the company. That’s also the reason I came to GBC and attended the classes. Yet, reviewing back the past 2 semesters, I found that I have gained a lot of content already. During the coop interviews, I can share some understanding and coursework experiences to show my capabilities and potential to bring value to the company. Back to Blair’s sharing, I realized that the data is a hidden gem that can bring a lot of insights to a company and a marketing scientist is a person who digs the gemstone and brings profit to the company. Thus, I start looking for the opportunity of a job and further improvement or study that can equip me with the required skills. In the future, I hope I could participate in this area of job and contribute to the industry. 

Throughout the semester, I learnt the importance and power of networking. Being an international student in Canada, it’s surprising how networking can be leveraged in job searching or career development. Also, it’s very normal in Canada that to start a conversation with someone you may not know in advance. To be honest, it’s a bit hard for me to get used to this culture. In the beginning, I revised my LinkedIn account and made it more professional looking. What surprised me is after I revised the account, I got some invitations from other professionals in the field and start conversations with them. With this touch, I learnt more about the marketing industry, the working style and the culture in Canada. And I am more confident and comfortable reaching out to people in the industry and exchanging ideas with them. I am very lucky that I have received several interview invitations from LinkedIn after reaching out to some professionals in the market. Although some of the opportunities may not suit me or my future development, this reflects that efforts on my LinkedIn profile and what I have learnt are usually useful and meaningful. 

Apart from revising my profile on LinkedIn, I have started creating some content on my blog and LinkedIn such as my learning from class in GBC, and great examples in the marketing industry that I found it’s interesting. It can generate comments and encourage interactions with my audience, usually my classmates, ex-colleagues and professionals in the field. By sharing those content, I can record what I gained and share it with my audience. Life is all about continuous learning. Furthermore, when I was asked about my experience of creating content, I could easily share what I have done and how I have learnt from the experience. From the interviewer’s feedback, they are surprised that I have actively created some content for my profile and my content style. Although I know there’s a lot of room to improve and learn, this experience helps me a lot. Thankfully, I got a coop offer from one of the opportunities and I am excited to start my first marketing job in Canada. 

From my own experience (though not a comprehensive one), I conclude 2 tips for networking 

1. Be clear 

We have to understand what we are searching for. What type of job nature, what kind of company and industry, what kind of working culture and environment, etc. After making things clear, we have to decide how to can get what we want, such as what preparation is needed, whom we should connect with, the reason why we want to connect with those people, and what we should share or talk with them. We cannot just connect with the people in the marketing industry without saying anything to them and expecting they will reach out and provide us with an offer. We have to do something and fight for what we want. 

2. Make it personal 

There are a lot of marketing graduates in Toronto every year and every one of them has a similar goal, to get a great job in the market. We have to stand out among others and share more personal experiences or insights which can impress the audience and differentiate us from others.

It’s my pleasure to meet so many great people in Canada and from LinkedIn. I still have far away from being a successful marketer just like those I have met in the seminars. However, I am not clear about the path and what I could and I should prepare for the future and my career development.