13th March 2021- Event Grads Community
The incredible Rose Griffiths and Clem Crowther organised and hosted Event Grads' very first networking event as a place for event management students and graduates to network and develop skills in a secure space.
Last Saturday, Future #EventProfs Connect took place, with the aim to equip all students and graduates with the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to network effectively within the wonderful industry of events! And what an incredible event it was!
Networking alone is responsible for filling as many as 85% of jobs - (source: Hubspot)
The mid-morning event consisted of four keynote speakers with breakout rooms in-between, as an opportunity for all attendees to networking with other students: dividing up the day into an interactive workshop for new skills and new connections to be made!
Our wonderful keynote speakers, including Samantha Sailsbury, Sabrina Meyers, Juliet Tripp and Ashanti Bentil- Dhue, provided insightful and valuable content to highlight the importance of networking for the Event Grads community.
Key Takeaways
Samantha Salisbury - 'A Verbal business card is the way forward'
Samantha raised the importance of a Verbal Business Card; a practical tool to utilise for every networking event! The aim of a verbal business card is to outline your career goals and interests with a genuine and authentic approach. A top tip in doing so is to add emphasis to your selling pitch, remembering to provide value and to highlight how you can be considered as a resource for people but also for business.
Keeping in mind to remember to ask questions is key to valuable networking! By asking about others interests and ideas will not only generate an engaging conversation but will also move the direction of conversation in the right way. Don't be afraid to break the ice by asking questions and to state what you are looking for and to mention what you are currently working on.
How to move forward?
Note down 4 key action points for your next networking event opportunity.
Decide what you are aiming to achieve from networking: to build relationships, to gain visibility, expert knowledge and resources, to be part of a community.
Homework: follow up with your connections and generate a relationship and conversation by engaging in their content and feed.
'' Collaboration & Support '' - S.S
Sabrina Meyers - Building your Personal Brand
Sabrina introduced a refreshing outlook towards how the future event professionals of our industry can utilise social media to produce a powerful personal brand.
The key to a successful personal brand all stems from the meaning behind it in the first place.
What are you aiming to achieve? How it can add value to your followers/ audience? How can I make a difference? What exactly am I working towards?
The three pillars included in a successful personal brand are: authenticity, differentiation and relevance.
How to get started?
Utilising a Bio: an extremely valuable element to every personal brand. Include passions, goals and interests by highlighting projects you are currently working on or have completed- this really enhances skills and values, rather than just a statement.
Create a Digital Footprint: Utilising 3 core online platforms to spread your message successfully and on brand to you! E.G - LinkedIn, Instagram and Clubhouse, three excellent ways to utilise your voice! Make sure to match all digital breadcrumbs along the way with all online portfolios and pages which follow through your work and values; key words, hashtags and colours are key! Treat your platforms at portfolios of your work and your ethics!
Create a Database: by generating a mailing list, this will grow your communities and as well as your projects and visibility! This can be used for blogs, pages and communities to really utilise all connections and opportunities!
Small steps can lead to big value! Top Tip: find and follow 5 new accounts each week which express different interests and ideas to expand your community but also your awareness!
Turn to close friends and colleagues and ask them 'What am I in particular good at? What would you come to me specifically for in a professional capacity?'
'' Find who you are and let the world know! Go form and be colourful ! '' - S.M
'' Your personal brand is FREE real estate!'' - S.M
Juliet Tripp - Crafting that killer elevator pitch!
The wonderful Juliet Tripp again, brought the Event Grads community a refreshing and energising session, expressing her thoughts into how to deliver the best of the best elevator pitch to secure that job, opportunity, interview and conversation!
The key is to have a short, sharp and snappy pitch in your back pocket, ready to deliver at any moment. What are you out to accomplish? How can YOU help? The trick is to use these elevator pitches online and offline, to perfect your confidence and to get your name out there just in time for this summer! Likewise to Sabrina, utilising biographies is key to your personal brand values, a place to sell yourself and what you are all about!
Create something memorable about yourself - be that 'go to person'!
'' An elevator pitch is the journey catalyst to get to the end goal '' - J.T
'' Be different to deserve attention '' - J.T
Ashanti Bentil- Dhue - The Importance of Networking
Our final speaker of the event, the inspiring Ashanti, provided a different yet proactive outlook towards networking itself and how to use it to the best of your ability.
The quote 'Shine brightly like a lighthouse' struck the whole audience with a fantastic insight into how we can all continue to do
our very best everyday. By keeping our light on, we are being self-aware and exploring our own personal interests, little by little. A top tip: ask quotes from people you have heard speak or have read about, this is a fantastic way to network, by keeping your name on their radar and highlighting your specific interest in their work.
Additionally, Ashanti projects networking as a light of its own; ‘a lighthouse attracts boats which are opportunities so keep keeping up!’
'' Everything is networking and if your not networking - your not working '' - A.B.D
‘’ Keep shining and showing up because you don’t know who you are impacting ‘’- A.B.D
Thank you to everyone who attended the very first Event Grads networking event!
Written by Grace Nelson
Grace is a proud 2019 Manchester Metropolitan University Graduate with a wide range of experience in events. Grace is one of the Project Coordinators at Event Grads, supporting the execution of all projects and events. Grace is also the creator and editor of www.gracesliving.com with a passion for marketing and writing.
@eventgrads
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