I recently attended a seminar at LinkedIn associated with a
career prep program. They instructed us
to create a brand presentation and told us we would be presenting in front of
companies we would possibly interview for in the future. I struggled with this
assignment! I didn’t know exactly what to expect. I took a moment to look at
everything I’ve done and how I could pitch my brand to be unique from others.
Mind you, this seminar involves students who landed internships at Google,
attend Ivy League schools and on TOP of their game. I didn’t know how a country
girl from a small town would stand out but I MADE IT HAPPEN J.
Oh…see this is what I used in my presentation. I thought
about everything I accomplished and how I MADE IT HAPPEN. I figured I could
talk about my achievements and after wrapping up each accomplishment tell how I
made it happen. For example: it went a little something like this….Although, I
found out about the opportunity to travel to Japan three days before the
deadline I ________ (did you say made it happen? J
???
Okay, so getting to the point, I really dreaded presenting
my slide because I felt like mine was basic and everyone else’s was going to be
extraordinary. As my group was called I realized that it was only about 7 of us
and two recruiters. Great! I can handle a crowd of 7!
As we went in the room, my stomach was bubbling and I was
just ready to get the brand presentation over with!! One thing about my brand
is that I always try to volunteer to go first. Welp, not this time!
Fast forward the story, I didn’t really know how I wanted to
present my brand. A young man volunteered to go first and he told us about his
whole family. Hmmm, I wonder if I should talk about my family? I thought. Nah,
this isn’t the place for that! They’re going to look at me silly.
I sat and felt the vibe of the recruiters and room. They
were professional, but relaxed, nice, and transparent. Others volunteered to go
and they were all being transparent about their brand and passion. As I set
back, I thought of the perfect brand presentation for myself but I felt that it
was too risky to take. While talking about how I made a lot of accomplishments
happen, I wanted to wrap it up and say that I accomplished a lot while I was
pregnant with my daughter who is now 6 months, but I couldn’t fathom telling alllllll
of that.
Eventually, I felt that I was ready to present so I
volunteered to go next. I began telling about my brand by explaining how I was
motivated to work in media when I stepped foot on campus. I shared my
experience of starting a women’s empowerment show my sophomore year, traveling
to Japan, writing scripts for a concert during the 2015 Essence Festival, and
how I’m an incoming intern at BET. After each accomplishment, after I said “I,”
I asked them to say “made it happen.” I’m really into storytelling as you can
see, so I decided to turn my brand into a story. When I concluded the story I said “What you
all don’t know is that while I accomplished everything, I was pregnant with my
daughter who is 6 months today! I want to be an inspiration. No matter what obstacles you face,you can make
anything happen!”
Then everyone was staring awkwardly and slowly clapped. OH
GOSH WHY DID I SAY THAT L
WORST MISTAKE EVER!! After I presented, the recruiters asked everyone to
volunteer to give feedback. “Why did I listen to my gut??” I thought…
The girl to the right
of me told me how my story was phenomenal and she liked how I pitched it.
Okay…..tell me what I did wrong???
She didn’t say anything! Okay, now let me hear what the
recruiters have to say.
The recruiters told me how I did a great job and they are
very convinced that I can make anything happen. Wow! Here I was wishing I would
have never shared my story, but they were really inspired by me. Fast forward,
I talked with one of the recruiters later at a networking event and she shared
with me that she didn’t tell her personal life a lot but she told me that she
had her kid very young (close to 17) and how she was so proud of me for
everything I was doing. Wow! I talked to her asking all types of advice for
working moms in media. She felt everything I went through and gave me great
advice about how to own that I’m a mom-boss in media and include my baby in
everything that I do. This media company I presented to is one of the top media
talent agencies out there! They represent stars such as Will Smith and Jamie
Foxx! See, if I would have never shared my story, I would have never made that
intimate connection and made such a good impression. This is one of the first
times I felt that I did a great job and I was so proud of myself!
A couple takeaways:
·
It’s ok
not to go first. Sometimes you need to sit back and observe. Think before
you speak. Your brand is important and you don’t want to mess it up by just
going first just….because.
·
Stop
beating yourself down. You are worthy, talented, and you have something to
offer that no one else in the world can give. I thought that my presentation
was going to be the worst because I was around so many talented people, but it
actually ended up being one of the best! (Well that’s the vibe I got from the
recruiters J )
·
Evaluate.
Now if I was in a room filled with lots of corporate guys who don’t have
families and seemed as if they were strict and tight, I would not have shared
my story. This doesn’t mean that I’m embarrassed by it. It just means that you
need to know your audience and know that there’s a time and place for
everything.
·
You grow
when you’re uncomfortable. I definitely wasn’t the smartest person in the
room. I didn’t want to perform in
front of students who were so awesome, intelligent, and accomplished. I just
wanted to be comfortable in a corner and not present my brand at all. But presenting
boosted my confidence and showed that I have something to bring to the table even though I’m not the smartest person in the
room!
·
Own your
story. A big piece of advice I received from the recruiter that had her
child young as well was to own my story and own that I am a mom-boss. She
talked about how Beyonce practices her performances and Blue Ivy is by her
side. She talked about how Shonda Rhimes writes in her office while her kids
are playing. This gave me so much motivation how I could be a media mogul but
still a great mom to my kid. I’m going to always own that I’m a mom-boss and
I’m raising my daughter to be a Proverbs 31 woman!
I hope this story will lead you to own your
own unique story. If you know a mom-boss please share
this story with her!
Blessings xoxo
