Enlightenment

(Buddhist enlightenment symbol)

Where I came from:

In my past career, in the Hotel industry, I enjoyed meeting other Hoteliers. The industry is small in Toronto, you will always have some sort of connection with other leaders. During this time, I neglected any networking with people that I have not personally met during leisure, meetings, or just scoping out the competition’s establishments.

I learned that online networking is important as well, it really expands the possibilities. I personally have not really decided which career path to explore. I find myself to be a hands-on type so before do the job, I won’t really know. However, the seminars this semester really allowed me to paint a better picture of the digital media marketing industry roles. The most important thing is that I met new people and made some good friendships. After Covid-19, I feel everyone has suffered a bit in a social aspect and having the opportunity to make new friends is a real blessing. Different people with different backgrounds and industry experiences really opens your eyes to tackle different things from a different angle.

The guest speakers, we had the privilege to have, have been all truly inspiring. Getting to know their personal journey and how their expectations changed course. Also, what their roles entail and their take of the industry. The most interesting path must be Danielle Humilde, a busy individual recently graduated has had an amazing adventure started as a freelancer pretty much. This path sounds just as tough as owning a restaurant in the hospitality industry. No rest, no sleep and all fun with a dash of pressure. Another guest speaker that sprinkled some inspiration is Alex Kim from BrainRider. Telling us about his opinion from his perspective about B2B digital marketing. It was especially easy to draw a line when he spoke about the job itself compared to B2C. It allowed me to compare to my work experience in the Hotel, comparing the difference of solving a guest issue VS negotiating with supplier.

While being more active on LinkedIn became a regular routine for me, I also had the opportunity to connect with Nitesh and Saurabh, 2 other classmates going through the same classes. We also decided to team up to participate in a contest that was open to students, courtesy of Blair Smith. The contest was for BioMe to build a campaign for high cholesterol awareness. Our team was later called Sensei Creators, reason being that we work well together, and we constantly learn from each other, a lot of “a-ha” moments and random conversations. After putting our campaign together, we got selected as top 4 to pitch, unfortunately we did not get chosen however it was a good journey that offered us experience to test our minds. It also provided us with the opportunity to meet and connect via LinkedIn with professionals in the industry and other students from other schools.

Throughout the school term, I have realized that LinkedIn was extremely important part of networking. At this time, I have updated and slowly connected with Hoteliers that I have met before as well as other students in the program as me. Future employers or employees or friends! It is a great source. While seeking my internship, it was a challenge to learn how to approach the prospect employer over LinkedIn, but it doesn’t feel “weird”, times have changed, and LinkedIn is a friendly platform to do so.

I also learnt that a lot of information and exposure is available over Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook Groups. I recently have joined a group on Facebook: “Become a Social Media Manager” and “Food and Wine Industry”. A lot of good reads and postings are shared by other members, and on twitter and LinkedIn from following other students, professors, and industry professionals. An extremely great way to keep up to date with the respective industries.

What I would like everyone to understand is that the online networking is very important now, don’t feel weird or awkward to connect with anyone. You never know what the connection will bring you in the future. With the world moving towards online society, it offers a lot of exposure and eventually (if not already), all jobs will directly require technology and being apart an online community. It really allows information to be transferred faster and easier. Recently I have told hospitality friends of mine to update all their LinkedIn, because that exposure can be your next step.

I was able to find my internship for next semester thanks to MyWineCanada. My love for the hospitality industry and my familiarity with alcohol, I just couldn’t resist this opportunity. After interviewing with Tiffany, Finance & Operations Manager with MyWineCanada, I am excited for the role and for exposure to the different aspects of digital marketing. It will be a challenge, but like I’ve said before, I love a challenge.