Written by: James King, Account Executive, Earned Media, Technology, Edelman & Co-Chair, Communications & Marketing, CPRS Toronto
CPRS Toronto recently launched a new mentorship program. A mentor from our Board of Directors will meet monthly with a select group of five mentees to share their experiences and insights on a number of relevant topics, ranging from networking to interview preparation and long-term career planning. Co-Chair of Communications and Marketing, James King, details his first mentorship session below.
Entering a new setting for the first time – whether it be virtual or in-person – can bring about its fair share of pre-attendance jitters. Similar to the Sunday scaries, nerves and excitement in anticipation of what is next fill the air, as you count down the clock until that highly awaited moment finally arrives.
As someone who was seeking out internship opportunities around this time last year, I knew I wanted to be a mentor who could bring energy and excitement to help mentees take a break from their daily lives and routines. However, I also wanted to make sure I was providing meaningful opportunities for them to engage in valuable conversations and help them feel supported as their careers take off.
While navigating mentorship in the virtual setting can certainly bring about its own set of unique opportunities and challenges, my group successfully met for the first time this past Tuesday evening for our first group session and put any worries or uncertainties to rest.
Kicking it off with a fun introductory “show and tell” showcase, I knew I was in for a treat right off the bat, as they quickly put their storytelling abilities to the test. From embroidered art to Yorkshire tea and self-tanner spray, we were able to share interesting parts of ourselves from the get-go to help set the tone before diving into some deeper conversations.
We all have fears and dreams
After wrapping up the warm welcomes, we took some time as a group to reflect and write down something we were nervous or feeling uncertain about related to our future career plans. Shortly after, we took a few moments to follow-up on this fear and jot down something actionable we planned on doing to help combat this.
A few brave mentees felt empowered enough to share their thoughts with the rest of our group, touching upon topics including worries about diverse representation within the workforce and insecurities when it came to the timelines of their career paths or trajectories up until now. Ultimately, this conversation reminded us all that no matter what stage within our careers we are all at, we each have our own set of challenges we hope to overcome and successes we hope to achieve.
While we may not always have all the answers, something we reinforced was the concept of believing in our own self-worth and recognizing opportunities to learn and grow exist within each and every day. Although our personal struggles might all look different compared to one another, it solidified the belief that we are never alone in our journey and that there is a warm and welcoming community around us in the PR industry to help support our goals.
Play to your strengths and build your own narrative
For our next activity, our group imagined we were the hiring team at a new PR agency looking to recruit an intern to join their team. We began by brainstorming a list of ideal qualities we would hope for our dream candidate to possess, and came up with ten items in total, including being a self-starter, working well under pressure and demonstrating empathy for others.
From there, we flipped the script and imagined we were now candidates for this role, narrowing down which characteristics we would prioritize in our application and how they would fit into our stories. Although our list included strong writing skills (which is a definite asset in PR), something we noticed as a group across the board was most things listed were personal traits rather than specific subject-matter expertise, such as experience in media relations or influencer campaigns, that can be taught.
Another interesting observation was that from this list, everyone selected different items as standout points they would choose to highlight about themselves. All in all, this prompted the realization that we all have unique identifiers and experiences that have shaped us into who we are today. Rather than trying to check off every box all at once, we instead discussed focusing on conveying a few select themes and using them to paint a picture that celebrates who you are in a compelling and memorable way.
Take control when mapping out your future and “get it”
For the last half hour of every session, I’ll be inviting a fellow colleague and friend of mine within the industry to join our call and offer another perspective as it relates to our monthly theme and their own personal insights. To kick things off, we were fortunate to have Ryleigh Ebron as a guest speaker.
As a recent Humber PR grad and current Account Associate at Talk Shop, Ryleigh began by sharing her path for how she found herself in the world of PR, reflecting on many key lessons learned along the way. A natural storyteller and engaging presenter with many words of wisdom, here are just a few of Ryleigh’s standout takeaway points:
- Focus on investing time and energy into yourself through building long-term relationships with your colleagues and network, as well as seeking out opportunities to showcase your talents and interests.
- Make a list of your non-negotiables that you want to get out of your next role, and do your research before/during informational calls as well as interviews to ensure there is alignment with your values.
- Prioritize continuous self-improvement by setting personal and professional goals for yourself, making sure to raise your hand to take on new tasks and find innovative ways to keep levelling up your skills.
- Think of creative strategies to make yourself an invaluable asset or standout member of your team and follow these ideas up with hard work, eagerness and determination to make yourself unforgettable.
- Be open to exploring projects or clients in all different practice areas, as it can lead to discovering newfound realizations about yourself and broaden your skill set beyond your own imagination.
Overall this first session went better than I could have ever imagined. Something I was worried about going into this was my young age and level of experience within the industry. One of my mentees said something incredibly sweet that I won’t forget, in that “I selected you as my mentor for that very reason. I wanted to gain a peer’s perspective and chat with someone I could relate to.” I hope I was able to live up to those expectations and I cannot wait for everything ahead in the months to come.