This month the seven students and recent alums participating in Metro State’s career explorer program spent time virtually with Brandpoint, a content marketing agency. Public relations major Quinton Miller offers the reflection below on that experience.

Career exploration can be a daunting experience for anyone, no matter what their place in the process is. Seeking to attain specific career paths or positions contains stresses that we are not readily aware of. Sometimes the unknown is our biggest fear.

This is where Brandpoint seeks to serve value through Microsoft Teams meeting, to alleviate your critical perception of the road ahead by providing insight from a set of panelists who have already been there and done that. The MS Teams meeting that was held on Thursday morning 3/24 assisted with alleviating the fears that placing yourself on the market can hold. For example, discussions on topics revolving around: Why should you place yourself on the market in the first place? Is it your interest in writing? Interest in a vibrant array of opportunities? What is it that motivates you?

Networking helps to uncover opportunities. Always do your best and recognize that your best can vary with activities throughout each day. Our panelist Grace Hallen, who is a digital marketing specialist at Brandpoint, noted that it is difficult to comprehend what a person is capable of on paper. Tasks vary in difficulty from day to day so putting yourself out there shows a great deal of confidence. Take the leap of faith. Trust your gut. There is power in who you know! Panelist and Metro State alum Phoushai Yang chimed in with the valuable point that taking the first leap of faith is the biggest step. This reminds me of a quote in Will Smith’s self-titled book. He recalls that when he was younger, he and his brother were instructed to help their father build a wall of bricks for his store. This was no easy task for two adolescent boys to tackle; however, Will’s father said something that resonated with him for the rest of his life. “Stop thinking about the damn wall!” his father spat. “There is no wall. There are only bricks. Your job is to lay this brick perfectly. Then move on to the next brick. Then lay that brick perfectly. Then the next one. Don’t be worrying about no wall. Your only concern is one brick.” Simple as a statement, but applies to many aspects of life like fear, performance and even devotion. Find your why and pursue your passions.

In the latter half of the Zoom meeting, transferable skills are the typic of discussion. There are attributes that are developed during professional and subjective experiences that shape our core strengths. Panelist MaDonna expanded upon her path stating that you always have time to create a new narrative to your story. Through knowledge-seeking endeavors, one can shape the contribution provided by learning topics like Search Engine Optimization, Journalism, and Editing. Learning intriguing subjects that illustrate value leads to more fulfillment for individuals and highlights psychological safety in individual abilities. This builds confidence even in the most introverted person by focusing on robustness. There can be a lot of emotions with people attached to things in their lives. This helps to mitigate those negative connotations.

Awareness increases transparency. Resumes are initially read by A.I. systems; therefore, the keyword section of the document has become increasingly important. It is beneficial for those seeking internships or jobs to read the description and match your keywords with those stated, simply to get through to a human. This knowledge helps individuals with self-branding and understand that with each new job they apply for, alteration of the resume is certainly beneficial. Do not be afraid to put yourself out there. With each new job comes more experience and with each experience self-development is attained. Valuing your abilities teaches others to value you. Change your perception of time by moving towards time spent exploring, and it will increase the value of your experiences.

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