Six networking lessons learned from six days in The 6ix

Summer sixteen is coming to an end, and if there’s one thing that stuck with me from being a student, is that September always brings new energy and focus. To start September off right, I took a trip to Toronto to meet with some of the biggest media and tech companies in Canada including YouTube, Google, VICE, Sportsnet, CBC, Shopify, Republic Live, Ten Thousand Coffees, and Wattpad. I got these meetings through personal referrals, LinkedIn, and attending the NewCo Toronto conference. The purpose of my trip was to learn about career opportunities in broadcasting and media; to figure out what I want to do and how. I learned so much from just being in the city and meeting with the awesome people at these companies who said yes to my requests for coffee and found some recurring themes. Here are the six lessons I learned from six days in The 6ix.

Lesson One: Trust in the power of social networks (and coffee)

Before heading to Toronto, I spent about three weeks researching the companies I wanted to meet and the types of people.

• I first started by Googling “top headquartered companies in Toronto." There are a lot of companies out there that don’t even have satellite offices in Vancouver, but they serve plenty of people in it. Like damn, how many small businesses do you know that use Shopify to sell their goods online? Probably more than you know. I made a list of top companies I wanted to meet with, even if I didn’t know anybody who worked there. Just meeting someone at these companies is a huge foot up when it comes to future opportunities.
• Get organized. I have a Google doc full of the messages I sent to people on LinkedIn that worked at these top companies and in roles that were of interest to me. If I found a profile I liked, I would save their profile to PDF (so then I would remember who I hit up and not look hella creepy going back to their profile a billion times in hopes they would meet with me, or to prep for a meeting if one was confirmed). Example of the message I would put into the connection request:

Hi Stephanie! I’m an aspiring tv/media producer/host currently working in community TV in Vancouver (links in profile). I'll be in Toronto Sept 9-16 & would love have coffee with you to hear about the work you’ve done in production. Would you be interested? P.S. - I’m a huge Drake fan and love that you’ve done a doc on him. I did my own music video to “The Motto” :)

Guess what - IT WORKED! Stephanie responded, we met for coffee, she gave me some major keys (bless up, DJ Khaled), motivation, great ideas, and contact info for other people I could reach out to! She was already an awesome person, but damn she went above and beyond for what I would have expected. I meet with students and young professionals all the time, but she just set the bar for the level of helpfulness I want to pay forward to people who take a chance on asking me to meet with them for coffee as well.

• Oh and don’t forget good ol’ Facebook. I created a Facebook event and invited all the people I knew in Toronto, asking them if they knew people that worked at specific companies and specific roles, prioritizing the types of people I was hoping to meet. I got two solid leads out of that.

Put your hand up, say wassup, come through strong, leave a positive impression, and watch your network grow.

Lesson Two: Know yourself

Once you have your meetings set up, go in there and ask for what you want. Whenever I prepare for a shoot, I craft a solid list of questions with a clear idea of how I want the beginning, middle and end to be. The same thing can be applied to a meeting or informational interview.

• How do you want to introduce yourself? Your introduction should clearly explain who you are, what you do, and why you asked for their time.
• Listen before jumping in and sharing your ideas or what you do/want to do. Ask them what their role is and verify what lens they’re going into the conversation with. Are you talking to a news writer or a video producer? A hiring manager, or more of someone you’d work with as a peer?
• Be direct with your line of questioning. People appreciate knowing what you want to get out of a conversation and they can better help you if your questions are more direct.
• Respect their time. If you can’t get to all your questions no problem, but make sure you leave the conversation getting more or something delightfully different than what you expected. When I interview people for my segments, I have very little time to get the essence of what I’m looking for. Especially in short video segments, you have to get in and out of conversations very quickly, because the end product will only be a few minutes long. To get the information or connection you want out of the meeting, you have to go in with a clear idea of what you want the outcome to be, and truly have to drive that conversation.
• You have something to offer. Remember that. It’s a mindset that becomes very transparent in person.
• Mind your manners. Sending a simple thank you email, card, text - it goes a long way. Offer them something of value in the email, like a cool article, video or other link that stems from something you discussed in person. Keep in touch with your contacts to let them know what you’re working on and how you’re progressing. I did this when I was working in marketing and wanted to make a move to the tech industry - and I got a job out of it!

Being successful with your meetings all stems from knowing yourself, knowing how to articulate what you do, what you’re hoping to learn, and making big asks. If you’re not making big asks, you’re not opening up yourself to opportunities to better yourself.

Lesson Three: Look at everyone as your future coworkers

Yes, you want to make a good impression. Yes, you would kill to work there. Yes, you probably want to freak out and just scream at the top of your lungs “PLEASE HIRE ME!!”, but NO don’t do it, please don’t do it. Keep your cool when you meet with these awesome connections you’re making, even if they work for an amazing company that you may want to work for. These people could be your future coworkers - who wants to work with a spaz? (Note: To be very explicit, no I did not do this (cmon, I’m a professional!). I definitely got a little bit nervous before heading into my meetings, though. You never know what’s going to happen, even if you plan it all out, but channelling that excitement for a great conversation is always key.)

Find common ground - reveal a part of your life that is outside of the normal conversation to elicit an uncommon response and show yourself as more human. Maybe you’re into the same music, food, art, fashion, whatnot! People want to work with those they can get along with. When I visited Google, their Director of Search and Performance Advertising, Eric Morris, gave a nod to ‘the airplane test’ for how Google hires. Would you want to sit on a plane with this person for 5 hours straight? Would you pass the plane test? Would they?

Go into your conversations with the mindset that you have something to offer and that you’d be a lot of fun to work with. By treating the people you network with as your peers, you come off as more confident, more capable, and as someone they just might want to work with.

Lesson Four: You gotta own it if you want it

If you’ve got experience, you’ve got experience. Don’t downplay that. If you go into your meetings with the mindset of “I’m new! Inexperienced! Doe-eyed! Teach me the way!”, you come off as desperate. Who would you want to work with more?

1. “Hi, I’m Natasha. I’m a Producer and Host from Vancouver. I’ve worked for Razer TV, CityTV, CTV, Canadian Idol, along with experience in corporate marketing, PR and events. Would love to learn about what you’re working on and how I can help you.”
2. “Hi, my name is Natasha and I’m an aspiring media professional, because maybe, you know, one day, I could be you??? Help? Please??!”

Number two is not the type of vibe you want to be giving off in an informational interview. Even though yes, you’re trying to level up on your skills and experience, if you’ve already got some experience, and are growing your portfolio, don’t be afraid to share that. We all have more to learn and contribute, but what we’ve learned and experienced has gotten us to where we are today. I took a 10 year hiatus from the broadcast and media industry while I was going to school and working my way up the corporate ladder. My bachelor's degree in Communications, professional experienced I gained working in marketing, events and PR, and even my volunteer adventures all contribute to my arsenal of skills. I can now use that as a launching pad to help me get to the next steps in my media career. All your experiences are more transferable and valuable than you know.

Be your best, confident, authentic self and don’t be shy to share your credentials. People want to work with capable, confident people, who they like and who they can get along with. If you want the people you meet to see you as their peer and future coworker, you’ve got to own it.

Lesson Five: Find your product-market fit

This is one of the biggest challenges of startups; determining what gaps there are in your industry, what people want and need, and creating a product satisfies those needs. Whether you’re starting a business, or you’re working for yourself, have a crystal clear vision of what type of world you want to create, to guide you in the right direction.

Toronto-based startup Ten Thousand Coffees first started as an online community to help students connect with establish professionals. Now it has evolved to creating connections within multinational corporations, student populations to alumni, and more. Throughout the numerous iterations and changes not only to their technology, but their business plan, their vision remains the same: “to democratize opportunity”. That’s legit.

Know that throughout your career journey, you will need to be open to opportunities, be agile and be able to change. How can you and your current awesome self with your existing skills and experience help fill a need? Do your research, find out what the gap is, how you can fill that gap, and be able to maneuver along the way.

Lesson Six: Think 10x, not 10%

A common business and product management approach to innovation is making something 10 times better, rather than 10% better. YouTube, Google, Ten Thousand Coffees and Wattpad live and breathe this approach to thinking and acting exponentially to make big changes to their business, people, and the world.

[Photo taken at Google Canada office] “Incrementalism leads to irrelevance over time, especially in technology, because change tends to be revolutionary, not evolutionary.”

This can be applied to media as well. When meeting with a content development executive at VICE, we discussed how he chooses what new shows to produce for their TV channel, VICELAND. How does VICE continue to blow millennial minds? Simple: BY MAKING EPIC SH**.  The ideas for these shows need to be top notch, never been done before, or done in a completely new way to be even considered. They need to be 10x, not 10% better than what’s already been done.

What are you doing today to level up? Look for inspiration from what’s right in front of you. Look at the characters around you, and the stories within the story. What’s compelling about the everyday, is that you can see the same thing a billion times, but all it takes is a shift in perspective to see it in a completely mind-blowingly, life-changing way. How can we look at our experiences, our careers, the people in our lives differently, to go from zero to 100? If looking at what’s right in front of you is getting a little old, book yourself a trip, meet some awesome people, have meaningful conversations, and you’ll come back with a fresh perspective. We call that schemin’ up, we call that schemin’ up fo’real. Think 10x. And when you return, just press play.

[Photo taken at YouTube Space Toronto]

Drake references in this post (seven - tried to make it six, but I just couldn't help myself): Summer sixteen; The 6ix; Know yourself; No don't do it, please don't do it; You gotta own it if you want it; 0-100; Schemin' up.

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About the author:

Natasha Jung (aka NJ) is a ‘multipotentialite’ - someone with many interests, creative pursuits and superpowers. She is a television producer and host, community leader, public speaker, emcee, and recovering corporate ladder climber.

Armed with her degree in Communications from Simon Fraser University, Natasha’s professional background is in marketing, events, broadcasting and PR. She is currently a Television Producer & Host for Novus TV and has previously worked for Canadian Idol, CityTV, CTV, Deloitte Canada, and more.

For nearly 20 years, she has been an active volunteer and was named one of Richmond's "30 Under 30". She is most notably known as Executive Producer and Co-Creator of RichCity Idol, an award-winning organization supporting youth leadership development and performing arts. Natasha has been on various boards and supported organizations focused on youth leadership enablement and community engagement and is currently Chair of the Leaders of Tomorrow program with the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade and an Advisor for GradusOne. She often speaks for universities and nonprofits on career and goal planning, mentorship and personal development.

A lifelong music lover, Natasha is powered by R&B and hip hop music (mostly Drake).

Above all, Natasha is most passionate about enabling others to explore their personal and professional potential.

#realtalkwithNJ