When was the last time you were asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s probably been a while… but these days, it’s just rephrased as “What do you plan on doing once you graduate?” I think we’ve asked the question wrong from the start. The question is not, “What do you want to be when you grow up, but who do you want to be when you grow up?” In shifting from one outlook to the other, we have the opportunity to develop our character as we’re developing our career.
Think about the people you admire in your desired industry. What do they all have in common? It’s precisely this question that led me to choosing this commentary topic. Two respectable women serve as my inspiration in the PR industry, Natasha Koifman and Aliza Licht.
PR Maven Natasha Koifman, is the president of NKPR Inc., a Toronto and New York-based communications agency founded on the motto, “Don’t Just Talk. Say Something.” Those words are the core of Public Relations as a discipline, along with its key focus: relationships. There are many reasons why I’ve chosen the field of PR, but essentially it’s because life is all about relationships, so why not focus your career on building and maintaining relationships with brands you care about?
Over the past year or so, I’ve taken the time to determine exactly what I wish to do with my life. Each assignment this semester—whether it’s writing a press release or interviewing someone whose career we aspire to emulate—has solidified my decision to pursue Fashion PR. Listening to Scott Summerall from Burson-Marsteller speak to our class was also a defining moment for me. His engaging personality and passion for his craft made him the perfect fit for his role.
Passion produces purpose: When facing the formidable career path choice, ask yourself: “What am I passionate about? What makes me tick? What is it that I love so much I lose myself in?” Discovering a new designer or a connection between influencers excites me. Sometimes I get in the zone and lose track of how I got from point A to point Z. Paradoxically, you lose yourself in doing what you love, whatever that may be, but ultimately you find your passion. Your passion is the driving force behind a successful career.
A successful career comes with a successful life; one should strive for success in all areas. Determine your goals in life and assess if your career will allow you to achieve these, whether it’s traveling, having a big family, or even achieving an “empire state of mind.”
At our age, we lack experience. Through experience, we gain credibility, which translates through our work. I often think, “Do I have skills that resemble those at the executive level in my desired field?” At this time in our lives, we may only perceive an inkling of a talent, but once we discover it, it’s ours to develop. For example, I’m a backwards thinker. I think of an idea and run with it, then rewind to figure out to how the idea will play out to produce my end goal. I’ve been told that much of PR is “backwards thinking,” so maybe this trait of mine will actually be beneficial. In developing necessary skills for your career of choice, you’ll discover new talents and capitalize on what you’re naturally good at.
Even the best of the best have weaknesses. Once you discover them, however, nobody can hold them against you, so long as you take control of them. Turning our weaknesses into strengths is often something we don’t want to face because it’s an ongoing process. We live in a culture centered on the “now.” “There is an overwhelming pressure for 20-somethings to know what they want to do and to do it right now,” Koifman voices empathetically.
I admire PR professionals because they are quick, strategic, confident, and well-spoken, whether it comes to verbal or written communication. During my face-to-face conversation with Koifman last month, I asked her if these necessary PR skills are innate, and she gave me her insight:
“You know, I think certain people possess those skills and those can be developed; however, I don’t think everyone has them.”
Her response yields the importance of choosing a career path that’s right for you. We’re all undoubtedly focused on success, but how successful is your career going to be if 1) it doesn’t suit you and 2) you’re not passionate about it?
The most interesting topic we covered during our meeting was work-life balance. I’ve realized that the people I look up to are the people that achieve this complex, not by balancing, but by integrating. Koifman stressed the importance of integration, especially in our current society. “We don’t have to “shut down” when we’re at home, nor do we have to isolate our personal self from our professional self.”
You are your own brand; so ideally, the personal/professional line should be seamless, save from private matters. Aliza Licht, senior vice president of global communications at Donna Karan, voiced how “everyone is a brand” in a “How to Make it in Fashion PR” webcast with industry insiders:
“Whether you want to leverage your power or not is up to you, but you can’t dismiss the fact that we currently live and work in a connection economy that allows you to create an almost unlimited amount of opportunity for yourself. This also means that you have to guard your online reputation just as much as you guard your reputation in ‘real life.’ Using an alias online isn’t really enough anymore. You need to be mindful of what you say- and what you do because you never know who is watching. Which reminds me of one of my favorite quotes: ‘You have no control over how you are perceived, but you have 100 percent control over how you’re presented.’ So act accordingly.”
When it comes to your career, it’s more about the person you want to become, rather than the job title you wish to have. A career choice is an incredibly important decision, most notably because your career will inevitably mold you into the person you are twenty years from now. Through conversations with PR professionals and personal research my collective conclusion for choosing PR can be summed up into one sentence: “That’s the kind of person I want to be.” Aim to acquire the qualities of those you admire, while maintaining the essence of who you are. Simply strive to be a better version of yourself each day.
Stay posted; xx
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