Self-promotion, dirty words, talking yourself up without coming across as a total prick. So, how do you do it? Meet Hayden Garrard, Senior Account Manager at Juicebox, and Marcie Schneider, Designer at The Brand Agency. Both sit on the Youngbloods WA committee. And both have given us their two cents on how approaches to self-promotion can differ between ‘suits’ and ‘creatives’.

What are the tried and tested avenues to best promote yourself to your peers and potential employers.

Hayden:

LinkedIn.
Cold emails to introduce yourself.
Industry/networking events.
Casual coffees with people in the industry – no agenda, just a meet and greet.

Marcie:

Which of these have you actually done?

Hayden:

When I started out I was only using emails and LinkedIn to promote myself. Strangely enough, when I was at uni, not one lecturer was pushing LinkedIn as a great way to promote yourself and build your profile. In hindsight, I’d say that LinkedIn is the easiest and potentially most effective way to get your name out there.

Creating a long list of generic “info@agency” and personal email addresses for potential workplaces in your city and bulk sending out an email introducing yourself/what you’re looking for can also be a great way for people to start noticing who you are. You won’t get a response from 8/10 emails you send, but all you need is a single reply from an employer to land yourself that ‘foot-in-the-door’ opportunity and potentially kick-start your career. I’m absolutely speaking from experience – I landed my first job in the industry by doing exactly this.

Marcie:

What have you found works best for you?

Hayden:

The above approaches are super effective at getting your first gig, but once you start to meet people and get your name out there, a really good (and very important) way to continue to promote yourself is simply to show up. Show up at industry events, show up at sundowner drinks, at open-agency days, at meet and greets, etc. etc. etc.

The industry circles are usually small enough – everyone (more or less) knows everyone. Attending industry events is arguably the best way to extend your network.

Marcie:

Why?

Hayden:

It’s all about meeting people and putting a face to the name – having an in-person conversation goes a lot further than a message or email (although these are still good ways to make initial contact).
As much as I hate to say it, often your next job opportunity depends on who you know – your personal brand speaks to the work that you do, but speaking to people about this work is a great way to set yourself apart.

Marcie:

#AgencyLife vs. in-house vs. freelancing. Does how you promote yourself differ depending on which direction you choose to pursue?

Hayden:

I wouldn’t say so, no. I’ve not personally ventured outside of #AgencyLife, but I’d say that the ways in which you’d promote yourself would remain the same – the only changes may be the types of events you attend and who you tee up coffees with.

Marcie:

And finally… what self-promo have you kept up since landing a job in the industry?

Hayden:
These days I’m a bit slack at actively promoting myself (outside of attending industry events and the odd LinkedIn post). I’m a people person and would much rather attend a social event, which COVID hasn’t helped. That being said, I do think that it’s important to maintain self-promotion to keep your personal brand presence alive and thriving – so this is a note to self!

Marcie: