Young Media Professionals: Be Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable

As a coordinator I was tasked with contributing to the execution of sales marketing and eventsamp160 I eagerly jumped into the beginnings of my media careeramp160 I remember the most from my first year this was when I adjusted my mindset stepped outside the lines a bit and dug into what I was truly capable ofamp160 Looking back now I see how I pushed the boundaries took chances and pushed through fear to get thereHere39s what I learnedNever Say No to An Opportunity That Scares Youamp160amp160amp160amp160amp160amp160amp160Six months into my new job we were planning for our annual sales conference and I was asked to moderate the leadership panelamp160 My first instinct was to declineamp160 How was I a new college grad with no experience going to get in front of a hundred people and lead a 45minute discussion with members from DISH Media Sales LeadershipI acceptedamp160 Saying no because I was scared wasn39t a good enough reason to turn down what I now know was an opportunityamp160 The day of I was sick to my stomachamp160 I tried my best to listen to each presentation throughout the day but instead I wrote my opening lines in my notebook over and over again for six hoursamp160 When the time came I took a deep breath and began to speakamp160 The panel finished successfully and I had done itamp160 I had taken a huge step forward and put myself out there and I knew the next time I had to speak in front of a group it wouldn39t be as hardEveryone has an inner monologue the voice that tells them right from wrong when to fight or flee and the one that says quotI39m not capable of that right nowquotamp160 Sometimes that voice holds you backamp160 The media industry is lightning fastamp160 If you wait until you39re confident you are ready to execute an outsideofthebox idea someone else will do it firstamp160 That doesn39t mean that you should recklessly risk it all amp160But if you challenge yourself to aim a little higher and learn from your mistakes you39ll accelerate instead of standing stillToday I39m a member of the leadership team I was afraid to get on stage withamp160 Those 45 minutes are small in the grand scheme of things but they forced me to join the conversation and trust my voiceamp160 Growth can be very intimidating but the more you go outside your comfort zone the bigger that zone getsBe SelfAware Two weeks in my manager told me to meet with our Head of Programmatic to learn moreamp160 I responded in a way I thought was positively quotGreatamp160 I have addressable down but I could use a programmatic 101quotamp160 She chuckled and said quotWell actually you don39t know much about addressable eitherquotamp160 Her candor surprised meamp160 Being the quotaddressable product marketing contactquot was part of my jobamp160 I felt exposedamp160 But she was rightamp160 I could not know everything about a highly advanced advertising solution in that short amount of timeGuess whatamp160 You don39t know everything and you39re not expected toamp160 How many job descriptions have you read that say they are looking for people who quotexcel in a fastpaced environmentquotamp160 Most of the time that means learning quickly onthespot prompt decisionmaking and adaptabilityamp160 Media changes every dayamp160 If you39re going to keep up admit to yourself what you don39t know ask questions and seek out resourcesBeing vulnerable and acknowledging that I may not have all the answers is still not easy but that candid uncertainty got me to where I am todayamp160 If you39re okay with working on and sometimes even exposing your weaker areas they will become catalysts for growth rather than setbacksamp160 A year ago I was tasked with leading marketing for a multimilliondollar businessamp160 I knew I wasn39t fully prepared for what that meantamp160 So I used resources sought consistent selfdevelopment and surrounded myself with people who not only guided but challenged meamp160 I39ve since been given higherlevel responsibilities and have earned my seat at the tableWork Hard and Think Big PictureGoing from student to employee was a difficult transitionamp160 Suddenly my actions had business implications and I knew I had to make the right impressionamp160 Immediately my work ethic kicked into gearamp160 I was staying late skipping lunches and bringing my laptop home on the weekends to finish projectsamp160 Within the first few months I caught the attention of our executive team as a quothighly dedicated employeequotamp160 I had set my narrative and successfully separated myself from any quotrecent gradquot stereotypesAlthough working hard had come relatively easily I realized that I had really only shifted my behavior not my mindsetamp160 I was still seeking constant direction and hyperfocusing on the tasks in front of me to avoid making any mistakesamp160 I was missing the big pictureamp160 Instead of asking quotwhat are we looking to accomplishquot I was executing and had become more dependent on my manager than I likedamp160 I needed to pick my head up a little bit and have trust in my own abilitiesBusiness is not collegeamp160 The quicker you realize your reputation matters and you39re not on a preset course the better off you39ll beamp160 It39s easy to fall back on old habits and let your age or lack of experience be your excuseamp160 But that can hold you backamp160 Working hard and understanding how your actions impact overall business objectives makes a big differenceNow I think about the future every dayamp160 Where are we goingamp160 How do we get thereamp160 Sometimes I even uncover that the hard work my team and I have been doing must be changed or refocusedamp160 This can be frustrating but it39s how we get aheadamp160 Our career paths are not set in stone and things changeamp160 If you work hard have an eye on the end goal and embrace change you39ll be ready for anything this industry throws at youPhoto courtesy of DISH Media SalesClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers If you no longer wish to receive updates from DISH please click hereamp160

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Young Media Professionals: Be Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable

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