Event Review: Levelling Up with Now You’re Talking
‘You are the author. Which means you are entitled to talk about your career, to talk about your opportunity, and to have ideas on what you want to do, be, experience. Raise your hand. Let your intentions be known. Double down on your strengths. Write your own story.’
Julie Vessel (Chief Talent Officer at MONO)
On Wednesday 24th April, Mary Agbesanwa and Lola Olaore ran the first #NYTLevelUp! Workshop centred on the themes of ‘Promotions, Sponsorship and Building strategic relationships in the workplace’. A vibrant mix of creatives, entrepreneurs, students and professionals came together to ignite ambition, set career goals and, most importantly, empower and uplift one another.
If you’re ready to Level Up too, keep reading for my 5 key takeaways and an insight to what the workshop entailed!
1. Articulate your worth
Get comfortable with articulating your worth and giving yourself credit where credit is due. Throughout the year, we learnt that is best to keep a detailed log in which you note down all your achievements however big or small.
2. Quantify your achievements where possible
Consciously evaluate the way you speak about yourself and your achievements. Observe the language that you use. Do you subconsciously devalue your role by saying “I supported in the implementation of ABC” when really you “led the team of 5, created and delivered the pitch to X number of C-Suite client site stakeholders”? Quantify your achievements where possible and list them by date. This way, when your appraisal or promotion cycle comes around, you’re not racking your brain for good examples that demonstrate the value you bring to the table.
3. Sponsorship is key
Next we spoke about sponsorship and how it differs from mentorship. A sponsor is someone who knows you and your potential, advocates for your success, helps remove obstacles to your progress and finds opportunities for you. There are no set rules — and you might even already have a career sponsor with whom the relationship hasn’t been formally defined in this way.
We took 5 minutes to list the qualities we would want in an ideal sponsor and then wrote down how we would go about finding and approaching them.
4. Your Network is Your Net Worth
Don’t underestimate the power of your network. The quality of the relationships you have at work can make or break your career. Cultivate relationships with not only your peers but your line managers, Directors and colleagues in other departments and by coming along to events like this one! On that note, we segue nicely into…
5. Building Relationships is vital!
We learnt just how important it is to establish and build meaningful relationships at work and to nurture them going forward. We also learnt about the five levels of conversation and completed a useful ‘ranking’ exercise which enables you to assess the quality of your work relationships.
Overall, the event was fun, interactive and thought-provoking! If you are keen to learn more about how you can advance your career in a practical way and in a comfortable honest environment, I highly recommend the #NYTLevelUp Workshops!
Thank you for reading! Upcoming Now You’re Talking Events:
· Further #LevelUp workshops
· Side Hustle Showcase
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at teamnowyouretalking@gmail.com.
All about the network: https://medium.com/now-youre-talking/come-join-now-youre-talking-c1812f2d31bd
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/now-you-re-talking-network/?viewAsMember=true
Twitter: @Nytnetwork — https://twitter.com/NYTNetwork
Instagram: @Nytnetwork
To join the mailing list: email teamnowyouretalking@gmail.com.
Network summary: Now You’re Talking is a female millennial community which connects like-minded future leaders to opportunities and resources. We are a mix of creatives, entrepreneurs, students and professionals. We hold networking events, side hustle showcases and retreats for our members who predominantly sit within a 250-strong WhatsApp group and wider email mailing list.
