Pros advise students about future

Professionals from several fields in marketing, communications and television visited IU and gave advice to a room full of hopeful students. The main message: to build relationships that would foster a professional career.

Sponsored by Union Board, the Residence Halls Association and the National Panhellenic Council, the event was created in an effort to have a mixer that would incorporate career advice from professionals.

“These panelists are the top leading people in their industry,” said sophomore Catherine Gibson, Union Board’s public relations director. “We wanted to bring them and show students that we do honestly care about helping them achieve the next step in their careers.”

The panelists included top executives in companies like ESPN, Motown Records and BET.

Marc Williams, founder of Williams Communications, LLC, moderated the discussion with Gibson. The panelists spoke about what their day to day looked like, how they got to the top and most importantly who helped them get there.

“The most important thing I tell students is that they have to have integrity and respect,” Williams said. “It’s about relationships and how you cultivate them.”

Wendy Lewis, the senior vice president of Diversity and Strategic Alliances for Major League Baseball, added that there is no relationship more important than the one a person has with himself. She said that always doing the best in every opportunity would help others see the best.

Author, public speaker and entrepreneur Erin Patton agreed.

“Be of value to others,” he said. “Bad news travels fast and you need to be your own PR person.”

Patton, who worked for Nike until his department was shut down, said he always wanted to start his own business but became too comfortable at Nike. He said that as he ventured to start his new business he realized that the relationships he had built during his career was what helped the most.

“It’s not about who you know,” he said. “It’s about who knows you.”

Junior Alyssia Oshodi said that was one of the most significant things she took with her after the panel. She said besides being impressed by the diversity of each panelist and their industries, she enjoyed all the advice they gave students.

Williams used a student in the room as an example of someone who reached out to the appropriate professionals and built strong relationships. Sophomore Henry Li met Williams his freshman year after Williams went to his class to speak.

“I kept in touch,” Li said. “He seemed like an interesting person and he was doing what I’m interested in.”

Li is currently working on his own marketing ventures but said he enjoys keeping up with Williams, who always makes sure to contact Li when he’s in town.
Jackie Rhinehart, senior vice president of marketing at Motown Records, told students that who their friends are matters.

“They must be top notch at what they do,” she said. “Friends should make you sharper and brighter.”

The panelists also provided an insight into what they look for when they hire for jobs and internships. When it came to resumes, the panelists agreed that a long list of achievements, although important, was not a replacement for actually knowing the applicant and what they had heard about him.

“What makes me hire somebody is not the what,” Patton said. “It’s the who.”

Vice President of Programming and Production for BET International Ava Hall-Mattison agreed that building her own brand, the Ava brand, is what kept her on top. When looking for someone, she said she focuses on four things: integrity, honesty, responsibility and accountability.

The panelists also told the audience that technology should be making it easier to build relationships and meet people in their fields. ESPN’s Jay Harris said he had received Twitter messages all day about the mixer, which made him happy to know people were interested. At the same time, they advised against putting things up that could hurt instead of help students looking for a job.

“Facebook can hurt you,” Lewis said. “Let it work for you, not against you.”
Rhinehart also gave advice to women trying to get into any industry. She told students to never lower their expectations and believe that they can’t do what a man does. Lewis agreed.

“Prepare to work harder,” she said.

Lewis advised students to take notes on the event, saying that even she was taking notes on what she heard the other panelists say.

“For many of you this is one of the most important places if not in your life then in some part of your life,” she said.