A Four-Step Formula for Achieving Your Goals
What I Do
Jill Falk
Associate Professor
Journalism Program Manager
LUTV News Director
Lindenwood University
St. Charles, Missouri
Twitter: @JillFalk
Web: JillFalk.com
Tweet using hashtag:
#jstl2016
@JillFalk
First of all...
WAY TO GO!
You're already a rock star in my book for participating in scholastic journalism at your high school and attending this conference, @JournalismSTL!
High school
journalism matters.
It impacted my career.
Our Students...
Go from this:
To this:
The students who are successful after college have a few things in common.
Allow me to elaborate on four of them...
THEY
HUSTLE.
"Hustle" in this context means the students:
- Created their own opportunities, instead of waiting for someone to tell them what to do.
- Learned as much as they could about their future field, through research and networking.
- Became involved with campus media as soon as they had a chance.
These students weren’t plucked from obscurity and asked if they wanted a job in a competitive industry.
Before they were hired, they were hustling.
Practicing. Struggling. Failing. Learning.
Finally, succeeding.
THEY
CONNECT.
In this context, "connect" means the students:
- Understood the power of networking and impressed people through their work ethic at campus media, internships, etc.
- Knew "everyone" was an interview--even people they may not have expected.
- Through social media, built their network of contacts, so when the time came to apply for jobs or internships, their work had an audience.
While you’re hustling, make connections with those willing to mentor you. If a mentor is willing to invest his or her time helping your talents develop, she will most likely become a strong advocate for your work.
Be a sponge.
Ask the right questions.
THEY
SHARE.
These students knew "sharing" their work would:
- Help them receive actionable feedback from professionals.
- Show initiative.
- Build a "legacy" of trust.
You might think the hustle phase is the hardest — it certainly can be the longest.
But, for many, the share phase summons the resistance monster.
Though social media makes sharing your work simple, that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Doing so may help you get noticed by those who can help you reach the next level of your journey.
No, it’s not easy
THEY
REPEAT.
Through repetition, these successful students:
- Developed a mastery of their desired skill sets: writing, reporting, editing, gathering multimedia.
- Built character through repeated learning experiences.
- Communicated their desire to work in their chosen career field through hard work and dedication.
Don’t be discouraged to start the process over until you reach your goal.
You’ve been through this cycle before. Now, you’re back in the game with more.
More knowledge. More experience. More perspective. More connections.
but it takes effort.
The formula isn’t complicated...
If you liked this conversation, you might enjoy the companion posts.
This presentation was adapted from a blog post I wrote with the same title, linked here.
For a link to this presentation, visit: www.jillfalk.com/presentations.
Thanks for coming!
