Ep. 1: HEY NICE 2 MEET YOU, I’M DEZ
Hey nice to meet you! I’m Desiree Jones or Dez for Short and welcome to the podcast that teaches you how to establish your network and maintain relationships both on and off your screen.
Today’s Topic? My Story, why am I so passionate about networking? I’m going to share a brief description of my journey of networking and how it has helped me to accomplish my goals.
Networking is a Skill and that skill is something that I feel is slowly getting lost in the world of digital platforms and metaverses. Today, more people are becoming more social on social media, and missing the tools of how to be social in real life. In order to establish your network, you have to learn how to communicate both on and off the screen. Creating and MAINTAINING your network is the key to unlocking your potential within yourself, and opens the door to the endless possibilities of a successful future.
I’ve always been a people person growing up. I loved talking to people and it wasn’t until I got to college that I realized that was one of the key factors in networking. Talking to people.
BOOK OF THE DAY!
Reading is fundamental, and it’s very important to continue to make it a habit. If you prefer audio books that’s fine, but something about the touch of a book and the flip of a page just brings solitude to the mind. So with that, today’s book I’d like to shout out first is….
Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyers
I chose this book because this is one of the first books I read when I felt like my life hit a brick wall. Everything was a hot mess. I’ll never forget she used the term “stinking thinking” and how it’s important to think about what you’re thinking about. Seriously. This also leads back to critical thinking and questioning why things are the way they are. This can also be applied to why you are the way you are. How did I get to where I am today and what do I need to do to get to where I aspire to go. Battlefield of the Mind was the book that helped me to essentially think about what I’m thinking about and helpd me push through my doubtful and anxious moments on my journey to being better.
Today’s Topic? My Story, why am I so passionate about networking?
I’ve always enjoyed connecting with people and just hearing their stories. I enjoy talking and learning as well. I’m an HBCU Grad from Hampton University and before that I went to Norcross High School. I was in IB and AP classes while in orchestra, while in leadership roles, I was just everywhere to be honest. That’s always how my life has been so I’ve had a lot of conversations, met a lot of great people, and listened to others.
I was trained on networking when I was in the MBA Program at Hampton University. It was there, where I learned how to talk to people with confidence, impromptu speaking, firm handshakes and navigating through a professional work environment.
I never started understanding the importance of Networking until attending the Power Networking Conference. It was my first professional conference. This was a conference created by George Fraser showcasing the importance of building wealth and connecting with the African American Community. I was over the moon.
In order to accomplish anything you want out of life, it starts with networking. Your network is indeed still your network and the more you embrace that, the faster you will be able to get what you want out of your life. And in times like today, although it may seem like we’re far apart. Sooner or later you may have to step out of your comfort zone and start a conversation with someone you’ve never met before. You may also have to continue to build these relationships over time. I’ve done it, I’m still doing it, and it’s one thing to connect with someone, but it’s another thing to follow up and reach back out and continue to do that over time. It’s a lot sometimes but it’s a way of life. Communicating in general is important.
Then it all went left: So this is a segment where I talk about a situation that went totally terrible and how networking really turned it around. This story is how I really knew I’ve mastered networking and building relationships. Because if it wasn't for the relationships with the friends and colleagues that I had during that time, I wouldn’t be where I am today. .
I graduated in 2018 so I was interning that summer in London then came back to the states in the fall and stayed with my parents until I found a job. And job hunting was HARD. So I applied and applied and finally got in at a prominent news company, saved up all my money and moved up to where the job was and stayed with my friend and their family.
So the internship was from Jan to April but I was only there for probably less than 3 weeks because I was told by the Director and HR that I wasn’t a good fit. I wasn’t even there for a month and they said, bounce. I was floored. I wasn’t even there long enough to show them my potential only for them to let me go. So I had no job, in a city I didn’t know and was terrified.
It was at this moment I had to figure out what I was gonna do because my plans took an uppercut to the jaw of my life.
So I ended up moving back home and going back to applying for jobs. Yeah.
Start of 2019- Life of the [GAB Years] - Graduated And Broke
So I ended up getting back into my videography and video editing work and I go asked to go to the Bahamas by a mentor I connected with back in Hampton. I went to different conferences connecting with business owners and got a few clients but entrepreneurship also has it’s hills an valleys. Serving tables at Texas Roadhouse, then working an unpaid internship which did have a silver lining but ultimately I got let go from them too because I was told I wasn’t a good fit when in actuality they had a terrible and Toxic work environment and terrible Glassdoor reviews. So in 2019 I went from interning in NY to by the end of the year working at the Macy’s Pink Pig in downtown Atlanta taking photos of kids and getting cursed out by parents.
Then Covid happened. The start of the pandemic.
Mind you, I STILL was looking for a job and this was Year 2 into my GAB year. Had a falling out with my parents and ended up taking a seasonal job at Home Depot and supporting myself paycheck to paycheck with my business which kept me afloat. I also didn’t have a car so I used to take a scooter to work at 4:30am to get to work by 5am. And I wasn’t in the city, this was just a road you’d take if you were in the forest somewhere to get the main road of a town.Yeah it still sounds insane I did that for 3 months because at the time I couldn’t afford Lyft so I had to save money somehow and decided to invest in some type of vehicle that I didn’t need to pay insurance for so a scooter was my solution.
So one day I attended a virtual conference and met an alumni virtually from my alma mater. We met before in person and we Dm’d a few times on Instagram but we officially set up a zoom call to talk about our experience at the virtual conference. A few weeks later I got an email about a fellowship they wanted to consider me for. I wasn’t sure at first but I got in. SO while in the fellowship I would go to work in the morning, do the assignments after work and attend the sessions at night. HBCUvc fellowship was the name of the organization, and after I joined, I was still looking for a job. So at this point I was headed into 2021. Halfway through the fellowship and still working at Home depot with a Marketing Degree and the faith to push forward I update and revamped my resume and started applying again. I had a few interviews but by the end of April I got an internship which is now a full time job.
2019- Life of the [GAB] - Graduated And Broke
Interned in NY got let go within a month of being there
That was when God got my attention
Relied heavy on Promo-Jones (w/o any other options)
Got an unpaid internship, got let go from that
That internship led me to ColorComm
ColorComm Fellow
Worked at the Pink Pig Downtown
Client Fails/Getting Cursed out
Serving at TX Roadhouse
Tried to runaway from home twice
Voyage ATL
Applying for Jobs
What did you learn?
Throughout that journey from graduating to getting let go to having clients with my company to continuing to push forward, I learned A LOT.
But one of the main lessons I learned is that if you want something out of life, it may not make sense as to how you get there, but if you make a plan, be consistent, and have mental toughness, you can indeed get there. But you cannot get there without the help of others. If I decided to not reach out to my alumni during the conference, the relationship never would’ve been there to begin with for them to consider me for applying. I had to step pass the fear of rejection and get rid of my stinking thinking even in terrible situations. It was ultimately up to me to say something to get myself aligned with the right people in the right direction.
Networking is what helped me with my business
It’s what helped me get to London
It’s what led me to several opportunities
Help me get my full time role
It’s what helped me navigate through rough times
And with that, we are here!
I am here, to help you navigate through that space of how to START CONVERSATIONS WITH PEOPLE because that is literally all it could take to jumpstart your goals.
100 Commandments of Confidence
#1 Speak Positivity into Yourself! Confidence is about knowing that even when it may seem crazy outside, I’m good on the inside. I am strong, I am going to be okay, I am open to more and better. Talking to yourself, I believe, is pretty important. If you talk bad about yourself, you’re opening yourself up to negativity. You must reject it. Reject the negative self talk and speak into the positive. Once you speak positive, you will BE positive and the more positive you are the more confident you become!
Follow Up Hack : Before we go I want to end with a better way to follow up with someone. What is a follow up? A follow up is an action of reaching out to someone after you have already established a dialogue with someone. You follow up with someone when you want to continue a conversation or start a new one with the same person again. Following up is one of the hardest things people seem to grasp so here’s a quick tip that could help.
Holidays & Birthdays. Holidays are a great way to reconnect with people. It brings a sense of commonality between people and a great segway into starting a conversation or request of any kind to someone.
Outro:
If you have any networking questions email us at heynicetomeetyoupodcast@gmail.com. Make sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other platforms. I hope these takeaways take you to greatness. It was nice meeting you, thank you for listening and shine bright.