On monday Tanja Heikkinen was giving us a presentation where she told how she got her intership. She told about the company called Myy and what she is doing there. She got the intership quite easily. She just contacted the firm and told that she is interestend in what they are doing and she wants to be part of it. Simple and effective. It is not rocket science when trying to get a job. But still it seems so hard to execute. That one phone call, or that email is quickly done but what makes it so hard is our expectations. We hope that our effort is enough but still fear deep inside that it is not enough. Not getting that interesting job is not end of the world, but getting the feeling of failure is a problem. Why do we feel insecure when getting rejected? Being honest to stranger is not easy. Going to a job interview and telling about yourself is a brave thing. It is stressful and exciting at the same time. Knowing that you have put so much effort on something that you are interested in and getting rejected feels like that you wasted not only time, but also your effort. Then there are people like our teacher Ilkka, or digicoach Viveka. When they see an opportunity, they just throw themselves right in to the action and give their best shot. That kind of courage takes guts. And getting that kind of guts takes time. And by saying that, I mean that it needs practise. Nothing comes easily. Tanja was really brave when she admitted that she feels nervous when presenting in English. She did it anyway and it went great! Thank you Tanja for being honest about it and giving us hope that anybody could do the same. I am interested in marketing and branding and therefore I also should contact Myy and ask about possibility for intership.
Ilkka gave us a lecture after Tanja finished. Ilkka told us some stories from his previous jobs. He had been in a situation where he was pressured to do something for the unwanted situation and he had to take risks and jump to the unknown. "Sometimes you can't be sure of the outcome, but you still have to try" he said. Wise words. If you have nothing to loose, why hold back? Sometimes the riskiest move is to be too safe. Some people say that Clinton lost the election because she wouldn't want to take risks. Maybe she was too safe. Trump did something totally different and said things that would have never been accepted from president candidate, but the risk was worth it.
 |
| Heart and brain comic from my favorite cartoonist, The Awkward Yeti |
Ilkka told us that it is important to be present in the digital field. Websites should be up to date all the time and customers should get quick answers via social media. However one of his own sites mineral.fi wasn't up to date. The website said that Ilkka still lives in New York. Such a long way to work. This only shows that even the best ones can make mistakes. And if he isn't even interested in that project, it doesn't even matter. Ilkka showed us a digital tools that will help to analyze and develop your website. Some of them I was already familiar with like Google analytics. One of the new ones that I learnt about was Hubspot Website Grader. I liked the idea of getting a grade from own website. Some of the students wrote about it already. However the site gave different kind of results for same site and I wouldn't trust that kind of site. Maybe it just can't evaluate blogs that are not under their own domain.
There were some new tools that I totally missed because I had to leave to SAE-project's meeting.
I am happy to be part of different kind of projects at the same time, but unfortunately sometimes I have to choose what I want to prioritize. SAE-project is really important to me, and I guess that Ilkka and Anna understand that I have to be part of the meetings. In one of the older posts I said that I will keep writing a blog after this course. I might need to reconsider what kind of image myself I should give to my readers. Do I want to be honest about everything, or should I try to be objective and a little bit distant. Being honest gives a warm image, but being a bit more distant sounds a lot more professional usually. However I don't want to change what my Instagram or Faceook profiles look like. For telling about myself to strangers and possible employers blog is the main channel. All the other channels are there just to support the image. Like Ilkka said, company's website is the most important channel and social media should only be there to support the main channel. So no reason to hustle around too much.
 |
| Website in the middle and all the other channels are connected to it |
Ilkka reminded us that it is much more important to focus on "why you are doing this" rather than focusing on "what you are doing". People are intersted to know the motives behind the action and therefore it is good to tell the them why you are doing the thing you are doing. After knowing why something is done, the next part is to tell how it is done. And final part is to tell what you are doing. And remember that to make profit is always a result, not a reason. Let's take an example. GoGreen says on their website that they want people to see how fun and easy it is to cook vegetables, and realise that vegetables taste good. After that they tell that even doing small changes and trying the products they are selling, people will understand the reason why vegetables are fun and easy to cook. The last part is when they tell that they sell environment friendly products that taste good. From why to how, and finally to what. I buy their products because they made me realise how good lentils and beans actually taste. Not because they are environment friendly products. There are many other products that are environment friendly, but not every company tells why they do what they do. Simon Sinek used in his speach Apple as an example. There is a good reason why everyboy talks about Apple. They make electronics that everybody else could do, but still nobody has such big succes. Sinek explains how this "golden circle" works. Simon Sinek's TED speach.
I finally got my new shoes and a new computer! I like them both and I am happy that I waited for the products that I really wanted. The reason why I chose them is not only because of the features but also because of something else. It is not always easy to say what is the company's purpose to manufacture the products. Sometimes there are other reasons why we buy certain products. We all need money and it feels great to get paid. However money doesn't bring happiness unless you're Uncle Scrooge. With money you can buy things that will make you happy. With money you can buy a plane ticket to visit friend in Australia. A plane ticket won't make anyone happy, but the trip to Australia is totally different thing. And especially when that old friend you have not seen for a long time throws a wonderful party for you. Party with old friend sounds a lot more fun than a plane ticket or bunch of paper bills.
I like my new shoes because I can use them for the purpose I need them for. I wanted shoes that look good, are versatile and will last for many years. But I didn't buy them only because they had great quality-price ratio. I also bought them because I hope they will make me feel good and eventually make me happy. So far I have got some compliments from my friends. Getting compliments makes us feel special. Who wouldn't want to hear compliments every now and then? Next time when you are buying someting big, think if it makes you feel good even after a few months of buying.
 |
| My new favorite shoes that can handle some snow and slush |
During the week I watched Shark Tank. There was a woman who needed help from the sharks. She had a couple of good business ideas, but didn't clearly know what exactly to do. One of the sharks, Barbara said that she has never seen anyone to succeed as well as her without focusing. That moment I knew that I have learnt something important. I knew what Barbara was saying only because Ilkka told us about the same thing. If you're not focusing well enough, you get lost on track. Know why you are doing something and then focus on small steps. "You're running around like a headless chicken and that is the only reason why I am out" said Barbara.
Ei kommentteja:
Lähetä kommentti