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“Be teachable. No matter how far you go in the C-Suite or how many degrees you acquire, always be teachable. You can still learn things and take on new perspectives if you are open to do doing so. When you walk into positions with that mindset, I believe it broadens your horizon and it will allow you to glean from everyone. Be dependable. You may never know the impact you leave on your team or supervisor just by being dependable.”
Natalie McKinney (’16), Public Information Officer at NC Judicial Branch (Trial Court Administrator’s Office- District 26) in Charlotte, NC
We've been focusing on the ⚡️Power Skill⚡️ of "Building Relationships" throughout the month of September (subscribe to our enewsletter, Beyond the Forest, to get on the list for all of our exclusive content on Power Skills this fall! http://alumni.opcd.wfu.edu/e-newsletter).
We all know it's important to build and maintain our networks for both personal and professional connections. 🔁👭🏾👬
But what “counts” as an interaction? Fascinating new research highlighted in The Chronicle of Evidence-Based Mentoring finds that “small, causal acts of kindness can have profoundly positive effects" on our wellbeing and helps us build and maintain relationships with others. 🥰🪴💛
Take a minute to check-in with a friend, colleague, or casual connection through a quick email. Drop a note of encouragement in the mail to someone you know is struggling.
Engaging in low stake acts of relationship-building can have a positive impact in your life and the lives of others in your network!
Read more at the 🔗 in our bio.
🎩NEW DEACON SPOTLIGHT🎩
Ashley Berry ('20, MBA '24) currently works as an Internal Communications and Employee Engagement Associate at Inmar Intelligence while pursuing her MBA from @wakeforestbiz. Prior to landing at Inmar, Ashley was the @wffellows in @wfucampuslife!
We love Ashley's honesty and reflection on the most challenging aspect of working a "real world job": time management. ⏰
"The most challenging aspect of my first “real world job” was time management. In the real world, sometimes there are no deadlines or due dates and you have to manage a project on your own or with a team, without a professor guiding you along the way. It is helpful for me to lay out which tasks I am going to conquer that day and what time of day I will do them."
Read our Q&A with Ashley at the 🔗 in our profile!
Join us for the next meetup of our Wake Forest Alumni Book Group, where we’ll discuss Brene Brown’s conversation with Aminatou Sou and Ann Friedman about their book “Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close”. (https://brenebrown.com/podcast/big-friendship/) 💞🔀🎩
We’ll talk about:
📍default social groups versus chosen ones,
🤝 the intentional hard work of relationship-building,
👯 what it means to create “big friendships” (and why they matter), and
👨🏾🏫👩🏻🔬👨🏼💻the varied and diverse types of relationships we all need, to grow and to be successful.
As a bonus💡, you’ll get to do some relationship-building with a group of fellow Wake Forest alumni! 🖤
Space is limited. Register at the 🔗 in our profile!
We loved seeing so many familiar @wfualumni faces last night at #wfuhc! 🎩💛🖤
🎩NEW DEACON SPOTLIGHT🎩
Read all about Tristan Salvanera's (‘08) path from being the inaugural @wffellows in the Office of the President to now working as a UX Designer.
We especially loved Tristan's advice on the importance of building your network and making connections:
"LinkedIn is important! I always reach out to people and companies about roles I’m interested in. Millions can say no but all it takes is just one. I’ve also just reached out via social media or maintain through email. I hate the word networking honestly since it’s so superficial. I connect and maintain; so far it’s served me well." 💥
On that note, if there's any @WFUalumni out there who work at Disney/Marvel, Tristan wants to connect with you! 🤗😉
Visit the 🔗 in our profile to read more.
Deadline to register for our September Coffee Chats with Alumni is TOMORROW, 9/9! 🎩☕️
[Side note: This is NOT a live, time-specific event!]
If you’re new around here, this is how it works:
1️⃣ You register.
2️⃣ We pair you up with another Wake alum and introduce the two of you via email.
3️⃣ The two of you find a mutually convenient time for a conversation (phone, Zoom, in-person, whatever makes sense for y’all!)
💥And just like that, you’ve grown your network, one conversation at a time!💥
It’s super simple. Sign-up at the link in our profile to give it a try!
💡Building relationships💡 – with peers, mentors, colleagues, managers, industry leaders – is a key power skill for you to develop and hone. 💪
Why is this skill so important? 🤔
👥Having strong relationships at work is how you get access to opportunities and resources, mentors and sponsors, and helps you navigate organizational politics.
🪴Knowing how to build relationships provides real health and wellbeing impacts, gives you meaning and purpose, and allows you to create a trusted network of friends.
This week, we just launched a new initiative for Fall 2022 called 💥Power Up: Super (Power) Skills for Your Life + Career💥.
If you're on our list, you've already received our first email! Your subscription to our Beyond the Forest e-newsletter guarantees you exclusive access to all of our new Power Skills content including:
💻 10 minute webinars focused on each month's featured Power Skill
📚Deep dives into recommended resources, articles, and books specific to each Power Skill
🎩 Opportunities for skill development and learning with other Wake Forest alumni
Visit the 🔗 in our profile to subscribe and start powering up your skill set! 👊👊
We 💛 a good story!
We especially 🖤 a good @WFUalumni story! 🎩
Would you be willing to answer a few questions about your experiences and lessons learned in your personal and professional life after Wake Forest? 📝
If so, we'd love to feature you in our next Deacon Spotlight! 💡
Send us a DM and we'll send over a quick Q&A form for you to fill out (should only take 15-20 minutes max).
In the meantime, visit the 🔗 in our profile to read all of the awesome Deacon Spotlight stories that we've collected through the years!
Been meaning to update your resume with your latest work experiences? Or has your resume not changed in format or content since you graduated from @wfuniversity? 😱
We’re happy to help you! 💛 That’s why we’re bringing back our virtual resume reviews throughout the month of September.
💻➡️Email is your resume doc at WFUalumnicareers@nullgmail.com by the end of the day each Tuesday. Include any questions or context to help us edit your resume more effectively!
📝🔎 We’ll edit, provide feedback, and send you some suggestions by the end of the week via email.