Marketing Happy Hour - How to Stand Out: Career Growth & Leadership Advice | Brandon Rhodes of Disney

Starting point is 00:00:00 you're listening to the marketing happy hour podcast where we discuss career and industry insights with our peers in marketing we're here to talk about it all like the ups and downs of working in social media how to build authentic relationships in the influencer and pr space managing a nine-to-five and a side hustle at the same time, how to be productive in your life and career without losing your sanity, and more. Ultimately, we're here to build a community with you because we're all trying to navigate the world of marketing together. Are you ready? Grab your favorite drink and join your hosts, Cassie and Erica, for this week's episode. Brandon, welcome to Marketing Happy Hour. How are you today?

Starting point is 00:00:53 I'm great, Cassie. How are you? I'm doing so well and I am so stoked to talk to you. You and I have gotten the chance to get to know each other over the last several months and just grateful to Ali. Shout out to her for connecting us and just stoked for our audience to learn more about you and kind of what you've been working on and just overall the work that you've done specifically with the students within the Disney College program and the internship program and just helping to develop and lead them to chase their goals and what they're working on in their career. So thank you so much for being here to share all that with us today. But first, I have to ask you, what's been in your glass recently?

Starting point is 00:01:34 What are you enjoying? Oh, wow. Okay, so what I'm enjoying. Well, currently, I have a giant 32-ounce bottle of water in front of me, making sure I hydrate. My go-to, it's funny, I'm not much of a coffee drinker myself. So my go-to option is orange juice. Yeah, go figure orange juice, but I live in Florida, so it's perfect. So yes, I like to say I'm an orange juice connoisseur. Yeah, I typically get asked the question, pulp, no pulp, and I'm all about pulp. I need pulpy orange juice. I love it as well. And yeah, anytime I can just find a just a good orange juice. I don't know. It fills my cup. It makes me me happy it starts the day uh one the other thing i will share as well that i'm just exploring and i don't know if i can throw this out here i just recently discovered dutch brothers yeah uh coffee now again i'm not a coffee drinker but they have some absolutely

Starting point is 00:02:34 amazing teas there yeah uh so actually uh just before having this 32 ounce bottle of water that i have in front of me um i actually had a passion fruit iced tea from Dutch Brothers. So that's one of my go-to's now. I love it. Oh, I love it. Yeah. Man, they just recently started making their way down to Florida where we both are and which has been really exciting. We had someone from their team on the podcast probably almost about a year ago and that was before the launch in Florida and she kind of gave us a little bit of a tease and now that it's here it's been awesome to get to enjoy that firsthand and I agree their teas are fantastic so yes oh I love that so

Starting point is 00:03:17 much well thank you for sharing that um so tell us a little bit about your career journey. How did you end up where you are today? Well, my career journey all started here with Disney, and I like to say it started with the Disney College Program a long time ago, as I say. But on my college program, I worked attractions at the Magic Kingdom Park, and I worked Fantasyland attractions more specifically and I always throw in there, It's a Small World was my home. And I absolutely loved it and learned a lot about myself and developed some very critical and very important life skills and professional skills during that program as well. After doing that program, I went back to school and I earned a degree in human resource development and I didn't really know actually at the end of finishing college what I wanted to do next and that led me

Starting point is 00:04:16 back to Disney. I loved my time on the program and I wanted to learn more about the business and the operations so I decided after school that I was going to return to Disney. So I did, and when I returned, I didn't come by way of doing an internship with Disney. I just started out working on the front lines, and I came back and worked as an attractions cast member and spent a brief time working at Space Mountain at the Magic Kingdom and then had an opportunity to go over to what's now Disney Springs or downtown Disney at the Magic Kingdom and then had an opportunity to go over to what's now Disney Springs or Downtown Disney at the time to work at a place called Disney Quest and it was during that time I was at Disney Quest that I

Starting point is 00:04:54 sat down and had a good long conversation with one of my leaders and this leader became a mentor of mine as well and he just took the time time just to ask Brandon, where do you see yourself in five years? Kind of that question, you know, what's your five year path? And I said I wanted to go into leadership at Disney. I was so inspired and motivated by many of the leaders that I met, not only in my college program, but throughout my career. And I said I wanted to give back. I wanted to do that and be a leader. And so he gave me some tips and tricks and advice on how to do that. And he said, one of the key things with this is just finding ways that you can serve and act as a leader now. So really performing as an informal leader. So while you

Starting point is 00:05:41 don't carry the title of leader, just really focusing on how you can act as one in your day to day. And so I said that made sense. So I found ways to do that, you know, not just through my actions, but taking on my responsibilities. I became a trainer as well. And I absolutely love training people. And that's really what led me down to this pathway in the role that I'm in now at Disney. But I did that. And then eventually I would step into leadership at Disney. And I had about a seven-year run as a leader here at Disney as a guest experience manager working as front lines in our parks. And I worked at Disney Quest as a manager. I worked guest relations at the Magic Kingdom Park as a leader as well and also had an opportunity to serve as a frontline leader for Frontierland

Starting point is 00:06:29 Attractions. So really a lot of my experience or most of my experience has been within the park operations segment of Disney but I've absolutely loved it. I took a short break and a brief break from Disney in 2015 and I always share this part of my story because it was difficult stepping away from the company. I almost say, and Cassie, you're probably familiar with this too. There's sometimes this Disney bubble and we're in that Disney bubble and it just feels so comfortable and it's nice and everything's great. I mean, truly I say at Disney, you feel like you're taken care of, right? And you have the resources available to you.

Starting point is 00:07:05 But I was at kind of a turning point in my career, and I was really deciding on what I wanted to do next. And I could not find and really identify a clear path. So I made this decision to step away from my role at Disney, and I relocated to my hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. And I kind of just, I guess you'd say I restarted life again. So I decided to hit the reset button and attempt to start over and see what life was like outside of Disney. And, you know, I enjoyed it. I liked it. My heart was still at Disney, but I enjoyed it. I learned a lot about myself. There were also some challenges that I faced along the way too, but really during my time in Atlanta, I learned more about the world of talent acquisition

Starting point is 00:07:52 and recruiting. And I worked for a startup that was based in Chicago, but operated in Atlanta as well. And I loved talent acquisition. So I said, ooh, I want to do more of this and help identify talent and match that talent with, you know, work and positions. And so, yeah, so I did that. And eventually I said, you know what, I needed to make my way back down to Florida because, as I mentioned before, I miss Disney. So I came back, moved to Florida in 2018. Prior to returning to Disney, I worked with the Orlando Magic, so the NBA franchise here in Orlando, and in that role with the Orlando Magic, I served as my title was fan experience and talent manager. So it's a combination of focused on operations work and leading our suite levels within the arena here or the Kia Center here in Orlando. But the other part of it was something that I was really passionate about,

Starting point is 00:08:51 which was employee engagement and employee development and training and development as well. So I really love that component. But again, my heart was still at Disney. And so I found my way back to Disney in 2019 and initially came back and worked in the world of talent acquisition. And then I had this amazing opportunity to join the team that I'm part of right now, which is the Disney Programs team, which focuses on the college program, our international programs and our culinary programs. And I've been here ever since. And I love what I get to do every day. So it's a it's been a crazy journey. I always feel like it's a long story to share. And there are even parts of the story that I didn't necessarily share here. But, you know, I learned a lot about myself during the journey. But honestly, every single experience that I've gained or, you know, I've been part of along the way has helped me to get to this role and where I'm at today. Yeah. Thank you for sharing. And I have to kind of call you out on this too. You're getting

Starting point is 00:09:51 your master's degree right now. So kind of another piece of your story. And, you know, I was telling you off record, we have a lot of people who come to us and say, should I do it? You know, how should I think about this or which program should I pursue, et cetera. But just kind of generally, why do you feel that was important for you to further your education as a professional? And what are you hoping to get out of that experience just to contribute to your career overall? Yeah. You know, I was I had to be intentional with it. That's the first thing. And it was something that I think was in my mind for a while, and I just didn't pull the trigger to say, hey, let's do it like you just need to do it and it's like you're not getting any old or you're not getting any younger at this point so you need to do it take action and that led me to take action at this point so instead of placing myself in that process of you know I'm thinking about it I'm thinking

Starting point is 00:10:55 about it I said I needed to do it and then I also wanted to be intentional with it as well the work that I get to do in my role here at Disney is really centered around learning and developing others. And what I've learned and something I've really learned along the way is that I really enjoy creating content. So outside of work, something else I'll share too. I love photography. So photography is a hobby of mine and it just gives me that element and that space to be able to create something. And so I found these opportunities within my current role to be able to begin creating more, right? Creating classroom content, creating visuals as part of it. And so that is what led me to say, hey, you know what, there's a field for of my job function my current job function and I think it's something worth doing so I was like I'm doing it so you know I

Starting point is 00:12:12 had to be intentional with it which I did and then it was just a matter of saying okay dedicating the time to do it right and so you know it's all about just trying to find that right balance of time and I say you know you can always make time to do it especially for growth and development purposes as well. So, you know, one of the things I say, you just you dedicate time. Sometimes you do. You have to make a few sacrifices along the way. But I am three weeks into this journey. So I just started this semester.

Starting point is 00:12:41 But it has been amazing. I'm learning a lot as I go, but it's a great way to connect, right? And I definitely see myself as a lifelong learner and an avid learner as well. And I enjoy just exploring new topics, learning wherever I can or whenever I can, and just broadening my own horizons when it comes to, you know, building new knowledge. So I think that's what led me to go back and do it as well. Well, that's awesome. And I love that you have this draw to photography because it's certainly an outlet of mine as well. So it's so fun.

Starting point is 00:13:16 And I think just kind of what you were saying made me think of a principle I love to share too is just keeping tabs and paying attention to what you draw to naturally outside of work because chances are you're probably passionate about that and that's a skill set you have and so learning ways that you can bring that into your professional career kind of like what you're navigating and figuring out I think is so powerful because if you draw to it personally chances chances are you're going to be lit up doing it in your professional career as well. So kudos to you for kind of figuring that out and learning how you can infuse that creativity in the work you're doing. I think that's excellent.

Starting point is 00:13:55 Yes. And I was just going to mention that is so true, right? And you find a way to apply your passions within your professional life. Yeah. You will thrive, right? You'll thrive and grow in your career. And you'll, I always share with people, find small ways that you can do it, you know, find ways you can contribute outside of your day-to-day job function, right? Whether it is, you know, you're on a committee at work or, I don't know, you're part of a volunteer organization within the workplace as well. Find ways that you can apply your passions to help others. And I think that has helped me throughout my career. And it's such an important element. So I'm glad that you mentioned that. Yeah, no, couldn't agree more. So I want to talk about leadership a little bit. You mentioned at

Starting point is 00:14:42 the top of the episode, just this idea of being a leader, even though you don't necessarily have a title-based leadership role, right? And maybe that's eventually the goal to get there. But just overall, what do you feel are those essential qualities or skills we should be focusing on as professionals, as we develop as a leader, and hopefully in the future future step into more of a title-based leadership role? I will say the first thing and one of the top essential qualities to have will be emotional intelligence and just being able to regulate and understand your own emotions and regulating those emotions as a leader, but then also understanding the emotions of others and being able to adapt and adjust and pivot and flex based off of those emotions.

Starting point is 00:15:31 That is probably honestly has been one of the most important things in qualities that I have found beneficial throughout my career as a leader. You know, I go back and I mentioned I started out. I worked as a trainer at some point. And while, you know, that's not a formal leadership position, it was so important to understand and leverage emotional intelligence to get a better understanding of how people learn, right? Everyone has a different learning style. They have a different way of being able to process information as well. And, you know, you have to understand that there are individuals that might not necessarily grasp certain topics as quickly as others.

Starting point is 00:16:11 And you have to understand that emotional intelligence can help guide you through that, right? To better understand how do you adapt and adjust what you're teaching, what you're training to other people, just based off of understanding how they're feeling as well. So emotional intelligence is definitely one of those top, top essential qualities to have. The other one that I will always say, and honestly, I'd probably put this before emotional intelligence too, will actually be integrity. And so integrity is all about just how do you build your own trustworthiness where people will say, hey, you know what, I can trust you. I know that you're going to always do the right things and you're always going to do it keeping the right ethical behavior at the front of mind as well. So you're always going to do the right thing even when no one is watching. And we hear that a lot

Starting point is 00:17:00 as leaders. That is so important, right? So maintaining that integrity is key. I think when you're able to build that level of trust in people's, hey, you know what, this individual is just, they're trustworthy. You know, they do the right things. I can trust them and I know I can turn to them as well. So I found that that was extremely beneficial during my early days and even throughout my career as a leader here at Disney and also outside of Disney as well. And then I'll throw one more out there too, and that's resiliency. And I'll say with resiliency as well, it's just all about being able to handle setbacks. And so again, I'm just going to talk about personal setbacks. And in life. I mentioned there was the period 2015 to 2018

Starting point is 00:17:46 when I did not work at Disney and I decided to leave. And I will share, while it was a good time, it was also probably one of the most challenging times of my life. You know, I always mention the first job that I picked up. I didn't, I wasn't intentional about taking that job when I moved to Atlanta. I just said, oh great, I need a job because I want to relocate and move. And so I took the first job that I could find. I didn't know much about the organization and I said, sure, yes, accept the job offer. And I moved and I quickly learned after being there for about three months that the organization wasn't the right cultural fit for me. And I said I needed to leave. I needed to leave. Right. So I didn't move with intent there. And, you know, that was a setback because then I had to make the

Starting point is 00:18:39 option. I'm like, do I apply for another position while I'm still working this job that I'm not enjoying? Or do I just leave this job and then try to find something else and go without a job for a while? And, you know, you have to weigh out all these decisions. But that first move and by only staying in that job for three months made me realize that, oh, my goodness, am I making the right decisions by, you know, deciding to up my life or uproot my life here in Florida and leaving Disney and moving to a new location to kind of rebuild my career. And I realized at some point that, no, I'm learning from it, right? So resiliency, I will say, is always about how do you learn from setbacks and mistakes and how do you apply that

Starting point is 00:19:26 moving forward in the future. So again, I look back at my move to Atlanta and I say it was a good learning experience for me. Clearly, I ended back here in Florida and there was a period in my life where I did kind of beat myself up over it. I was like, well, you moved back. That meant that you failed. You know, you didn't stay there. You didn't make and build that life that you wanted there as well. But you know what? In that, I learned a lot about myself and, you know, I learned how to be more strategic with the decisions that I make, especially when it comes to my own career and how I wanted my career path to grow. But then it also taught me to some very valuable skills that, again, that I've been able to apply in this role. So honestly, again, I'm going to say that although I felt like that period of my life was challenging, I honestly, again, do not believe or feel like I would not be in this position in my role, being able to help develop other people had I not stepped away to take that opportunity as well.

Starting point is 00:20:30 So I think just having that resiliency and kind of reframing your thought process and your mindset as well when you are experiencing setbacks can go a long, long way. Yeah, that's such a great lesson and it kind of goes hand in hand with my next question of this idea of wanting so badly to be at the next step in your career. You know, I think just this day and age in our generation, we're so forward thinking and we're so goal pressed, which has a lot of benefits to it, right? But sometimes I think it leads to this resentment of feeling like, why can't I get to the next step?

Starting point is 00:21:01 Or why am I not at this role yet or whatever the reasoning is. And so just overall, how do you feel we as professionals should effectively navigate this balance between being proactive and doing the things we need to do to develop and eventually get to the next step and just being patient and knowing that there's something to be learned currently where we're at and doing the most and doing the best that we can during that time before we get to that next step? Well, I definitely say treat every day as a learning day. And every day you're learning something new. And I think if you're able to approach your current work and your current position that way, you'll see and you'll learn that, you know what, maybe there are things I didn't know before about my position.

Starting point is 00:21:51 So I've heard people and I've heard people say this. Well, I feel like I've kind of plateaued out in my position. And I will always challenge people to say, are you absolutely certain that you've plateaued out? Or, you know, do you feel that there are other things that you can learn? Are there other ways that you can challenge yourself? So the first thing I just share with this is just, you know, treat every day as a learning day. Learn something new, right? That will continue to help you to kind of bloom where you're planted or grow where you're planted as well. The other thing I say with this is continue to focus on building relationships with people. That is so important and so key with your own growth and development.

Starting point is 00:22:33 Now, it requires a level of patience with it because, of course, when we network with individuals, we're expecting immediate results, right? If I network with someone, that means I'm going to land this position or land this job, and that's not quite the case. It's all about building these relationships and these relationships in turn can lead to long-term gain and learn long-term benefits. So that's the one thing I just share there too, is continue to focus on instead of focusing on, you know, I need to get that next promotion, right? Just focus on how do you keep building relationships with people during this time. And then when that time is right and everything is perfect and you've

Starting point is 00:23:10 continued to develop your skill, not only have you built these skills, but you've also built some amazing relationships and individuals that can advocate for you along the way. And I had to, you know, I learned that in my career, even here at Disney. You know, when I stepped into my first leadership role, it, again, didn't happen overnight. You know, I started out with Disney. I worked at Disney for three years before I stepped into that first leadership role. And there were quite a few moments when I thought, oh, my goodness, this needs to happen tomorrow. Like tomorrow when I wake up i need this promotion as a leader and um you know one thing i did not share in this story was the first time

Starting point is 00:23:52 around when i applied for this process to become a leader here at disney i was not supported and it wasn't because i was i was bad at my job or you know know, I didn't do it well. It was just that my leaders in my area needed more time to learn more about me. And they needed to get a better feel of, you know, these relevant leadership skills that I would bring to the table. So it required a level of patience. So what did I do during that time? I focused on continuing to seek feedback and seek their guidance and say okay well if I'm not ready now what can I do to ensure that I am ready the next time around right and they would provide that feedback and I would take action on it so that's the other

Starting point is 00:24:34 part of it too right how do you open yourself up to feedback and apply that feedback as well and you know the other thing I say to you is just keep in mind that not every move needs to be a promotion like it doesn't need to be a direct promotion look at lateral moves as part of it and that's why I say that every day is a learning day because you could find opportunities that will often be lateral moves for you too and not everything needs to be an upward promotion as well right find ways to grow and develop and blossom where you're at in this moment too. And I think those are just a few ways that will kind of help you navigate through developing and building your career while also trying to maintain some patience with it too.

Starting point is 00:25:16 Sometimes it does. You just have to give it time. You have to give it trust. But again, do not allow yourself to just fall complacent. And I see that quite often where people just say, well, you know, if I'm told today's not today or it's not going to happen today, then why am I doing this? And they just give up. They fall complacent and they say they're never going to grow. But if you find opportunities and ways to take feedback, seek feedback and apply it, I guarantee you, you'll find that, you know, in the long run, you'll see some great gains from that. Yeah, really, really good. And I want to kind of touch on relationships, too, that you mentioned. I agree as well. Relationships are so, so incredibly crucial just as a person to just learning different walks of life and different experiences and everything. And of course, it's so beneficial

Starting point is 00:26:05 professionally as well. But I know sometimes as younger professionals, specifically, we're a little bit cautious with approaching new people and how do we spark new relationships? And where do we even begin in discovering new connections to tap into or to build? Any tips around that of just where do we not only discover new people to spark relationships? How do you approach those this just prior to us recording this podcast that, you know, as I was going through and deciding whether or not I was going to take one or two classes for my master's program. I had a great conversation with one of our executive leaders. And in that conversation, we actually talked about being able to build connections with people and the importance of that. And, you know, this leader just shared that she gets quite a few requests from individuals just simply saying, hey, I want to sit down. I want to chat with you. I want to do a meet and greet.

Starting point is 00:27:25 And, you know, she said something that kind of sparked my interest and made me say, oh, this is a very, very good concept that you've mentioned here, which is this. Sometimes that meet and greet or the root of just simply saying, hey, I want to set up a meet and greet with you is like just your easy way to build relationships. And she said, you know what, I really value when people put some effort into building the relationships with people. So not just simply looking at doing meet and greets, but do your homework. So learn more about individuals. Like if you say, hey, I'm going to go on LinkedIn and I want to find two or three individuals that, you know, have just a great breadth of like career experience and their career path will take, you know, it's very similar to the pathway that I want to take. And you say, oh my goodness, like I love these individuals and I want to connect with them.

Starting point is 00:28:10 You don't simply just need to start by doing or scheduling a meet and greet with them. Find a way to find that in outside of the meet and greet. So maybe they're a guest speaker at an event. I don't know. Or maybe you are at a networking session and, know you see them there this is a great opportunity just go up and say hello to them that hello is just the start of building the relationship with people and so what she shared was for example she was a guest speaker somewhere at a location and it just so happened that there was another employee that heard her speak and this individual had the courage just to go up to her at the end of this presentation just to say hello now this individual actually did their homework and learned more about this uh this uh executive

Starting point is 00:28:59 um before she actually scheduled a meet and greet so she was able to go up and do an introduction. And in that introduction, she just said, well, you know what, I've had an opportunity to learn a lot about you. And, you know, I've kind of studied your career path. And I love that you did this in your career. I love that you, you know, had this setback or experience this setback as well. And I that resonated with me. And so this executive said, oh, my know, had this setback or experienced this setback as well. And I, that resonated with me. And so this executive said, oh my goodness, like this individual took time to learn more about me. They didn't quickly just go to the root and say, hey, I want to set up a meet and greet with you. I don't really know much about you, but I want to set up a meet and greet. But this

Starting point is 00:29:39 individual did their homework and then found an in through just an event right a random event so i say find these spaces if you know that this individual is going to be speaking at an event or they're attending a similar event as well just simply go up and say hello and do that introduction that can go a long way and that can be your end and i thought that was a great thing that she shared there i think the other thing too is again when you're setting up meet and greets I just mentioned do your homework so if you're deciding hey you know what the easiest route is to set up a meet and greet do your homework meaning learn more about the person as I said before get a better understanding of their background and

Starting point is 00:30:19 their experience and understand your why why are you connecting with these individuals and then that will help to guide the dialogue that you're going to have with them too. Now, I personally say the more that you learn about a person, they're probably going to be more likely to actually want to talk with you, right? Because now you are, you've learned more about them and you learn their story, but now you're just essentially sharing their story with them, with that person. You're like, oh, my goodness. Like, I know if anyone comes up to me and says, Brandon, like I, you know, I checked out your LinkedIn profile. You've got a very interesting story. I see that you, you know, you worked or you did the college program and your career path took you outside of Disney as well.

Starting point is 00:30:58 I really loved your story. And I just want to hear what was one of the biggest challenges that you faced while you were, you know, working outside of that Disney bubble. And I'm like, oh, wow, I want to share that story with someone else. So just do your homework and find your ins. You know, I don't know if that answers the question explicitly, but I just say find ways in small and simple ways, whether it is through volunteering, whether it is, again, you're attending a networking event and you're building these connections with individuals to say hello to people and build that relationship outside of that 30-minute informational meeting. Oh, so good. And I love specifically the example too you gave of finding maybe an event that that person is speaking at or something that kind of bridges the gap there because I feel

Starting point is 00:31:45 like that cold outreach sometimes is a little bit intimidating. So finding an opportunity that's a little less out of the blue, I guess, I feel like is a really good way to kind of approach it. So thank you for sharing that. Yes, indeed. One of the last questions, I feel like I could ask you a million questions, but one of the last questions I want to ask you is specifically on skill development. I know this is something that you're focused on at Disney is just providing programs, opportunities, trainings for these young professionals to come in and learn about a number of different topics, which was one of my favorite parts of the college program is just having those opportunities to learn from other leaders and different departments. And I think it was so critical. So, you know, whether it's within our organization specifically or even outside, what are some practical ways you feel young

Starting point is 00:32:37 professionals can continue to grow and hone their skills? What are some areas that we could look at to just not only those practical on the job skills, but just soft skills in general as well? Yeah, there's so many resources available to us these days, right? I mean, we have so much information at our fingertips that, you know, I could provide so many resources. I could start with just YouTube, like YouTube University. And I share that with people. If there's something you want to know, something you want to learn, you can teach yourself. And I say the same even with photography. Photography has been a hobby of mine for over 15 years now. And it didn't start by sitting in a classroom and taking a photography class. It all started by just picking up the camera, learning it, pressing some buttons,

Starting point is 00:33:33 understanding, you know, how do you measure light, right, in order to create an image. So, you know, again, we talk about shutter speed, understanding that aperture and ISO is part of that. All of that came just by doing it. And so, you know, I say, if you, if you want to gain or develop a skill, find yourself a passion project. And I share this all the time with people, like maybe I don't have the formal work experience and I want to be able to showcase that I will be a right fit for this position. But I don't have formal job experience. Well, go out and get yourself a passion project. And so, again, with photography, it was the same thing.

Starting point is 00:34:15 That was my passion project. So I would just pick up the camera, go out whenever I could, carry the camera with me and take pictures. And then from that, you know, if I couldn't figure out something so like, for example, I'd say, well, I just took this image, but it appears to be underexposed, right? It's too dark. I don't know what to do here. Then I say, let's find our resources to find the answer. And again, things like YouTube came into play. There's some other great resources out there that you can use to, you know, learn a new trade or a new skill. I, again, will say LinkedIn Learning is one great tool. Coursera is another one. There's some fabulous tools out there that you can use as long as you're willing

Starting point is 00:34:58 to invest sometimes that you can leverage to help you throughout your career. So, you know, I just say it's all about just actively practicing and doing it. But then if you don't necessarily have the answers or you can't figure out something or you hit an obstacle along the way, don't be afraid to ask. Right. And so with this too, something else I'll share and I'll tie it back to photography. If I learned it through YouTube or I didn't learn it through YouTube or I didn't learn it through an online learning, then I'd reach out to people. Right. And so you need to build the confidence to be able to reach out to two professionals or other individuals that have a higher level or greater, greater level of expertise that can come in and kind of serve as a mentor for you. And I was able to do that too, right? Start building relationships with other photographers and other individuals that said, well, I kind of started out in the same footsteps as well. So I just share, there's so many resources that are in front of you, right? And it's just a matter of whether or not you take advantage of it. And then the other part of it too, as you start developing and you determine some practical ways of developing your skills, just remember you're not going to

Starting point is 00:36:09 become Picasso overnight, I guess I should say. So you need to keep practicing. And something that I need to remind myself of to this day is that it takes time. And we live in a world where we want instantaneous results. We're like, okay, it should happen overnight, right? And I think social media does that to us as well, because we'll often follow influencers and we'll say, oh my goodness, like they're doing amazing things. But we also don't know all of the effort and hard work that went into it as well. So I think you need to be realistic with yourself too. again if you practice just spend 15 minutes a day learning something new right now for example with my master's degree program i'm exploring

Starting point is 00:36:51 and learning new ways that i can tap into the world of instructional design although i don't have or necessarily have years of formal experience of work experience doing instructional design so again i'm finding it by way of doing passion projects, just doing some random assignment or saying, hey, you know what, I want to test this out in this software, this application and saying, okay, let's give it a shot, right? It's not going to be pretty the first time around. That's the other thing I share to you, you know, give it some time, keep practicing. And I think over time, what you'll see is you'll start to develop and build that skill as well.

Starting point is 00:37:26 But those are just some ways to continuously develop your skill and build your skill set and learn and grow in the process too. Yeah, fantastic. Thank you so much. And, you know, you've mentioned LinkedIn a couple times, which I absolutely love following you and just learning tips on mentorship and applying for jobs and things like that, which is a topic we could completely do a whole nother episode on just that whole process. But speaking of that, if you don't mind, Brandon, just let us know where we can follow along with you. Just see some of that content you're creating and just stay in touch with you overall. Yes, indeed. So I will say that the best way to contact me and follow me will be LinkedIn. So I post quite

Starting point is 00:38:11 frequently on LinkedIn. And most of the posts that you'll find on LinkedIn will be career related. I'll typically share some of the great things that are happening within the college program as well but most will be career readiness related but you can find me on LinkedIn so linkedin.com forward slash in forward slash Brandon D Rhodes R-H-O-D-E-S so look for me there and I always love connecting with people I always get connection requests that you know I have people reaching out through direct messages as well and I always try my best to respond to those and you know any have people uh reaching out uh through direct messages as well and i always try my best to respond to those and you know any advice anything anyone wants to know i try my best to help so i will say that is the best way to connect and follow me well thank you

Starting point is 00:38:55 so much i'm excited personally to just continue to follow along with you and see how your career progresses what you learn in your master's program. And just thank you so much for passing along all these insights and information. And it's been such an honor getting to know you over the last several months. Yes, indeed. Thank you so much, Cassie. And it's always a pleasure speaking with you. And thank you again for this opportunity. Absolutely. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the marketing happy hour podcast if you enjoyed this episode please remember to subscribe rate and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform if you want more of marketing happy hour but don't know where to start we invite you to download our free marketing happy Hour Starter Kit at marketinghappyhr.com

Starting point is 00:39:46 forward slash starter dash kit. This interactive magazine style PDF walks through who we are, includes helpful resources like a marketing term glossary and the printable daily planner sheet that we actually use ourselves and contains clickable links to our episode recommendations by subject area. Not to mention all the fun extras like a quiz, the link to our Marketing Happy Hour Insiders Facebook group, a word search, a playlist, a goal setting guide, content inspo by month, and more. It's our hope that you'll dive into this resource and walk away more confident in your career journey with a group of industry pals that you can lean on for advice and support. Snag your free starter kit today at marketinghappyhr.com forward slash starter dash kit for all of the info you need to become a

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Marketing Happy Hour - How to Stand Out: Career Growth & Leadership Advice | Brandon Rhodes of Disney

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