Leadership Rally 2019: Building A Self-made Career
Did you know that freelance is on the rise? According to a contributor to Forbes Magazine, freelancers will make up 50% of the workforce by 2020.
Meet Becca Booker, owner of Homemade Social, a boutique agency that specializes in digital, social and influential campaigns for lifestyle brands. Booker informed students how freelancing can help them gain experience, perfect their pitch, land their next internship, create a personal brand and make some side money.
Booker graduated from Arizona State University with a double major in marketing and journalism. As an undergraduate student, she did several internships where she expanded her skill set on social media and marketing. Upon graduation, she worked temporarily at Target as an executive team leader until she found out it was not a good fit. Shortly after, Booker quickly moved on and was offered a job at Wela Creative Studio, then known as Bloguettes, and worked as a marketing director for two years. While still working full-time, Booker started freelancing to make some side money. In October 2017, Booker quit her 9-to-5 job and became a full-time freelancer. Since then she has expanded and rebranded as an agency, Homemade Social. Booker gave students tips on how to create a personal brand, land their next internship and get started with freelancing.
- Build your personal brand: “Start getting in the mindset of thinking of yourself as a business, like what services and value can you provide to these companies that you want to work for?” Booker asks her audience. First and foremost, start by having the same professional headshot across all your social media handles to be easily identified. In addition, portray professionalism on all your social media accounts, as employers are watchin Also, create your own personal mission statement that aligns with your values. Lastly, create business cards, build a personal website and invest in a personal email address. This will make you stand out and look professional.
- Land your next internship: First tip, tailor your resume to the job description. Secondly, research the brand’s voice and copy it when writing your cover letter so you can show you are a great fit. Booker’s tip of the day, “After sending your resume over, DM (direct message) the company on Instagram or Twitter letting them know you applied so your name can be on their radar.” For internships opportunities, she recommended checking out: InternQueen, Ed2010, Handshake, LinkedIn.
- How to start freelancing: Pick a specific industry niche and narrow your pitch. Build a website and ask past clients, internships or professors for testimonials of your work ethic. Lastly, charge on the value you bring, not the hours it took to complete the job. For freelance jobs: Upwork, Guru, Freelancer.
Lastly, Booker encouraged the audience to keep an open mind about freelancing and building their own career. In addition, Booker recommended two books that have helped in her career, You are a Bad Ass by Jen Sincero and Making Your Mark by Jocelyn K. Glei.
To learn more about Becca Booker, you can follow her on Instagram @bbooks or her agency at @homemadesocial_. Sign up for her weekly newsletters to learn more about social media tips.
Kimberly Aldunate is a senior studying public relations and advertising with a specialization in social media and marketing analytics at Florida International University in Miami, Fla. She is currently the Chapter president for FIU PRSSA and a district ambassador for PRSSA National, supporting Chapters in Florida and the surrounding area. Follow her on Instagram and/or Twitter @kimaldunate and connect with her on LinkedIn.
