EP 7: Career development in communication

Generalist vs specialist? AI in communication. Soft skills vs technical skills? In this podcast, the career development for a communication professional is scrutinised and analysed.

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Hi, my name's Luke, and this is my podcast, Finding the Words. A podcast that's going to be looking at communication, culture, and purpose, as well as a few other little bits thrown in. Stick with me and let's have a good conversation. Hello. I hope you're having a good week. I thought I'd come on today and talk about career development. So I work for a company that's currently going through a merger. I've been there over 10 years, and you know, this year I'm having to reflect on a lot of stuff and you know think about what I want from my working life and a career. And you know, is that is why I wanted 10 years ago still what I want going into this year of uncertainty? So, you know, I think when weighing that up and thinking about, you know, what's the future in terms of a career or work, I think you need to look at what you're currently doing and you know how that could be developed and where the future of that could go. So yeah, career development's an interesting one. And you know, I'm in I'm in my very early 40s, but you know, I'm I'm conscious that you know the working world has changed since I joined 20 years ago, and that you know, new skills and new requirements are are emerging for businesses in general, but you know, I'm focusing specifically on communication, um, corporate communication. So yeah, I think it is a changing field. And you know, when I first started and entered the workforce, I was working on magazines, um, that quick bit that business to business magazines, but that very quickly changed to, you know, website work, digital comms, um, and then you know, that's just changing completely and has done over the last few years. So, you know, I think being aware that that your industry is in a state of flux is important. I think everyone's is at the moment, you know, whoever works in an office and whoever um works in more knowledge work, you know, our worlds are uh are just completely being turned on their heads. So, yes, I think it's worthwhile looking at, you know, AI. So I'm just gonna say it. It's the biggie, it's the one that everyone needs to be upskilled on. You know, I'm actually looking at a course from the London School of Economics that's you know, it's six months and it's it's a focused on AI and you know how that's embedded within businesses. Um, so I think AI is a big one to upskill yourself on. Um, in my field of work that I'm in at the minute, you know, it's digital communication and building websites, social media, um, intranets, employee apps, all these things. And of course, AI can be factored into all of those areas. And an interesting one is is the corporate website. So, you know, as we're all now using Chat GPT or Gemini or Claude as tools, search tools, it's less about SEO. Well, it's still about SEO, but now it's geo, AO, whatever you want to term it. I mean, there are differences, but yeah, answer engine optimization is is the biggie. Um, so you're not really the way you're structuring a corporate website now is is shifting less from, you know, there are people visiting your site because they're interested in your work. We're actually now serving the AI. Um, because when people go into ChatGPT and they say, Why is XXX a great company to work for? You want it to pull from your corporate website, and the person probably won't even visit your website, so therefore it's so important you get your message across to these to these platforms um as a primary source of information. So yeah, AI, very important. Um, but I think you know you you need to be skilled in that, but it's all about the the tech stack as well for communication. So, you know, it's not just relying on a chat GPT or a Claude, it's looking at, you know, what are the other pieces of technology that are important within your within your work space. So another area or another um route I need to upskill on is around Adobe Creative Suite. So, you know, I can I've got a good level in some of those things, but I could be better. So Photoshop, I'm I'm recording this in Adobe Audition, um, Premiere Pro, all of these different things, you know, it's it's good to have a good level so that you can you know make those edits yourself, not have to rely on pricey agencies to do everything for you. So, yes, upskilling on tech platforms is important, um, and it's just the way of the world now, you know, it's coming from a history of working in corporate comms where agencies support is critical. I think it can only be a good thing for us all to have those base level technical skills and to excel in some of those areas. So, whether that's the AI area, you know, that might be something that you find really interesting and excel in, you never know. But just you know, go in, experiment, train in these things and and go from there. So that's my one piece of advice around AI and technology upskilling. Um, I think, yeah, so looking away from those technological platforms and tools, you know, there are communication skills that are soft, you could term as soft, but they are critical and they're at the core of being a good communicator. So whether that's clarity of message, empathy, persuasion, audience awareness, um, we shouldn't undervalue those skills when compared to the tools. So, you know, I really need to, I think I've got some good qualities for a communicator, and it's it's something that, you know, I'm I'm conscious of. However, at the same time, I feel like communication is changing and and messages, how people are receiving messages and paying attention to them is is changing as well. And you know, it's information overload, you know, people getting too much stuff being served to them. How do you cut through? And there's a lot of emphasis at the moment on storytelling, um, which is timeless, you know. This is kind of why I'm doing this podcast is to refine that storytelling um skill and make sure that I have you know experience and practice in in getting my points across in in this type of format. So yeah, storytelling, super important and and timeless. Um, but yes, how people are receiving messages and communication is changing and what they're paying attention to. And I think you know, people are more aware of of how things work. So I feel like whether you're communicating to employees or communicating to media or investors, you know, I think there's an awareness that oh, these people are trying to make me feel this through this message. So yeah, I think it's that awareness that you know people understand comms now and understand more so the under um the underneath of what's going on when they're being communicated to. So yeah, storytelling, super important, and and just treating your audience with respect and you know not underestimating them. So yeah, another area that's that's interesting and it's it's something that's around career development, but it's something it's hard to get comfortable in, which is personal branding, um, particularly on LinkedIn. I don't know about you, but LinkedIn is becoming a bit of a bit of a space for for a lot of cringe stuff, and you know, I I personally feel like unless I've got something important to say, I'm not gonna add to that cringe fest with a humble brag or something which is you know which isn't really of interest to anyone. I'm just saying something so I get attention and visibility. No, I need to focus on what I'm doing, what I'm offering of value to people. But you know, that's it's kind of it's both, isn't it? You want to be visible, but to be visible, you have to maybe sometimes share when you don't always have an important message to say. Sometimes you have to be visible just for the sake of being visible, but yeah, I think that's a tricky one to get right. Um personal branding, you know, it doesn't just it's not just in the digital place as well. It's not sorry, not just in digital places, so it's not just in LinkedIn, you know, it's whether you're visible at industry conferences, whether you're known in your particular area of expertise, more widely outside of your company. Um and to be honest, I could have had more opportunities to be more visible, um, but I've I've I've not taken them. Not sure why. I think I often get quite focused in on the world of my company and what's going on there and the work there, rather than taking a step back and and at the same time as as doing that, also having a high-level view of, you know, I need to be visible here, I need to um network with my peers, you know. And whenever I go to industry conferences and and see people, I always leave feeling you know really positive and and infused. But yeah, I think sometimes it can be tricky to get to get weighed in and focused on on your work. So yeah, I think personal branding, maybe yeah, I'm gonna explore, explore that, but it's yeah, I want to provide value to people and I don't want to be cringe. Those are the two principles I'm gonna follow. Um, and then another tricky one is special specialization, if I can say it, specialization versus generalization. This is something that keeps coming up in my head when I'm thinking about my career and the future and career development. You know, I'm I am focused on digital corporate communication. That's my job title, that's all that's kind of where my focus is. It's not all I do, I do lots of other stuff um at work and and do see myself as a generalist. I'm a good writer, I'm a good um interviewer, I'm a good um someone who can create a great creative brief for film um photography, which is also part of my remit. But yeah, it's I I am a I am a generalist in comms, but the view of me, if you just saw my job title, would be um I'm a specialist. So I think for the future, I really want to keep keep that generalization hat on, and maybe it'll be reflected in a future job role. Who knows? Um but yeah, it's important to decide which which way you want to go. Um so yeah, I'm I'm thinking generalization. I keep hitting the microphone with my finger where I'm where I'm gesturing. Hopefully that doesn't come through. Um Yeah, I think that's the that's they're the main things I want to say around career development. I mean it's a lot, isn't it? It's a lot to I mean I I never used to think it was a lot to think about my career development. In my late 20s, 30s, very straightforward. I knew that I wanted to, you know, work in this area. I knew that working for a big company would be great for me. I'm now 41. And yes, I now need to work out, is this right? Am I still gonna keep progressing down this path? Or should I um pivot? Should I still be in comms? I feel like probably I will and I should, but I need to really sit down and think about that properly. So it's good exploring the the development opportunities in this field, but at the same time, is that what I want to be doing with my time? Is that my life's purpose? Is that you know when I look back on my life? Am I am I gonna be happy that I've been a corporate communication professional for the majority of it? What's the the satisfaction one will get from that, you know, my purpose is to make this company look great. Is that enough? Is it? I don't know. So yeah, I'm gonna be working these things out, but I think yeah, looking at personal development is a good place to start. As ever, thank you for listening while I've worked out my own thoughts as we go in real time. Speon, thanks.