For eleven years, I worked at Western Nevada College, and for many years, I was the director of marketing and communications. I often tell clients, “I’ve walked in your shoes, I feel your pain,” because I WAS you. During the pandemic, after leading the college through rigorous crisis communications and continuity of operations plans, all while balancing school at home for my young son, I realized that my family needed me at home, and I wanted to be there. Ultimately, I stepped away from a job I loved, one I was thriving in, to focus on my family.
I’ve been out of my role as Marketing and Communications Director for about three years now, and the insomnia has almost subsided…kidding, not kidding.😜 I have come to recognize a few things that might just help all you exhausted marketing professionals out there. My thoughts aren’t groundbreaking, they are simple reminders to help you rock your job, sleep soundly, save your sanity… and give you the superpower…to do your job with joy.
Be unwavering in pursuit of balance between your professional and personal life
Any job will take more and more from you if you allow it. Be intentional with your boundaries relating to your personal and professional lives. At the end of the day, you’ll be remembered for your relationships with family and friends and not how many 7 AM chamber mixers you attended after board meetings the night before that went until 9 PM. Family dinners, kids’ sporting games, vacations (unplugged), hikes with friends, those are where you fill up your cup. A full cup means a better employee in the long run.
You only get one body…take care of it. Prioritize yourself
Walk at lunch…heck, just take a lunch break, eat right, exercise, take advantage of your preventative health benefits, and don’t neglect your mental health…so take those mental health days, too. You can’t serve your college when you’re hungry, unhealthy, and burned out.
Spend more time with students
They are the best part of your job, honestly. I still mentor students, and my past students still ask for advice. Most former co-workers don’t do that, so don’t underestimate how much impact you have on students, and don’t underestimate how much motivation they can bring you.
An agency can save your life…ok, at least your sanity
You may have the capability to do every part of your job…you are, after all, Janes and Jacks of all things. That doesn’t mean you should do it all. Be an incredible marketing leader instead. My college marketing department was a team of only three people. At GradComm, we provide an abundance of resources and solutions to our college clients, and I should have paid more attention to the help that was available to do my job. When I started at GradComm, a lightbulb went off…I could have had 10 people working on my projects. Doing a marketing director/PIO job takes an army…so arm yourself with people to help you complete the hundred priorities you’ve been tasked to achieve.
Let Go
Hang up your brand police badge, drop your red pen, and maybe even throw away your AP Style Guide…maybe. Become a brand leader, build solid templates, teach and reteach brand guidelines, and instead of squashing the creativity of employees across your campus, build them up to be great brand ambassadors and your greatest allies. Marketing a college is everyone’s job…so give them the tools to do it right and get out of their way.
Coffee helps
It just does, so send someone else to the morning chamber mixer and grab a cup of coffee with a student instead. After all, if you sat through that board meeting until 9 PM…how else will you get through the day?
From Journalist to PIO: 5 Skills to Help You Thrive
