The Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy (WRISE) event on Building Your Personal Brand took place on October 3rd. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corporation hosted the event in Oakville Ontario.
If you’re not familiar with WRISE, they focus on creating a diversified workforce that strengthens the renewables economy in the U.S., and around the world. Indeed, they recognize that the number of women working in the renewables sector continues to increase. And with that, they hope to change the future of renewable energy through the actions of women.
Phoventus’ very own Kathryn Klement, a committee member for the WRISE Southern Ontario Chapter, along with William Gillam, our Environmental Specialist, participated in the event. Undoubtedly, they had the opportunity to network with fellow renewable energy enthusiasts. Moreover, they learned inside tips on how to build your personal brand identity in the fast-paced world of social media. Also, they received valuable advice on how to progress in their careers.
The first speaker, Natalie LeBlanc, is a talent acquisition expert. If you have trouble navigating LinkedIn and keeping up a pristine social media presence – Natalie is the perfect person to talk to. With the changing landscape of the hiring process, your social media channels can either hinder your chances of getting a job, or strengthen your resume.
Here are some tips that we learned from Natalie:
Tip #1 – If you don’t have a social media presence, you don’t exist. Shying away completely from social media could be a bad thing. The truth is, hiring managers will run your application through a program that gathers traces of your online presence in a snap. So, if there’s absolutely no trace of you online, you might not make the cut!
Tip #2 – Always maintain a professional presence online. This one might be obvious, but always a good reminder. If your Facebook account is riddled with an embarrassing history of nonsensical ranting, it might be best to delete those posts, or make sure that your profile is private.
Tip #3 – Don’t be discouraged if you feel “unqualified”. Remember that skills can always be trained on the job, and everyone experiences learning curves! If you have the right behavioural traits, and strong interpersonal skills, you can build yourself towards becoming a good employee. Adaptability, motivation, and enthusiasm can take you a long way.
Tip #4 – If you want to become a social media influencer, know what type of content you should post! Natalie says you should be dedicating 70% of your efforts towards sharing other people’s posts. The other 30% of the time, you should be creating your own work.
No matter what industry you end up working in, building a personal brand is important for the future of hiring.
Other key points from WRISE
The second speaker, Joanne Atalay, has extensive experience in the energy industry. She works with Algonquin Power and knows the ins and outs of progressing a career within an organization.
Having trouble finding training opportunities within your organization? Don’t fret! You don’t always have to attend a conference in order to learn something new. Gaining new skills in the workplace can start with your colleagues around you – also known as: peer-to-peer learning.
Will Gillam from our team really put this into perspective. He says,
“Even though I’m an environmental specialist at Phoventus, I’ve had the opportunity to help with the engineering department through tasks like capacity testing. Although engineering isn’t my specialty, I collaborated with a colleague outside of my department and learned something that could even benefit my environmental work as well.”
Phoventus is proud to see our employees grow as they progress through their careers. We encourage active engagement and collaborative efforts to bring diversity and amazing talent for our clients! Also, we believe that every employee brings a unique skillset to work everyday, and we love learning something new each day.
If you would like to know more about the WRISE group, or are interested in future events, sign up for their mailing list: southernontario@wrisenergy.org
The next event will take place in Q1 of 2019, and we hope to see you there!
For more information on Phoventus Inc. follow us on social media or go to our website www.staging.phoventus.com
