A Candid Introduction into The Life of a Strategist l Candid Career Corner

Thank you for giving your time to browse the Candid Career Corner Newsletter!

Here you will find highlights of original Career and Workforce Development Content, Resources and Guidance. You will also get to experience the layers of me as a whole Human. Lastly, I want to be a source of usable value to you, so I welcome us to get to know one another through our shares, thoughts and comments. This newsletter is designed to evolve alongside you and me.

Enjoy The Journey!

I've posted several Guides in the past few weeks that you or someone you know might be interested in. Click the image to take a peek and Share, Download -- and of course you can tap in with your Comments and Questions.

Access all my other Guides by viewing the "Show all activity" section of my profile and clicking on the "Documents" tab of my LinkedIn profile.

Zach Roberts │ Product Marketing Manager │ Dropbox

WHO AM I AS AN INDIVIDUAL?

I was born mute as a kid and fortunate to have had a strong support circle in my mom and grade school teachers to help me through it. That early experience is what shaped my personal mission today. "To help others realize their full potential". I can't stand still, and always find myself on a new project. Weightlifting, crocheting, or launching a new podcast -- "Around The Block: Indie Shop Chronicles" -- Check It Out!.

That hustle poses a unique struggle -- I am a workaholic towards what awakens my mission. The past few years (and my partner especially) introduced me to mindfulness. Adopting habits to practice self-care: journaling, meditation and therapy. Today I use those exercises to keep me grounded and away from burning out.

WHY I DO WHAT I DO?

The job of a product marketer is to help make selling easier for organizations. Before product marketing, I was in B2B tech sales for five years. Sellers are problem-solvers. That's what first drew me to the profession. Product marketing seemed like a natural progression from it because product marketers help sellers win. A derivative of my personal mission -- to help others realize their full potential.

WHY I USE LINKEDIN?

LinkedIn was my first job out of college, so I may be a bit bias when I say this...LinkedIn helped me break into tech out of the Midwest to San Francisco. That was in 2015. A few years prior, I hated networking as a college student. It felt inauthentic and forced. Any networking mixers I've ever attended in my first three years at University of Wisconsin-Madison were solely for the free food.

It wasn't until my junior year where I taught an introductory business course, that prompted me to give networking (and LinkedIn by extension) a second thought; since I was required to teach on the topic. What changed networking for me is a college paper I read titled: "Only Connect". It highlighted soft skills and spoke of networking as an "intentional practice to learn one new thing from each person you meet".

Today I use LinkedIn to network and build my digital presence -- an extension of what I do in my personal and professional personas. I do this through sharing daily content of what I learn as a product marketer, meeting new professionals (i.e. informational interviews) who engage with what I share, and reaching out to others who share ideas that capture my attention. LinkedIn is NOT a job search tool and you do yourself a disservice if you use it for that purpose alone.

Product Marketing Alliance recognized Zach Roberts 💀 as 2022's Newcomer of The Year and Top 100 Product Marketing Influencers list.

Zach believes these accolades are testaments of how he uses LinkedIn today, and the one piece of advice which he leans on.

Someone, somewhere benefits from what you have to share. Don't discount your past experiences. Use them to inspire one person, just one, to take action in what they want from themselves.

That's how you influence. That's how you help others realize their potential.

ONE PIECE OF ADVICE I LEAN ON?

Share what you learn. There is a lot of tribal knowledge we take for granted. Lessons we learn from our day-to-day, life experiences, and hobbies we pursue. Knowledge we take as given is not always "common knowledge" among our peers.

I learned this, a few years ago when I started to take a more active effort toward using LinkedIn to build my digital presence. People love stories. They tickle what we feel. And how we feel about something is what drives how we act on it. That's why I take a few minutes at the end of each day to reflect on "one thing I learned". It may be how to organize meeting notes, to deliver next steps and keep project progress on track. Or, a surprising skill I learned now as a product marketer I wished I knew sooner.

Imagine that for a second. What would you have wished to learn a few years ago that you now know? Self-awareness is a must-have in any career and one which many of us don't have. Social media in the last few years is a reflection of that observation. Increased use and proliferation of social media platforms encourages us to be consumers first and creators second. You can't create. You can't share. You can't learn without self-awareness.

What do you know versus what you don't? Take stock of each and use them as inspiration to create lessons (stories); others who are a few steps behind you will thank you for.

SHARE CORNER:

Breakintoproductmarketing.com is an online hub created by Zach Roberts 💀 to help individuals who "think" they have no direct experience to break into product marketing. It is a project he worked on for the last five months. "I am excited to share my online course will launch in a few weeks to help individuals hone their competitive advantage to stand out and land their first job in product marketing." If you are a future product marketer, sign up for the wait list and stay connected on the bi-weekly micro-reads to give you an edu-take on skills you need today in product marketing.

Breakintoproductmarketing.com -- don't drive your career there from the passenger seat!

It goes down in the Comments!

I am grateful for all who consume my content, and I am extremely appreciative of those who take the few seconds to leave a Comment and Create Conversations.

Special shout out to all those who Repost my Content. Please know you are absolutely appreciated!

Here are some of my Favorite Comments from this past month. By the way, I will likely feature older Comments in upcoming editions, because there have been some phenomenal add-ins from my network that are share worthy.

Click favorite Comments to view profiles!

Will we see your awesome Comment featured in the next edition of the CCC Newsletter!

Did you know I offer a pro bono ($0.00) 15 Minute Services Meeting?

It's our opportunity to meet directly by video to learn about your areas of need, while gaining no fluff advice, guidance or strategy that you can use immediately around:

Career Strategy

Resume Reviews (not writing)

Behavioral Mock Interviews

LinkedIn Profile and Personal Branding

Talent Acquisition Partnership

I don't heavy pitch or try to convince you to do business with me. I listen, provide support where possible, and the rest is up to you.

Schedule Your 15 Minutes! calendly.com/cbeyondenterprises

If you haven't noticed by now, I love sharing original quotes. Here is a quote or statement that connected with my network the most this cycle. Click image to view the original post.

My Personal Corner share for this inaugural edition of the Candid Career Corner Newsletter is to introduce myself to some, and re-introduce myself to others.

Meet me as the Proud and Grateful Father to Three God-Given Gifts!

My Daughter and Two Sons who I call my Heart, Spirit and Soul. Whenever I share about them, you'll also see me refer to them as my Babies or my A-Crew.

All Three Teenagers. . .My Youngest Son Turned 13 ~ December 31st!

My favorite part about being a Dad is the Learning that constantly happens because I'm responsible for three growing and developing Humans.

If you've followed me for some time you know that I'm divorced, so my kids are shared between their Mother and I.

This creates a sensitive dynamic to maneuver through because of the many variables that come with sharing custody, and the constant negotiations happening in the background.

Regardless, the primary goal is to always decide what's in the best interest of our three children.

Even after eight years, it's still kind of delicate to speak and share about. I'm sure I'll write about it in full uncensored detail one day in a book or memoir, but until then, let me share some cool highlights of my babies.

All Three are Athletes! Youngest is a football player, oldest is a basketball player and my babygirl is a cheerleader. She actually cheers for her brother's football team.

There is so much I can talk about when it comes to my A-Crew. I'm most proud because although they are teenagers, with "typical" behaviors that come with being a growing teen...IYKYK. All in all, they are each good Humans, and for that I Thank God!

I am extremely mindful of their realities as children growing up with divorced parents. It's not an easy feat or journey, but every time I look at their faces, I'm reminded of why I attempt anything in this life I've been gifted.

For sure, they each will probably get their own feature in the CCC Newsletter, but you can also find me sharing about my babies through my content feed.

To Fathers and Dads reading this who can relate, I want to encourage you to continue doing and giving your best. Even the minor things matter. Don't ever forget that.

If you are new to me -- then you don't know that I love to engage and build genuine relationships with my direct connects, supporters and followers.

I welcome feedback, thoughts, ideas, shares, etc. because I want to be sure that I am giving those who are connected to me (directly or indirectly) the guidance, content, advice and strategies that matter to you.

Bonus Points: If you can make me smile or laugh, you're a SUPERSTAR!

You will often hear or read from me that "I like to provide usable value". My goal is to give you information that you can actually put into action.

This is the ultimate goal with anything I deliver, and if you follow my content you know I don't hold back -- I give it all away.

So do not be shy about sliding into my dm's, leaving a comment on a post or here in the Candid Career Corner (CCC) Newsletter!

Want more of this from me? Join me on my LinkedIn personal page Cebien Alty for daily and weekly content similar to what you experienced here. Until the next edition, I'll see you around LinkedIn!

Don't forget to subscribe and share your thoughts on the inaugural edition of the Candid Career Corner?