Starting out in internal communications can be often overwhelming and unnerving. It is always great to begin on the right foot and what better way than to hear from leaders and those who have been there and done it!
I sought perspectives from a few and here are some:
“The Big Five for newbie internal communicators:
-Take your first three weeks to understand your company’s culture and growth strategy
-Connect with your leaders right away and understand their communication challenges
-Establish your presence in your organization’s official and unofficial (water cooler-type spaces) channels
– Identify your organization’s movers and shakers–get connected with them. Become their go-to person for communication
-Make a commitment to measure your efforts weekly. Review your efforts with your team lead monthly and at a high level, quarterly”
– Joseph Fernandez, Communications Leader – US Technology
“From my experience, the most critical element in internal communication is management buy-in. At the end of the day, no program is successful unless the management provides overall direction and participates in the program. Therefore, anyone intending to begin a career in internal communication needs to check the seriousness and bandwidth of the management to support such an endeavor. Mere lip-service or budget is not sufficient.”
– Peter Yorke, CEO – Yorke Communications
And here is mine:
Remember to join an organization because you want to do something extraordinary, be a well-rounded internal communications professional and make meaningful progress.
For that you need to have done your research on the organization and be sure that your values and that of the organization.
Know that you will need to start at levels aligned to your years of experience when you begin. However, that shouldn’t stop you from being a leader. To be a leader you don’t need to be having a large team under you or bring in many years of experience.
Finally, how you conduct yourself during and after interviews sends out messages that will make or mar your career. Word travels and if you aren’t professional it will diminish your credibility over time.
For example, accepting offers and not joining, the inability to clarify why you are most suited to the position and asking for more compensation without looking at the ‘big picture can cause recruiters and leaders to have a poor impression of you.
I am interested to hear about what you think. Share them here.
Hang On: Your managers/ seniors are going to dump work. Say no when you can (which is very rare)and at other points hang on and work through it or around it. It may be hard in the beginning but once you get in the rhythm things wil work out a lot faster and easier for you.
Work smart: A lot of the work that is dumped on you can be done faster if you work smart. Identify the work that you can add the most value to and do it. Have a list of contacts in departments who would help you out (a favor for a favor). Build your network with colleagues and employees. Be proactive and strategic in your work.
I am sure these things will get you noticed and help you get through the first few months
Great suggestions Collin. Thanks for sharing. I am sure this will benefit newbies a lot.