Because the last several months have been some of the most difficult for me. I truly would describe it as surviving instead of thriving.
My main goal for 2021 isn’t to train for some brand new Ironman race or achieve some lofty professional or financial goal. While I have set some fitness and financial goals for myself, they are the top of the priority list.
To get it out there in the open my main goal and top priority next to being a husband and father: my mental health.
Right before the holidays I was officially diagnosed with depression with a side of anxiety and mounting, overwhelming life stressors.
Just how bad was it?
As we take time to reflect on this past year, with all its ups and downs, we want to thank you for continuing to support us and for showing up for your community. Because of you, we were able to fund our first ever scholarship program, and we awarded four Black Creative Students scholarships to students from all over the country. This year, we were also able to publish 26 new blog posts, had 10,400 page views, added and featured 4 new contributing editors, hired and on-boarded a super creative new social media, Greer Blount, and offered our first writing internship to Maggie Barbour who created and published 10 posts in less than 12 weeks.
It's been an eventful year for out team, and to close it all off, TNM founder Kevin O'Connell is sharing his thoughts on 2020, dealing with change and transitions as a new dad and entrepreneur, and finding new approaches for 2021. Keep reading for Kevin’s end-of-the-year message!
Working freelance may sound glamorous at first, but those who've been doing it for a while know it takes hard work. Getting your business off the ground isn't easy and sometimes it means juggling various projects all at once, but it also has it's benefits - I mean you are your own boss after all!
This week, writing intern Maggie Barbour asks The Niche Movement's Editor-in-Chief Jaylene Perez and founder Kevin O'Connell, both of whom have experience in freelancing, what it really takes to make it work.
Read on for Jaylene and Kevin's best practices when it comes to finding clients, marketing your services, settings rates, and more!
For all those in pursuit of professional development, this week we're taking a look at which skills you'll want to brush up on depending on your specific industry. Whether you're a freelancer, marketer, entrepreneur, or work in another creative role, you'll want to read up on what will make you and your work really shine.
Tap below for the full post!
Job searching is a tough task on its own, and job searching during a pandemic... well we know it's not easy. You'll have to be flexible, know how to network and market yourself, and really hone in on what it is your looking for as you search for the right fit.
To find out what can help you land your dream job, keep reading!
Finding your niche means you’ve found work that gives you purpose, keeps you challenged, and makes you excited to get out of bed in the morning.
Below contributing editor Olivia Smelas’ offers a college student’s perspective on how you can use your hobbies and interests to find your niche and kickstart your career.
Summer internships provide relevant experience and professional relationships that will set you up for success post-college. They’re critical to understanding the layout of the professional world, so use your summer internship to do more than the job description. Follow these four tips, and you’ll automatically impress the colleagues around you.
Meet Robyn Park, one of The Niche Movement’s summer interns! Robyn is a junior at the George Washington University in Washington, DC majoring in marketing and journalism. She was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea but recently moved to Scottsdale, Arizona. Among her interests are social entrepreneurship and design, and she also has a weakness for puppies - perfect since our office at WeWork allows dogs. Robyn likes Mexican food and long walks on the beach…just kidding. She actually is a sucker for Thai food and hiking in the Superstition Mountains.
When she isn’t working with Kevin, The Niche Movement and their clients, Robyn likes to hang out at a variety of museums around DC. Among her favorites are the National Portrait Gallery, the American Art Museum and the Hirshhorn. If that wasn’t enough, Robyn is also a passionate advocate for mental health awareness. She furthers the effort through a blog she plans to launch this summer.
This summer, she will work with Kevin and the Niche Movement to hone her social media marketing skills and gain greater experience in creating a digital voice and marketing strategy. In the future, Robyn hopes to use marketing and advertising to make a positive impact on the world (think social good). Another one of her aspirations is to travel the globe, visiting countries such as Italy, Iceland and Morocco.
We are so excited to welcome such a passionate and creative person to the Niche Movement family and can’t wait to see what she accomplishes! Want to learn more about Robyn? Connect with her on LinkedIn or follow her on Twitter. You can also contact her directly at Robyn@thenichemovement.com.
Skip Your Career Fair Blog post 4 or 4
Wow! On Monday night Feb 25th I finally got a chance to do a phone interview with Gary Vaynerchuck for his 1 day interviews he is doing. I only came across him just shy of a year ago but after reading both his books, watching countless keynotes and videos and reading all his posts, he has changed the trajectory of my career, the way I create social media marketing strategies and why I started the Niche Movement.
Now this is my final post in the Skip Your Career Fair series and college students LISTEN UP - this is the core of innovative career exploration and what the Niche Movement is all about. I'm keeping this post short because the 12 minute interview backs up everything 18-25 years olds need to hear and DO! Here are 3 highlights from Gary's interview:
1. “If a place doesn’t make you happy, start looking. They’re going to be working more than anything else in their life, be happy while you’re doing it.” - This is exactly why I started the Niche Movement - the average American is going to work more than 98,000 hours in your lifetime. Find your niche and be happy.
2. “Between the age of 16-22 take 2 summers working for the person they most want to be like and work for free” - This is Gary's response to how college students and recent grads can stand out from their peers and set themselves apart from the pack of applicants.
3. “You don’t have to settle, find the right place for you” -I've said this in 2 other blog posts, but it is 2013 - go out and do what makes you happy. Whether you create your own niche in your current company, pave a way in your internship or follow your own dreams and ideas go do it and don't settle.
Without further adieu, here is my talk with Gary - enjoy!
Kevin O’Connell, Founder – The Niche Movement
Bring the Niche Movement to Campus or to your company to help train your students, interns or new hires and staff. We work with you to host your next workshop, keynote or training.
Engage with the Niche Movement - Facebook - Twitter
If you are reading this and are a college student or a recent graduate within the last two years think about the type of company culture you want to be a part of. Apply to be part of the first Niche Movement Cohort where we will work with your niche and discover employers that have jobs that you want. Applications due March 3rd.
If you are reading this and work with student leaders that you want to help land a job they love then share The Niche Movement with them.
We are in the process of matching up a curated young talent pool with featured curated jobs and internships. If you want to host your job, help us recruit and place new hires, let's talk. And if you happen to stumble upon The Niche Movement and you already found your niche then share your story. Or we can help you recruit top, talented college who by helping you create appealing job description, screen candidates and host internships or jobs on our website.
It’s the third post in the Skip Your Career Fair series and this week I want feature a list and some more tips to stand out rather than an event to attend. I’m excited to share the Fast Company “30 Under 30 - Class of 2012.” I came across this 2 weeks ago and I have been revisiting it just about everyday. Turning 30 myself in less than 3 months, I am a little bit jealous of this group’s success but it also inspires me to hustle and go all-in on this movement to be happy in your job.
A few things all of us can learn from this 20-something group is they:
What can all of us learn from these few young entrepreneurs? They either left school or their career with their idea in hand and went for it. They took a risk, but their passion, hard work and ability to build relationships are paying off. They all found their niche.
So how does this relate to students looking for internships or their first full time job?
Kevin O’Connell, Founder – The Niche Movement
Bring the Niche Movement to Campus to meet with students, staff or host your next workshop, keynote or training.
Engage with the Niche Movement - Facebook - Twitter
If you are reading this and are a college student or a recent graduate within the last two years think about the type of company culture you want to be a part of. Apply to be part of the first Niche Movement Cohort where we will work with your niche and discover employers that have jobs that you want. Applications due March 3rd.
If you are reading this and work with student leaders that you want to help land a job they love then share The Niche Movement with them.
And if you happen to stumble upon The Niche Movement and you already found your niche then share your story. Or we can help you recruit top, talented college who by helping you create appealing job description, screen candidates and host internships or jobs on our website.
