“What They Never Taught You in College” Presentation by Mark Beal
On February 20, PSGCNJ had the pleasure of having Mark Beal give his “What They Never Taught You in College” presentation to everyone.
He started off by talking about how he went on the PSGCNJ website before he came on Monday, and what struck him was the mission of the organization, which was to provide job seekers opportunities with encouragement, empowerment, education and inspiration to advance their careers.
Mark then spent some time talking about some lessons that were in the book he wrote called 101 Lessons They Never Taught You In College:
- We should create our own path and figure out where we want to go. Set your own rules and go places no one has ever gone before. Do something non-traditional to get there.
- Don’t follow the rules…transform the way you’re networking and meeting people. Companies will continue to value employees who transform.
- We should work hard to meet people and keep finding ways to engage others. After all, it costs nothing to start a conversation.
- Don’t stop networking. Mark is a big believer in cup of coffee meetings, for example. He said we’re hardwired to want to help each other.
- Anything is possible.
- What is your passion? Is there an industry, category, or brand that you’re really passionate about? Whatever it is, there are opportunities there.
- Try something for the first time. Whatever it might be, there are ways to try new things to solve that riddle you’re trying to solve.
- Face your fears. Unlock the brain and think what’s a different way around something.
- Be a student for life. We’re all trying to learn from each other and grab insights. We should create our own syllabus to get us where we want to go.
He ended the presentation by saying the lessons are meant to inspire. They’re meant to shift the thinking a little bit.
— Melanie Chima
Mark Beal is an adjunct professor in the School of Communication at Rutgers University, and also managing partner of New York-based Taylor, one of the world’s leading consumer and sports PR firms. You can find him on Twitter.