A good friend of mine made a comment yesterday that shocked me, but then, after thinking about it, IT TOTALLY MADE SENSE.
Our industry overflows with beginners and "experts" with entry-level skills.
Every week, she told me - journalism, public relations and marketing pros reach out to her privately asking for help on social media, completely embarrassed and ashamed about their lack of skills. They were overwhelmed with all of the information out there and had no idea where to start. Clients (or employers) were asking for their help but they didn't have the skills yet.
Is this you? You're not alone. There is nothing to be ashamed of and you might be shocked to find out you are NOT in the minority. It seems to be one of our industry's best kept secrets.
But it is time to start learning. Your clients need your help.
Every PR professional comes to the table with a different background, history and mix of skills. Top that with a blizzard of changes in our field and it's sheer craziness. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US is tasked with learning a new way of doing business and achieving results.
We are all beginners, even though some of us are at different stages of our journey.
So be bold and fearless. Reach out for the skills you need without worrying about what others think. Who cares? Don't you wonder what knowledge gaps they are hiding, too? Trust me, they are there. Even the self-proclaimed experts and gurus learn new skills every day, make mistakes every day and walk into some projects completely clueless.
I know I do... and that's perfectly okay with me.
It's how progress is made. It's also a hazard of working in an industry undergoing historical change.
It's the flip side that scares me - NOT learning, exploring and moving forward with a fierce curiosity. So man the torpedoes and full speed ahead. If you keep pushing forward and making the effort to constantly learn? You, my friend, are a rockstar that will lead the industry one of these days.
If you're not, then pull up your big girl panties or Underoos and get to work. There's fabulous stuff to learn out there waiting for you and it puts more money in your pocket. Trust me.
(Want to learn a specific skill? Email me details at morgan (at) rockthestatusquo (dot) com and I'll write a blog post about it. As long as it's related to digital PR, of course.)
image: beginners in PR/shutterstock