Eleven months ago, I ran into my friend Corinna at the annual Telfer Clubs Gala. There, she asked if I would be interested in filling a vacant position on Telfer International’s incoming executive team, which ended up making my school year all the more interesting.
As Vice President of External Affairs, I’ve had the opportunity to lead sponsorship efforts for the club while managing three directors. Looking back, seeing our collective hard work come to fruition, I’m so glad I said yes. Corinna, if you’re reading this, thank you for trusting me and for being the most reliable president a VP could ask for. I am by no means a perfect executive member of the team, but regardless, I’d like to share some insights I’ve internalized via my role.
Since even before my onboarding meeting, I could tell that Telfer International lived up to its reputation of being an inclusive, globally minded club. I immediately felt at home with the other executives despite having met most of them for the first time through the club. As cliché as it sounds, we became a kind of chosen family.
From class talks and Brightspace announcements to mass messaging through email, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Slack, and Discord, my role as VP External forced me to put my name out into the world (which really only consisted of peers and professionals in the area, but still). It was terrifying at first, especially as an introvert. There were times when I felt so bare, as if people could see right through me and reduce me to some socially awkward university student who had nothing better to do with their time.
But now that I’ve been at this for a while, I can confirm that exposure therapy works! With each new interaction, big or small, I got stronger. Gradually, I gained a clearer sense of how my intentions are perceived by other people. As a result, I learned how to better market myself both as an individual and as a representative of something bigger than myself.
As I built my confidence, I simultaneously had my patience and character tested. I was in perpetual communication with other club executives, the people in my charge, and potential stakeholders of the organization. I can’t lie, it was overwhelming at times. I was constantly bombarded with notifications, and I felt that it was my duty to respond even when I didn’t feel like it.
Shortly after taking up my position, it dawned on me that I needed to turn this liability into a reminder to improve my responsiveness. In my personal relationships, I used to find myself putting off getting back to people, even to my closest friends. Fortunately, since I've felt compelled to maintain regular communication for the club, I'm doing much better, and this has had a positive effect on my friendships.
The truth is, in outreach, you will get turned down. You will get ghosted. And your patience will most certainly be tested. (I can’t count the number of times I resisted the urge to give up throughout my tenure.) But you will also learn the importance of not taking any of this personally and of remaining cordial in the face of attitude or negative feedback. You will learn that it is in your best interest not to engage in a fight that's not worth fighting.
One thing I’ve found to be incredibly helpful is to keep track of everyone you reach out to through a masterlist. To me, blindly sending messages, crossing my fingers for a response, and replying on autopilot was far less rewarding than being able to see exactly who replied, with what answer, and what information I needed to follow up with. Sure, it may take a little more time to record all of your interactions, but trust me, it goes a long way in staying organized, particularly with a large team.
As many of us business students learn in our statistics courses, the law of large numbers implies that the more people you reach out to, the more likely someone is to respond to you. However, there exist ways to create your own luck by differentiating yourself from the crowd. According to the 4 levels of luck, the most effective way to attract potential partners is to show them that you’re capable of helping them succeed.
If you plan to take on a club role in corporate relations, I’d highly recommend going to local events and networking with people. And by “networking with people,” I don’t just mean saying “hi” and dipping— I mean having a real conversation with every person you talk to. Should you reach out online afterwards, 1st connections are generally more likely to reply to you on LinkedIn, especially if they recognize your face and remember the exchanges shared between you.
I’ve come to realize that External is a deeply human portfolio. More than simple administrative tasks and event planning, it’s ultimately about collaborating with other parties to achieve a common goal. As executive hiring season is underway, I encourage you to consider joining a club you identify with at Telfer, specifically in external affairs, if this article resonated with you.
References
Jubenville, C. (2024, October 11). The 4 Levels Of Luck. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbescoachescouncil/2024/10/11/the-4-levels-of-luck/