{"id":38198,"date":"2024-01-29T12:26:02","date_gmt":"2024-01-29T17:26:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=38198"},"modified":"2024-01-29T16:14:50","modified_gmt":"2024-01-29T21:14:50","slug":"the-power-of-networking","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/articles\/the-power-of-networking\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Networking"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin bu-blocks-block-editorial-leadin is-style-default has-media has-media-focus-center-middle\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"2000\" height=\"1201\" src=\"\/com\/files\/2024\/01\/monique-kelley-banner.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2024\/01\/monique-kelley-banner.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2024\/01\/monique-kelley-banner-636x382.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2024\/01\/monique-kelley-banner-1024x615.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2024\/01\/monique-kelley-banner-768x461.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2024\/01\/monique-kelley-banner-1536x922.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2024\/01\/monique-kelley-banner-1628x978.jpg 1628w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin-caption wp-prepress-component-caption\">Monique Kelley (\u201903), an associate professor of the practice of strategic communications, has taken on a new challenge this semester: preparing students from across COM for their careers. <em>Photo by Ziyu Julian Zhu.<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Power of Networking\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">Monique Kelley has spent her career making connections. Now she\u2019s teaching the skill in the classroom.<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-categories\">\n\t\t\t<ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/category\/public-relations\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPublic Relations\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">January 29, 2024<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/authors\/marc-chalufour\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMarc Chalufour\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<div style=\"display:none;\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-share-tools\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-share-tools-inner js-prepress-component-share-tools\">\n\t\t<h4>Share<\/h4>\n\t\t<p class=\"wp-prepress-component-share-tools-article-title\">The Power of Networking<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-share-tools-article-link\">\n\t\t\t<div>\n\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" value=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/articles\/the-power-of-networking\/\" readonly>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<label>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Copy URL:<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<button class=\"js-prepress-component-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span>Copy<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t<\/label>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<p>Networking is second nature to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/profile\/monique-kelley\/\">Monique Kelley<\/a>. Over two decades in public relations, she has made connections at agencies large and small, volunteered for industry organizations and maintained relationships with her undergraduate professors at COM. She credits that network for her success. In 2022, Kelley (\u201903) launched her own communications consulting company that works primarily with global corporations in the healthcare industry where she spent much of her career. At the same time, she joined COM as an associate professor of the practice of strategic communication, where she had previously been a lecturer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now she\u2019s sharing her networking and job-hunting know-how. In January 2024, Kelley launched a new course, COM Career Readiness (CO 145), which she hopes will eventually expand into multiple sections led by faculty from across the college\u2019s departments. The single-credit course runs for eight weeks and, Kelley says, will help COM students develop the skills they need to thrive in their early careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>COMtalk<\/em> spoke with Kelley about the new course and bringing her passion for networking to the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a\"><div class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-title\"><h2 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-title-heading\">Q<span>&amp;<\/span>A<\/h2><h4 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-title-subheading\">With Monique Kelley<\/h4><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-question\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">COMtalk:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\"><strong>You were a public relations professional for two decades after graduating from COM. What drew you back?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-answer\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">Monique Kelley:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\">After graduating COM, I moved and worked in NYC for about 12 years. When I moved back to Boston from NYC, I transferred from Weber Shandwick NYC to their office in Boston. I remember them saying, \u201cWe can\u2019t find good up-and-coming talent.\u201d I\u2019m thinking, \u201cOK, down the street is BU\u2014how can you tell me that there\u2019s not good talent here?\u201d I put myself out there as a recruiter for Weber and, as I did that, there were folks at BU who started saying, \u201cCould you guest lecture for one of my classes?\u201d I did that for six years. Then, in 2020, I was invited to be an adjunct professor. Two years later, I had the opportunity to interview for a full-time role.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-question\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">COMtalk:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\"><strong>You\u2019ve continued to work in PR while teaching full time. Do you think that helps you teach?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-answer\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">Monique Kelley:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\">I don&#8217;t believe you can be a credible industry expert in a field if you\u2019re not <em>in<\/em> the field in some way. Especially as the field of communications is always evolving. My students tell me that they appreciate when I share real-life examples of the work I\u2019m currently doing with my clients and even my pitch emails to reporters. I\u2019ll bring in people that I\u2019m working with, or past peers, to guest speak in my classes and at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buprssa.com\/\">BU Public Relations Student Society of America<\/a> (PRSSA) meetings, where I\u2019m the faculty advisor. These include PR recruiters and HR professionals. My students want to learn PR and media\u2014but they also need a job.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-question\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">COMtalk:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\"><strong>You\u2019re a woman of color in <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/cps\/cpsaat11.htm\"><strong>an industry that has struggled to diversify<\/strong><\/a><strong>. Where do you think PR companies can improve what they\u2019re doing? And what gives you hope that they can succeed?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-answer\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">Monique Kelley:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\">What\u2019s interesting about a lot of the work that I do, especially with women, is imposter syndrome\u2014the idea that we don\u2019t feel confident in what we do, while the research shows that men just say yes to opportunities and then figure them out as they go. I don\u2019t have imposter syndrome, and a lot of other women of color who I hear from say the same thing. Often, we experience the opposite: imposter treatment, where people assume that we are not as strong as we really are.<br><br>My mom is from Tehran, Iran, and my dad is Black, from Trenton, N.J. You can\u2019t get more diverse than growing up with an immediate family of two races and ethnicities, two religions, two socioeconomic backgrounds and two political backgrounds. Whether it\u2019s demographic diversity, diversity of experience or something else, the goal should be to see that as a benefit for our organizations rather than something we\u2019re uncomfortable with. I see a willingness and an openness from our students to embrace diversity, equity and inclusion. I don\u2019t always see that in my generation. When COM had this opening for a full-time role, I felt that maybe this was an opportunity for me to help contribute to that change in our industry.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-question\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">COMtalk:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\"><strong>You\u2019ve just begun teaching the first section of COM Career Readiness. Where did the idea come from and who is it for?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-answer\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">Monique Kelley:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\">I heard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/profile\/heather-fink\/\">Heather Fink<\/a> and the folks from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/for-current-students\/career-services\/\">COM Career Services<\/a> talking about a course that would be dedicated to supporting students in their career journeys. It\u2019s open to all of COM. I have some sophomores enrolled, but the current class is primarily juniors and seniors.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-question\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">COMtalk:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\"><strong>What do you want students to take away from this course?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-answer\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">Monique Kelley:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\">Short term, I want them to get comfortable with the tools COM has to support them from a career readiness standpoint. I want them to be on LinkedIn and to not be afraid to leverage it. That means introducing themselves to, and helping, recruiters, whether it\u2019s connecting to a job they want or referring their friend or roommate for it. I want them to be able to feel confident in a job interview. Longer term, I want them to be thought leaders. That can happen by establishing who they are and what value they can offer. That value will build and evolve as they grow in their careers.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-question\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">COMtalk:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\"><strong>You\u2019re also writing a book about networking. What inspired that idea and what\u2019s the status of the project?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-answer\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">Monique Kelley:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\">Whenever I do a workshop on networking, whether it\u2019s with students at the PRSSA conference or with professionals through my business, I start with a live poll. About 70 to 80 percent of the people in the room typically report that networking is scary to them. I think it\u2019s because people look at networking as something they do when they need something. It\u2019s transactional; something you do with people you don\u2019t know, instead of it being just about building relationships with coworkers, clients and friends. It should be about adding value first before expecting value from someone.<br><\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p><em><em>This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Networking is second nature to Monique Kelley. Over two decades in public relations, she has made connections at agencies large&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1654,"featured_media":38200,"template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[1607,390],"bu-publication":[],"discipline-type":[],"bu_edition":[],"media_type":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/38198"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1654"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/38198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38204,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/38198\/revisions\/38204"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38198"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=38198"},{"taxonomy":"discipline-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/discipline-type?post=38198"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=38198"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=38198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}