Speak up!

I am Anne Lockhart, a senior advertising student concentrating on brand strategy. I’ve been putting what I’ve learned at Temple to the test while working at Carousel Inc. Carrousel is a start-up photography company based in Philadelphia that links photographers with brands, school, organizations, etc, who need a photo or video shoot. I am currently a Branding and Creative intern at the company, but I take on several additional roles, such as web design and product development.

The best thing I have learned from my time at Carousel is if you want to be taken seriously, you need to stand up for yourself and voice your thoughts. I do not just mean voice your opinion when you are taking on extra roles or have a negative feeling towards a task, but let your advisor know your thoughts on additional projects and how you are feeling in general. I’ll give two examples.

The first time I felt the need to voice my opinion on a matter was when I was given a project with a few hours notice that would typically have taken me days to complete. This project involved coding, which I never said was a skill I had. After wasting a half hour stressing out, I messaged my boss, letting him know I would not be able to complete this project by the end of the night and will get as much as I could do. He replied back, saying he apologized for the short notice and that he would accept what I could get done that evening.

Another time I spoke out was when I did not think I was getting enough work to do. I reached out to my bosses and asked if they had anything I could work on because I had some free time that week. One replied kindly thanking me for reaching out and gave me an assignment to work on. I believe this showed initiative and expressed my interest and enjoyment of working with them.

Now, I am very close with my bosses. I have been working with the company since it started, which allows me to feel more comfortable having open conversations with them. Regardless of whether you are new or old to a company, speaking out when you find it necessary shows self-respect which will be mirrored by others.