Bridget David

The best career advice I've ever received is 'annoy them until you get a no.' I know that sounds crazy, but honestly, I say that to myself almost every day now, and it's a philosophy that I kind of live by. It's worked for me in so many ways. I've literally talked myself into some great situations and even talked myself out of bad situations like speeding tickets. Being persistent and consistent has gotten me so far. That advice has truly shaped how I approach opportunities and challenges in my career.

I know this is so cliche, but your network is literally your net worth. Being in an industry where I have to network and use it as currency, I think it's very true. My advice would be to build your network now and build your team now, because you're only as good as your team. I'm not alone in this. I have people who help me. I have a graphic designer I rely on, a photographer I rely on, a videographer I rely on. Build your network and build your team now, and you'll be unstoppable. You'll be at the top. I'm a living example of how my network literally just did the work for me. Even my full-time job I got now, I got it because I actually knew someone that worked at the company, and then they kind of brought me into the fold.

I would say the biggest challenges are having access to certain individuals sometimes, or certain events. What I mean by that is, with the Millennials in Media group that I've started, there are opportunities that get posted in the newsletter for events that people normally wouldn't even hear about. These are events that I feel like all people in the media should be at, and these are events that are open to the public 99% of the time, but a lot of people just don't know that they're happening. So I guess one of the biggest barriers is access to events, access to certain rooms, and access to the right people. You've got to know who you're reaching out to, you've got to know where these events are taking place. My group helps with that, so that's one way we're trying to kind of lower that barrier there. I would say having access to insider information is a major challenge.

In my work, professionalism is number one for me. It's a really big one. Communication is also another big one for me. Passion is an intersection of both my work and personal life, because I literally don't take on a client unless they're passionate about what they're trying to showcase, and if I'm not passionate about it as well, it just doesn't hit the same. Being kind to others is important to me. And most of all, I'd say love. If I don't love what I do at the end of the day, that kind of goes along with the passion part, then it doesn't make sense for me to do it. I don't want to work on something that I'm not totally in love with the idea of. I have to be excited about something. And it's the same for the opposite. The person has to be excited to work with me, they have to be in love with their project. I have to be able to feel that that person is authentic, genuine, and that they, at the end of the day, love is kind of what is rooting them.