Molly O'Connor

I attribute my success to having mentors along the way who have been so important in helping me be confident in myself and put myself out there and keep looking for growing opportunities. All of my mentors have been different, but one thing that's been consistent from all of them is encouraging me to be more confident in myself. I think that's something a lot of women struggle with personally and professionally. A lot of the mentors in my career who were women have taught me to take pride in having confidence in my work without being worried about people perceiving it as being egotistical - because if it was a man, they would just be confident, but if it's a woman, it can be taken negatively. I know when I'm being direct that it's not rude, and I know that when I'm confident in myself, it's because I have earned the right to be confident in my work. I've learned to compare myself less and encourage myself to shrink less just because I'm a woman in the workplace, and to be as confident in myself as any other man in my role might be. I also believe that mistakes are learning opportunities - they're not humiliating. I had a dance teacher who taught me that when a teacher gives you a correction, it's not to point you out or humiliate you, it's because they were watching you and they want you to be better. That shift in perspective to not be humiliated by a mistake, but to learn from it instead, is really beneficial.

The best career advice I've received has been to believe in myself and let the work that I do speak for me, and not get caught up in things that ultimately are not feeding my growth. My mentors have consistently encouraged me to be more confident in myself, which I think is something a lot of women personally and professionally struggle with. They've taught me to take pride in having confidence in my work without worrying about people perceiving it as being egotistical or self-centered. I've learned that when I'm being direct, it's not rude, and when I'm confident in myself, it's because I've earned the right to be confident in my work. The advice to take ownership and not shrink just because I'm a woman in the workplace has been invaluable. I've also carried with me the lesson from my dance teacher that corrections and mistakes are not meant to humiliate you - they're because someone is watching you and wants you to be better. That perspective shift has helped me see mistakes as learning opportunities rather than failures.

The two things that are most important if you want to go into an event planning career are, first, being open to meeting and getting to know the people around you, because that's how you understand what they need and build that sense of community. I think so much of it is just approaching with kindness. But also, details matter. In event planning especially, you can't assume that anything is just commonly understood. You need to be thinking about things like, if I was the vendor, what information do they need? Do visitors know where to park? Do they know where the event is? You're responsible for every level of the details needed. You need to be detail-oriented, but you also need to be able to turn that off sometimes and just be a people person. That balance comes from practice and confidence. I can tell you, especially as an intern, how many times I walked away from talking to a vendor thinking they probably think I'm an idiot, but I learned from that. Mistakes are learning opportunities - there are some things you get wrong once and you will never get it wrong again. The shift in perspective to not be humiliated by a mistake, but to learn from it instead, is really beneficial. And authenticity is so important - when you continuously be yourself, people will see that and they will follow. I could not be successful at a job where I felt like I had to be someone that I'm not.

I think one of the biggest challenges, and I can only speak for myself but I'm sure this is pretty relatable, is that I'm short, and I'm young, and I have a high-pitched voice, and I like to have fun when I work. So it can be hard to get people to take me seriously as it is, even though I'm very competent and experienced and good at my job. One thing I've really built with my community at work and with my vendors is that they know I run a tight ship with my farmers market - I have a 9-page contract that all of them are entered into, and I'll hold them accountable. But they know that I like to have fun, and I'm gonna say yes when I can, so that they know when I say no, it's because I can't. I think authenticity and integrity are so important. When you continuously be yourself, people will see that and they will follow. I could not be successful at a job where I felt like I had to be someone that I'm not. I love that about my current job - I feel like I'm the most authentically myself that I have been in a long time, and I'm appreciated and respected for it, and it also fuels the way that I lead the people that I work with.

Integrity is the first value that comes to mind, along with kindness and authenticity. I'm very detail-oriented, but I think in event planning more so than marketing, having empathy in working with the people around me is crucial. You have to be somebody who can work with different personalities - I could become friends with a brick wall. In my career, I work with a lot of different personalities, internally and externally. Being able to show up in every conversation with competence and with integrity and not compromising the quality of work that you're doing, but also meeting people where they are and understanding that people want to feel seen and feel heard, and finding the balance of those things, is really important to me. Integrity and authenticity are probably my top two values. When you continuously be yourself, people will see that and they will follow. I feel like I'm the most authentically myself that I have been in a long time in my current job, and I'm appreciated and respected for it.