I’ve had many teachers in my life. My father taught me how to build with my hands, and my mother taught me how to bake with love. My grandfather, a scientist and professor, took great joy in teaching me and my many cousins how to build atomic models with saltshakers and sugar packets in a booth at a SoCal Denny’s. 19 years from Pre-K through BA, I had teachers and professors like Ms. Perry, Tim McNamara, and Prof. Alley, leaving their marks in red ink and lasting memories. On-the-job experiences started at 16 as a grocery bagger, a sous chef, holiday retail doubles, and a couple of careers as an adult. New bosses taught me new ropes. These people believed in me; they shaped my knowledge, my experiences, my perspectives long after I moved on. I learned more than the syllabus or employee manual, I learned life lessons and what brings me joy. And I can honor them by allowing others to learn the same for themselves.
The lessons that stay with us engage the head and the heart. The best exhibits and event experiences do the same. They bring stories to life and stimulate discovery; they encourage exploration and create excitement. We are experts doing this for our clients; we need to make the same effort as we grow and renew our workforce. Workforce engagement is more than a free pen or lanyard, a slideshow on an iPad, or trading business cards or resumés. We need to create those same moments to educate, advocate, and expand our industry when we speak at schools and job fairs or when we stand with booth staff on the show floor. We need to teach about the opportunities this industry provides, professional and personal. We need to tell relatable life stories in authentic conversations, sharing enthusiasm about our future and theirs in the industry. When we’re doing “the thing we do,” we need to open the doors and show them just how good we are at it and how good it’s been for us.
My best teachers were those still in their industries — chefs, directors, writers, and researchers who got drunk with rats (for science, of course). With all of them, when the passionate professional burned through the boss or professor persona, that’s when they taught the lessons that helped me survive and thrive across my varied careers. Bringing in student interns or hosting “shadow days” creates opportunities for us to share our passion, experiences, and lessons with the next generation as they consider their futures. Being authentic, sharing what drives us with students, with colleagues, or from our leadership positions provides motivation and creates understanding, humanizing us to those who are looking for our guidance. Authenticity and passion show more than “who” or “what,” it shows our “why.” It gives them a reason to listen to what we’re teaching; it gives them a reason to believe us, as we believe in them. It starts building a relationship; it starts building trust. And trust is the foundation upon which everything is built.
More often now, I find myself in front of students, job seekers, and people politely asking, “What is it you do?” I find most don’t realize a career in exhibits exists. We are shaping how the brands that make up their lives enter their worlds, and they don’t know we’re here. They don’t know the opportunities the industry offers: traveling the world, inventing new technologies, or simply being free to create with our hands, pixels, or words. They have no idea because we haven’t been educating them about what they could have. If we want to have a workforce — an industry — in the future, we need to be teaching them about it.
Teaching Young People Breaking into the Industry
We are strong believers in helping young people learn and thrive as they make their way into the events industry. Throughout this blog series, we’ll continue to direct young professionals to the Exhibitions and Events Workforce Development Federation for resources, job boards, and even a LinkedIn group for support. We believe that you can do great things in this industry if you’re willing to learn.
This blog is part of Sam Ogren’s “Workforce Solutions” series. To follow along, be sure to check out the Workforce Solutions category on our blog menu.