Why You Need Aliza Licht's 'Leave Your Mark'

If you work in Marketing or PR you should have heard of the infamous DKNY PR Girl aka Aliza Licht. Not only is she a wife, a mother and the SVP of Global Communications at DKNY, but a social media legend and a Twitter phenomenon. She released a book earlier this year called 'Leave Your Mark' helping young professionals kill it in their careers and rock social media, so of course, I got myself a copy. Here is a breakdown of the most important things I learnt from Leave Your Mark, how they relate to my experience and why you need it on your bookshelf.  

FINDING YOUR CAREER PATH

 Choosing a future career and finding your passion can be tricky for everyone. "What am I good at? What if I change my mind?" - these are all thoughts that crossed my mind when choosing my University degree. When I was younger I wanted to be a wedding planner or an interior designer, but now I am lucky enough to be pursing my true passion, Marketing & PR within the beauty and fashion industry. Aliza provides an 8 question quiz at the start of this book that will help you reflect on your current path. She also emphasises that you only get one life, but you also get many chances and it's never too late to take a new road. So find what you love and do more of it! 

SUCK YOUR INTERNSHIPS DRY

After graduating it took me about 3 months to secure an internship that I was SUPER excited about. It took me a while to find a position and although this was disheartening at the time, I was over the moon as I was holding out for something in Fashion/Beauty PR & Communications and I got it! Although unpaid, the 6 month experience and insights into the industry I gained have been invaluable to me. Aliza writes about how important it is to make the most out of every experience thrown your way, from dressing the part, anticipating your boss's needs and just simply saying yes. 

ROCKING SOCIAL MEDIA

If you want to take advice from anyone about how to rock social media, it's from Aliza Licht. She was the voice behind the widely popular 'DKNY PR Girl' and pretty much changed the way communication between brands and consumers was viewed. Her main tip for growing a brand, personally or professionally, is top quality content and engagement. Engage with your followers, share other peoples posts and become the conversation. If you do all this along side creating high quality content, you are well on your way to 'rocking social media.'

BE YOUR OWN BRAND

Social media allows you to build a personal brand. You are able to strategically shape and amplify what others perceive you to be through an online profile. Aliza suggests that it's super important to actually be yourself and be true to the core principles you stand for as a person when building your online brand, as well as being honest about the marketable skills you bring to the table. 

WHEN YOU GET TO THE TOP DON'T BE AN A**HOLE

There is nothing better than a motivational and inspiring manager who you can not only learn from, but also look up to as a person. I was lucky enough to experience this during my internship. My manager Sophie motivated me, gave compliments where due but also gave me constructive criticism which allowed me to learn, grow and build vital skills. Unfortunately I have also experienced the complete opposite to this during other work experiences which has made me even more aware of how important it is to simply be a nice person. Aliza draws on her own experiences on being a leader and gives you guidance on what it takes to motivate a team. You might be surprised to know that her top tip is - "Don't be an a**hole" 

I would totally recommend purchasing this book. It's ripe with information plus it's a real life journey with real life experiences from one of fashion's most inspirational women. She gives you everything from job interview tips, cover letter advice to surviving those office politics.
You'd be silly to miss it :) Buy it here.