Your Voice Is a Key Part of Your Communications Career Strategy
There's advice we wish someone had shared with us at graduation. Not just the motivational kind from a commencement speech, but the honest kind about what this industry rewards and where the real edge is for someone starting out. So we're sharing it with you: the future communications leaders getting ready to give it all you've got.
Lead with curiosity.
The communications field is transforming: AI is embedded in our day-to-day lives, from how strategies get built to how research gets done and content gets drafted. While you don't need to be an AI expert, you do need to get curious. The people who thrive aren't the ones who came in knowing the most — they're the ones who were open-minded and unafraid to look like a beginner in pursuit of something new.
AI is your collaborator, not your crutch.
Use AI responsibly to support execution, pressure-test ideas, and sharpen your drafts — but stay in the driver's seat. AI can synthesize, but your unique perspective is the one thing it cannot replicate. In a field built on trust between teammates, clients, and media, that human distinction is everything.
Study the media landscape like your job depends on it — because it does.
Discovery has shifted from traditional media and keyword search toward conversational AI and Generative Engine Optimization. Brand reputation is now shaped, in part, by how large language models perceive and describe a brand. Be a voracious consumer of news across every platform — from legacy outlets to Substacks, social media editors, influencers, and your LLM of choice. Understanding where audiences are, how they consume news, and what shapes their perception is foundational to successful communications work.
Your energy is part of your professional brand.
When you walk into a client or supervisor meeting, you're making an impression before you say a word. Whether you arrive grounded or scattered, curious or closed — it registers. The communicators who leave a lasting impression understand how their energy operates and when it's working for or against them. Pay attention to this early, and watch for non-verbal cues. It's one of the least-discussed yet most differentiating factors in a long career. As we say at M Booth: how you do anything is everything.
Start building your platform before you think you're ready.
LinkedIn research shows that 44% of Gen Z say not having the right network is the biggest barrier to landing an entry-level role. Building your platform is what opens and nurtures those networks. You don't need a senior title to have a perspective worth sharing — your fresh vantage point is an asset. In an era where AI generates more content than ever, your irreplaceable voice matters more.
Create your personal board of advisors.
Mentorship shapes you; sponsorship moves you. Don't wait to be chosen — make the ask. Be strategic with people's time, invest in the relationships, and bring your own value generously: your cultural fluency, your instincts about AI and emerging media. The most powerful professional relationships are the ones where both people are learning.
And when you're ready, pay it forward. As our colleague Calvin Ryan, who joined M Booth as an intern and was recently promoted to Assistant Account Executive, put it: "Seek feedback endlessly — ask for it directly, but also look for feedback that isn't explicitly called out. If your work is Version 1 and a teammate's is Version 2, every moved comma is a data point. Treating every edit as a lesson is how you bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be."
