Empowering. Inspiring. Motivating.
These three words best describe the two-day Her Conference in New York City. Her Campus hosts this annual event, which “gives college women the insights, information and inspiration they need to conquer their campuses and their careers with confidence.”
Throughout the conference, breakfast was served and sponsored by Chobani; hair, makeup and Linkdin photos were provided by Ulta Beauty; Diva Cup helped innovate menstrual care; Vera Bradley gave away goodie bags; Suja clenched our thirst; Shake Shack filled our appetites at lunch and Tinder allowed us to swipe right to enter giveaways.
Both days of the conference went as follows. First, breakfast. Then with a welcoming address from the co-founders of Her Campus; Windsor Hanger Western, Stephanie Kaplan Lewis and Annie Wang. Each morning’s keynote speakers were then followed by two panel sessions. Next, lunch was served and the afternoon keynote spoke. The speech was followed by a workshop. Then the evening keynote closed the conference. The Her Campus co-founders ended the day with gift giveaways and a closing statement.
Saturday morning’s keynote Rebecca Minkoff, a fashion designer, kicked off the conference by talking about her failures and successes from her fashion line. Three key takeaways from her Q&A everyone should know are:
“No is the beginning of yes.”
“Break the rules and do your own thing.”
“Know your strengths and weaknesses and be honest about what you are good at.”
Andi Dorfman, the former bachelorette, was Saturday’s afternoon keynote. She eloquently spoke about the “path” to perseverance:
P- Preparation
A- Adaptation
T- Tribulations
H- Happiness
The last keynote on Saturday was Editor in Chief of SELF magazine Joyce Chang. She talked about her successes and failures leading up to being the editor in chief. Her three key takeaways were:
“Now is the time that you can introduce yourself as how you want to be, not what you are.”
“Be the person you wish you needed when you were younger.”
“Read your bosses mind by paying attention to detail.”
On Sunday morning, Editor in Chief of Essence, Vanessa K. Luca, gave attendees 10 secrets of success:
1. Know what you stand for and what you don’t
2. Don’t rest on your laurels
3. Believe in the power of failure
4. Trust your inner compass
5. Take the risk that takes you somewhere new
6. Look back, but only to see how far you’ve come
7. Don’t be afraid to do the unexpected
8. Remain humble, “but let ‘em know”
9. Never stop learning because it gives you courage
10. A winner never quits and a quitter never wins
Sunday’s afternoon keynote speaker was Nastia Liukin, an Olympic gold medal gymnast. She discussed her career both on and off the uneven bars. Her advice was:
Read the book The Secret
“You can never quit on a bad day.”
“You are getting stronger during those bad days.”
“Be proud of yourself despite what anyone else says.”
Lastly on Sunday, Samantha Power, U.S. Ambassador of the United Nations spoke about the importance in helping change the world. Her key takeaways were:
“It’s hard to achieve goals you define broadly.”
“Everything comes at the expense of everything else.”
Each of the workshops and panels were filled with informative tips on how to get the dream job or internship, how to have a killer cover letter and online portfolio and how to personalize your brand that authentically showcases your truest and purest self. Great words of advice from the conference overall are as follows:
Be indispensible and go over and beyond all the time.
You have to work at a brand you are very passionate about because you are telling that brand’s story.
Be tenacious, be bold and be positive.
If you’re going to leave a job have a good reason, but if you love your job, stay with it. Don’t follow the trend of job-hopping.
At the office, don’t be a complainer and don’t cling to the person complaining all the time.
On your online portfolio, create an aesthetic that represents you.
Make your portfolio professional and unique to you, but not too formal.