Presentation for Jonesboro Young Professionals Network May 6, 2016 by James Hutto @ValeoMarketing A bit of a different topic here as I covered 5 points that I wish someone had told me when I was early in my career. I went through the reason why you SHOULDN'T focus on creating a personal brand, and why I think social is overrated for the typical professional and a complete waste of time. Just focus on creating the best product you can - meaning yourself and your work output. The rest will follow naturally if you do that one thing... just like the example I gave about Evernote. Then I went through my top tips for becoming a more persuasive writer, since *so much* of our communication today is written. Writing is a skill that needs to be practiced, just like playing the piano. And a lot of what we were all taught in school is NOT what you should do in a business environment if you want to maximize your effectiveness. Gave the tip to check out the Hemingway app (www.hemingwayapp.com) for a low LOE way to start editing yourself with my tips. Becoming a better presenter was also covered, and a detailed discussion about salary negotiations and how you can turn the tables and take control in those situations. I talked at length about salary negotiations, and I've updated those slides to include the most basic points I was trying to make on each (since you can't hear me talking through this deck, obviously). I hope you find this helpful if you happen across it. Give me a like or a share if you do!