Journey to Graduation: Part Three

Informational Interview: PR and Communications Specialist Tyler Adams of TINYpulse.

Inspired. That’s the feeling I left with from Friday’s meeting.

This conversation came by way of making a connection at a recent job fair I attended in Seattle for veterans. My first job fair, also my first veteran-oriented event. One I hesitated even going to. The veteran community isn’t one I feel a tremendous connection with. Yes, I’m a veteran, but it isn’t a defining quality for me like it is for others.

I like to think that my greatest professional accomplishments are still ahead of me, so I’m not exactly interested in beating my chest over my past successes.

I considered not going; more than once, too. I even thought about turning around and driving back to Arlington even as I walked towards the building after paying stadium-priced parking because of the Mariners game going on. Even as I entered, the hesitation remained. “Will I ever feel the sense of community these people do?” I thought to myself. But, instead of the easy route (I hate easy – bold, italicized and underlined; that’s how much I hate it), I decided to embrace what has become my personal mantra over the last two years: Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

So, I went in. And I’m so glad I did.

That’s where I met Tyler Adams via his personal hype man, Ben, who just so happened to be the same MOS I was when I was in the Army: a cavalry scout. I told Ben what I was looking for and he gave me the elevator pitch of what their business did. I liked Ben’s personality, but I liked even more that he was representing a SaaS company, an industry I have a lot of interest in. He asked a few more pointed questions and lit up from my response. “You have to meet Tyler. He’s a PR magician, man, you have to meet him.” Sure I do, I thought, with slight condescension. My internal monologue never stops, especially when I’m in less than comfortable situations.

After doing a quick LinkedIn audit, I quickly noticed Tyler defined himself in similar ways that I define myself. Things like serving others, being a wordsmith and solutions-oriented to name just a few. Our conversation went well and we agreed to meet up again the following week. At the time, it didn’t sound like his company had an opening for me, and it would be a decent commute for myself to drive all the way into Seattle, but he was still interested in facilitating my path. I thought, here’s a guy I can seemingly do nothing for right now, but he’s still interested in helping me… weird…

I like weird.

We made arrangements for me to come to the TINYpulse headquarters the following week to get a bit more granular in our conversation and my job search where he allowed me to conduct my informational interview. He’d read up on me and saw what I was doing, which is to be expected, but again, I had nothing to offer Tyler. They were not seeking a public relations, communications, marketing, or social media specialist – positions I’m most equipped for. Sure, you could say he was cultivating a future advocate for their brand and product, but that wasn’t his motive and you could tell that by the questions he was asking me. Our conversation felt more qualitative than quantitative, if that makes sense.

Now, I never share other people’s adversity, because it isn’t mine to share, but it’s always something I ask in my interviews: “What has been your greatest adversity?” I ask this not only because I find the answers to be incredibly insightful, but because it also allows me to get a certain sense of the person I’m speaking with. Some take that question and refer to past professional challenges they’ve had to negotiate, but some choose to speak of things more personal in nature. When people choose to embrace a certain level of vulnerability by sharing with you their experience, they are also simultaneously choosing to share with you their pain, which, to me, is an indefinable illustration of strength.

Tyler chose the latter.

What makes Tyler different, aside from seeming like such a genuine person, is his sense of compassion and empathy. He’s attentive to his audience and an active and deliberate listener. Sure, he’s a smooth-talking individual, but he seems more interested in hearing what others have to say rather than hearing his own voice. Maybe that’s his nature, or maybe his background as a writer, but it’s a quality I want associated with myself.

When Tyler did speak of himself, which only happened after specifically guiding the conversation that way, he told a story that resonated with me in a way that gave me a lot of peace. What I mean by that is, with graduation only a month away, there’s a lot of anxiety that comes with trying to find the right runway for my approach, much less the right tarmac to land on. He spoke of having a non-traditional background that led him to the position he was in. He spoke of challenges along the way. He spoke of having to turn the soil at one point in his life. Being a 35-year-old soon-to-be college graduate, I needed to hear this. I needed to see an example of a non-traditional path to success, and there are many out there, but not all I can relate to. Tyler, I felt I could relate to. It provided a sense of stability for me in this search, which can sometimes feel like you’re just drifting in the open waters hoping at some point to be seen.

Some of these interviews lead to direct and specific insights. My interview with Lindsay White from Tagboard gave me a lot of motivation to adopt a more aggressive mindset. My interview with Jessica Piha of Funko challenged me to synthesize and funnel my interests and focus. Jody Hawkins of Boeing encouraged me to embrace and showcase my passion in my delivery and pitch. CNN PR contributor Jose Moreno spoke of defining my value and leveraging my military history, “You sacrificed and gave us some of your best years – take that shit back.”

I loved that, even though it was in contradiction with how I felt at the time.

While Tyler offered several great pieces of advice guidance and shared development resources that could mesh well with the previously mentioned, what I found most profound was his relaxing demeanor, inviting communication and leadership styles. His passion in serving others is one I felt true inspiration from – and will continue to be a quality I look to cultivate and refine in myself, but in my own ways.

This is all my mosaic, and I’m excited to incorporate these pieces in the ongoing project.