Last September I had a chance encounter in Montreal. I was in town for PodCamp Montreal, walking along the street to meet up with Julien Smith and a bunch of other folks, when I bumped into my ex-housemate. Turned out she’d decided to take a random trip to Montreal and by a bizarre coincidence we bumped into each other. Small world.

Why am I writing about this on this blog?

Because the PR world is a small one, especially in Canada. As experience after experience has taught me, you will keep running into people long after you’ve ceased working with them (just last week I had the pleasure of presenting to my ex-government colleagues at an event they held, which felt like a reunion).

The impressions you leave people with, and the way you treat others, will stay with you for a long time. Everyone in our industry should remember that at all times. That goes especially for people at the beginning of their careers – the odds are fairly significant that you’ll run into people again down the road – but, I think, applies to everyone at all stages of their career path.

I was working on a presentation this week which Yasmine Kashefi and I are giving to her old school at Centennial College next week. One of the key career tips we landed on was remembering that the work doesn’t end when you land a job; it begins. Likewise, your reputation-building activities continue throughout your career.

Out of sight does not mean out of mind. What’s more, being visible online means you’re never out of sight.

It’s a small world.