The story of how I got my present social media contracting gig is one that wouldn’t have been thought of decades ago. I got it by DMing Rachel Strella, the owner of #Strella Social Media.
In the fall of 2022, I was rejected from a social media job — and by that, I mean I was ghosted. The company never even gave me an interview. So, I felt a little disappointed about not getting a chance at the social media job I was looking forward to.
Soon after, I was in my Social Media Strategy class at Shippensburg University when Rachel Strella, founder and CEO of #Strella, and Laney Goff, Executive VP, were guest presenters that day.
My class experienced Rachel’s and Laney’s talk via a recording from their live presentation to an earlier class. The focus was on live tweeting, and we were asked to live tweet as we watched the recording. I noticed Rachel was liking all of my tweets and even retweeted one. I thought it was awesome how active and hands-on she was.
By the end of the talk, I knew #Strella was where I wanted to be. Rachel and Laney practiced everything they presented. That was what I was looking for in a job. I knew I wanted to reach out to them, but my professor shut off the screen before I could get their contact information. And so I began to look for their information myself.
Unfortunately, after trying for a while, I was only able to find the company’s email. I knew I wanted to reach out to Rachel directly, so I did what any Gen Zer would do: I slid into her DMs.
Yes, it’s true! I sent Rachel a long message on X (formerly Twitter) and basically said everything I would have said in an email… and she messaged back! After a little back and forth, we took our conversation over to email. I set up an interview with Laney, and the rest is history!
Reaching out to Rachel through social media was taking a risk, but I knew what I wanted, and I wasn’t going to rest until I took my shot. I’m so thankful I did. A little over a year later, I am still with #Strella Social Media, and I couldn’t be happier. I have made great connections with my team members and strengthened my relationships with Rachel and Laney.
So the next time you’re thinking of sliding into someone’s DMs, DO IT! You never know what may come from it.
