Kareem Bonner

Kareem Bonner

BA, Sociology
2001
Senior Digital Marketing Specialist

Current Role

Senior Digital Marketing Specialist

I am the Senior Digital Marketing Specialist at Toronto Global. I am responsible for leading social media campaigns, writing blog posts, SEO & SEM initiatives, and maintaining our company website.

What factors led you to enter your current field of work?

I took a lot of risks and chances, and also had some good luck on the way. I went back to school many years later for Digital Marketing Management, as well as doing various certifications and courses through Google Analytics Academy, LinkedIn and Coursea to name a few. To prepare for the job search and finding employment I build up my professional network on LinkedIn, where I have close to 3,000 connections and counting.

What does success mean to you?

Success to me is being able to spend your life in own way, and having no regrets about it.

If you weren’t in your current professional role, what would you be doing?

I think I would be full time teaching Brazilian Ji-Jitsu classes and seminars within the community. If not that, then being a web developer

How do you build and maintain your professional network, and how has this benefited your career?

If I am on LinkedIn, I look to share articles related to my field and share within my network. I also look at my connections list and look to add new connections. When I send a connection request, I always do a personal message invitation for all my requests and have over a 90% success rate.
If I am at a networking event, I always look to make a connection with 1-2 people and nothing more.
These moves have benefited my career, as when I was looking for jobs, needing assistance and advice with projects; I had a wide network of people to connect with.

What are the strategies you use to remain resilient during challenging situations?

I limit the amount of time I watch the news and media, as if you watch too much of it; you'll go crazy.
I make sure to stick to a routine which consists of waking up at 7 a.m. and going to bed at the same time every day at 11:30 p.m. I exercise daily with 4 days of cardio and body conditioning, and 3 days of yoga and mobility movement.
On social media, I try my best to post positive vibes and activities and reach out to family and friends to see how they are doing.
I also write in a gratitude journal as it reminds me of the good things going on and how to remain grateful

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