Meet

Max Pete

Community Lead

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My Story

Community Lead

Experience: 2 years

Colour: Green Olive

Book: Too many to name just one 🙂

Pets: Yes – Two dogs, Scotch (German Shepard) and Hoagie (Maltese/shitzu)

Connect with others in this field! Also, don't be afraid that you might not know it all, because none of us do. Keep the learner mindset and be willing to experiment.

How did you start into community management? What was your career path across the years?

I started in community management by being super involved in a freelance community during the pandemic. I didn’t even know that this was a profression, but I fell into it by being super involved in the community that I was in which led to me working for them part-time as their community manager.

Before this, I was freelancing myself for the past 5 years but always knew that I wanted something else. So glad to have found community 🙂

What have been the main challenges of your career?

Honestly all of the learning that I had to do jumping into a new career field. When I was freelancing I felt super confident because I was doing that for years. I definitely dealt with a lot of imposter syndrome as a community manager (still do!) but I love knowing that there is and always will be so much to learn.

What has helped you develop yourself as a community professional?

Connecting with other community managers and being a part of other communities such as Community Club, Uncommon, etc. I have learned so much from others and really am grateful for having that opportunity to do so on a daily basis.

Also, just testing and experimenting has helped a lot with growth. Learning that there isn’t a set “one all be all” guideline for being successful in this career, so being able to test out what works well for me and adapting.

What's your favourite community platform?

Really enjoying Slack + and a resource hub like Notion.

What is “community” for you?

Community is connection and it is a safe place for belonging. It is being able to meet others and establish friendships. It’s also a place to help you grow as an indivdual and help others along the way too.

What's one single strategy that you may suggest to increase member engagement?

Connecting with your members 1:1, and getting to know their likes, dislikes, etc. Your community members have a lot of the answers that you are looking for as a community builder, so ask them.

What would you recommend to those just starting into community management?

Connect with others in this field! Also, don’t be afraid that you might not know it all, because none of us do. Keep the learner mindset and be willing to experiment.

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