Handshake is proud to elevate the voices of top creators on our feed! Meet Madi Knowles, a recent grad at Southern New Hampshire University who majored in English and creative writing—and is now building a standout personal brand as a content creator.
Read her full interview below and follow her on Handshake for more.
Handshake: Madi, give us a TL;DR on you!
Madi: Hi, I’m Madi and I studied Creative Writing and English at Southern New Hampshire University. I graduated with a Bachelor’s this year, and I went fully online as I live in South Georgia, near Savannah. I also volunteer at my church where I work in the Audio/Visual team. I also sing in the church band and I used to help with teens in their youth group.
How did you decide what to study, and what's your dream job?
I decided on my studies in Creative Writing and English as I love to read and write. It is something I have always been fond of, ever since I was a little girl. I am currently pursuing my dream job of being a fiction author and in the next year I will be self-publishing my debut Young Adult Sci-Fi novel.
I have always loved being creative and working with my hands which is why I started drawing, sculpting and playing instruments such as guitar and piano. Those interests then spiraled into my current love for writing. But one of the main reasons I decided to pursue my dream job as an author was my family, but most significantly my sister.
She pushed me to run with the ideas in my head and to turn it into a novel. She has always supported me, and has been helping me to take the next steps in publishing my novel as well. So I am incredibly grateful for her and my family who have always supported me in all of my creative endeavors.
How have you used Handshake in your job search and/or academic journey?
I first learned about Handshake through my university, just before I started my senior year, and it has been a great help in so many ways. Being able to find other students on Handshake and seeing them posting their stories has made me feel really welcomed on the platform, plus the community has been so great.
It has also been helpful in my job searches! There are so many remote jobs on the platform which have been perfect for me as I move around often, so knowing that I can use Handshake to find real and reliable job postings has made finding work so much easier. It is easily my favorite job site as I feel it has been the most dependable for me.
What's your biggest advice/tip/hack for an aspiring creator who's hoping to build their personal brand on Handshake?
My biggest tip for an aspiring creator on Handshake would be to connect with others. Connecting with other creators on Handshake, whether it be liking, following, or commenting on their posts has definitely made me want to post more. Everyone on the platform is so nice and I love being able to see everyone’s posts.
Another tip of mine would be to make content you are comfortable with! If you enjoy just talking to the camera, do that! If you like being informative, do that! But make sure to create content that people can engage with! Ask questions, and invite your audience to have a genuine connection and conversation with you.
Lastly, I’d suggest keeping your content short and sweet! And when I say that I mean create short, quality content. We live in the era of social media, which means that many people won’t want to watch a three minute video and only get one minute of real information. So making your content short—around a minute long—and sweet—quality over quantity—is very important!
Give us two truths and a lie about you!
- I have a book account on Instagram (@madisonknowleswrites)
- I love buying and caring for plants.
- I hate chocolate.
To find out the lie—connect with Madi on Handshake.