Your Marketing Big Sister

I was absolutely honoured and delighted to record this conversation for all the (soon-to-be) graduates out there feeling either terrified/overwhelmed by the job market or behind in terms of the job search. There is work (and hope) after graduation when you prepare properly and start right where you are. My lovely guests told us what they did to land a job successfully in this difficult job market - and I was all ears! Pens at the ready - this episode is packed-full with practical, tried-and-tested advice.

Visit Meena McDonald’s website to learn more.

For career coaching services, please visit my website: Marketing Career Advice - 1 to 1 Sessions

Download Margaux’s guide: Why marketing isn’t valued and how to change that for more actional advice for marketing professionals.

Iarăși mă doare maxilarul pentru că am zâmbit prea mult! Dar nu se poate altfel când invitata mea este Georgiana Ghiciuc - designer și fondator al brandului de pantofi 💗 MAD Shoes (). Pe lângă acest rol, Georgiana este și vorbitoare a 3 limbi străine, fostă profesoară universitară cu un doctorat în Științe Politice, o specialistă în employer branding și gazda a podcastului The Madgician. Un parcurs profesional și academic impresionant despre care am discutat intr-un episod anterior. De data aceasta insă am povestit despre viața în diaspora, despre integrarea într-o altă țară și cultură, uneori navigând un nou domeniu profesional. Provocarea e mare, roadele pe măsură. Despre acomodare, diferențe culturale dintre România și Germania (și Anglia pe alocuri, prin prisma experienței mele), despre dorul de casă și de părinți am discutat cu Georgiana in cadrul acestui episod atipic (nefiind axat pe carieră).Am ales acest subiect pentru a împărtăși experiența noastră și concluziile aferente cu românii care se gândesc să se stabilească în străinătate. Dacă rezonați cu poveștile, dificultățile și bucuriile noastre, nu ezitați să ne scrieți. Vă mulțumim și sperăm că această discuție vă este de folos!

In this podcast episode (which I loved recording), Phil Treagus-Evans discusses his journey as a bestselling author and the principles behind his book, 'Human First Marketing - The Art of Being Seen, Trusted and Remembered.' He emphasises the importance of treating customers as real people, the challenges he faced while writing the book, and some sound business and marketing principles we should all take to heart. I've highlighted so many paragraphs of Phil's book (it's that good a read). One paragraph that encapsulates Phil's vision and advice for marketers is this: "It's not about getting quick-wins but building long-term success with loyal customers and earning trust and admiration for your brand." Human-First Marketing, pg. 88.

This conversation explores the freelancing journey of a marketing professional turned entrepreneur - Lucy Smith. The discussion covers the challenges and opportunities of this career path, the importance of defining services and pricing, building a reputation through testimonials, and strategies for finding clients. It emphasises collaboration over competition, shares lessons learned from mistakes, and highlights the significance of setting boundaries for work-life balance. Additionally, Lucy introduces her new tool, Thistl, designed to help individuals grow their personal brands online - https://thistl.io/ https://lucy-smith.com/

My conversation with Nick Halder was packed-full of useful advice for both employers and employees, marketing professionals as well as individuals outside of this field, job seekers, students and frankly people at all stages of their career. One of the most intriguing (and potentially controversial) topics we’ve addressed is how much meaning we should (or shouldn’t) assign to our work (min. 15:43). We also spoke about AI’s impact on work and human potential (min. 12:44) and discussed & debated the usefulness of 5-year career plans. We hope you’ll enjoy listening to this episode.

KEY TAKEAWAYS1. Risk-taking can lead to significant career growth opportunities.2. Understanding both client and agency perspectives enhances marketing effectiveness.3. "Interviews are a necessary evil in job searching." Research the company thoroughly before an interview. Use the STAR method to structure your answers.Managing nerves is crucial for interview success.4. Collaboration among marketers can enhance professional growth for all those involved.I hope you’ll enjoy this episode as much as I did.

KEY CONCLUSIONS1. Diverse marketing teams lead to better campaigns. Inclusive marketing practices can attract a wider audience.2. Age diversity within a Marketing team is crucial for understanding different audiences.3. Equity implies different responses to different needs. Offering the same treatment or resources to everybody can sometimes be the unequitable thing to do. Jaysica explains why.4. Research is essential for developing effective EDI policies.5. Empathy and kindness are vital in workplace interactions.6. Diversity enriches the workplace and enhances creativity as people bring different insights and experiences to the table.

KEY DISCUSSION TOPICSStrategies for CEOs during challenging times. Flexibility and adaptability are key in navigating business challenges. Open communication fosters collaboration and problem-solving during tough times.Building trust and transparency is crucial for successful partnerships. Long-term relationships with clients lead to sustainable business success.Transitioning to an SME can offer more direct impact and innovation opportunities.How the pandemic has shifted perceptions about remote work and collaboration and created opportunities for this Romanian business.Successful businesses prioritise empathy and human connection.

I love to see marketing professionals succeed and we all know that it starts with the marketing plan. Here’s how to create a plan that won’t flop, won’t make you look bad and will support the business’ objectives in the new year. Onwards and upwards!

“What we do see is people aren't being replaced when they leave. So you have more natural attrition.Certainly in creative industries there are fewer entry level jobs because a lot of those starter positions (where you learn the trade) have been already replaced by machines.So that actually leads - from a societal and from a commercial standpoint - that if you have no juniors, then you'll never get seniors.We need to think about how the youth are working more on the same level as the senior people.” Jon Bains, Founder of Obsolete.com

“Really think about who you're writing for, you don't want to just write about the features all the time or how great your product is. You want to think about your audience. What are their pain points?” Erica Coulehan, Content Marketer and Owner of EC-Marketing.

Throughout my career, I’ve started new jobs a handful of times. My experience - including both mistakes and things done correctly - has informed this episode in which I’m sharing a few tried-and-tested principles for navigating a new job successfully.

Kiran is the CEO of Cambridge Marketing College, a Chartered Marketer, Fellow of the CIM and Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Marketors.Kiran is the author of Assessing the Marketing Environment (2009, FT Pearson) and Marketing and the Law (2013, Kogan Page), among other books and study guides. She has also undertaken research at Kings College, London, into distance education theories.

Are events making you feel anxious? Are you new to the event arena and don't know where to start? You're not alone, I was there too.In this episode, I'm sharing a few of the key lessons I've learned since I started planning events as a Marketing Manager back in 2014. I hope you'll enjoy!

A graduate of Manchester Metropolitan University, Rebecca Wheble launched Silly Goose Digital in 2023 and she is - by far - one of the most passionate marketers I have ever met.Tune into this episode if you want to fall in love with marketing again.

The first main decision you will face as you transition into freelancing is how you will market your services. There are two main choices: to create a company brand [New Marketing Agency Name] or you become the brand [Insert Own Name].One of my mentees was recently confronted with this dilemma which was keeping her in stuck mode. She was trying to decide which option was best. If you too are on the precipice of becoming a freelancer - here's my advice for you.

“The Things We Learned in 1991 are Completely Different From What I'm Teaching Today” Dr Candan Elmer - Course Leader - BA (Hons) Digital Marketing, University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)

"The differences [between markets and cultures] might even be a good thing. Also, don't be a perfectionist. Nobody knows everything, especially not when they're just beginning something new. Everybody starts from scratch."Denise Strohsahl, Small Business Brand & Marketing Consultant based in Edinburgh

"While we understand that, sometimes, clients have commercial objectives that require being quite tactical, we will set the strategy/build the train tracks at the same time."I think, ultimately, a lot of people who go into marketing are creative and they want to do something creative and something that is value led."

"LinkedIn’s perception of a <like> is shrinking over time. It has less impact in the LinkedIn ecosphere as time goes on. LinkedIn wants meaningful comments, human interaction." James Potter, The Linked In Man, Director at The Network Coach Limited

“If their audience and potential clients are on TikTok/Instagram and they’re very good at leveraging these platforms to generate awareness and business – then boom! They have a winning formula that could potentially translate into business success.”….The other big problem I see with freelancing as a fresh graduate is that you don’t even know what you don’t know. ”

“Don’t just think: I did these things at my job. Think about how those things that you did set you apart, make you relevant for the position that you are looking to get hired for.”….Marketers are their best selves when they believe in and love the product they’re marketing. And if you don’t, it is hard to really get excited about your role. ”Lauren Berkemeyer, Chief Marketing Officer at YuLife, Ex-Dow Jones, WSJ marketer

“If you've got a passion for storytelling and painting pretty pictures that leads to a behaviour change then marketing is for you. Because marketing is about influencing and changing behaviours so that someone will decide they want to buy your brand or they want to ride on your airplane or they want to be part of your architecture practice. So the influencer as much as it is a very new-ish thing it’s not new to marketing. It’s just got a new title.Marketers have been influencers since the day marketing was born.”Marie Grieve, Founder and Managing Director of Costello Palmer Communications.

“The things that make words worth reading are empathy, imagination, creativity, human relationships … AI is just a very, very comprehensive answering machine. Quality will trump quantity - always.”Eloise Leeson-Smith, Corporate Linguist, Speaker, Podcaster and Founder of Olim Communications

Welcome to Your Marketing Big Sister podcast - where I share professional advice with a sisterly twist. I've created this platform to support and encourage future and existing marketing professionals who want to learn, develop, figure out their next steps AND need a marketing cheerleader in their lives. I'm here for the questions too. Send them to me and I'll address them in future episodes.