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Jade is the Head of Marketing for v2food, Australia.
1. Why did you choose advertising/marketing as a career path?
Whilst studying Business Management at University of Surrey we had an internship year where we need to apply for jobs. I sent out a few applications, for marketing, sales and HR (clearly, I wasn't being picking) I sent jobs to companies who I liked the sound of the job role, or the company culture itself. Applications to Colgate, McDonalds and Mattel ended up landing me a job at Mattel doing Marketing & Sales internship. The Idea was that you spent 6 months in marketing & then 6 months in Sales. I started in marketing working on the Boys portfolio of Hot Wheels & Toy Story, loved it so much, that I asked to Stay instead of transition to Sales - and that was that - a career predominantly in marketing from then on!
2. What's the best advice you'd give to your younger self who's just started their career?
Work out your longer-term career aspiration early on e.g., if you want to be a CEO then you need to seek out more experiences & more job roles than just marketing - I have always found other job areas interesting, & I wish that at an Assistant Brand Manager Level or Brand Management level that I went around the grounds & got a job in Sales, Supply & other functions to gain more diverse experience. The further you progress; the more people tend to point out what experience you don't/haven't vs what you have. Ticking this off early potentially opens more doors, sooner.
3. What do you look for when hiring young people?
Depending on the level or job requirement, technical ability features to some degree but I believe anything can be taught/learnt. I mainly look for behaviours: Enthusiasm & Passion, eager/willingness to learn / curiosity & a clear communication style. I also consider the team dynamic of others to see if they would fit in well with team & broader company culture.
4. How do I make my resume stand out?
My Cv isn't magical, its very simply, I like to follow a standard flow. See below. To make more of an impact you could use a CV template creator or find someone to help you.
1. Start with a blurb about you at the top, demonstrating ambitions, behaviours & big successes.
2. List out career experience
3. Pick 3 top behaviours/strengths you are known for & detail them out
4. Go into career history & highlight Key Responsibilities & Key Achievements
I used to include some testimonials from people who have worked with me previously which was a nice addition when I didn't have too much job experiences."
5. What skills have been most beneficial for you?
Business & Commercial Acumen, Understand Data & deriving insights, balancing Strategy Building & Short-term executional delivery, relationship building, Presenting with Confidence, Sense of Urgency & Taking ownership of deliverables.
6. Do you need a degree?
Unfortunately, I still believe you do these days to get a professional corporate job. It is a pre-requisite on many job applications.
7. What was a key lesson you learnt in your career to date?
Listening is the hardest, but most valuable skill. Learn to listen properly.
8. Have your reasons for joining the industry changed over time?
Absolutely, as you find out what you enjoy doing more & more your views shape & the jobs you apply for change over time.
9. Have you ever failed? How did you react?
Lots of times! Sometimes frustrated, sometimes disappointed. sometimes no reaction, just keep moving. if you keep a progress over perfection mindset & learning & growing approach then failure doesn't really happen! Trying to keep your emotions in check when you are so personally attached to a project or deliverable is the hardest part!
10. If you had the chance to re-do your career knowing what you know now, what would you do differently?
As I said above, I would seek out more experiences & roles within different departments or find a company that rotates you around departments (like P&G, Toyota etc) & I would try to move more internationally.