Marketing Happy Hour - Q+A: Career Pivots, Navigating Promotions + My Gratitude Practice

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to Marketing Happy Hour. I'm Cassie, consultant, podcaster, and your host. Every Thursday, you'll hear episodes packed with insights from brand leaders on an array of topics from crafting effective marketing strategies and hitting career goals to building leadership skills and launching your own business. Inspired by those unfiltered happy hour combos with peers, this show is all about practical, empowering chats to support your professional journey. So grab your favorite drink and let's get to the episode. Hey there, it's Cassie. Today is a bit of a solo episode day. As I'm recording this, we're just days away from Thanksgiving. And obviously, I'm not going to post an episode on Thursday.

Starting point is 00:00:47 However, I just wanted to kind of jump on quickly and do a fun little solo episode to kickstart going into this holiday week. If you're feeling like me, you're feeling a bit overwhelmed. The holidays are pretty insane, especially being in marketing. I feel like this is the time of year where we're really focused on sales that we're doing within our brands. We are trying to balance spending time with friends and family while also getting everything done that we have to get done before the end of the year. It's also for me a time of

Starting point is 00:01:20 reflection going into a new year, especially of just analyzing what I've accomplished in the last year and just seeing what I want to do in the next year. And so it's kind of, it's kind of a lot, there's a lot of consideration and things to kind of think about, but also I love the holidays. This is my favorite time of year. Christmas is my favorite holiday ever. And so for me, I also have this anxiousness of wanting to enjoy this time of year and slow down and not be so forward thinking right this minute. So I can kind of embrace every festive moment that we're having here. But if you are also feeling overwhelmed, just know that you're not alone.

Starting point is 00:02:04 I'm right there with you and take the space that you need. Take the moments, even if it's just an hour or two at a time to just kind of breathe, rest, relax, and then move forward. Obviously, also Thanksgiving is all about gratitude. And I just want to say thank you to you for listening, for being there, a part of this community. This has been a big transition time for me, just going into the new phase of this podcast. And so just appreciate you taking the time to listen. And I'm really grateful for you. I'm grateful also just for this opportunity to be here on the show, to share and to learn alongside you every single week.

Starting point is 00:02:44 Grateful for my friends and family. I am so thankful to God for just health and everything, just being okay internally and waking up to a brand new day and having just life in front of me. I am so thankful. I recently started doing this really great gratitude practice that has been huge for me of just being in the moment. And what I do every single morning is I have my notebook here on my desk with me. So I remember to do this practice every day. But before I start work, I write down three things that I'm grateful for, as well as three things I'm looking forward to one today, two this week, and then three in the

Starting point is 00:03:23 future. So those are all three individual items that I write down that I'm looking forward to. And this has been such a grounding practice for me because I am very much a forward thinker and I'm always on the go and moving and thinking about what's next. So just being able to kind of take a moment and sit with what I'm excited about and what I'm thankful for, even if it's something small. It just really keeps me in the right mindset to move forward with the day and even the rest of the week. Okay, so another thing I wanted to quickly do just in this episode, I'm going to take just a few minutes to do a Q&A. And some of you have submitted questions, whether it is on our Facebook group, MHH Insiders, or on Instagram. I posted a little question graphic to the story this week, just asking you,

Starting point is 00:04:16 you know, what questions do you have about career, about marketing? So I'm going to go through some of these questions quickly. So this is obviously my opinion and my viewpoint of each of these questions. I'm curious if you have a different response for some of these questions. And if you do, let me know either in an email or in a DM or even in a comment when I share this episode out, letting me know what you think of some of these things. But just going through kind of my past experience of working in house for brands, working for an agency for a bit, and then now running my own business and managing clients on my own. This is how I would respond to these questions just about career and marketing overall. So I'm excited to go through these with you quickly and just hopefully these responses

Starting point is 00:05:06 are encouraging to you and this helps you kind of move forward in some of these questions you may also be facing that some of our community members are. So first question comes from Renee M. And also Julia S. also had a very similar question, but they're both interested in transitioning within marketing. So they would just love to know how to pivot into the industry from scratch or just pivoting within marketing to a different function within the department? So this is a great question. And I know it can be kind of overwhelming to think about starting from scratch and having to just face a new opportunity without feeling like you have experience, but I want to validate you and encourage you that you do have experience and a lot of skills are more transferable than you think. So that's one thing, just feel encouraged

Starting point is 00:06:04 that you have what it takes. It does take time. It takes patience with yourself to pivot to a different role or a different industry, but you can get there with the right steps. So here's a couple of things that I recommend. Number one is if you are transferring to a different industry, for example, I highly encourage you to take up some freelance work. And the reason being is because you can kind of handpick opportunities in the industries that you want to be in. And a good way to kind of start with freelancing is to offer your work at a very competitive rate and just kind of use that as a way to gain experience, to gain feedback from those clients

Starting point is 00:06:42 that you're working with. And a good way to start freelancing is to start with friends or family members that maybe have businesses that you can work with. That's one way early on when I was starting to gain experience that I really built my skill set was freelancing for friends and just asking them, Hey, just be as open with me as possible about feedback on what I'm doing. Another thing that you can do as well as if you are currently working a full-time position is speak to people within your company that are in the area that you want to pivot to. Ask them to have coffee chats. Ask them what skills you need to develop in.

Starting point is 00:07:17 Ask them the pros and cons of what they do and really just be open to hearing what a potential future in that area can look like. The other thing that you should be doing is looking at job descriptions and really noting the skills or the areas or the platforms and programs that you need to be proficient in and start to build your experience in those areas. Now, there's a lot of great educational resources out there that you can tap into. But also, let's say, for example, Adobe Creative Cloud is an area that you really need to be proficient in. Go ahead and grab a low cost subscription to those platforms and just start diving in. Use YouTube to kind of build your

Starting point is 00:07:56 skill skill set in those areas. That's a really great way to start. It does take time outside of your full time role to do that, but that is going to equip you for that pivot. As I mentioned too, there are a lot of parallels in roles more than you think. So go ahead and take a look at those job descriptions and just note some areas that you do have proficiency in and make sure those are highlighted on your resume and cover letter. Also, the last thing that you should be doing is letting your leaders know what areas you want to pivot into. Chances are you let them know what you want to do in the future and maybe they have some opportunities for you to start building your

Starting point is 00:08:35 skill set in those areas or participate in projects that tap into that skill set in that area. Really let people back you and start to advocate for you. And down the road, maybe an opportunity opens up and they'll think of you first because you let them know that that's something that you want to do. Next question comes from Jacqueline E. And Jacqueline said, how to gain more experiences when starting out. So this is kind of similar to the previous question. For me, when I was first starting out, I did a lot of freelancing. I raised my hand to do a variety of different projects in my early positions to really get scrappy and learn about how things work, learn about the functions of the business. And so

Starting point is 00:09:17 freelancing and raising hands for opportunities were really the two biggest things that I did early on to gain experience when I first started out in my career, but also just education. Self-education really is another huge step. So learning about the different programs and platforms and certifications that you could and should be getting in order to stand out when looking for jobs and take time on your own to pursue those different educational opportunities. Sierra D asks, as someone early in my marketing career without a formal degree, I've often struggled with understanding whether a degree is truly necessary to stand out. I also find it challenging to differentiate myself in roles with over a thousand applicants. Without feedback on

Starting point is 00:10:02 why I wasn't chosen, it's tough to identify areas where I need to improve. Okay. So this is kind of a multi-part question here. So understanding whether a degree is necessary. So I got to tell you, this is a very relative question. My response is really, it depends. It depends on what you're looking to do. It depends on the kind of brands and companies you're looking to apply for. I would kind of tap into and think about the dream companies you would eventually like to work for. And look, do they require a degree in order to get a role there? Do they require a degree in order to move up the ladder and kind of get into those higher

Starting point is 00:10:40 levels within the company? And so that's the first step. And if the answer is yes, then it might be wise to go ahead and do that. Here's my kind of hot take though. Marketing is constantly changing. In my opinion, what I learned back in college, a lot of it is unfortunately not relevant anymore. However, the things that I did truly take away from school were numerous. One of them was being the connections with students, the connections with my professors that are still valuable to this day. I graduated college

Starting point is 00:11:12 eight years ago and I'm still connected with my professors. I'm still gaining opportunities from my professors. I learned a lot about writing. Copywriting is a huge skill that is taught in school and it is something that you will use on a daily basis within the marketing industry. And so that's something that I really, really took away from school. But the biggest thing is I would kind of look into again, where are you trying to be? What is required in that field? Because I do believe that you can excel in marketing without a degree. That's just my opinion, but it's also something good to have. So I think kind of making that decision for your own is really important. How do you differentiate yourself in roles? So this is a really tough one. I think the art of the resume is really true and it's really hard to just come up with a really strong, impactful resume,

Starting point is 00:12:06 especially when you are anxious about finding a role and you feel like you have to find one as soon as possible. Tailoring your resume does take time, but it's so incredibly important. We did a great episode with a guy named Tim at Best Culture Solutions, and he kind of talked through how to specifically do this, but it is a ton of work. And so having patience with yourself as you're applying, making sure you are very intentional with each application is incredibly important. Check out that episode, and it'll give you some great insights on how to specifically cater your resume. But the other thing too, is a connection at the company is so incredibly important.

Starting point is 00:12:45 Making sure that you have some warm leads within a brand. But relationships are so, so, so incredibly huge within applying for jobs. So I would start there and see if you have some sort of connection. Okay, next question. At Cup of Kelsey on Instagram asks, how to embrace a promotion? This is a really interesting question and there's a number of different directions that I feel like we could go with this. But I think first things first is just expressing gratitude for that opportunity. It often means that you

Starting point is 00:13:18 will have more work ahead of you. Maybe you're managing a team member for the first time, whatever that means for you. It's a big undertaking, but take time to slow down and just be grateful for that opportunity because you being offered a promotion shows that your team sees the impact that you have made and that you have huge potential in your role. So kudos to you for that promotion in the first place. You have to also kind of acknowledge what is ahead of you. Take time to just reflect and kind of look at that future job description and see what you'll have to be doing, what you'll have to be learning on a regular basis. If you're leading, how can you kind of reflect on your leadership skills and

Starting point is 00:13:56 what you need to do in order to step up as a leader? So I would say take about, you know, at least a few hours, just time to yourself, maybe journal some notes and think about that promotion and what that could potentially mean for you in order to step into that promotion with a clear and excited mindset. I think another thing that you have to do is just be open and honest with your leader about the additional support that you'll need. A lot of time of promotion means more work. And so if you currently feel overwhelmed in your role, just letting your leader know, Hey, I'm going to have a lot on my plate.

Starting point is 00:14:30 I maybe need an intern or someone to help support me, or I even need to reprioritize some of these tasks ahead of me and just letting them know and being open and clear as possible about what that means for you. That's going to be really important. That transparency is going to be huge as you step into your promotion. Also lean on a mentor. If you have someone that you can kind of speak to and get advice from, let them know what you have coming up and gain some feedback and advice from them. As you step into that role, that's going to be huge and important. That support means everything. Just be open to change and have a positive outlook. Again, I know a promotion is very overwhelming and it could be a lot, but it means you are truly, truly making an impact in what you do. So just be excited about that. Okay. Being Brianna on Instagram asked, how do I balance it all? Entrepreneurship, consulting,

Starting point is 00:15:22 doing two podcasts, et cetera. Listen, I'm going to be real honest with you guys. It is not easy. I really personally love to work. I get really deep in work on a regular basis and have to pull myself out of that because I love doing things all the time. I love pushing projects forward. I love helping people. I love pursuing opportunities that are fun and exciting, but I have had to learn that it is okay to say no to things and it's okay to reevaluate over time. Right now, I am currently in this reevaluation phase, especially stepping into 2025 of just analyzing what am I currently doing now and what are my goals in the future and what do I need to be working on to get to those goals? Chances are there are some things that I may have

Starting point is 00:16:12 to cut, whether it's client opportunities or just opportunities that are potentially going to come forward to me in the future based off of what I'm trying to achieve. And that for me personally is not easy. I used to say yes to everything just because I wanted to help people out and do the best that I could do in all these projects. And that I know for a fact was not healthy. And I lost a lot of quality in my work because of that. And also just time to myself, to my family, to my friends, to build those relationships. And so I am working on this. I am definitely working on it. It's not always easy to balance, but I think for me, the biggest thing that I've learned is I really have to take care of myself. First and foremost, I have to get plenty of sleep. I think I sleep like seven or eight hours

Starting point is 00:17:01 a night, but that's like a non-negotiable for me. Like I cannot wake up the next day with less than that and be able to do the best work that I can do. It's just not going to happen. I also prioritize working out and eating healthy. And so I think personally, I have been able to do a little bit more and my schedule is able to semi-thrive being crazy because I am taking care of myself first and foremost. And that is something that I will not give up regardless of how busy my schedule is. Another thing that I'll do too is I am a big schedule blocker. So I'll kind of put in time for lunch. I'll put in time for project blocks. I have to do a lot of work in notion of just prioritizing tasks and knowing what projects have to get done and when. And so that I also refer to when I am being presented with an opportunity by a client,

Starting point is 00:17:59 knowing what I can say yes to or how long of a timeline a project is going to take just because I always know what is happening and when with clients, but also in my schedule. Schedule blocking has been huge for me. So I highly recommend that as well. The Real Ella Enchanted on Instagram asks, what are your opinions on how the pandemic impacted social media marketing? Ooh, this is a good question. Okay. So first and foremost, I think that especially coming out of 2020, 2021, you know, those years that were just insanely isolating as people are craving community more than ever, they are craving human connection more than ever. And so I think using social to build community is incredibly important. And some ways that you can do that is number one, just allowing a human connection to thrive on the platform. So really making your

Starting point is 00:18:54 brand presence a humanized brand. And that could be anything from identifying a person on your team to kind of be the face of the brand and to talk directly to your consumers. But it can also just be in the tone and the way that you're speaking and responding to comments and responding to DMs, et cetera. I think also having a place for your community and your consumers to connect with one another is huge. You know, in the past we use Facebook groups for that, but there's a lot of different platforms like Circle where brands are literally allowing their customers to talk to each other and learn more about their experiences with the brand. And I think having that place where people feel seen and heard is incredibly important.

Starting point is 00:19:35 And then also to just simple things with social media, like responding to those comments as much as possible, responding to DMs, recognizing people for being lasting consumers and fans and advocates of your brand. The more human connection that we can foster on platforms, the better. Okay. Well, those are all the questions I had today. I had a couple more that I want to save, I think, for a specific episode. So if you submitted a question that was not answered, hold tight. We will be doing an episode on those, but just want to thank you for tuning in today for this quick kind of unstructured episode. I kind of answered these questions on the fly. So I hope everything was pretty concise and straightforward, but would

Starting point is 00:20:17 love your thoughts on some of these questions. If you have any, thank you so much for being here. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you for being part of this community. I am so grateful for you and I hope you have the best Thanksgiving ever. And I will see you next Thursday for a brand new episode following Thanksgiving. See you soon. Thank you so much for tuning into this week's episode. If you enjoyed this conversation, I would love your feedback. And if you're ready to take things to the next level, sign up for my weekly newsletter in the

Starting point is 00:20:49 show notes. You'll get weekly career and marketing insights straight to your inbox. And if you have an idea for a future marketing happy hour episode, shoot me an email. Hello at marketinghappyhr.com. Thank you again, and I'll see you next Thursday.

Marketing Happy Hour - Q+A: Career Pivots, Navigating Promotions + My Gratitude Practice

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