Issue #64: The Advice Column
Kate Citron and I answer your burning career questions 🙋♀️
Hi! I missed last week’s post because life is busy right now. I’ll fill you in on everything so soon, but today, I’m sooo excited to be sharing Brand Baby’s very first advice column in collaboration with
of .A few weeks ago, I sent out a survey fielding all of your marketing career questions, and you delivered. I loved reading your responses – a huge thank-you to everyone who submitted! Kate (KC) and I (CA) responded to each question separately so that you can get two sets of advice from our two different perspectives. I’m sharing three questions here on Brand Baby, while Kate shared three questions on False Start yesterday. Go check it out and subscribe to False Start if you haven’t yet!
Kate is a brand marketing queen with 10+ years of experience at consumer brands like Well+Good, Coveteur, and Harry’s. She’s currently the Head of Marketing at Glowbar. On the other hand, I’m a Gen Z brand marketer in B2B tech with 3+ years of experience at Intuit Mailchimp. So, without further ado, let’s get into the advice!
How can you sell ideas to and get buy-in from those who aren’t actively viewing conversations that involve gen z on social & are out of the loop?
KC: I’m interpreting this question as a two-in-one: how do you educate leadership on Gen Z social trends and pitch a new idea?
To keep your team versed on trends, I’d consider sending a weekly digest via email or Slack. Use your best judgment on content, but I’d cover 3 - 5 relevant social media trends you know your customers care about. I’d also experiment with format, making sure it’s both visual and engaging. Before you do this, though, connect the dots for your audience. Explain why they should care and why it’s relevant to the business. Maybe your audience is Gen Z, and you have reason to believe social media influences their purchasing decisions in your industry. Whatever the reason, use insights and research to back up your rationale. Ultimately, this practice won’t just make your job easier when pitching a new idea; it will also position you as a thought leader internally and support your career growth.
On selling ideas, I recently wrote about how to launch a brand Substack. While the specific project is different, the approach can be the same. Step 3 outlines this in better detail, but TL;DR: Start with a business challenge, share research to back up your idea, propose your campaign, and end with actionable next steps. If your decision-makers are risk-averse, dial down your idea to start small. Getting the initial yes and showing an early win will help pave the way for something larger vs. going out hot with a campaign they’re unlikely to greenlight.
I hope this helps!
CA: This is similar to Kate’s advice, but something that I’ve done in the past is host a monthly Gen Z brand insight session for my team. Ask your team leader if you can host a casual meeting once a month where you present 5-7 culturally relevant trends, brand campaigns, and successful marketing stunts. You can include specific, actionable takeaways for your team to consider in future marketing/social planning as well. Not only will this demonstrate your commitment to understanding your target audience, but it will also showcase leadership and a personal interest in audience insights, which can only serve to advance your career.
I am graduating in May and looking to break into the brand marketing field in brand strategy. What advice do you have for me to differentiate myself and make a lasting impression -- Also, do you have any advice on starting your career - I want to love my job but also want to balance that with realistic expectations of the reality of an entry level role. Xoxoxo
KC: Congratulations! I recently wrote about how to get a job in marketing so I’d recommend starting there. My very best advice is to go the extra mile for the roles you’re excited about. For brand marketing or strategy roles, I’d brainstorm a campaign or partnership idea and pitch it in a beautifully designed Canva slide. Include it in your application and send it directly to your future manager. I’ve hired a lot of marketers and no one is doing this, so you’re all but guaranteed to stand out.
Pivoting to your second question, my advice for your first job is to acknowledge and accept that it won’t be perfect, which you’ve already done. I largely hated my first job but I don’t regret it for a second. It put a big brand name on my resume, got me to the city I wanted to live in, and I made a few lifelong friendships in the process. The work itself might be miserable (hopefully not!), but misery loves company — as long as you like your coworkers, you’re golden.
CA: Maybe I’m a little biased, but I think content creation is such a great way to differentiate yourself in a competitive job market. For example, you could start creating TikToks around brand strategy recommendations for real brands. Alternatively, you could start consulting for a few small brands on the side and start to build a little business as you job-search. Launch a website, put together a portfolio, and not only will your applications stand out, but you’ll also have real skills and business experience to share in job interviews and apply once you’re in the role.
Regarding loving your job – that’s definitely relatable! Everyone has different priorities and values for their careers, so I would definitely reflect on what’s important to you. Is it work-life balance? Is it the people you work with? Is it the ability to grow and uplevel fast? Once you’ve identified those values, you can start to look for them in your job interviews and conversations. Those values will influence your day-to-day happiness and satisfaction in a role.
I do think there’s some level of reality that we all come to terms in our first jobs. For me, it was a feeling of like, Is this it? Is this the next 30+ years? My best advice for this is kind of boring, but I’ll say it: find things outside of work that bring you joy. Hobbies, friends, a really lovely morning routine… Whatever it may be, it will definitely help you detach from work and create a really full, beautiful life.
Is it acceptable to job hop every 2 years or so these days? I feel like it is more so these days, but how much does job hopping more frequently than not actually help your career?
KC: Professional job hopper here! I’ve talked about this and the feelings it used to bring up for me, which, fortunately, I haven’t experienced in a long time.
Your instinct is correct. Job hopping is more common than it used to be because successful careers are built differently today than thirty years ago.
Regularly changing roles has helped my career, and I’ve noticed very little negative impact. Instead, it’s given me a wide range of experience across industries, accelerated my compensation growth, and ultimately made me a more nimble and adaptable marketer.
That said, I don’t recommend bouncing around without reason. I’ve pursued new roles because I wanted a growth opportunity that wasn’t available in my current role, I wanted to switch industries, and I wasn’t happy in a particular work environment. Basically, I’m trying to say that there are no bad reasons as long as you can explain the transitions in an interview.
Trust your instincts if you’re trying to decide whether to stay or go. I say this because well-meaning people in your life may have opinions that differ from yours: your partner, your parents, your friends, your coworkers. It’s a highly personal decision; the only person who knows what to do is you. Trust me when I say a long resume won't harm your career if you’re intelligent, hardworking, and kind.
CA: I began my career at Mailchimp four years ago and have pretty much stayed put, but based on what I’ve observed, I think that job hopping every 2-3 years can be super beneficial when you feel one of the following ways:
You’re no longer learning or growing in your current role.
You have an opportunity to make more money in a new job.
You have an opportunity that offers skills and responsibilities that are aligned with your long-term career vision.
If you can check any of those off, and you have a role that you feel excited about, then I say go for it!
Hope you found this helpful! Thanks to everyone who submitted a question. This was so fun. xx
Can’t wait for your life updates soon 👀