| Sarah W. "I am a Marketing and Advertising Coordinator for an Outboard Motor Company. I always prefer to be a smaller company's one stop shop for anything marketing, rather than a person on a gigantic team in a large company. Every day is completely different for me. Somedays I'll be crunching numbers, some I'll be focusing on building social media, and some I'll be working on graphic design. If it relates to marketing, I've got to learn how to do it for my company." |
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Education
Required License(s)
none |
Required Degree(s)
I don't think I would have gotten an interview if I didn't have a 4 year degree. |
Importance of GPA
somewhat important
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Sarah's Highest Degree: bachelor's degree (Bachelor of Science)
Sarah's College Major: Public Relations with a minor in Business
Sarahs College GPA Range: 3.6-3.9
Salary
$75,000+
Sky is the limit, I suppose!
Sky is the limit, I suppose!
Getting the Job
How did you get your job?
I was the Marketing Director for a chain of salons located across three states. Although that was quite different than marketing for outboard motors, I think I impressed them in my interview when I was able to tell them how similar the two positions ACTUALLY were.
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How important was networking to landing your position?
TO ME, it is not important, but I'm not proud of that statement. I'd like to be more active in networking. It would take me places I can't go now.
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Life on the Job
What is a typical day (or week) for you like?
As many pros as there are to working for a small company, there are some drawbacks as well. Cubicle life is my Monday-Friday 8am-5pm life generally. The best weeks are ones when I get to travel to a boat show or photo shoot, which happens every few months. I often go into work not sure what will be thrown my way, which I honestly really like. It keeps me from getting bored!
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How closely does your typical day (or week) match up to the general "job description" for your position?
I think it is very close for someone who is the entire marketing position for a small company. I'm sure someone in a larger company would have a much more specific role from day-to-day. I'm thankful for the way my day/week is laid out.
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Does being a woman affect any aspect of your career?
YES. I hate to say it but it does. I work for a Japanese company and things are a bit different over there, and I'm sometimes left out of discussions that I should be part of. The good news is that no one in the office from America treats me any differently, which is great.
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What is the best thing about your job?
The travel!
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What is the worst thing about your job?
Feeling like I'm chained to a cubicle from Monday-Friday 8am-5pm. I'd love a bit more freedom.
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How demanding is your job?
Not terribly. It is mostly creative, which I love, so it really doesn't wear me down.
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Do you have any advancement opportunities?
In my current position with this company, THERE IS NOT, which sucks. I am honestly content right now. I enjoy that I can leave work at work during the nights and weekends, the pay is good, and I am happy with where I am in my career, at my current age. I imagine I will be looking for an advancement in the next 5 years or so. My dream job would be something more related to the sports world, and breaking into that world might involve working my way up from the bottom. I'm not sure I'm ready for that.
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Advice for You
What are the skills, characteristics, or talents that are most important to be effective in your position?
You have to be unique. Like any creative position, being a follower just won't cut it. You have to have a wild imagination and be able to come up with ideas/designs that the world has never seen before. You can't look anything like your competition.
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What advice would you give to someone thinking about pursuing a career like yours?
If I could do one thing over again, I would have taken so many more Adobe CS classes in college. I never took any and I so regret it. I had to teach everything to myself.
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If you could do it over again, would you still pursue the same career?
I'd probably pursue a career in sports journalism... if I had it to do all over again.
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Follow Up
Want to learn more?
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