Career Path Of A Media Director At A Fortune 500 Retail Company
Elena Carol's career path, beginning with internships and job hunting challenges ("I probably applied to 400-500 jobs with not a single response back"), progressed linearly through various paid media agencies, focusing on retail accounts. A crucial aspect of their journey involved leveraging personal connections, ultimately leading to a brand-side role at L'Oréal and finally their current position as Media Director at a Fortune 500 retail company.
Networking, Job Search, Career Development, Overcoming Challenges, Resilience
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Elena Carroll
Media Director
Fortune 500 Retail Company
Syracuse University
None
Advertising, Public Relations
Apparel, Beauty, Retail & Fashion
Communication and Marketing
Took Out Loans
Video Highlights
1. Elena's career began with internships, highlighting the importance of early career experience.
2. She emphasizes networking and persistence in job searching, noting the difficulty of finding roles and the help she received from connections.
3. Her career path demonstrates a progression through agencies and then a transition to a brand, showing the potential career paths in media.
Transcript
There is no question at the start of the video.
My name is Elena Carol, and I am the Media Director for Vans Americas. My career began with internships during college.
My first internship was at a production company in Los Angeles. The following year, I interned at an ad agency in New York City that specialized in fashion.
After graduating, I applied to 400-500 jobs without a single response. I then started networking on LinkedIn and attending career fairs to get noticed.
Two roles eventually led to interviews and offers. One was through a connection I made at a college career fair. The other was thanks to my roommate's sister, who worked at a New York ad agency. She vouched for me after a brief phone call and submitted my resume, which led to an interview and the job I accepted.
I worked at that New York agency for two years. It was a paid media agency heavily focused on digital paid advertising across all channels.
From there, my career path has been quite linear. I moved to another paid ad agency, progressing to a manager level. Then, I went to another agency, where I became a supervisor.
After that, I joined an agency in Los Angeles as an Associate Director. Across these agencies, I focused my efforts and accounts on the retail industry, which I really enjoyed.
I then wanted to transition to working for a brand. It was challenging to move from agencies to the brand side, as those roles are quite limited.
Interestingly, the first person who helped me get my initial job also assisted me with my next one. At the time, she worked at L'Oreal. I reached out to her, and she helped submit my resume to L'Oreal.
I worked at L'Oreal for a few years. Afterward, a connection I made there put me in touch with someone at Vans. After about six months of discussions, I accepted a role at Vans, where I am now.