Career Path of a Web Marketing Lead at Blend
Marisa's career path, beginning with a business administration/marketing concentration in college, leveraged extracurricular activities like American Marketing Association and Women in Business to gain valuable "hands-on experiences." These extracurricular roles, particularly in social media and event marketing, directly translated into internships and subsequent roles at tech companies, highlighting the significant impact of college extracurriculars on career trajectory.
Career Exploration, Networking, Communication, Marketing, Extracurricular Activities
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Marisa Brazelton
Web Marketing Lead
Blend
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
NYU Stern School of Business - MBA, Specializations in Tech Product Management, Leadership and Change Management, and Strategy
Business Management & Admin
Finance (Banking, Fintech, Investing), Technology
Communication and Marketing
Greek Life Member
Video Highlights
1. Marisa's career path started with a business administration degree concentrating in marketing, leveraging her creative skills. She actively participated in college clubs like the American Marketing Association and Women in Business, taking on roles in social media, graphic design, and event marketing. This hands-on experience proved invaluable in securing her first internship and subsequent roles.
2. Extracurricular activities played a pivotal role in Marisa's career. Her involvement in college clubs provided real-world experience in social media, strategy development, and event marketing, skills directly applicable to her professional roles. She highlights the importance of these experiences over formal coursework in securing interviews and jobs.
3. Marisa's early career roles involved social media management and website leadership in tech companies. These positions built directly upon her college extracurricular experiences and demonstrate a clear progression in her career path. The skills she gained in college were directly transferable to the professional world, showcasing the importance of practical application of learned concepts
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college? Did you have any internships or jobs before your current role?
Yes, definitely. Coming into college, I started out with a business administration marketing concentration. I knew I was really interested in marketing because it was very dynamic.
I felt like I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do, so business felt like a good safety net. I also had a drive to flex more of my creative side. I'd say I'm more of a creative individual than analytics-oriented.
So, during my time in college, I focused on getting creative marketing experience. I held positions and worked in clubs like the American Marketing Association and Women in Business, where I took on social media, graphic design, or event marketing roles.
One thing I really enjoyed was that those were the experiences I talked about the most in my interviews out of college. I relied heavily on my undergrad experiences as the actual work I had put in. Those were real-life experiences that helped me get the job.
Classes helped too, of course; they give you the frameworks. But I felt like the hands-on experiences, working with different people at different levels and grades, really helped me gain that practical knowledge.
Right out of college, my first internship was doing social media for a tech company. I feel like I can attribute that to a social media role I did in undergrad at my sorority. My next role was almost like a website lead at another tech company.
That strategy was largely based on what I did in Women in Business. I came up with strategy for our Women in Business conference and for promotions and upcoming events. All the skills really tied back to my college experiences.
Even in my most recent interview, three or four years after college, I still went back to that Women in Business extracurricular experience. I'm forever grateful for those. What I got out of college, the extracurriculars were the most valuable experiences I drew from it.