Exploring various industries and roles gave Kim Yong-Set, Marketing Manager at RBC, the room to grow her skill set and apply her strategic marketing mind all while pushing the envelope further in her career trajectory.
Finding myself, was my biggest challenge when I first started out in my career. It may seem trite but sometimes you have to ‘kiss a couple of frogs before you find your prince’. The important thing is to get everything you can out of every role you take. It’s surprising how two jobs in completely different industries, could have transferable skills that will allow you to grow and strengthen your skill set.
My early working career was somewhat of a mixed bag. I was an EA for Corus Entertainment, a Production Assistant for CTV, and a Flight Attendant for Air Canada just to name a few. I wanted to explore as many interesting roles until I found something I truly loved doing. My marketing career actually started in Fashion at Pink Tartan. I started in logistics and moved into marketing the seasonal collection with Canadian Media and Publications. The bulk of my marketing career was with Ariad Communications. It was a full-service agency that really allowed me to bolster my strategic and thought-leadership skills and strengthen my knowledge of digital, social, and experiential marketing. Which leads me to my current role at RBC, where I leverage those skills in combination with that agency hustle and apply those to marketing strategy and planning.
So don’t box yourself in. Don’t assume it’s a straight line from school to your dream job. Life is a journey with winding avenues and stops that you may not be expecting. The key to harness every opportunity and absorb, learn and grow.
I love the hustle, that’s what keeps me motivated. Being able to take on a program from inception, develop a strategy, execute, and witness all of your work become fully realized, is a truly remarkable thing. It seems that every day, a new challenge arises that you’ll need to tackle and solve. It’s definitely never boring and allows you to constantly evolve as a marketer.
What you need to have as a marketer: passion and resourcefulness. Some of the strongest marketers I know did not go to school for marketing. Marketing is a career for passionate people who like problem-solving. People who can take an insight, drill into it and create something that will reach and resonate with their audience. You need to be agile, resourceful with every aspect of the role and if you’re not passionate about what you do, why bother?
Emerging technology and advanceswill hugely impact marketing. The number of platforms and tools available to marketers grows exponentially every year, month, day. Having the ability to tailor and personalize every aspect of the human experience is integral to a marketer. Keeping up with innovation and scrutinize where and when to message your audience with information relevant to them, is crucial in making a connection with them.
Every role I’ve taken in marketing has been through a connection. Networking is so integral to building your profile and personal brand. It’s important to always be real and authentic with people, as it will make you more memorable. The bigger net you cast, the better your chances are at catching that BIG FISH.
As with everything in life, self-worth comes from within. Know who you are, what you want to achieve and plan serious steps to get your closer to your goal. No one can qualify your personal success, other than you.
"I love that marketing doesn't force me to pick a lane. I get to be the analytical one who figures out the strategy, but I also get to be the creative one who brings it to life. It's that constant back-and-forth between the two that makes the work actually feel like me." – Sakina, CMA Intern
One piece of advice that stuck with me was to stop waiting until I felt 'fully ready' before taking opportunities. A lot of growth comes from putting yourself in environments that challenge you, even if you're still learning. I've learned that experience builds confidence.
While scouring social media sites, job postings and your favourite companies searching for opportunities to get your foot in the door, you kept seeing one constant – required experience. That's something you just don't have. You're trying but you can't seem to get your foot in the door. Either you get no response or the response is that they've decided not to move forward with your application. That sucks.
