Introduction - Careers Network Mentoring Scheme
Hi I'm Evie Luxton and I started off initially studying Political Science at the University of Birmingham which I really enjoyed three-year course. I then went into investor relations and corporate communications for an agency in Birmingham and I specialised in corporate brand, sustainability and digital communications which I was really passionate about all of them. I was there for two and a bit years and after that I left to work in healthcare and so more b2c kind of marketing, social media marketing plan strategies etc.
After that I've just started working for a trade association as a senior marketing executive in Coventry and which has been really great so actually doing more media relations, lobbying work and then also creating kind of the plan and the strategy for the organisation and managing the team which has been really enjoyable. Basically kind of moving forward with event management and all of those kinds of things.
Mentoring Support - Careers Network Mentoring Scheme
So how can I support you through the mentoring process? So I went to the University of Birmingham, I absolutely loved it I've stayed in Birmingham because I'm quite a passionate Brummie even though I'm not from Birmingham and I really think that I've gone through this process.
So I kind of got to third year of university and thought, oh my god, I don't know what I want to do, I've not done all these fancy internships and work experiences in summer I've actually just done a lot of employment.
So I was kind of in that position where I didn't really know how to write a CV, I didn't know interview prep and I really just kind of immersed myself in finding a job in my final year of university and applied loads and actually got a job just before I kind of handed in my dissertation etc. so in April of my final year.
So I've gone through the process and I think I can really help you through understanding how to make your CV stand out, how to make your cover letter stand out particularly now as I'm actually one of those people that hires in companies and I can really actually look for what we would look for in my company to help you along.
I've got quite a lot of good contacts as well so I did the uprising leadership scheme and I've taken additional courses so in corporate governance and corporate brand, digital, I'm currently doing my certificate in marketing and ongoing CPD.
So I've got kind of a little bit of a range of knowledge and I've done quite a few diverse roles so I can really help you understand what it's like going into lots of different industries, what people are looking for and also the fact that kind of at the moment I've gone from a political degree, so something that's not related into marketing and communications so I can help you actually kind of bridge that gap so I think that's what I could really bring to a mentorship.
Top Tip for Industry - Careers Network Mentoring Scheme
My top tip for entering my industry. So I've worked in a number of different industries so investor relations which is more dealing with FTSE companies on the London stock exchange and I've worked in Healthcare, more b2c and then I'm back kind of in membership which is slightly more corporate.
My top tip really for entering these industries is demonstrating that you're passionate and really just kind of grasping anything that you can get hold of and starting to learn it. There's so many free courses online and there's so many opportunities that you can do and I think that's really the thing with marketing is there's many core principles but it’s more about demonstrating that you're passionate and you're eager to learn.
When I started in investor relations I really didn’t know about investor relations but I was focused on learning, throwing myself in, asking lots of questions and basically just trying to take hold of any opportunity that they gave me so when they said about learning about corporate brand I read multiple books, watched videos, got really engaged and then it's something that I can now say that that’s a skill I have.
Another thing about getting involved particularly as a kind of new graduate etc. is highlighting what you can do and really thinking about it and just demonstrating the kind of person that you are. So you know if you've got loads of work experience or if you've read interesting books etc. bring all of those into the actual interview process.
I think really in marketing it's one of those things where if you grasp principles or if you're interested that comes across in the interview and a lot of times people in marketing are looking more for a kind of character and the passion and the engagement with the topic, above actually having physical work experience because marketing is something that you know it really can be taught, so it's just basically showing that you’re really keen and you want to get involved and you'll try your hand at anything.