Kayla Diskin, Digital Account Coordinator based in our US Office, talks about her search for a marketing role and her first 7 months at MarketOne.
I have just completed my seventh month at MarketOne and working here has been a dream come true. However, getting here wasn’t easy. As I was getting ready to graduate from college, I quickly came to the realization that the field I was pursuing was the most popular and competitive one. My major officially was Advertising, but the core of the program was Marketing. I had done everything that I was told to do to prepare for the “real world”, but still came up short. It took 7.5 years of working in mostly administrative roles and endlessly applying for marketing positions to finally get a chance.
When I got the call that MarketOne wanted to speak with me, I started to get excited again. The biggest thing that drew me to MarketOne was the job description for my current role, Account Coordinator, because throughout the years I always thought it would be the best starting point for me. It combines the organizational skills I had been building at my old positions and the marketing skills gained when I was in college. One thing I reiterated during my interview process was that I knew I could do the work, I just needed someone to take a chance on me. Something must have resonated, because here I am! I almost cried when I got my job offer because I couldn’t believe I’d finally be able to say I worked in Marketing.
EMBRACING CHANGE
This job has been a big learning curve because everything was new to me again and that was definitely something I had to adjust to. I was so used to my bubble of comfort at my previous job that it was scary to start all over. It has been more technical than I had imagined, but in a way that allows me to get out of my comfort zone and continue to learn. The digital world is exciting because I’m being exposed to many areas and get to see how projects come full circle. It also has given me more experience and exposure than I could have imagined in 7 months. I’ve already had the chance to manage 3 projects on my own, while supporting many of our other clients. It’s incredible to be able to learn about so many different clients’ businesses.
MarketOne is a global company and although they have their own tools and specializations, the company is great at adapting to the tools that many of our clients use. Working with people all over the world has been fun in and of itself and has allowed me to get comfortable working with multiple time zones.
My role focuses mainly on project management, but it has become so much more than that. I do the usual budget reports, taking notes, updating PowerPoint presentations, etc., but the company has been amazing about allowing me to learn beyond my role. I’ve been able to do small tasks in Eloqua and other marketing tools to support MarketOne’s in-house marketing team and even do a small amount of creative work.. There isn’t a limit or box you have to stay in to get the job done.
PEOPLE AND CULTURE
Another thing I have enjoyed about MarketOne is the people and culture. On my first day I met and talked to the CEO, Fred. I had never met or even seen the CEO at my previous jobs, so this was amazing to me. Then a couple of months into the job one of my project managers, who is based in Amsterdam, really became my cheerleader in helping me get more experience and learn new things. She, along with everyone here, is always fighting for people to get their recognition. It’s refreshing to work at a place where people celebrate the good things that their employees do, no matter what job they have. My direct manager is also great and has given me more consistent feedback than I’ve ever received in another job.
Everyone at MarketOne is incredible in the way they support you and want to see you grow and succeed. It makes me realize that it is a great fit for how I want to start building my career. Very long story short, I finally understand what people mean they say it’s never too late for your dreams.
