This week on Strivin & Thrivin, we speak with Jennifer Hankin, Head of Marketing at RecordPoint.
For some people, they might say their career started by stumbling upon something or seeing it in a movie and loving the idea of having a job like that. But for Jen, it started with a vodka bottle. Absolut Vodka to be precise.
Jen found herself sprawling through magazines at a young age and being really drawn to the Absolut ads. This then led her to getting her degree in marketing and advertising, and her first job as a product marketing manager in a publishing company. Jen then made the decision to go to business school to get her MBA.
“For me, going back to business school was about rounding out my management and leadership experience. I was very focused on marketing, but I wanted to understand the other facets of business that I felt would help me as I moved through the leadership journey as a marketer.”
When it comes to marketing, Jen relates to being a marketing generalist rather than a specialist and reassures us it’s not a dirty word! Point being, you really CAN accelerate your career by being a generalist. Being a ‘jack of all trades’ might just be essential to your success, so don’t cancel it out just yet!
Recommended reading: Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialised World – David Esptein.
“I guess what I feel like I bring in is that I bring that like the overarching strategy. I can see how all the bits of pieces pull together and then how marketing influences the rest of the business, and work really closely with those cross-functional stakeholders….I really own the marketing generalist.”
Jen clearly has the experience and drive to start her own business, but is it something she’s keen on doing herself? Not really. But the ideas are there! She jokes her Mum used to tell her that she always got up on her ‘soapbox’ due to her opinionated nature. But Jen credits that to her success – challenging the status quo. Not the worst trait to have as a ‘marketing generalist’ now, is it?!
So, what advice does Jen have for the next keen marketer? Well, it all starts with a mentor – something Jen wishes she had done early on in her career.
“The advice that I’ve gotten is the advice that I’ve sought out myself and that I’ve read. And that’s something that I wish I could go back and say to myself, ‘Go get a mentor earlier, go seek those relationships.’ Don’t ever stop learning.”
To hear more from Jennifer, including what advice she would say to her younger self , listen to the latest episode of Strivin and Thrivin now!
