by Jennifer Jefferson, contributor
Liz Paley, senior vice president of wholesale marketing and business development for North America at Ralph Lauren, brought along her colleague, Joe Berean, creative director of wholesale e-commerce at Ralph Lauren, to talk to SCAD Atlanta students Monday about how to chart their course to a marketing career.
They both took the unconventional route. Both Paley and Berean, dressed in khaki pants and blazers, explained their journey to their managerial roles at the $5 billion fashion label. Paley studied political science and English at the University of Vermont. Her interest in marketing started with internships at advertising agencies while in college more than 20 years ago.
Berean studied apparel design at Michigan State University. He worked as an editor at Glamour and Harper’s Bazaar before becoming a fashion director at Nylon, Elle.com and InStyle.com. For the audience, the duo put together a list of things they wish they would have known in college.
1. It’s not about your GPA.
“The formula is good grades plus good experience. No one will ask you about your grades. They will ask you about your experience,” Paley said.
2. A job is not a career.
“A job is something you do. A career is something that you direct and manage and are. I started to chart a path that could get me to a different place… Ultimately, I had these mini careers and then an overarching career,” Berean said.
3. Build communication skills.
“There can sometimes be a misperception that if you are in the creative field it’s all about the craft of what you do. If you want to be successful in a business world… communication skills are really, really critical. You want to be able to write clearly. You want to be able to speak eloquently. You want to be able to express your thoughts, your recommendations and your ideas really, really well. Put yourself in situations that teach you these skills,” Paley said.
4. Cultivate self-awareness.
“Reputation is a big part of your brand. Listen to yourself when you are putting yourself out there and listen to how people perceive you. As much as I give feedback, I ask for feedback. Make sure how you hope to be perceived is actually how you are being perceived,” Berean said.
5. Embrace challenges.
“You will not love every single client you have, every customer, and every colleague. It is really important to not check out and not disengage and not shutdown and really stay in there and be someone that can keep yourself and other people motivated in these situations,” Paley said.
6. Build a network.
“In school it’s your professors or your classmates. When you go out into the world and you’re interning, make meaningful connections and relationships. It’s a job within its self. It’s so important to have those relationships. You never know where your network is going to be coming from. Connect with me on LinkedIn. I can tell you from personal experience how much I use it to recruit,” Berean said.
7. Get up, out and engaged.
“Be curious. Be resourceful. Learn how to figure things out. Give yourself homework assignments. You can’t wait until you graduate to be a student of those industries. It’s up to you to have skin in the game,” Paley said.
8. Create your own energy.
“Come to the table with ideas. Think about how you can positively affect change,” Berean said.
9. Introduce luck to opportunity.
“You hear a lot of people talk about luck. It’s very rarely actually luck. Put yourself in a position that luck happens to you. Don’t be afraid to make the connection. Don’t be afraid to make the opportunity. If you wait to be lucky, it will rarely happen,” Paley said.
10. Listen to your parents.
“I will call my Mom and say: What do you think about this? People that know you best can give you a lot of perspective,” Berean said.
11. Carpe diem.
“Don’t think of these four years as what happens first and then my career is what happens next. You want to kind of blend the two. Being polished and being professional is not what you do when you start working. It’s how you present yourself to the world. Take ownership. All of this is yours. It’s your education. It’s your career. It’s your responsibility. It’s so up to you to seize the moment of what you want your career and life to be about,” Paley said.
12. The duos final piece of advice was to be aware and conscious of social media.
“Really understand and participate in that area,” Berean said. “Keep in mind it’s an extension of you and may be accessed by people you may be working for.”
“Look at them through a marketing lens,” Paley added.
Girls in dresses, full makeup and high heels formed a line to meet the speakers after the lecture. They seemed to be taking what they heard to heart. Neha Vaishnav, a first-year M.A. luxury and fashion management student, is a “huge Ralph Lauren fan. I found this really helpful.”
“This was the first presentation that gave us insight on what to do,” said Skania Florestal, a second-year M.A. luxury and fashion management student. Ashlyn Davidson, who is also in the same program said, “It was a great reminder of how to be the best possible candidate.”