Lauren Guerrini, who recently joined The Muse's own marketing team, explains the true meaning of her complicated-sounding role—paid acquisition strategist—and the path she took to get here.
As a self-declared avid consumer herself, one of Guerrini's strengths is recognizing how a consumer's mindset works, proving that your college major can positively impact your career journey.
Tell Us About Yourself! Give Us Your Elevator Speech!
I have a degree in communications and psychology from Rutgers University. After graduation, I went right into digital marketing with a focus on social media. I'm a Millennial, so it seemed like a natural fit, but I'm also a huge consumer of digital marketing. Really! I click on every interesting ad—and buy most things.
I think my strong suit's understanding who our consumers are and what they need so that, as a business, we can serve them the right content or product. I love collaborating with other departments to support robust campaigns that integrate across all channels. And I love CTAs (call to action), preferably funny ones.
What's Your Job Title? What Does This Actually Mean in Terms of What You Do Each Day?
Paid Acquisition Strategist (sounds way too serious, right?). My role is to grow demand for The Muse through scalable paid acquisition, which means I work closely with other departments to help strategize and implement online advertising campaigns that help support our goals as a business.
This requires understanding and building out different audiences for each channel, as well as constantly monitoring and optimizing everything to make sure we're attracting the right people.
What Were You Doing Before You Landed This Job?
Before I came to The Muse, I was doing e-commerce for a company that specializes in creating personalized photo gifts. My primary focus there was digital as well. I learned a lot working alongside some pretty intelligent individuals and, because of the nature of the products, I was able to build out some really creative campaigns.
What's the Coolest Project You've Worked on So Far or One You're Really Excited About?
That's a tough question because I'm still so new here, but focusing on Coach Connect is something that really excites me, mostly because I know what it's like to be looking for a job while feeling unsure if my resume and cover letter align with a certain role.
My first job out of college. I knew early on that I didn't agree with the vision or the values of the business, and ended up staying a lot longer than I should have. It's really important to believe in the work you're doing and to feel like the company's leaders are invested in your individual growth, as well as the growth of the business.
If Money Wasn't a Factor, What Would You Be Doing Career-Wise?
I would have my own animal sanctuary for all abused, neglected, and abandoned animals. Animals don't have a voice to speak for themselves, and they deserve to live their lives free of cruelty and exploitation by humans.
Best Piece of Advice for Someone Who Wants a Job Like Yours?
The beauty of the internet is that every company needs digital marketing to stay relevant. There are so many conferences and webinars to attend and participate in that you always have the opportunity to educate yourself and stay current in the industry's latest developments.
Not to mention, attending different conferences is a great way to network and expand your individual reach!
For every issue or challenge you might face in the workplace, always try to come up with a point-of-view or recommendation before asking for someone else's help. It shows you're thoughtful in your approach to problem-solving and that you don't expect to just make a particular challenge someone else's problem.