FEATURED ALUMNI

Marketing Graduate

What have you been doing since you graduated job wise?

I graduated in May of 2006 with my B.S. in marketing and supply chain management from the Arizona State University W. P. Carey School of Business.   American Airlines had exhibited a strong recruiting interest, and I made my way through its multi-level interviewing process.  I received an offer and started on June 19^th out of the Ft. Worth offices as a Commodity Manager.

I’ve enjoyed living in a new city, as well as the ability to travel as my job sometimes entails.  My team evaluates suppliers of “soft goods” for our airplane interiors – items such as seat covers, cushions, and wall coverings.  This process oftentimes requires me to physically inspect supplier operations, as well as to attend trade shows.  These things help provide variety in my job.  I’ve also enjoyed the way that my job uses my skills in both marketing and supply chain management.  In my division, our internal customer is the marketing department.  Marketing has the responsibility of determining how our airplane environment needs to be to appeal to our different segments of customers.  I get to work hand-in-hand with the marketing department in both giving it what it wants, but also being part of the feedback loop that results in the creation of the ideal environment for our passengers to fly in.   This position has been a great way to integrate the different disciplines I studied at W. P. Carey.

What did you learn as a marketing major that has helped you in your career?

I have found myself very well prepared by W.P. Carey School of Business in my role here at American Airlines.  My marketing classes have proven essential in the workplace.  One of my most recent tasks was the implementation of business-class seats in the Boeing 767-300.  What I learned about segmenting your product markets was vital as we worked through what suppliers would be our best partners to appeal to the business-class customer we were targeting.

Any advice you have for current students?

I have three different bits of advice I’d like to provide. 

First, take all of your classes seriously.  I have been consistently amazed at how many concepts in school I have directly applied at work.  It’s easy to learn about some abstract theories or concepts and think that you won’t have to worry about them again.  On the contrary, I keep finding myself in direct use of what I learned in school.

Secondly, practice your interviewing skills as much as you can, because those interpersonal skills and the ability to convey your knowledge and experience to an interviewer are what will set you apart in the interviewing process.  Be able to tell your success stories well, and listen carefully to what an interviewer is asking for so you’re correctly answering the question.

Last but not least, take advantage of job opportunities and internships while you’re in school and learn as much as you can while you’re there.  Even if you aren’t planning on staying there long-term, do what you can to get assigned to different projects or even departments, and get as much exposure as you can to different types of work.  As you decide what type of career path to take, the more information you can gather from people actually working in that field or industry becomes invaluable.

Marketing Graduate

Upon graduating from ASU in May 2004, I moved from my role as Campus Marketing Manager with Coca-Cola to a Brand Assistant position with Dial Corporation, working on Dial Brand (Bar, BodyWash and Liquid Hand Soap).  Later in the year, I expanded my responsibility and began working on the Coast and Pure & Natural Brands.  In June 2005, I moved to Renuzit Brand, where I have been promoted to the Assistant Brand Manager responsible for Super Odor Neutralizer, Aerosols and Candles.

As an Assistant Brand Manager, I wear MANY different hats.  I have P&L responsibility for my businesses and I oversee a cross-functional team of 16 people to manage all aspects of the brand businesses including manufacturing, R&D, packaging, finance and demand planning.  A typical week for me could involve briefing or evaluating package design, designing and understanding financial impacts of in-store displays, planning or activating consumer promotions, initiating or utilizing marketing research to develop/leverage consumer insights, and conducting scan/shipment data analysis.  I work on Renuzit brand and product positioning and strategy, and also get exposure to our brand print and television advertising.  One of my favorite projects right now is a new product that I am working on for a 2007 launch:  I presented the idea to the Senior Leadership Team and I am now leading innovation development work and developing pricing, positioning, packaging and distribution strategies.  

What did you learn as a marketing major that has helped you in your career, current role?

As a marketing major, I learned the marketing fundamentals that are now second-nature to me.  Believe it or not, I DO use "The 4 P's" to think through complex questions in my job!  Additionally, the projects I worked on as a marketing major prepared me for the large-scale assignments that I take on in my current role.  At ASU, I learned how to approach complex issues and think critically about the information at-hand.  I also learned very important lessons about how to effectively work with and manage teams, knowledge that has been absolutely critical to my success at Dial.

Any advice you have for current students?

Don’t “write-off” classes that you don’t think you will need down the road.  I use more finance and algebra skills in my marketing job than I would have ever dreamed I would use. 

If you are working a part-time job, make the most out of it.  I was able to break into Brand Management as a graduating undergrad because of the amazing experience I was able to get through my role at Coca-Cola.  Dial loved my “real world” experience and valued it more than my GPA or any other honors/distinctions that I had on my resume.  Not only did Coca-Cola give me great bullet points on my resume, but it was a great place for me to learn about the corporate world and sales/marketing.  By the time I started at Dial, I was ready to “hit the ground running.”

What are your plans for the future?

I truly love Brand Management and to be successful in this field I will need to get my MBA, so I am going to start studying for the GMAT this spring.  I have many great opportunities ahead of me and would like to continue working toward my goals of becoming a Brand Manager and, eventually (10-year plan) a Director of Marketing with a Consumer Packaged Goods company.

Elif Affan

Marketing Graduate

What have you been doing since you graduated job wise?

I graduated in May 2003 with a bachelors degree in marketing and finance from the W. P. Carey School and the Barrett Honors College. I began working as a business analyst in the Western Region sales division of Nestle Purina PetCare Company, where I had interned throughout my senior year. After spending a year and a half on the numbers side of the consumer packaged goods industry, I realized that my true passion is in marketing. I also wanted to give the small business environment a try since I have thoughts of opening my own business in the future. 

In January 2005 I began working at Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, an internet marketing agency on Mill Avenue. My initial role was to be the marketing manager for the company. I was responsible for marketing Sitewire itself by attending networking events, revamping the website, and developing new business leads new business. Six months later my role changed to account manager. As account manager, I am responsible for managing the client relationships for a third of Sitewire's clients. I like to think of myself as a problem solver for my clients, since I go to them with new ideas or they come to me with problems to solve. In a typical week, I could be helping a client select the best design for their website, be making sure a website gets built to specification,  or I could be presenting an internet marketing plan to them. No day is routine since I am constantly working on new projects. Although I now share the role with a co-worker, I am still responsible for developing Sitewire's internal marketing initiatives, further promoting new and existing service offering.

I am also involved with the American Marketing Association of Phoenix, and serve as the VP of Programming for the organization. I was formerly the president of the AMA at ASU, and continue to stay involved as an alumni advisor. Lastly, I am a member of the Spirit Team for the Spirit of Enterprise Center at the CareySchool. As a Spirit Team member, I help the team organize and prepare for the Sprit of Enterprise Awards, which Sitewire was a recipient of in 2005.

What did you learn as a marketing major that has helped you in your career?

My marketing classes well enabled me for my current role. Much of what I do today requires me to draw on what I learned in my marketing and other business classes at ASU. For example, I could be studying a survey and recalling information I learned in my marketing research class. Later I may be thinking about my advertising class when trying to create an effective direct mail campaign. The principles learned in class definitely come back to help in business. I primarily recall past presentations and group projects that I was involved in and I try to apply the presentation skills that I learned from them to my presentations today. It may have been difficult being involved in so many group projects at the time, but it prepared me well since I'm now involved in group projects everyday.

Any advice you have for current students?

The best advice that I can give to an undergraduate student is to have a balanced approach to college. A student who can balance school, work, clubs and life will always have the upper hand in an interview. I suggest that students partake in at least one internship before settling down for a full-time career. Internships help narrow down what one does and does not like. For years I thought that becoming a financial consultant was for me, but I changed my mind after interning at Merrill Lynch for a semester. Then I was able to refocus and find another business area that I liked better. Internship experiences are also great to draw on for interview questions. I always advise students to join organizations and become actively involved in them--not just pay the dues and show up. Organizations are a great way to learn how to run a business and gain teamwork experience. A great GPA may be a foot in the door, but interviewers will rarely ask questions about grades in classes. Extracurricular activities, internship experiences, grades and how you perform the great balancing act with those and life are the "resume bullet points" that employers care the most about.

What are your plans for the future?

Although I'm not too sure about how my long term goals will pan out and where exactly they will take me, I do know that grad school is in my near future. I will be pursuing an MBA with an emphasis in Marketing within the next two years. Afterwards, I do not know whether I will return to Internet marketing, consumer packaged goods, or something else, but I do know that I love marketing. Who knows, I may love it enough to teach it someday! And if that Big Idea hits me one day, I may even decide to open my own business. I have several ideas about what I want to do and where I want to be, but I don't want to settle into one career without sampling a few of my other interests because each time I move onto something new, I not only learn new things, but I also have the ability to draw from my past experiences.