Jennifer Montague’s success story proves that it pays off to follow your heart if you’re itching to alter your career path—even if you’re at a later stage in life. After working in customer support, she started in the digital marketing space as an intern at a Copenhagen-based software startup.

Fast forward a couple of years and Jennifer is now the director of marketing at another fast-growing Copenhangen tech company, Dixa, attributing her success and growth in marketing to her decision to put her ego aside and take an internship—and a substantial pay cut—at an age when most people wouldn’t even consider it.

Shaheen Samavati and Jennifer touch on very relatable topics in today’s episode, such as mid-career transitions, lead generation through authentic content and the importance of compassionate leadership. Tune in to hear all of Jennifer’s insights and advice.

You can watch the full conversation in the video above or on YouTube, and listen to the podcast on Apple or Spotify.

Rapid-fire recs

• Useful books: 
  • Any material by Martin Lindstrom. “He looks at big data but he puts it in very actionable day to day interactions.”
  • Webs of Influence by Natalie Nahai. “It’s about different techniques you can use to influence people’s behavior online.”
    
• Learning resources: 
  • Perpetual Traffic podcast. “It’s very heavy on digital and particularly paid social ads. They’re really good at keeping up to date on latest changes in algorithms.”
  • Harvard Business Review. “It’s really cool to hear about what’s happening in other areas of business and formulate ways that marketing can be involved.”

• Productivity hack: 
  • Repurposing. “Stop creating lots of stuff that won’t work and start looking at what is working, then figure out ways to milk that as much as you can.”
    
• Source of inspiration: 
  • Simon Sinek. “He talks about different CEOs and CMOs and how they focus on the people first. When you focus on the people, the people want to give back.”
  • Lorne Michaels, producer and writer for Saturday Night Live. “He once said that if you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room. I really believe that.”

“Write your ideal job description because that will help you focus your efforts—especially if you’re looking for a job during a pandemic. I know it’s tough, but if you focus on what it is you want to do, you can focus your efforts in the right place but at the same time, you can sell yourself.”

Connect with Jennifer and Shaheen on LinkedIn.

This post was edited by Jamie Albert.

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For more insights into making a career change:

Building a social marketing career on a passion for sailing

Transforming a personal project into a dynamic marketing career

Repurposing creative skills to launch a career in marketing

To see the full transcript, click on page number 2 below

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