KWC 2011 grad Shanna Markwell is working in marketing in Chesterfield, England. She will be sending updates on her time in England to KWConnect. This is her second post — you can read her first post below.
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Hello all! 

I’ve been very busy lately. The magazine that I work for is free. These types of magazines are really popular in England. They’ve been given the title “freemium,” which sounds really cool if you ever get the chance to say to someone “I work for one of the largest freemium magazines in the county.” You should try it.

Since the magazine is free, they make money from the advertisements sold. My job title is/was the New Media Executive, which basically means that when a sales executive makes a sale or goes to a consultation or when a photographer goes to shoot pictures for the adverts, I tag along and pitch for web marketing and social media marketing. It can even get as abstract as a scratch-and-sniff print add (think restaurant, not plumber).

I’ve been to a few formal events. To be honest, I am kind of shocked and very honored (or honoured as the English would spell it) that the magazine would send someone as new as me to these events. I’ve been to grand openings of hotels where I, get this, get PAID to dress up, drink champagne, and chat with the millionaires that own the hotels. No big deal. Work isn’t necessarily always work. 

It’s moments like these that make me glad that I went to school. Being a young, American female can work for me and work against me. People are always interested that I’m from America. They want to know where I went to school, what I studied, what I plan on doing, etc.

But because I’m young, I think a lot of people (I’m speaking globally, not just the English) find it easy to assume that I don’t know what I’m doing or what I’m talking about. Youth is unfortunately interchangeable with inexperienced. I think that is why the magazine sends me out to these events. One it gives me experience in business matters and social events, and two, other people can see that the magazine hires people from all places and backgrounds. Young people aren’t always naive. And of course the third reason I go to events is to market new media because that’s my job!

But I’m glad that I went to school. Moments like these give me the opportunity to continue learning, but also to prove that I actually DO know some stuff about business. I love the look on people’s faces when I understand the meaning of B2B transactions, the bottom line, margins, turnovers and venture capital. (Don’t know the meaning of these terms? Try taking a few Kentucky Wesleyan business classes!)

Also, another great benefit of being a recent graduate is that I am used to working under the pressure of impending deadlines. Magazines revolve around deadlines. Procrastinating for a few weeks, then working like crazy for the last two weeks is something that college has groomed me for.

Earlier I said that my job title is/was the New Media Executive. What I meant by “was” is that a colleague and I have decided to expand our services into a new project – a sister company, if you will. I really don’t want to go into too much detail yet, because a part of me doesn’t want to jinx the whole thing. I’ll fill you in when I can.

- Shanna

KWC 2011 grad Shanna Markwell is working in marketing in Chesterfield, England. She will be sending updates on her time in England to KWConnect. Her first entry is below.
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Hello all!  Life is great in England. I’m working hard and playing harder. I couldn’t ask for more. I feel obligated to provide a back-story as to how I came to working in England. So here it goes:

Upon graduating in December, I decided that I needed some freedom (because living away from home for four years – well, three and a half – and then graduating early wasn’t enough). I booked a three week trip to England.

Why England? The pound is a bit weaker than the euro (take Financial Management and International Business, you’ll learn these things) so I wouldn’t deplete my bank account that I worked so hard to build. I didn’t want working at the mall long nights, early mornings, and dealing with kids during the Christmas season to be for nothing.

Also, there isn’t a language barrier. I’m bold enough to travel to another country for three weeks alone, but I am NOT brave enough to do it in a country where I can’t understand anything!

Before I left, I made sure to book in a few places that I definitely wanted to see. London was of course one of them. But, I’m from a small town in Kentucky. I’m not bred for places like London. So I called up a few marketing-oriented businesses all over England. I had a marketing degree, and I wanted to use it.

Luckily, I found a publications office (who I won’t name just in case there are legal issues – I’m sure they wouldn’t mind, but it’s just easier to avoid situations like that before they even begin) who was between employees at the time. They didn’t want to fully train someone new, but they run a magazine, so one thing is important: Deadlines! Deadlines! Deadlines! I was immediately accepted in the short term.

All of this was arranged pretty close to my departure; therefore I didn’t have enough time to fill out a work visa. So I worked as a freelancer, which is the polite way of saying I was paid under the table (See! I knew there was a reason not to name the business I work for!!)

After the three weeks was up, I returned home.

Something they don’t tell you is that it’s HARD to find a job. Well, maybe not. But for someone like me, I just didn’t know where to look. Something else they don’t tell you is be wary if you use careerbuilder.com. It’s full of very few real, decent jobs and completely saturated with crappy jobs that they spin and word it to make you feel like you’re moving into the right direction, even when you’re not.

I finished my resume (with the help of the Career Development Office at KWC – thanks for that, by the way) and posted it online. After a few interviews for jobs that I was sure I didn’t want, I felt pretty low. I even went crawling back to working at the mall a few days a week. I’m very thankful they had me back, but it’s just not something you want to be doing especially after graduating college.

In March, I got a Skype call from England. Word to the wise – get Skype immediately. You can call anywhere for a few cents a minute. Also, if you have a phone, you can buy a local Skype number for less than $20 for three months! My family can call me for free, and I’ve already paid for the three months, so it’s nothing extra. If you’re traveling internationally, Skype is a MUST! OK, I’m done with the commercial …

The publishers I worked for in January were calling. They asked if I was interested in returning for a few months. It would be a similar deal as in January, but for an extended amount of time. I said “YES!! I’ll pack my things.”

I did ask for one favor. Since I signed up for the Spring Break trip to NYC (another fun adventure provided by KWC), I wouldn’t be able to travel in March. And then my graduation ceremony was in May. I thought “Well, I’ve waited this long to work, might as well wait some more.” Plus, you only get to walk in your graduation once, unless you are ambitious and get more degrees. So I asked if I could stay until graduation.

The rest is pretty obvious. I made it to the UK, started working and now I’m writing this!

If I anyone takes anything from my blogs it should be this: don’t be afraid to throw yourself into an adventure. Sometimes it’s hard to know what you want to do in life, so until then, just do everything.

- Shanna