Emily Robb
MMC Informational Interview
November 8, 2016
Informational Interview with Andrea Kertz
The purpose of an informational interview is to better understand aspects of
a job that could not be completely portrayed through a traditional learning setting.
For my informational interview, I chose to interview Andrea Kertz because not only
is she employed in the Columbus area and working in the marketing field, but she is
also an Ohio State alumni. This aspect allowed her to relate specifically to my OSU
experience and to show the strength of the Ohio State alumni network. For her
work now, she is employed by American Signature, Inc., a furniture company owned
by the Schottenstein’s. But, Andrea’s job is a little unique. She owns her own
company Andrea Kertz Consulting. She has established herself enough in the
marketing world in Columbus that she is now a consultant hired by other
companies. If a company is having any kind of problem or want help with a new
product, they can hire someone like Andrea to help them strategize and develop a
plan. By being a consultant, Andrea has a lot of control over her hours and what she
expects from the company because they need her to help them. In American
Signature, they really implement their values and spread a positive, challenging
atmosphere. On all of the conference room doors, they have their values painted.
They never leave conference rooms confused about what is expected. I think that
this is a great way to make sure that everyone is on the same page.
For jobs in the marketing field, at least a bachelor’s degree in marketing is
usually expected. But, there are also ways to have a non-traditional approach to the
education requirements for marketing. Andrea actually graduated from The Ohio
State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and a minor in Spanish. From
there, she had internships involving broadcast journalism, which include tasks like
writing about consumer response and commercials. She eventually ended up with a
job in Public Relations, which propelled her more into the business side of
companies. After that, she took a job in the marketing field as a Resource Center
Coordinator and has stayed in the marketing field ever since. This shows that the
marketing field is diverse and does pair well with many different backgrounds. This
is because the skills needed to be successful in a marketing career are can come
from several different backgrounds.
Some skills needed to be successful in the marketing field are self-motivation,
confidence, a dedication to get the job done, and extreme flexibility. Marketing
involves convincing someone else of your ideas, project, or product truly are the
best ones on marketplace. If you are not confident in your ideas, no one else is going
to be confident in them either. Also, flexibility is especially important in the
marketing field. This is a skill that Andrea learned from broadcast journalism
because journalism is a great example of a field that is ever evolving. In marketing,
the demands of the consumer and marketing trends are always changing. Workers
need to be prepared to change their tactics and strategies frequently because the
ability to do this smoothly helps predict the success he or she will have in the field.
Andrea told me that as someone who has been working in the field a long time, one
thing that employers always look for is someone who is willing to show that they
will do anything to get the job done. They want to know that the people they are
hiring are dedicated and committed, no matter how hard the task might be. Another
skill that is important is knowing how to work the ever-evolving technology.
Today, technology and marketing are synonymous. Technology has become
so integrated into marketing that it is impossible for people to really succeed in this
field unless they can keep up with evolving technology. Some people think that this
means that technology is taking over marketing. But, Andrea informed me that
actually technology just makes it even more important for marketers to be able to
identify people using data. With technology, marketers can take this data and make
everything infinitely more personalized. They can identify a broader audience and
cater to their specific tastes. Even though technology seems to have drastically
changed marketing, it has really just enhanced every aspect of it. Marketing is an
old field, but technology merged with marketing truly is the future.
Even though marketing is an old field, a lot of people do not know the
different routes that can be taken with it. When most people think of marketing,
they think of the traditional advertising route. But, there are two main sides to
marketing. One side is the creative side. This side of marketing includes
copyrighters and art directors. The people who work these jobs are producing the
actual final project. But, the strategies and outline for their final product does not
come from them. This brings in the other aspect of marketing: the account side.
These people manage the strategy behind marketing campaigns. They help make
sure that everyone is on the same page and has the same target. Without these
people, campaigns could become really unfocused and lose their impact immensely.
Within both sides of marketing, there are roughly the same levels of promotion:
assistant, director, supervisor, senior, and vice president. Andrea is on the
accounting side of marketing. At this point in her career, she is now a Senior
Marketing Strategist. She has worked her way up enough and established such a
positive reputation that she has achieved this level of power and been able to
maintain it even when she transitioned to a consulting job. Since she has been in the
field for so long now, she has developed a strong network. Andrea referred me to
two different colleagues for more informational interviews: Jordan Monson and Deb
Rycus. Monson is Creative Director of Clutch and Rycus is a Consultant for Copyright
and has worked as a Freelance Writer.
Overall, this informational interview was a great experience. I did it with
someone that I already knew on a personal level, so this made me feel much more
comfortable with the interview. Also, I knew that she cared enough to explain the
things that I did not completely understand. This informational interview also
helped because before this, I did not know much about the consulting side of
marketing. Before, I had just considered traditional marketing fields. Not only did I
not know about non-traditional career paths, but also I did not understand the two
sides of marketing. Now, my eyes are opened up and I have a clearer view of what I
want to do. A career in the accounting side of marketing may be what I will pursue.