ADVICE FROM CORYNN MYERS

On Monday, March 1st, Marketing Strategist, Corynn Myers, spoke with MCMP. She gave lots of advice to current undergraduate students as she detailed the steps she took throughout her career path to get to where she is now. From working across the country in various fields ranging from Public Relations to Marketing and Consulting, Myers was able to pave her own path as she learned what she did and did not want out of a career. 

Here are some of the tips she gave to MCMP:

1. Differentiate

After moving back to Michigan, Myers applied to as many jobs as she could. She was offered a sales position on the agency side of MLive news, now called MLive Media Group. She credits her master’s degree for the reason she was hired because it set her apart from other candidates. She advises that, although it does not have to be graduate school, everyone should differentiate themselves from other applicants while applying for jobs. 

2. Do It Now

While at MLive, Myers says she learned everything she knows about digital marketing. She stands by the fact that agencies will teach their employees so much so fast and recommends going through that phase as soon as possible to gain the experience while new to the industry. 

3. Job Descriptions are a Minimum

After MLive, she was hired at the University of Michigan to help inform them of marketing strategies and run Brand Watch. After some time there, she was able to bring media buying in-house, promoting her to Digital Marketing Manager. From there she worked on the storytime campaign, thisismichigan.umich.edu as well as brought to GoBlue Guarantee in-house. She also became an in-house digital marketing agency within the University of Michigan for digital buying. Although none of these projects were in Myers’ job description, she still implemented a lot of growth for the University and was therefore also to further her own career. 

4. Don’t Let Age, Experience, or Perceived Knowledge Get in Your Way

During this time, Myers was still very young, but obviously very established in her job at the University of Michigan. Myers was even able to continue to get promoted despite the COVID-19 pandemic as she started a new project, campusblueprint.umich.edu, and became Associate Director of Media Marketing. She was able to accomplish all that by knowing that she was there for a reason, and not to question herself around older people who have been in the industry longer. 

5. Once a Job Has Stopped Working for You, It’s Time to Go

In January 2021, Myers felt like there was not much room for the opportunity for growth within the HigherEd industry. She did not see a future at the University of Michigan where she would be able to keep learning or gain a new experience. Similarly to when she was working for MLive, the job was no longer satisfying what she needed out of a job, and she decided to pursue other opportunities. 

6. Never Stop Learning

Myers moved on to do her own marketing and consulting, which creates strategies for Convince & Convert, a digital marketing advisory firm. Here, she is able to work in a way she never has and has time to freelance and pick up other projects on top of her work with Convince & Convert.

7. Volunteer

Myers advises volunteering. It can help to keep up on a certain skill or can be utilized to learn and practice and new skill. This broadens one’s skillset, aside from those that are used in the job.

8. Have a Path, But Don’t Be Afraid to Stray Away from it

Myers advocates having a direction for the future, but also explained that she had strayed away from the path she thought she would take, and it took her far. In addition, she mentioned that, in terms of digital marketing, the job people will have twenty years from now most likely does not exist and can’t be planned for right now.

—— March 4, 2021 by Amy Ellis