Name: Liam Taft
Degree details: BA English
Job title: Web Content Coordinator
Describe your current role:
I currently work in the marketing team at Twinkl, which is one of the UK’s largest educational publishers. My primary role is to run the Twinkl Education Blog, but I also coordinate other online content and write social media posts.
What is the biggest mistake you have made since graduating and what have you learnt from it?
The biggest mistake I made when starting my job was not asking for help. I don’t come from a marketing background, so I didn’t know all of the terminology at first. I felt embarrassed about not understanding some concepts, which held me back.
Since then, I’ve learned that it’s okay to ask someone to explain something, even if it might seem obvious. If your team is supportive, they’ll want everyone to be on the same page. Even better, it’ll make you seem inquisitive and curious to learn more!
What is the best piece of advice you have been given?
Something that my team always remind me is that it’s okay to fail. When you start your first job out of university, you can feel a lot of pressure to ‘prove’ yourself. However, especially when you’re taking the first steps of your career, you’re not going to get everything right the first time.
Marketing in particular involves a lot of experimenting with new techniques to drive growth. Sometimes, these experiments work well, but other times they fail. Knowing that it’s okay to get things wrong means you can take the pressure off yourself.
What have you learned since graduating that could be helpful to other graduates like you?
One thing I’ve learned is that you shouldn’t be afraid to try something new. For as long as I can remember I wanted to be a journalist. At university, I completed multiple placements at magazines and newspapers and wrote freelance commissions too. However, I found it difficult to find any jobs outside of London that didn’t require an expensive postgraduate qualification.
After doing some more research and attending the ‘Insight into..’ talks with the Careers Network, I found that I could apply my skills to marketing. I still get to write articles every day, so I get to use the skills I developed in journalism. Sometimes your career doesn’t start in the way you’d expect, but embrace the challenge and see where it takes you.
Can you recommend us something?
If you work in marketing, it’s important to stay up to date with the latest trends, especially if your job involves SEO like mine.
It’s also a great idea to learn more about your discipline, no matter your skill level. This means you can keep challenging, refining, and improving your skills.
In particular, I recommend the Jeff Bullas blog for marketing tips.
The Sticky Notes newsletter is also a great resource for learning more about copywriting.