What's your job about?
L’Oréal’s mission is to create the beauty that moves the world, and as a Management Trainee, I am a small part of that mission. I’m currently in my first rotation (of two) as a grad working in the Brand Marketing team for CeraVe, which is in the Active Cosmetics Division of the business. I report directly to the Brand Manager and am across most aspects of the brand – PR, social media, paid media, retail, digital etc.
As the team for CeraVe is relatively small, and we are such a fast-growing brand within the business, I’m fortunate to have quite a lot of responsibility and work on so many diverse, fast-paced projects. A highlight has been working on CeraVe’s 2022 Winter Campaign from start to finish across a 360-degree perspective, working with agencies to conceptualise, shoot and deliver a paid media campaign, organising a media event, and amplifying the campaign across social media on Instagram and TikTok.
Apart from the larger campaign projects, I assist with monthly forecasting, work with agencies to manage the CeraVe social media account, brief and create artwork for our retailers, perform market analysis for new product launches, and report our performance to ensure we are meeting our KPIs, and am constantly diving through data to help refine our brand strategy. Every day is truly different but there’s always something exciting to work on.
What's your background?
I’ve been in Melbourne my whole life. Growing up, I have always been interested in fashion as my grandmother was a talented seamstress and I was fascinated watching her make clothes. After high school, I started working with various luxury brands as a client advisor which were wonderful experiences and confirmed my love for the fashion and beauty industries. At the time, I was studying for a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Finance and Economics.
After graduating, I worked in a few stockbroking firms in portfolio management and derivatives roles before deciding to go back to university and pursue a Master’s degree in marketing. I had a hunch that marketing was a great mix of analytical/business thinking which interested me, with a creative element that I was missing in the world of stockbroking, and luckily, I was right! During this postgraduate degree, I was able to complete an international management consulting project with a craft beer brewery, as well as complete an internship with Red Havas in Melbourne, working on various accounts in social media and PR. These practical experiences confirmed that I was heading in the right direction with a career in marketing.
I had a wonderful mentor through the organisation Out for Australia (a non-for-profit aiming to support young LGBTIQA+ professionals starting out in their careers) who highlighted L’Oréal as a great place to learn and grow my career – especially because fashion and beauty are so similar, both focused on helping people look and feel their best.
After doing my own research, learning about L’Oréal’s values and seeing the sort of trajectory my career could have by working at an internationally renowned company like L’Oréal, it was a no-brainer to apply for the graduate program, and I haven’t looked back!
Could someone with a different background do your job?
As long as you have a general Marketing/Business mindset, I personally think background isn’t so important. L’Oréal as a business really values diversity in experience and so there isn’t a set degree that will give you all the answers, and on a daily basis, I work with people from all sorts of backgrounds. I would say mindset and values are more important. Passion, innovation, entrepreneurial spirit, open-mindedness, the quest for excellence and responsibility are all highly valued at L’Oréal, and I try to bring these values into my everyday practice as a marketer.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
The best part of my job is how much responsibility I’m given as a graduate. We’re seen as future leaders of the business and are given really interesting projects to work on. It’s so rewarding to work on a project from start to finish and have visibility and the opportunity to input at every stage. It is extremely gratifying to see the love for and engagement with our brands and how our consumers respond to our various marketing activities. Also, I really love that I work for a company that truly champions diversity, equity & inclusion as this is something that is very important to me.
What are the limitations of your job?
L’Oréal is a fast-paced business. This often means that you need to be agile and juggle several projects at the same time, work with a lot of different people and manage a lot of moving pieces simultaneously. For me, this is what makes everything so exciting, but it can be overwhelming initially and it’s a lot of hard work. There are times when I’ve worked outside typical office hours to get time-critical projects over the line, but as a whole, I feel a great sense of work-life balance.
3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...
Network. I would recommend trying to find a mentor or reaching out to people who are working in careers you could see yourself working in. Having a great network who you can lean on for advice is so useful, and I’ve found these so beneficial in helping to guide my own career.
Worry less. From speaking with dozens of professionals across so many different industries and functions, the one common thread is that people rarely have linear careers anymore. It’s normal to feel confused about your future, and to keep trying things and jump around until you find the job that really speaks to you – you never know until you try.
Get practical. If your university degree overs practicums or internships – run, don’t walk! University is certainly important, but nothing beats practical, real-life experience.