Career Growth Advice from Emily Sechrist, Brand Marketing Leader | Career Tips for Women in Brand Marketing

2B Bolder Podcast – Episode 62
Featuring Emily Sechrist, from Lam Research

Episode Title: #62 Career Podcast Featuring Emily Sechrist, Director of Brand and Social Media at Lam Research: Women in Tech

Host: Mary Killelea
Guest: Emily Sechrist



Mary Killelea (Host): Hi there. My name is Mary Killelea. Welcome to the To Be Bolder podcast, providing career insights for the next generation of women in business and tech. To Be Bolder was created out of my love for technology and marketing, my desire to bring together like-minded women, and my hope to be a great role model and source of inspiration for my two girls and other young women like you. Encouraging you guys to show up and to be bolder and to know that anything you guys dream of, it's totally possible. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the conversation.

Hi there. Thanks for tuning in today. Today's guest has one of the hottest jobs around. Emily Sechrist is Director of Brand and Social Media at Lam Research. She's a global marketer, communicator, and strategist with a passion for connecting brands and customers on emotional level through storytelling and shared values. Emily, oh my gosh, it is so great to have you here.

Emily Sechrist (Guest): Oh, thank you. I'm so excited. I've been following this podcast for a while, so it's exciting to be here.

Mary Killelea: Thank you. And a little secret to the audience members, our career paths have crossed before, so it's wonderful to see your face again as well.

Emily Sechrist: You too.

Mary Killelea: Okay, so you have seen social media from its infancy to grow up to what it is today. How essential would you say social media is for businesses?

Emily Sechrist: I think just taking a step back, as you said, like seeing it through its infancy. When I started in social media, the first challenge to me was take a look at the social thing. It wasn't brand new, but the idea of using it for businesses, especially in the B2B space, was fresh. And so it was, should we be doing social media, and if we should, what should we be doing? And that's no longer the question. There's no option about whether or not you should be doing social media, because you don't have a choice in the matter. You have people who are going to be talking about you in social media, regardless of whether or not you have a presence. And so the question has become, you know, really not should we do it, but how are we going to do it? Where are we going to do it? And what level of participation are we going to have? They used to say that your website was the front door to the company. And I that I think is still true, but if it's the front door, then social media is the living room. And it's just like, what type of living room do you want to have? What types of conversations, etc. So I would say it's foundational at this point. And it's mandatory, to some degree.

Mary Killelea: Yeah, I would totally agree. So, let's back up a little bit too, and have you tell us about your journey and how you got to where you are today.

Emily Sechrist: Okay. Yeah. So actually, I'm going to take it a little bit way back. I started in college as a nursing major. And I did that I got into my clinicals. And I was like, Oh, no, people, I have to keep them alive. Like, this is not this is not what I was built for. So, I switched and went into business. And then I actually started just out of college in HR, as a generalist in a manufacturing facility. So very, very different, but worked my way through a number of jobs in HR, training and development, succession planning, got into HR comms, and internal comms and managed to find my way onto a marketing team. And at that point, I had just joined the marketing team from comms. And that's when I said, Hey, social media, what do we do with this? And so I did that for a while, I built a program and got into CRM, and then took a break, went agency side for a little bit just to get some experience there. And then came back client side, worked for a couple of large B2B organizations, and then hadn't done social media per se. And brand I was in a couple different spaces. And then I got a call from Intel to come back to social media, come out of retirement, if you will. And then just most recently was head of social media there before coming to Lam and Lam has been great because I am doing social media, but I'm getting back into brand and a number of other things that I've got some passion for.

Mary Killelea: That's awesome. And you mentioned your agency and client side experience. How valuable do you think it was to you and your perspective in your career and even marketability to have both of those?

Emily Sechrist: I think it's funny, I've seen a lot of memes lately from the agency side that are all clients and so like rolling their eyes and they're like, I used to be on the agency side, but I do think that there is a lot of value and just building empathy for those relationships and understanding the challenges that you're on on both sides. I think oftentimes as a client, if you don't have that agency experience, you're like, I don't understand like why this takes so long or why scoping is like this or why can't they just be available when I need them, retainer without a retainer. And so I think it's really important to know both sides so that you can be a better partner across the board.

Mary Killelea: I love it. And I completely agree. Let's talk about the complexities related to the responsibilities of social media. I think there's some that unless you're in it, you don't really realize everything that goes with it. Can you talk about some of those?

Emily Sechrist: I would say there's three different areas that each have pieces that cause complexity when it comes to social media. The first one is the platforms themselves. And it's not just like the current platforms, but staying close to what platforms are coming, understanding their capabilities, new features that are being added, how are they optimizing their algorithms? So there's a lot about just staying close to the platform themselves and understanding really kind of the capabilities and how you would use those. And then you add on top of that kind of that internal marketing layer, which is what do we use social for? Who are our audiences? What are our company goals and objectives that we're trying to ladder social media plans up to content, paid and organic? Who's our audience? How is our audience shifting with all the platform changes? And so staying close to the platforms, it's staying close to what you need to get done and accomplished with social media.

And then there's this third piece, which is the organization itself. And this, I think, you know, each of these has different, you know, different companies, one harder than the other, if you will. You know, in some cases, it's how do I get a seat at the table? And I'm not saying this is the case where I am or, you know, the place I've been, but oftentimes, people look at social and they're like, oh, like the intern could do that. Or like, we don't need a senior person. Why do we need a senior person leading social media? It's just a bunch of tweets. And a lot of people, because they have a social media account, think they can do it. And so you've got a lot of people who, I think, discount or discredit what it takes to do social. And then you also have this like mitigating risk factor, because the more active you are, the more visibility you have, the more places you have for there to be risks or issues to come up. So it's like, we need a seat at the table. Oh, and we know that we're risky, but give us a shot. And then also, our employees are our number one tool that we have, especially today, as the feeds are getting more crowded, and people are distrusting brands more. It's how do we get our employees activated so they can help carry that message? So there's all these things like a bunch of spinning plates that you're trying to keep moving. And oh, it's always on, so it's 24 hours a day.

Mary Killelea: That is complex.

Emily Sechrist: Yeah, it's a lot to take in. And so I think being very clear and managing up and helping educate and bringing your stakeholders along is an incredibly important aspect of it.

Mary Killelea: So if someone was looking at more of a junior role, what might be some of the positions to look for? And also, let's talk about those mid-level roles, because I think my audience kind of covers both. What's been great about the evolution of social media is when I started, it was you're like a social media strategist or a community manager. And as it's grown and the definition of social continues to expand, I think there's more and more opportunities to get in and to learn different things that are either going to be great for you to extend your career up or to use what you've learned in other places. So you can go a strategist route, which is working closely with your business and your stakeholders to determine how we use social, content planning, et cetera. That gets you in a great path to take a leadership role. I would say one of the best ways in and where I've seen a lot of people get their start is community management. And these are the people that are in the day-to-day. They're reading the conversations, they're responding on behalf of the brand, they're doing social listening, they're creating a feedback loop up. And it's a really great way to really dive in on social and be in the day-to-day of it. But it's also really great to know your audience. So even if you want to go do something else, there's no better way to know who you're marketing to than to spend your days kind of in the weeds of the conversations, understanding their pain points and what they're looking to do.

And then the other way is more like a creative kind of content production. So you could be a strategist, you can go community management, strategist more kind of mid-level. Or if you want to go more creative side, you have to create and develop creative specifically for social. So, there's a whole arm of this that would be just being like an internal creative kind of services type of role for social media as well. Learning things like animation, how to display content visually in a way that's kind of thumb-stopping and engaging.

Mary Killelea: Don't you think one of the most important things, especially, I guess I would say some of the older generation, because you got millennials that were just born with it, they're on their phones all the time, but you know, people my age, like I dabble in it all the time and I do it with my own brand just so I'm educated, just so I know and I understand it. And I see people who don't do that. And I think that's doing themselves a disservice.

Emily Sechrist: Yeah. I mean, I am one of those millennials. So, I came in and was one of the early users of Facebook. It's been fun to see other generations kind of come in and make it their own. I think it's a disservice, but also it's got to be authentic. So, if you're somebody who's not comfortable, you're better off not. There's like those lawyers that are just kind of in there lurking, that are watching things. And I think if that's your comfort level, that's great. You don't have to necessarily create things, but you should be aware of the tools. You should understand them, especially from a business perspective. But I think the other side of the coin is trying to force somebody to be active and social when that's not something that's comfortable for them, feels very inauthentic and disingenuous. So, you know, if that's what you want to do, you want to come in and lurk, I think that's great, but that's probably a minimum you need to do.

Mary Killelea: Good point. Okay. So how can someone best prepare themselves for to be most appealing to a higher manager who has like open social roles? And I know that's a very broad statement, but what would like some of the, I don't know, soft skills or values or just intrinsic things that you look for in talent?

Emily Sechrist: I think so obviously any prior experience in social or marketing is going to be helpful. I look for the people that are able to make connections too. Because I think so often you can come in and say like, I can make really cool Instagram reels or I can make a cool TikTok, like I would be great, especially when it comes to B2B, what I'm looking for is how do you make the connection of that really cool relevant TikTok that you're doing and connect it back to the bottom line and how it's going to produce some sort of return on investment for the business. And so, it's having both that understanding of social media, even if it's just something you're doing on your own, but being able to dig in and have business acumen and be analytical about how you use those things. And so, a lot of times we'll have people come in for interviews and be like, Hey, I was out on your channel. I was like reading up on your business. Have you thought about these things? And if they're able to bring some great ideas that feel like they connect all of those things, I think that's great.

Mary Killelea: You said earlier, one of the biggest challenges is platforms. How do you actively stay engaged or up to date with the ever changing landscape and determine which is right for your business?

Emily Sechrist: Yeah. Well, I think the first is staying up to date and some of it is just reading and doing your own things. I belong to, and I have for years socialmedia.org. It's a great organization. It's for clients. So, no vendors, no agencies. And there's very strict rules around confidentiality, but it's a great place for all of us who do social media to be able to share like, Hey, this is a new feature. Have you tried it? What did your experience been? Have you gotten good results? So there's like just staying close to the platforms. And if you're lucky enough, not all companies are, but if you're lucky enough to have some spend enough with those platforms that have some really great account directors over there, learning as much as you can. And then I think if you use all the resources, your own network, you've built, if you belong to things like socialmedia.org, if you're following all the news feeds for the platforms, the decision on what to use really goes back to your business. And again, what are those goals and what do you need to do to make those decisions? Consumer is going to be much different. When I was working in gaming, for example, things like Twitch and Discord and things like that were way more important than LinkedIn. And so understanding your audience, where they're spending their time, what you're looking for them to do, and what the information is, is going to help you make decisions about where you need to be and what content you're creating. So you need to have an understanding of all of them. And I've seen some really creative applications where you maybe not think a platform makes sense, but you see somebody do something where they kind of hack it and you're like, oh, well, that's actually pretty cool. I should have thought about that myself, but yeah, but it's hard. It's a lot.

Mary Killelea: Okay. Let's shift gears here for a bit and kind of bring it back more on you. How have you approached your career from a strategy standpoint, if you will, or do you?

Emily Sechrist: I have tried to not be too prescriptive. I know there's some people are like, I want to do this, and then I want to do this, and then I want to do this, and this will put me in a great place for this career ladder. And that's not the way I approach it. I know that there's things that are hard nos. Like these are things I don't want to do. I don't enjoy doing. I don't want to work in these industries. For me, it's about being open and seeing all of the opportunities that come and see which ones feel right or are going to push me the furthest. I don't want to stay in a comfort zone too long. I know there's things I enjoy doing, but changing industries or companies or looking for those opportunities and advocating for yourself. Sometimes it's the simplest thing and need in an organization and raising your hand and saying, we need that. And I'm passionate about it. And I want to go do that.

Mary Killelea: I think that's wonderful to speak up and create those opportunities for yourself. When you think about shifting to a new job or a new company, are there any non-negotiables that are important to you, whether it be culture or I guess I'll leave it at that. Are there any non-negotiables?

Emily Sechrist: I think the older I get, things like culture and work-life balance, leadership are incredibly important. Not that they're not important before, but I think when you're earlier in your career, you're more willing to make sacrifices or have more trade-offs. And the further you get in your career, if you've got a family, maybe if you don't, if you've got other things that are occupying your time, then you find those things that matter most to you. And for me right now, where I am, it's where am I going to be able to balance things the best and to be able to get a good night's sleep at the end of the night? I feel like I'm both productive and I'm a valuable member of the team, but that that team also values who I am outside of the team as well.

Mary Killelea: Yeah. Pros and cons of being in social media. I know that's a hard question to bring up any cons, but I've got to imagine there are some.

Emily Sechrist: Oh, there definitely are. So pros would be that every day is different. You can never predict what's going to happen, which is exciting, but also one of the cons because you can never predict what's going to happen. You get to be a valuable member. If you can manage up and you can educate, you can be seen as a very valuable member of the team because you have your finger on the pulse of everything that's happening and you're a valuable part of the feedback loop that goes back into business. And I think in social you can pretty quickly and easily see some of the value you're bringing back. Cons are it's 24 seven. Like as much as you can build a team and you can have people in regions to help with it, you never stop being concerned about what's happening because it's like trying to, it's like a drop in the ocean, if you will, trying to listen and know what's happening and where the mentions are. And you are not immune from any of the cultural things that are happening, political things that are happening. Like you've got to be on and prepared for crisis management at all times.

Mary Killelea: That's so, so true and no more true than these recent years that we've been living through. Okay. So, let's switch to how you approach challenges that have come your way throughout your career.

Emily Sechrist: Well, I've had some as we all have. I was laid off at one point after I moved across the country, I didn't have a network. It was scary to be kind of feeling like you're out there on an island. I think it's having people around you who can remind you of who you are that can remind you that you are smart, that you are capable and digging in deep to find that within yourself, which is not always easy. And I think it's having faith that what you've done to this point will get you through to the next one. And trying to not to take those things personally, that a lot of times things happen outside of your control, but knowing when you've got to grow and change yourself in order to respond to those.

Mary Killelea: Do you actively engage or work on your network, building your network? Is it a conscious thing that you work on?

Emily Sechrist: I do. I wouldn't say it's necessarily formalized in what I do, but I think always making sure that you're staying in touch with people, that you're remembering holidays or birthdays or like what's going on and you're checking in. And not in like a negative way, like, oh, I might need them someday. But having and taking a true interest in the people that you surround yourself with and being supportive of them along the way is only going to benefit everybody along the way. So yeah, I think that that's definitely important, but it's definitely a balance.

Mary Killelea: How have you advocated for yourself over the years? Any advice on that?

Emily Sechrist: I think advocating is my number one thing that I would want everyone to know that they need to do. And I think that that changes not only with company size, but where you are in your career. And oftentimes it's harder to advocate earlier because we all suffer from things like imposter syndrome and we're not quite confident in ourselves. And so definitely advocating for yourself gets easier. I think the thing I would remind people early in their career is you have something to bring to the table and you've got value whether you know it or not. And so it's never easy when somebody is unsure of themselves to try to convince them of that. But I think the more you can do to remind yourself over time. And then I think it's, like I said, one of the most important things you can do is to advocate for yourself, to stand up and to stand up for others too. You know, if you see something or you see that somebody maybe isn't getting the advantages they should be. I think also if you advocate for others along with yourself, it helps you build credibility within the organization too.

Mary Killelea: That's fantastic. If you were starting off in marketing today or your career, is there anything that you would do differently?

Emily Sechrist: You know, I love B2B. It's where I've spent most of my time. I think it has really unique challenges. I would go and maybe take the other path of B2C and get more on the consumer side. And I'm sure we all think that. I think B2B, we're like, we love it. There's a passion there. But yeah, consumer would be really great too. So I think I would look for some other kind of industry experiences. And then also maybe deep dive into some other areas of marketing beyond you know, social and digital as well.

Mary Killelea: When you reflect on your career, what are you most proud of?

Emily Sechrist: I would say getting through those tough times and then being able to look back at them when times are good and to understand how far that you've come. I know it wasn't one of the questions that we were talking about today, but it was like around whenever you know that you've made it. And for me, it's like when you can walk into a room and just know that you bring something that you bring something and you're confident in the value that you have. And I think that there's a pivot that happens in your career when you no longer are kind of questioning yourself. And so for me, that's kind of like that proud moment of knowing like, no, I know that I have something that I can do that I can bring that would be valued.

Mary Killelea: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. What does to be bolder mean to you?

Emily Sechrist: Yeah, I think, as I mentioned earlier, I think it's standing up for yourself. It's standing up for others. It's easy to get kind of defensive and to pit yourself against other people or to feel insecure. But it's easier and it feels better at the end of the day to be supportive of others and know that there's room at the table for everybody. And so I think it's it's that advocating whether it's for a job or it's for things that you see where people are being mistreated or when people aren't giving themselves the credit they deserve. So, you know, even if it's just like being with somebody and saying, actually, that was a great idea. Like, speak up more on that. So I think it's just having the courage to use your voice to be able to support yourself and others.

Mary Killelea: This has been so fun. Is there anything that you'd like to tell the audience or listeners that we haven't talked about that you could add?

Emily Sechrist: I would say for me more like what I would make sure anyone early in their career knows is that your career journey is probably not going to go the way you think it's going to go as the person who is in a manufacturing plant as an HR person being here today. But be open, be open to the opportunities that come, be willing to take risks. Sometimes they'll work, sometimes they won't. But the journey can be even more fun than you think when you start out if you're willing to take those chances.

Mary Killelea: Fantastic advice. How can someone get in contact with you?

Emily Sechrist: The best way to get in contact with me is LinkedIn. So I'm in social media, so I'm out there all the time. So, send me an email message or connect with me. Happy to continue to grow that network and get to know everybody.

Mary Killelea: Emily, thank you so much for being on the show.

Emily Sechrist: Thank you. This has been a great time.

Mary Killelea: Thanks for listening to the episode today. It was really fun chatting with my guests. If you liked our show, please like it and share it with your friends. If you want to learn what we're up to, please go check out our website at 2bbolder.com. That's the number 2, little b, bolder.com.