thank you both for being here – on substack generally *and* in the comments.
I’m going to get vulnerable in the comments since I have nothing to lose: I’m wondering if you have any advice on getting a job in beauty (on the brand side specifically) after having spent my career thus far in journalism and music. I know I’m capable, knowledgable, and passionate and that my skills are transferable... buuut I’ve been having a tough time getting past the general application phase as I don’t have a beauty brand in my work experience. I’ve been grateful to get a few interviews but have been passed over for people with brand experience or internal hires, which is totally fair! but I’m ready for my shot.
I’ve optimized my resume and linkedin, but have yet to have that magic run-into-a-founder-on-the-street-type moment where I can make a personal connection. so, I am laying myself bare here. what does an experienced marketing/content/digital/social gal have to do to get in the door?
thank you so much and jolie, please feel free to delete if this is out of bounds for the conversation you’d like to foster in the comments <3
Thank you for reading Consumed *and* Hotline Skin, and for getting vulnerable in the comments.
You sound absolutely ready for your shot and you have valuable experience as a storyteller and marketer. If you're getting stuck in the application process, my thought would be to pull together a list of between 5 to 10 brands that you would be thrilled to work for and see if 1) you have direct connections there or a mutual contact who can put you in touch 2) you can shoot your shot to someone who is doing interesting work to you at those companies via LinkedIn. Getting on people's radar even before a job posting is up is always helpful as I find it's been 'loose ties' like this who have helped get me opportunities more than the people I'm close to and ones in my direct network.
I also think of career moves like chess moves (lol I do not play chess) but that your next move can get you one step closer to where you really want to be after (beauty). So what might be the in between - is it beauty-focused journalism? Is it fashion to give you brand-side experience that feels more transferrable to beauty? Or health which feels beauty adjacent?
Feel free to DM if you have more questions, I hope this is a helpful starting point!!
thank you so much, roya! this comment is both affirming and actionable, so it’s as helpful as it gets. I have my dream-brand list but it sounds like I need to get a bit more shameless about contacting cool people at said companies. time to do (more) linkedin stalking and get in there!
This was absolutely incredible! Thank you Jolie and Roya 💛 I’d like to ask: what does the future of beauty look like for you, and how can we make it closer to a safe space?
What a lovely (and enormous!) question, thank you Lydia. I want the future of beauty to be less tops down and more of the people: I think what Glossier did really well was engage their customer base early on in product development and I’d love to see more of that. I’d also like to see brands taking a chance on their ordinary consumers and fans as influencers / content creators versus going for big name deals. Basically I would love to see a more equitable and representative industry that isn’t driven just by big conglomerates! Which would get us closer to that safe space. ❤️
An honor!
ilysm
Omg!!!!! Devoured every word of this, love you both!!!
Love you!!!!
ILY BOTH SO MUCH
thank you both for being here – on substack generally *and* in the comments.
I’m going to get vulnerable in the comments since I have nothing to lose: I’m wondering if you have any advice on getting a job in beauty (on the brand side specifically) after having spent my career thus far in journalism and music. I know I’m capable, knowledgable, and passionate and that my skills are transferable... buuut I’ve been having a tough time getting past the general application phase as I don’t have a beauty brand in my work experience. I’ve been grateful to get a few interviews but have been passed over for people with brand experience or internal hires, which is totally fair! but I’m ready for my shot.
I’ve optimized my resume and linkedin, but have yet to have that magic run-into-a-founder-on-the-street-type moment where I can make a personal connection. so, I am laying myself bare here. what does an experienced marketing/content/digital/social gal have to do to get in the door?
thank you so much and jolie, please feel free to delete if this is out of bounds for the conversation you’d like to foster in the comments <3
Thank you for reading Consumed *and* Hotline Skin, and for getting vulnerable in the comments.
You sound absolutely ready for your shot and you have valuable experience as a storyteller and marketer. If you're getting stuck in the application process, my thought would be to pull together a list of between 5 to 10 brands that you would be thrilled to work for and see if 1) you have direct connections there or a mutual contact who can put you in touch 2) you can shoot your shot to someone who is doing interesting work to you at those companies via LinkedIn. Getting on people's radar even before a job posting is up is always helpful as I find it's been 'loose ties' like this who have helped get me opportunities more than the people I'm close to and ones in my direct network.
I also think of career moves like chess moves (lol I do not play chess) but that your next move can get you one step closer to where you really want to be after (beauty). So what might be the in between - is it beauty-focused journalism? Is it fashion to give you brand-side experience that feels more transferrable to beauty? Or health which feels beauty adjacent?
Feel free to DM if you have more questions, I hope this is a helpful starting point!!
thank you so much, roya! this comment is both affirming and actionable, so it’s as helpful as it gets. I have my dream-brand list but it sounds like I need to get a bit more shameless about contacting cool people at said companies. time to do (more) linkedin stalking and get in there!
really appreciate both of you xx
This was absolutely incredible! Thank you Jolie and Roya 💛 I’d like to ask: what does the future of beauty look like for you, and how can we make it closer to a safe space?
What a lovely (and enormous!) question, thank you Lydia. I want the future of beauty to be less tops down and more of the people: I think what Glossier did really well was engage their customer base early on in product development and I’d love to see more of that. I’d also like to see brands taking a chance on their ordinary consumers and fans as influencers / content creators versus going for big name deals. Basically I would love to see a more equitable and representative industry that isn’t driven just by big conglomerates! Which would get us closer to that safe space. ❤️
Wow, I love these so much! 👏🏼