Developing a non-linear career in eCommerce & Digital

The start of this year has been very introspective for me. I look back over the last decade and it's fun to remember that I had NO idea what I wanted to achieve or even do in my career when I started out (and truth be told, I still don't!)

1) Most of the jobs/sector I'm in didn't exist back then

2) I had no experience or career guidance counselling, particularly as a university drop-out with quite a naive outlook on the world

My experiences and reflections are around the digital and eCommerce industry specifically, mainly because my story is not unique. I've worked with colleagues and partners who have come from all walks of life and industry verticals - supply chain, category management, product development, hospitality, events, etc and having never touched eCommerce or digital roles until a few years ago, are now in senior and leadership positions for some of the biggest brands and organisations in the world.

I'm not known for being concise but if you're interested to read on, I'll try and keep it to 3 core themes:

• Why digital and eCommerce is producing non-native talent
• My core career experiences and learnings
• Recommendations for anyone looking to build their career in this sector or get more exposure

Why digital and eCommerce are producing non-native talent

Very simply, the sector is relatively new. How many companies had eCommerce rotations on their graduate programs 10 years ago? How many eCommerce/Digital Centres of Excellence existed 10 years ago vs 5 vs now? As companies build capability, there has been a very small talent pool of people to choose from. It takes time to raise the next generation of experts in an evolving industry marketplace.

Secondly, the eCommerce space is VAST. This provides opportunity for generalists to emerge (I'd class myself in this category). Generalists are people who know 'a little about a lot' and can connect the dots across multiple disciplines that touch eCommerce (media, advertising, merchandising, finance, logistics, supply chain, trade terms, payment solutions, etc). Very few industries require this amount of breadth, and if this is something you're passionate about, the world of eCommerce could be for you, particularly if you love to influence people and solve complex business challenges.

(This FMCG Guys podcast episode shines a light on this nicely if you fancy a listen!)

That said, the vastness of eCommerce also allows you to specialise. Deep vertical specialists have opportunities to get into the details and drive results. For eCommerce to be successful in any organisation, teams require a balance of generalists and vertical specialists. The sky is the limit. If you're in data management, supply chain, finance, media, sales, etc, there's an opportunity to build your knowledge of how eCommerce impacts your business, gain cross-functional knowledge and practically apply this to your day to day.

My own experiences

My career began on the shop floor, working for Clinique / Estee Lauder on Beauty Counters. This is the best formal sales training I've ever had (it's not just about selling lipstick!) We were taught by relentless sales educators how to run in-person consultations and close sales on the spot - how to consult, listen, persuade, increase basket sizes, and drive loyalty. On quiet days, we were targeted to walk up to unassuming customers in-store for free consultations and get them to walk away with ￡100's of products. I learned how to build real personal relationships face-to-face and close the deal there and then.

Fast forward to recruitment: I worked for almost 6 years in consumer goods recruitment. The job came naturally in many ways as I already knew how to sell to people. What interested me now though, was refining that skillset. Recruitment is rooted in relationships, but there's an art to building and importantly maintaining quality relationships with clients and candidates, managing multiple job openings, applications, interview stages, consulting with both stakeholders, as well as self-promotion and establishing yourself as an industry expert and advisor. It was a 'tough love' environment and isn't for everyone. I admit to not always being the best cold caller and 'hard sell' salesperson. I loved getting to know my clients and candidates. But, surrounded by colleagues recruiting for national accounts, category management, shopper marketing, etc, I was given the opportunity to work on a retail client in the media/insights space. This was the beginning for me to really own a space no one else was touching, and then develop my own client base of shopper agencies, tapping into media agencies, Amazon agencies, and digital. I've put a lot of effort into maintaining these relationships with past candidates, clients and colleagues alike which has really shaped my career even to this day.

When our clients began to in-house media c. 2017-2018, this was my first experience in the programmatic and media/data world. Clients were briefing us on things we'd never recruited for, and I would be passed roles that I didn't understand, and neither did my colleagues - it was one of those, we fill it or we don't but no skin off our nose. To me, this was a challenge - I don't believe people wanted me to fail, but I think there was some element of being pawned off as not our core offering, but something I raised my hand for anyway. My favourite Elizabeth Bennett quote always comes to mind in these situations

“There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.”

I went into overdrive to interview, network, and try to understand what this sector was about. Despite not knowing the technicalities, within 2 weeks of speaking to people, I could articulate the briefs confidently and filled all of the roles. My drive was 1) I wanted to prove I could adapt to a new space, 2) I was hugely interested in it and took the time to be curious and learn.

One thing I have never done is shy away from something because I don't know about it. Being curious is the secret to growth, and you should never be afraid to ask even a basic question to further your learning. Some of the best business leaders I know are still curious and able to admit gaps in knowledge. It's a strength, not a weakness to recognise you don't (and will never) know it all.

Another thing I have taken with me from my recruitment days and probably one of the best tidbits was learning to trust the process. 'Shit in, shit out' was hammered in - if your inputs are shit, your results will be too. Hone your craft, and success will follow.

Amazon Agency: I got my job at Molzi after prospecting them to recruit! I sent a connection request on LinkedIn and a headline intro - the phone rang and the tables were turned on me: they wanted someone in the team with my network and experience. I agreed to a meeting but put it on the table that if I didn't want the job I had to be allowed to pitch my services (I wanted the job though). This was a scary move for me, I've already admitted I wasn't the most incentivized to do cold call lead gen, but this move to business development allowed me to flex my consultative skills and be more hands-on in the industry. I talked about Amazon a lot as a recruiter but didn't know the details. I was thrown completely in the deep end when I joined and it was sink or swim, particularly as this was in April 2020 when the pandemic hit; I didn't meet my colleagues in person until August, and the world of Amazon and eCommerce took off so rapidly, we were chasing our coattails to scale fast enough.

Several months in, I volunteered to take on a big project off the back of some internal workshops around improving our internal structures and client onboarding. Whilst I was initially there as a 'bus dev rep', I put my hand up to own the project and implementation. This allowed me to step outside of my day to day, learn every business process that touched clients across advertising, content, PPC (and DSP to come), finance, IT, reporting, account management, and job roles and responsibilities. It was a big project, but getting this experience in how to run a successful agency business model, build contracts, services and client relationships and expectations was amazing. It also led to me getting promoted. It was one of those things that by raising my hand, the results came with recognition and opportunity.

(If you're curious, a write up of the challenges we faced and how we approached it can be found in this article)

My most recent career move was spurred by several factors, but namely a desire to keep learning and broaden beyond eCommerce agencies and enter the media agency world to uncover the passion that ignited for me years before. When interviewing, I relied on my network and former client base for introductions, as well as having a reputation as someone in the industry who (hopefully at least) is recognized as knowing their salt. Some of the media companies I was interested in didn't understand my experience, so I was passed over. Almost everyone I met with acknowledged my career has been quite non-traditional by market standards.

Vertical growth is less important to me, right now. I have 20 years at least left in my corporate career - it always amazed me when I was a recruiter how so many people put 'I want a more senior role and become a manager' as their career goal. People would often turn down opportunities because they didn't have line management responsibility. On reflection, I think this is because it was the obvious route for progression in many org structures. But, at least at this stage in my career, I am looking to become more 'T' shaped.

'T' shaped for me is having deep vertical knowledge in consumer goods and eCommerce, but at this point, broadening my experience in the media and data industry. And let's be honest with ourselves, the development of this space in the last 2-3 years alone has been dramatic - I talked about roles not existing 10 years ago, can you imagine the next 10 years? Technology, investment, capabilities, and the cacophony of retail, ecommerce, marketing, and sales teams colliding into what is an often confusing and slightly messy space, is creating a whole world of opportunity. We are at a pivotal time in the industry where the world of traditional media, retail, digital, ecommerce, and technology are colliding - there are no seasoned experts. We're building the industry of the future with every client interaction, partnership, 'test and learn', case study, etc.

A final point, is that being in the services and agency space, has given me a ton of exposure. My career has spanned multiple categories, countries, businesses and teams, and like I sponge I've absorbed a 'little about a lot'. This is one of my favourite things about being in the service industry.

To summarise (well done for making it this far) - the behaviors that have enabled my career development internally and externally (you don't have to move companies to grow!)

• Curiosity - ask questions, probe and don't be afraid to 'follow your nose' - go down the odd rabbit hole
• Networking - build relationships with people. Go for coffee with colleagues in other departments, meet your suppliers, ask questions
• Take ownership of opportunities - don't always rely on opportunities to be handed to you. Seize opportunities, volunteer and give it your all, even if you're not fully confident
• Focus on quality outputs - results will come, refine your skillset as a priority

Recommendations for anyone building their career in this space

Whether you're seeking an internal move, a new project, or an external move, you are the master of your fate! Be proactive with your learning, and begin forging relationships and networking in the industry. Connect to thought leaders, read articles/books, attend webinars, etc.. Qualifications, online courses - there is SO much out there to take advantage of. Think about your transferable skills - I've already highlighted how the sector has space for generalists and vertical specialisms - how you can guide your learning and exposure? Are there internal projects you can volunteer to be part of to further this? It does not need to be a promotion to learn! Horizontal growth is just as valuable as vertical growth.

Encourage conversation and debate with your peers and reach out to those you'd love to learn from - you'd be surprised how many people are willing to give 30 minutes of their time over a coffee to support peers, however junior or senior you are for a career conversation.

If you find yourself stuck (I know I do sometimes) I start to think about what my passions are, and what I want to learn. Adopt a 'make it happen' attitude/growth mindset -if you are waiting for people to tell you what to do all the time, encourage yourself to think outside of the box and 'follow your nose' - when you are open-minded, you'll discover possibilities you may have never considered before.