If you ever wondered what it takes to land a career in branding, we did the research for you. We interviewed industry experts that have experience with hiring for top-tier brand consultancies. Let’s introduce them briefly:

Lori Almeida, Chief Talent Officer at Siegel+Gale. Lori’s role is to hire the best talent for a variety of positions at S+G. Her 15+ years of experience helped her find her true passion in branding – people.

Tam Le, Strategist at Pearlfisher. As a Client Associate at Landor, Tam had the chance to interview and hire for summer internship positions. Her perspective is unique because of her global involvement with offices in London, Singapore and New York.

David Santos, Chief Talent Officer at Interbrand. David’s experience in attracting, engaging and developing recruiting strategies gives a unique perspective from one of the world’s largest brand consultancies.

Lindsay Beltzer, Senior Associate of Marketing and Communications at Interbrand. As a Millennial herself, Lindsay helps develop research and analysis for the Best Global Brands, Best Retail Brands and Best Global Green Brands.

In order to understand the 4W’s of branding (what, why, where, who and most importantly, how) let us start from scratch. I warn you, this might be a long and thorough one.

Why Millennials in branding? What is it that Millennials bring to this market, and why are they valuable to people that are hiring?

As the biggest generation, Millennials are worth the attention of marketers. Just because of the size of this huge demographic, Generation Y should be viewed as a big purchasing power. Lindsay Beltzer thinks that this is why marketers should pay special attention to this generation:

“We [the Millenniall Generation] have grown accustomed to so much customization around the way we consume content and interact with brands, everything from who we choose to follow on Twitter, to deciding what we’ll watch on Netflix, to even buying our groceries online.”

Furthermore, this is the generation that started in the early 80’s which makes them ‘the kids of the 90’s’, which was the technological advancement boom in the States. Millennials grew up with technology and they learned how to use it to their benefit, which is not likely for the Baby Boomers, or even Gen Xers. In this sense, this generation is different with their behavior, both personal and spending.

“Unlike the Baby Boomers, if Millennials don’t like what’s on offer they’ll create a better way. I think the Boomers accept what’s being given to them. Millennials don’t wait around to see what works, they research and take risks. They create opportunities that work for them,” says Lori Almeida, who has been working closely with Millennials at Siegel+Gale.

Because of its aforementioned “addiction to technology,” Gen Y is the one that brings a new perspective on brands, and how we feel about them. While Boomers and Xers have to catch up, this technology is already in Millennials, which makes them always up-to-date. Tam Le sees this as the biggest asset of this generation:

“They bring a knowledge of brands that non-Millennials might not know about. This applies to apps, start-ups, and all rising tech brands.”

Okay, so Millennials are valuable. But what are they asking for in return?

What are Millennials looking for in their first job experience?

Millennials are, before anything else, very eager to learn about things that they have previous knowledge about. Hence, those that have had some sort of experience in branding know that this is the path that they want to take. Since branding is one of those fields where you need to use both the ‘left and right’ sides of your brain, young brand professionals want to jump in and develop their skills in this industry. Furthermore, fresh college grads love using their knowledge and applying it to the workplace.

“Something that we hear here frequently, even from our interns, is that they get an enormous amount of responsibility very quickly,” says David Santos, pointing out that collaboration is key in the brainstorming sessions that Millennials are active in.

It is somewhat expected to see this trend, but this is not everything that Gen Y’s want from their first gig. Next on the list is the urgency of promotion. Lori thinks that this comes as a consequence of their need to be heard:

“I think that’s because this generation is so hungry to go out and build something new that they want to get as much as they can out of the workplace and before they start to build their own empires,” Lori explains.

Maybe that is what makes this generation so unique, after all.

SEE ALSO: These Are the World’s Top 25 Brands You Should Be Working For

What are you looking for when hiring for entry-level positions in branding?

Since these jobs are extremely competitive and there are only so many openings, being a ‘good fit’ simply isn’t enough. The key word here is passion. Branding is a field that requires you to be up-to-date with daily news from various fields, which is why you need to be passionate about branding. David believes that this is the key:

“We are always looking for people passionate about global brands, those that have their own point-of-view and those that have a prior experience through internships. Finally, those that have these qualities are the ones that want to be involved with Interbrand and want to be involved with our projects.”

A similar story is seen across the street in Siegel+Gale, where the company’s goal is to attract passionate individuals that follow the ethos of simplicity:

“Sometimes a person walks through the door that does not have any experience, but you know they live the ethos of simplicity (which is what Siegel+Gale is all about) and they are truly smart, nice and unstoppable, and that’s what we look for first and foremost.”

However, something that is equally important is the diversity of thought and different opinions.

“I definitely like to see who has a large breadth of knowledge. One thing that I like to see in brand strategy is that people got degrees in Art History, English or International Relations which are different schools of thought, and they all come together which gives a unique perspective,” Tam Le argues.

How do you feel about social media as a personal branding and networking tool for Millennials, and a recruiting tool for HR managers?

Social media and Millennials are made for each other – not hypothetically, but literally. Studies have shown that the majority of Millennials are not only present, but extremely active on all social media outlets. Social media exists because it is heavily used by Millennials and it seems that, more so than not, Millennials exist because of the social media. Companies have learned  not only to deal with this, but to use it to their advantage as a recruiting tool. Here’s how to leverage social media outlets to your advantage:

Make ALL your profiles spotless

You know this. Special attention to detail and consistency mean that you’re ready to apply yourself to the agency world. Edit your list of contacts; get a new, professional photo; put keywords that will lead you to your micro-niche (design, strategy, positioning, copywriting, creative, etc.). This will help you look professional on multiple levels, and it works!

“I use social media heavily as a personal brand,” Tam mentions as she tells us a story. “When I was first looking for a job in New York, I actually publicized it by writing a blog about my job hunt and would post it on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.”

Active is not enough – be proactive

Just because you have a LinkedIn account doesn’t mean that this will get you a wanted connection. These jobs are super competitive, show how badly you want one! Use your resources the best way you can. Lori thinks that this is a crucial part for personal branding via social media:

“Follow companies that you want to work for or that are doing interesting things or have interesting people working for them. Link your LinkedIn with your Twitter account. With your Twitter profile, follow people that are in industries, which you want to stay
knowledgeable about, or companies that you’re interested in.”

Network, network, network

The only stupid question is the one that you didn’t ask, so reach out. Show your passion, and those that care will appreciate it. David thinks that there’s much more to social media in modern recruiting:

“We can also research them, gain a better understanding of their professional background and interests, as well as also see with whom they are connected. We find most of our people now through social media, most commonly through LinkedIn.”

Lindsay tried to compare this relationship to consumer brands:

“In our industry, building relationships and growing a network is very important. Similar to consumer brands, as individuals we need to think about the qualities that might distinguish us from others, along with the value and skills that we might bring to an organization. When you have a strong idea of who you are, you can then work to enforce that image and grow your ‘brand’ by networking, starting a blog, speaking at conferences, and other such initiatives.”

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What advice would you give to those that are looking into branding as a career?

Tam: “Primarily, you should look at your social media profiles and brand yourself in the way you want to be seen. Secondly, know that internships are an amazing experience even if they are not paid. I look at unpaid internships as a long term investment because what you get out of it is a network of people you worked with and knowledge of a particular topic in the industry.”

Lori: “If you want branding, stick with branding. It’s very different than advertising, PR, marketing communications. Branding is so special, smart and focused. If that’s where your passion is, then you’ll find a role in branding. There are a lot of boutique agencies, big agencies – you’ll find your place.”

David: “Develop a point of view and what it is about branding that you really like.”

Lindsay: “Read everything you can about the industry and network with those who are already in it. Keep up-to-date with current trends and issues. If you are interested in joining a branding firm, explore which parts of the business most appeal to you and align best with your skills.”

Are there any publications that you’d recommend that could help follow trends in branding?

What makes branding so unique is that there is no one way to define it. Same goes for those publications that branding experts follow; they vary based on preferences and types of publications, but here are some that we found read-worthy:

Brandchannel, Marketing Daily, Advertising AgeInterbrand blogFast Company, Fistful of TalentSiegel+Gale blogCassandra Daily, and of course, Brandingmag!

To see the entire interviews with Tam, Lori, David and Linsday, get our new Premium Edition here, and don’t forget to subscribe!