Meet our Community: Lauren Bunyan

We all know how difficult it can be to meet people in the marketing industry. Luckily, this was exactly why our Girls in Marketing community was created. To give you a chance to get to know more members of our community a little better, we created our 'Meet our Community' blog series to show off amazing marketers within our membership.

So, sit down and grab a snack, as we get to know Lauren, a committed member of the Girls in Marketing Membership, a little bit more:

Hey, thanks for joining us! Could you please introduce yourself to our readers? 

Hey everyone, I’m Lauren. I’m 21 and marketing student studying at De Montfort University, Leicester. As of October, I am in my final year after taking a year out to complete a placement year.

How did you get into marketing? Did you follow a traditional route? 

I fell into the marketing industry after looking for something that I knew I would enjoy studying at uni. My a-levels were tough and I came out never wanting to study History or Maths again, hence falling back onto my third option which was Business Studies. I chose Marketing specifically because it’s creative and I love that I can make it what I want it to be essentially.

As part of my degree, I took a placement year working in a steel fabrication company and actually ended up running their marketing during this time as I was a solo team, unfortunately. Although this wasn’t what I intended to end up in and steel isn’t the most glamorous content topic, I have learnt so much from that year that will help support me when I graduate.

What is your favourite thing about working in marketing? 

I am a creative person. As a child, I was always drawing or writing stories and marketing just captures it perfectly. It still amazes me how something that is, at times, so simple can make such an incredible impact on a person. The power that it holds to bring positive change in society is something I am really looking forward to working on.

Which section of marketing is your favourite and why? 

I love the digital and social media side of marketing. Seeing the speed of some companies reacting to events or other brand activity fascinates me so much. I’ve taken on some freelance clients over the past few months to gain some more experience and I love it!

What advice would you give to someone starting out in their marketing career? 

All experience is good experience! Just because you don’t have experience that involves specific marketing-related tasks, doesn’t mean you don’t have the skills employers are going to be looking for. Think about how you can apply the skills to already have to some of the responsibilities within the industry.

In areas where you do want to gain some knowledge, online courses are your best friend. Google, Hubspot, LinkedIn Learning and Girls in Marketing (of course!), have excellent certificated courses that you can get involved with – something I have made the most of over the past year.

How did you hear about our membership? Why did you decide to take the leap and join our members community? 

I honestly can’t remember not knowing the Girls in Marketing Membership! I think I must have come across it on LinkedIn. As soon as I saw it I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of. Having been studying online and working in a solo team, it has been difficult to meet people in the industry. Joining the membership has allowed me to join a collaborative, supportive community which helps to remove the feeling of loneliness within the industry.

How has The Girls in Marketing Membership affected your marketing career prospects? 

Definitely positively! I learnt so much from the team, the content, the other marketers and the sessions put on that I can already see when writing my graduate CV, the strength they will give me going forward into my career.

And finally, as we ask all our podcast guests, do you have a motivational mantra that you live by?

What has happened is what was meant to happen to get you to the right place in the future.

If you'd like to join Lauren in our membership to truly level up your marketing career, explore our membership here. You can connect with Lauren here to continue following her journey.