Marketing technology specialist

"I'm a marketing technology specialist at Goodfolk, a boutique full-service digital marketing agency in Auckland.

"I mostly focus on marketing automation, which — in simplest terms — is about using technology and data to talk to the right people, at the right time, with the right content. 

"In an average week I'll be jumping between regular client catch-ups, running workshops, copywriting, building HTML templates, designing campaigns, and any of a number of other things.

"There's three key skills that I gained from my Arts study. The most obvious is critical thinking. I wouldn't get far in my work if I didn't carefully analyse situations, ask questions, do my research and consider my recommendations.

"The second is writing skills. Whether you like it or not, the ability to write well is so important in working life. It will influence your ability to argue a business case and negotiate conflict with professionalism, tact and conviction.

"The third is logic. I took PHIL 101G Introduction to Logic in my first semester. I use what I learned in that paper every day. You may not realise which learnings were most valuable until well after you graduate, so be open to the unexpected, be a sponge.

"At school I was good at maths and science, and enjoyed art and drama, but anyone who knew me would always tell you that English was my real love. Psychology was an inkling I had; I just had a feeling that I would really enjoy studying it (and I did).

"You don't have to know what you want out of your career before you start your degree — for me, and I know it's true for many others, my career developed out of me having a few key passions and being confident to shine in them. 

"If you're curious about a field that sits under the Arts umbrella, chase that curiosity. Foster and investigate it — you might be surprised where it takes you."