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I worked agency side in account for almost 15 years before transitioning brand side. I worked at an insurance company first but eventually moved to an e-commerce company and now fintech.
Honestly strategy is a hard shift from agency unless it’s something like corporate strategy as the other person mentioned. Usually there are few “strategy” roles brand side, particularly in tech. Usually brand and marketing managers are tasked with building out and executing their campaigns end to end with agency help. You end up taking a lot of other people’s work and packaging it up and presenting to leadership and stakeholders for alignment.
I think brand and marketing manager roles would be your best bet. I think positioning yourself with a highly strategic mindset, understanding implications to the business, and the ability to build relationships with stakeholders are key. Presenting to and influencing leadership are important skills as well.
You bet!
I briefly tried this as well, some things to consider:
- Read job descriptions of the major tech companies, you'll quickly see which has the skills that match yours. Jobs with product, strategy, and marketing in the title are a good place to start.
- Networking is everything. All the big companies have referral programs. Don't be shy, tech people I know will reco almost anyone as long as a friend/acquaintance says they are good
- Only apply for 1-2 jobs at a time at any given company OR use multiple email addresses to apply for 2+ jobs
- Drink the koolaid - tech people like tech people, they are rarely looking for outsiders to come shake things up, it's better to show you can fit in. Surprisingly tech is its own monoculture.
Thank you so much for these tips! Much appreciated.
Don’t think twice. Do it!!!!!
Some people I know entered corporate strategy as a transition after MBB. The job titles can be strategy manager or strategic business development. After a couple of years they transferred their jobs within their companies. Reaching out to your agency alumni can help you better prepare. And I know some people just simply applied for those jobs. Depending on the company, you may or may not need to take a pay cut.
Mentor
This approximate question is posted on the “Brand Side” board about once per month
And I usually post a similar response each time lol
I agree with everyone above. If you are already thinking about it then I would say to definitely go for it. I haven't made that transition myself but I have heard really good things from those that have. Best of luck to you.
Keep in mind most of the layoffs going on since 2022 are in tech so check layoffs.io and WARN to make sure the company youre interviewing with hasn’t done layoffs lately. WARN tells you if they have layoffs planned.
Hurts
I was going to ask a similar question, mainly because the agency model is starting to become obsolete—at least for companies with big budgets to invest (and to pay their employees) like tech companies.