Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jaclyn Crawford. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jaclyn, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
Growing in confidence and self-esteem is a lifelong process. However, I think there is a critical time in your twenties when you have to put a foundation in place for this to grow. I believe this includes surrounding yourself with people who build you up, having a mindset of a lifelong learner, and finding your own unique value proposition (to use a marketing term.)
As a woman in business, it’s critical to find mentors or colleagues who support your endeavors and help lift you up to reach those goals. I don’t just mean finding “work friends” but finding those that speak your language. People that get excited to hear about your work and passions, and support you in that. Not only does this provide you with a sounding board when you have an issue, but encouragement produces confidence. I’d also encourage others not to be afraid to cheer people on, even for the smallest victory! It doesn’t cost anything to celebrate others’ achievements and recognize a job well done. (And doing so doesn’t make your achievements any less.)
As an instructor, I feel like I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t mention lifelong learning as a way to boost confidence and self-esteem. Learning expands horizons and can help earn credentials that prove expertise in the room. However, it also allows confidence to ask questions. It took me a long time to realize that asking questions wasn’t a sign of weakness or ineptitude, in fact- it is an important skill to cultivate as a marketer to better understand your team, your customer, and other stakeholders to produce your best work. Additionally, many industries are fast-moving, and digital marketing is among one of the fastest. Lifelong learning allows for continuous improvement and curiosity.
Finally, creating your own unique value proposition, for yourself, can be a confidence booster and a mantra of sorts, especially while job searching. For those not in the marketing industry, a UVP (or unique value proposition) is a statement that makes a company/product distinct from others. Creating one for yourself can be a great exercise in discovering what makes YOU unique and what special abilities you bring to the table. I encourage people to pause, reflect and write down a UVP to refer back to, especially in times when imposter syndrome creeps in (as it always does) as a quick confidence boost!
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
My name is Jaclyn Crawford and I am a digital marketing professional, currently working at Northern Illinois University as an instructor and director of digital marketing programs. I get to teach exceptional marketing students at both the graduate and undergraduate level as well as lead our M.S. Digital Marketing program.
If you were to ask my parents, they would tell you as a kid when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, they would tell you I wanted to be a teacher. What no one realized is that my path to get there would be a bit untraditional!
My career began really with a passion for writing. I started off as a journalism major at Columbia College Chicago– however, as I began to take a few marketing classes, I realized that this is where I wanted to go in my career. There was data behind the creative that I found interesting. As a millennial, I had grown up with social media and blogging and that is where I pivoted during the start of my journey.
I attended Content Marketing World conference in 2015 and it was like a lightbulb went off. I had not learned about content marketing in my formal education, but this was a word for what really got me excited. This creative side of marketing involved data and research to best reach the customer, providing a win/win for both the customer and the organization. I knew that was where I wanted my specialty to be. When I got home, I began reading and researching as much as I could to improve my skills in this area and then landed a job at CraftJack as their content marketing specialist. This role allowed me to grow in my writing ability, my SEO ability, and more as the culture was one of testing and learning. I owe a lot of my skills today to that time at CraftJack.
As a lifelong learner and someone who is passionate about teaching, I began to think about what the future of my career would look like. After doing some consulting work and workshops, I knew that my passion was not just being hands-on in a digital marketing role, but teaching as well. I discovered the MS Digital Marketing program at Northern Illinois University. It was 100% online and asynchronous, and they encouraged me to work as I completed my degree, which I did and I am grateful for. Through the program, I was able to gain the needed credentials and depth of knowledge in the subject matter that I love. I graduated in 2021 with a deeper appreciation for digital marketing as well as teaching. This was the step I needed to start teaching marketing at the college level.
After staying involved at NIU as a student and an alumnus, I learned about a job opening in the very program I graduated from, to help teach the next generation of digital marketers. After applying and nervously going through the process, I was in a role where I got to not only exercise my digital marketing skillset but teach it as well. Every day is different and fantastic! I love watching students build confidence in their knowledge and seeing them get excited about marketing. It is a privilege to be a part of someone’s career journey in a foundational way, and I don’t take that for granted.
One thing I tell my students is that marketing is a humbling field to be in. With so many changes in technology, audience behavior, and other factors, we probably fail more than we succeed. Understanding this early can lead to seeing “failures” as data-driven learning. If a new ad is launched and doesn’t do well, what did we learn about your audience? If you’re favorite subject line in an email actually decreased the open rate, what could have caused that? Digging into this deeper is fascinating, and one of the reasons I love being in this industry.
Another fact about me is that I love living in Chicago and I am passionate about my city. In 2020 I launched a grassroots non-profit called the Treasure Box Project, giving out toilet paper and other hygiene needs to neighbors after the shortage during the pandemic. My goal was to provide dignity and respect to neighbors, regardless of their situation. One thing I loved about this project is that it helped me meet and interact with my community in a way that wouldn’t have been possible before. The project is currently in hiatus as of 2024, but I am always looking for ways to support my community and my city.
I live in Chicago with my husband Keith and two dogs, Sundae and Robey. In my free time, I enjoy reading, crocheting, and visiting local coffee shops. I also love to travel and visit other parts of the world. Some places I’ve been in the last couple of years include Tokyo, Singapore, Copenhagen, Buenos Aires, and London.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
My advice to folks who are early in their career journey is to discover what gets you excited. It might not be something you’re aware of even yet. Given the opportunity, I would happily engage in a discussion about SEO or content marketing for hours and not be bored. My hope is that those early in their career can find what gets them excited.
Try out different things, even things that seem hard, to discover this. Sometimes the hardest tasks are the most impactful!
Celebrate your victories, even if they seem small. Keep track of your wins and have someone you can share them with.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
The most impactful thing my parents did for me as it relates to my career was to leave it up to me. They never pushed me in a specific direction and allowed me to explore different things I would be good at, though they were always there as a sounding board and for advice. I always felt like I had the choice to pursue what I wanted and I was able to define what success looked like. Not having pressure from my parents allowed me to discover and explore things off the beaten path, such as playing badminton competitively in high school. My parents left it up to me if I wanted to go to college, and what college I wanted to go to, without pressure. Not everyone my age was raised in this way, and I am grateful to have always had the choice to discover what my future looked like and pursue what I was excited about because I wanted to.
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Jaclyn Crawford
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