The DMN Marketing Hall of Femme honorees represent the leading female talent in the marketing industry. Of course, their career success didn’t happen overnight.
2017 honoree Barbara Martin Coppola, CMO of Grubhub, talks about her dream job as a kid, as some lessons learned from her career.
What was your dream job as a kid and why?
I wanted to be a nuclear scientist who did the most complicated things ever imagined.
What was your very first job and what did you learn from it?
My first job was in engineering. I discovered that I enjoyed explaining new technologies to people more than engineering the products themselves. I changed course to marketing tech products.
What’s the best piece of career advice that you’ve ever received?
Follow your own passions, not those of others. Remember a long journey is made out of steps, try take the first one, then the next one… experiment and learn with every step. One day you will look back and might be impressed with how far you went.
When hiring, is there anything that immediately turns you off?
People who are not modest and think they know it all.
What’s the best way to advocate for yourself in the workplace (whether it’s for a promotion, a salary raise, or more responsibilities)?
Be clear about your achievements and why you believe deserve a promotion or a bigger job. Don’t be ashamed of asking. Nobody will take care of your career and salary better than yourself.
