Fowler College Class of 2020 Career Spotlight: Kaitlin Glasl

Virtual Lecture Leads to Career

Fowler College of Business graduate Kaitlin Glasl has successfully transitioned from student to full-time employee. Glasl, a marketing student in the Class of 2020, began a new role as Sales Management Associate with PepsiCo right after graduation. She was first introduced to PepsiCo during a virtual guest lecture set up by Fowler professor, Steven Osinski. The guest lecturer, Heather Doyle, a Fowler alumna herself (marketing, ’16), shared her work experience and the culture at PepsiCo, which ultimately caught the senior marketing major’s attention. A quick follow up email, two interviews and few weeks later and Glasl found herself employed.  

Class of 2020 Graduate Kaitlin Glasl

The SDSU Fowler News Team caught up with Glasl to discuss how SDSU prepared her for her career: 

Q: Can you describe a little bit about yourself and how/when you decided to pursue Marketing as an area of study.

I arrived at San Diego State University as a student of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences in hopes of becoming a sports medicine doctor. I quickly realized that my love for sports did not necessarily translate into a career in sports medicine. Fortunately, I registered for business classes with little idea as to what major I would pursue. The first semester flew by and by the second semester I had the urge to get involved on campus and started to attend weekly Sports Business Initiative meetings and through that, was introduced to the American Marketing Association. The very first meeting I attended featured a speaker from Pura Vida, asking that we create a mock marketing campaign for their products. After that meeting, I knew marketing was something that I was passionate about and that came naturally to me. At the end of my sophomore year, I had held two executive board positions with AMA and was about to serve as President during my junior year while officially declaring marketing as my college major.

Q: Describe the position you will begin after graduation (job functions, key role).

I will begin my career at PepsiCo as a Sales Management Associate as a part of the Frito Lay division in La Mirada. I will be working and leading various teams in the area to grow volume and revenue to achieve key performance indicators. By collecting, charting, and interpreting statistical sales data, I will prepare effective sales presentations to customers and provide excellent customer service. To achieve brand development and maximize brand performance, I will activate local and national marketplace initiatives and promotions. 

Q: When did you receive your official job offer and what was your reaction when you received the offer?

I received my official job offer during the first week of May and I was ecstatic. When the stay at home order was placed on California, myself along with my fellow classmates felt a heightened level of anxiety as graduation quickly approached and the job market shrunk due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With my recent offer, not only do I feel a sense of relief, but I also feel extremely grateful.

Q: How did you get connected with this company and position?

My professor, Steven Osinski even before the pandemic, made it his mission to provide post-grad employment opportunities for all of his students. In one of his virtual Zoom lectures, he invited Heather Doyle to be a co-lecturer and to share opportunities at PepsiCo for graduates. Heather’s work ethic and experience at PepsiCo caught my attention and I reached out to her to schedule a phone call in hopes to receive more information about the position. She assisted in getting my resume to the right person within the organization and I completed two interviews before I received my offer a few weeks later.

Q: Did you use any other campus resources to help you acquire this position? If so, describe the support.

Career Services, the Fowler College of Business, and other on-campus organizations held semesterly career fairs which I started attending my junior year. These allowed me to practice networking skills, as well as learn what types of roles were available after graduation. Career Services hosted interviewing sessions with numerous companies, and I made sure to sign up for as many as I could, even if it was not my first choice, allowing me to become comfortable with interviewing. When my PepsiCo interview came around, I felt comfortable and confident in my experiences and could effectively communicate my strengths to the interviewers.

Kaitlin Glasl and her peers at an American Marketing Association Student event.

Q: Are there specific skills you learned at SDSU (in class or otherwise) that helped you with the role’s qualifications?

Of course, I learned a ton from my coursework. My Marketing Analytics and Marketing Research courses were uncomfortable for me at first and posed a challenge, but they allowed me to learn hard skills such as SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). I also learned how to conduct marketing research from background research to data analysis and interpretation. I dedicate a significant portion of my learning to the American Marketing Association. Specifically, I learned how to lead a group of people which will be a key function of my role at PepsiCo. As a leader in AMA, I became highly skilled at problem-solving and relationship building to make sure all of our chapter operations ran smoothly and that our members were receiving membership benefits. I wanted AMA meetings to be a time that members and the executive board members enjoyed, but also a time for learning about opportunities and professional growth.

Q: What advice do you have for fellow students, regardless of their field, looking to jumpstart their career and land their first job post-graduation?

This will sound very cliché but for current students, get involved and get involved early! Not only did I make some of my best friends from AMA, but I gained the confidence to enter the workforce. Student organization on-campus across all majors work tirelessly to provide networking opportunities to their members. Getting to know professionals who are working in a field that you are interested in can give you a lot of insight into the industry and profession. Always add professionals you connected with in person on LinkedIn because you never know what doors can be opened for you in the future. Lastly, utilize the on-campus resources SDSU provides to you. Employers that are connected with the university want to hire SDSU students which gives you another leg up against applicants who do not attend SDSU.

Q: What is it that you are most looking forward to as you kick start this next chapter?

I have loved my time at SDSU because I have learned so much. During this next chapter, I want to continue to learn about sales, marketing, and the industry that I will be working in. There are endless opportunities for growth at PepsiCo and I am excited to see where my career will take me.