Class of 2022 Spotlight: Jenn Austin
Marketing Graduate Utilizes Internship to Secure Full Time Role at TikTok
Jenn Austin, Class of 2022.
During SDSU’s virtual academic year, Jenn Austin made the most out of the situation by staying involved on campus, discovering who she is, and growing confident in her professional skills. When searching for a Summer 2021 internship, Austin completed many applications, went through various interview processes, and applied her vast skill set to land her dream role as a Sales Intern for TikTok.
Jenn’s passion for digital media and marketing experience allowed her to land a position with TikTok following her summer internship. She is thrilled to begin her new career opportunity and reflects on how her journey to SDSU prepared her for this new chapter.
Q: Can you describe a little bit about yourself and how/when you decided to pursue Business Marketing as an area of study?
I have always been interested in digital media. Growing up with tools like social media, videography, and online applications made it easy for me to express myself creatively. In middle school I would create videos for my friends and in high school I was involved in our broadcast journalism/media team. When I got to college I wanted to mix my creative side with a practical career, so I decided to pursue marketing because it combines both.
Q: Describe the position you will begin after graduation (job functions, key role).
I have successfully landed a role as a Sales Coordinator at TikTok. This B2B job helps cross-functional teams effectively deliver campaign deliverables on TikTok. The responsibilities can include anything from gathering data insights, delivering presentations to the internal and external teams, analyzing business performance, and preparing campaign-related documents. As a former TikTok intern, much of my day-to-day responsibilities varied, but having good communication, ability to multitask, and a passion for the TikTok app is a must. The exciting part about this job is because TikTok is such a new and growing company, there’s a lot of flexibility on what my day-to-day responsibilities will look like.
Q: When did you receive your official job offer and what was your reaction when you received the offer?
I was fortunate enough to be a Sales Intern with TikTok in Summer 2021. After completing my internship in August, I was offered a full time position post-grad. I remember being at home since the internship was fully remote, and I got to hear the news over Zoom and was speechless. I immediately told my parents and we celebrated! Throughout the school year I don’t think it really hit me that I had a full time job lined up when I graduated. I don’t think it’ll ever hit me until I start, since receiving it before my senior year even started was beyond belief.
Q: How did you get connected with this company and position?
I first saw TikTok’s position for my internship on Handshake (an online career search platform through SDSU Career Services). During my internship, TikTok was expanding immensely due to the continuous growth of the company and my Sales Coordinator role was created during that time representing much of the same responsibilities as the Sales Intern role did. Once my internship was over, I knew the Sales Coordinator role was what I wanted and I expressed that to my boss early on.
Austin in front of the TikTok office.
Q: Are there specific skills you learned at SDSU (in class or otherwise) that helped you with the role’s qualifications?
I have the Fowler Career Management Center to thank for helping me land this role. The staff are immensely helpful regarding resumes, cover letters, interview tips, etc. to any Fowler student. I developed a relationship with one of the staff and with her help I was able to efficiently land this role. Marketing Research (MKTG 470) with Dr. Umashankar also helped me land this role, as all the work done in that class relates to what many internships and jobs do post-graduation. Dr. Umashankar helped me understand that marketing is more than just campaigns, but also backing everything up with numbers. I also have to thank Professor Osinski for my career aspirations and knowledge. I took his Selling Strategy and Practices (MKTG 377) and Marketing Sales and Social Impact (MKTG 478) classes and they both made me fall in love with marketing all over again. Even though I had my sales job before taking his sales class, I was hesitant to go into the sales world. I had this preconceived idea that sales was just cold-calling and meant for the male population, but Osinski’s class made me feel a lot better about the new sales world today. We did a lot of activities and class discussions that encouraged me and developed my knowledge too. I highly encourage everyone to take a class with Dr. Umashankar and Professor Osinski if you can!
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?
The best piece of advice I can give fellow students on the job search is to keep applying, practice, and don’t be discouraged. I was lucky enough to already know what my first job post grad was before applying, but my internship search was difficult and time consuming. I applied to more internships than I can remember before I landed my dream one, and all of that interviewing and applying only made me more confident in my answers and myself. I would strongly advise you to apply to multiple jobs, research the company, and demonstrate your passion for the role and the company when you’re interviewing.
Q: What is it that you are most looking forward to as you kick start this next chapter?
I am most looking forward to the experiences, mistakes, and lessons I will learn on this new journey. I have dreamed about my first real job post-grad for as long as I can remember, and now that the time is almost here it’s bittersweet to say goodbye to college/my childhood, but exciting to see what the next chapter holds. I have always wanted to go into the media world, and I’m excited to see where it takes me and the people I’ll meet along the way. I’m also excited to move, as I’m a firm believer in living in other places and discovering the world while you can. I won’t lie though, being at SDSU the past 4 years have been the best 4 years of my life, and I wish it didn’t have to end. I’ll definitely reflect and cherish the memories I’ve made from here on out forever.
Q: What experience at SDSU has changed your life the most?
I think that college is more than just getting an education or a job after you graduate. It’s also about discovering who you want to be and experiencing life as an adolescent; making mistakes, trying new things, and developing relationships. COVID definitely changed my life, as it took away 1 ½ years of the traditional, in-person college experience. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without the relationships I gained and strengthened during that time. The semester we all got sent home during the pandemic was also the second semester I joined my sorority, Gamma Phi. That next year when SDSU went completely online was the most growth I had during my time at SDSU. Completely online and living with five of my close friends gave me a lot of time to discover who I was. It was both the hardest year of college but most rewarding and I have SDSU, Gamma Phi, and COVID to thank for that. I wouldn’t trade that year for anything, and it changed my life for the good.
Q: What is the best advice you have received during your time at SDSU?
#1: There is no “right” timeline. Everyone is at their own pace. Don’t compare how far behind or far ahead you are to your peers, everyone has a different journey and there’s nothing wrong with that.
#2: Say yes to more things. In 20 years you’ll be more disappointed by what you didn’t do than what you did.
#3: Love what you do and do what you love.
