By Rachael Perrotta
Kathleen Rall
Students of various backgrounds are able to succeed in business school. Despite the common misconception that creative types aren’t cut out for the business world, these students bring unique perspectives and talents to school and a variety of professional fields, including marketing.
Kathleen Rall, Associate Director and Coach at Vanderbilt Business’s Career Management Center, discusses how creativity can be a benefit in the world of marketing.
Extracurriculars
Rall described how Brand Week at Vanderbilt is a prime opportunity for creative types to showcase their talents. During this week, students compete in solving real-world marketing problems for local companies. Throughout the week, students will create final deliverables for these companies and gain hands-on experience in marketing and branding.
“It’s always fun to see the creative students really shine in that event,” Rall said.
Internship and job search
Rall says that every class of Vanderbilt Business students — across programs — includes students who are creative types. She emphasizes that these students succeed in acquiring internships and professional opportunities that match their skill sets, such as managing social media accounts.
“Creative types can really blend their creative background with brisk business principles and management techniques in the professional world,” Rall said. “The combination of those 2 things really leads to good success in the job search.”
Appealing to consumers
Creative types are able to analyze consumer and consumer needs in innovative ways.
“A student who has a creative mindset can think strategically about how to market to specific people,” Rall said. “Those who are creative tend to really bring different insights into that consumer lens.”
Not just advertising
Students in Vanderbilt’s Master of Marketing program who are creatively inclined are not limited to careers in advertising. The MMark program prepares students for a variety of careers in marketing and business, all of which creative types can succeed in.
“You can take whatever skills you bring to the table, learn from others in the classroom, learn from top-tier faculty at Vanderbilt, and be prepared for a lot of different types of jobs,” Rall said. “And that’s really exciting.”