In the latest episode of the podcast we talked about the beauty industry with Francesco who works at Tom Ford, we also interviewed Maria Mercedes who works as Category Manager at Sephora and today we continue with the careers in beauty, with the story of Alessandra Sangalli who has worked in the Digital Marketing at Benefit Cosmetics, part of the LVMH group, for more than 4 years.
I believe that in order to fully understand how the fashion world works and what are the different roles of this glossy industry, nothing is better than interviewing those who live in this business from the inside. The purpose of the interviews is to provide you with a look behind the scenes of the working world of fashion and beauty so that you can find the role that suits you or inform you on how this industry works.
Surely you followed all the social media buzz about the launch of the new BADgal BANG mascara. Alessandra was in the Maldives, along with the other mega influencers. In addition to managing the Digital PR strategies, Alessandra also takes care of Digital Marketing.
We asked her what her first working experiences were like, how she got her role in beauty with her degree in Linguistic and Cultural Mediation, she talked about her experience in Australia and gave us some details about her current role and also an advice for you who want to work for a beauty company!
What did you study?
I always had a passion for languages, at 9 y.o. I watched for hours an MTV channel that broadcast subtitled English programs and I think I developed a certain “ear” right then. From there it was quite simple: I attended the linguistic high school studying English, French and Spanish and then I enrolled at the University of Milan where I continued my language course and graduated cum laude in Linguistic and Cultural Mediation.
For all of us who study languages at some point, we need to choose a specialization: interpreting? translation? teaching?
I have always loved communication and the digital world, so I moved to the Università Cattolica, where I got a master’s degree in Audiovisual and Digital Communication in the Faculty of Linguistics, the degree course managed by Aldo Grasso.
2. We wrote a post on what to study to work in fashion, you are another example that proofs that it is not necessary to study “beauty” in order to work in this field. What is your opinion about it? How was your degree from companies seen?
I believe that companies in the fashion and luxury industry evaluate personal and professional skills like the University of origin and the degree obtained.
It is important to show your personal and cultural baggage: today it is more and more necessary to be versatile and “open-minded”, to have the ability to adapt to a rapidly changing context, to have a problem-solving attitude typical of those who love challenges and know how to get involved using creativity to achieve goals.
Working in Digital Marketing for a multinational company based in Paris and San Francisco, knowing 2 languages beyond Italian is a necessary requirement, so I can confirm that the university years have been a profitable investment!
3.What was your first work experience? Have you ever had working experiences during your studies?
I have always worked occasionally or during the summer while in college: repetitions, sales assistant, language courses for adults, translation of books from English into Italian …
After completing my studies, I decided to do a work experience abroad completely by myself, trying to find an opportunity in the field for which I had studied. I interviewed via Skype until I was selected to work as a Video Production Assistant and Social Media Manager for a television and digital production company in Australia.
I chose Australia both as a lover of nature and also because it has always been the country of my dreams, but also to go as far as possible from my comfort zone and measure myself!
It was an intense and beautiful job that gave me the opportunity to travel for this wonderful country from north to south, to put to good use years of study and to have on the curriculum a first work experience in my field of competence.
An experience of working abroad in total autonomy brings with it many implications: independence, adaptability, desire to get involved and curiosity. I think they are among the most important qualities to possess in any business context!
4. You currently work in Digital Marketing for Benefit Cosmetics, part of the LVMH group, how did it all start?
Back from Australia, I replied to an announcement for an internship in the Marketing sector of the LVMH group. I did interviews with Benefit Cosmetics, which is a brand of the group and from there started my career in this company, where I grew a lot in these years.
The knowledge of foreign languages, my strong passion for digital communication, as well as a sunny and positive nature have meant that I found my “place” in a company – in a brand – whose motto is: “Laughter it’s the best of cosmetics! ”
5. What do you do and how did your role evolve over the course of 5 years?
The digital world is constantly evolving and has changed a lot over the years. The main ingredient to be successful in this area is to always be updated on the latest trends and have an elastic mind that can adapt to a changing environment at the speed of light.
I manage Digital Marketing and Digital PR.
For the Marketing side, I refer to the management of the “online” presence and the digital touchpoints of Benefit Cosmetics, from a creative, strategic and analytical point of view: website, SEO and SEM, the definition of promotional activities for e-retail, digital advertising, DEMs, social media strategy and content creation.
For the Digital PR, I manage directly the relationship with celebrities and influencers and the organization of events dedicated to product launches both in Italy and abroad, as well as charity initiatives such as Bold is Beautiful (https://www.benefitcosmetics.com/it/it/bold-is-beautiful) and promotional activities.
6. What do you think about the frequent change of Jobs and Companies in the fashion industry?
I believe that in fashion, in luxury, as in all industries, a change of role is driven by multiple motivations: the desire for professional and personal growth, or the desire to change the context to test oneself.
In general, I think that being able to choose, one must always work for passion and with a smile. Only passion makes it possible to go further and further beyond the objectives that are given to us, to have a creative vision and to broaden our horizons, freeing innovation and creativity.
I think that only by choosing collaborators of this kind, companies can have excellent results both in terms of quality results and “mood”.
7. What would you recommend to those who want to get a role like yours?
I want to speak directly to who is reading this interview.
Passion is the basis of everything. We need study and have an open mind, especially if we want to work in digital.
My passion for the digital world allows me to be always updated on what surrounds me, to anticipate trends and “to ride the wave” as I often did in Australia! This is also why I decided to open an Instagram profile that expresses my passion for digital, telling those who follow me the world through my eyes (https://www.instagram.com/seng__seng/).
Once you finish your studies, if you can, spend some time abroad: it will be useful from a personal and professional point of view, you can broaden your horizons and measure yourself with a very different working reality from the Italian one.
Whether you decide to continue working abroad or return to Italy, try to get work experience as close as possible to the industry in which you want to work, always keeping in mind that having a different background is not necessarily a discriminating element, but it can be an enrichment for the company for which you will apply.
Always remember what your goal is and never stop working and striving to achieve it, be amazed by the course of things: sometimes the unexpected roads that you meet on your path are the right ones to continue your ascent to the summit.
To get to know me more closely, check out my travel & lifestyle profile on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seng__seng/
Photo Courtesy Alessandra Sangalli
