Callum Marius

Could you describe your career path since leaving Kent?

Busy! Before leaving Kent, I had been working at Eurostar for 13 months (thanks to making the most of my year abroad in France, perfecting my language skills, I secured a bilingual position with them a month after returning). On graduation, I continued my professional journey with the company, moving to their control room in Lille as one of the inaugural ‘Customer Communication Controllers’. After a whirlwind of projects in communications, crisis management and social media, I moved back to London, where I have been working with the global social media professionals at Sprinklr and JeffreyM Consulting. I am currently working on a project with The Economist Group.

What are you doing now?

I work with some of the globe’s biggest brands to ensure that their social media strategy and platforms not only perform well for them, but also that their marketing teams use data and insights from their digital communities to influence their next big decisions. The world of marketing, especially social media, is full of noise – I like to think that my work ensures brands don’t just seek attention but actually pay attention.

What do you enjoy about your work?

This could be a very long answer! Every day I learn something eye-opening, I speak with people around the world, I am trusted and I trust my formidable team… and I actually use my degree – a recent marketing conference I attended was a huge flashback to a final-year linguistics class I took and oui, I smile every time I have to explain account-based marketing strategy in French.

Do you have a typical working day?

I have the pleasure of working remotely so in terms of timings and logistics, I have a great amount of flexibility and autonomy. I usually split my day into four and allocate a few hours to each of the projects I’m working on – when I work from the office, it can be intense with many meetings, calls and events so I always remember to take each moment as it comes.

How do you think your degree helped you to find work?

Absolument! During my year abroad, which I spent as an English teacher in Le Havre, I would take the Eurostar home to England once a month. I loved the multilingual environment, and the train geek in me meant that I jumped at the chance to work at Eurostar when I was offered a role during my final year. My interview was about five hours long and was half in French, which I wouldn’t have been prepared for without my year abroad.

How has your time at Kent helped you in your career?

Obviously, the subject knowledge and language skills have boosted my career for the better and have undeniably given me the confidence to do what I do. Yet for me, I would say the sense of community, open-mindedness and emotional intelligence which I embraced while at Kent has helped me build the relationships I have needed to progress in my career – that’s not something every university has and I am eternally thankful to Kent for it.

What are your plans for the future?

I have many, but for now I am very happy with the success I have achieved so far and I’ve learnt never to worry so much about the future that you stop enjoying the now.

What careers advice did you receive at Kent?

I was already on the first step of my career before I left Kent, so I must admit I was quick to realise what my professional strengths were. For me, working in France/Belgium with Eurostar and now with French/Swiss clients and colleagues at Sprinklr, I think back to the oral classes we had on business language formality. Although they were academic, it was inherently good careers advice –- as any bilingual business person will tell you, how you address someone can make/break an important relationship, which could have major financial consequences.

What would you recommend about studying at Kent?

The city of Canterbury is ideal for a student – close to the beach, close to London and, for my degree, it massively helped being close to France! The campus is safe and there is plenty to do there.

I loved the flexibility of the course. In my first year, I was able to study Arabic, I spent the third year in France and I oriented myself towards the topics that interested me. In my final year, I jumped at the chance to specialise.

Any favourite memories of Kent that you would like to share?

There are so many! My year abroad was the best experience but I have happy memories of trips to Whitstable with my family, nights out with friends, nights in with housemates and graduating in the spectacular Canterbury Cathedral. The campus and the city of Canterbury will always be happy places to me.

Any advice for prospective students?

Explore the quirky and amazing city of Canterbury, take advantage of the many, many languages offered at Kent and when you start looking for your first graduate job, make sure you use social media to your advantage! Bon courage