-Life as a Marketing and Communications Specialist-
In considering the day and age we live in, the complexities as far as managing the day to day on both a personal and professional plane could be considered to be an increasingly strenuous task.
Take our global interconnectedness as an example and what that means in relation to the exchange of information between one another. There are very few nations left that are completely homogenous as far as citizens go.
Developing certain degrees of cultural awareness, understanding and empathy are quickly—if not already—becoming must have skill sets both on the job and as a citizen on this planet.
Our guest on this episode knows a thing or two about all of this. The meshing of her personal and professional background brings together all of what I have been referencing. And, if my discourse failed to sway you, I am confident that hers will.
Introducing
Sheyla Dostert is a marketing & communications specialist working both within and for the European city of Luxembourg.
As an employee of the City of Luxembourg, capital of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg. She’s mostly managing mobility projects ranging from major bus network changes within the capital to the launch of the capital’s mobility plan.
Being employed by the largest city within the country and serving the people who inhabit it, requires a certain knowledge and skill in always knowing how to adapt to the nature and sensitivity of topics/projects, as well as finding appropriate ways to communicate with the target audience in order to keep people well-informed (facts), to raise awareness (inclusion & mutual respect) or to get citizens involved (participatory meetings) in shaping their city.
Luxembourg City welcomes over 71% foreigners, which might seem to be a major challenge when communicating, but actually is what makes her work so interesting.
Background
Prior to all of this Sheyla, began her career at a Big Four company in Luxembourg, notably in the clients and markets team, working on marketing and business development projects targeting the non- financial industries of the Luxembourg market. Later on, communication advisory was added to her tasks as well. Starting at a company like this allowed her to work in a multilingual and multicultural environment, with people from all over the world.
With the communication advisory having particularly sparked her interest in marketing communications, she joined a local 360° communication agency by the end of 2015. Working directly with clients, accompanying clients in the process of corporate identities from the early stages and advising companies of all sizes in cross channel marketing especially raised her interest in understanding customer behaviour and the principles of brand communication.
Life Experiences
Beyond the professional, Sheyla’s background also includes life experiences living abroad. She studied in the south of France and did a European voluntary service in Serbia. Working in a local media education centre in Belgrade allowed her to gain major insights in intercultural communication.
She also participated in Youth in Action training courses funded by the European Commission, which were focusing on intercultural communication, human rights and youth unemployment.
These experiences shaped her open- mindedness and original thinking, which probably has benefited all of her employers.
When she’s not working on communication or awareness campaigns, she’s working on her food blog (Passion meets Creativity), which she started back in 2012, eating her way through local and international restaurants to discover the world literally and culinarily.
Reasons to Listen
The conversation meanders in and around topics not limited to:
- The role of marketing + communications in connecting with a citizenry
- The challenge and reward in formulating and distilling communication strategies to a Luxembourg populace comprised of 71% internationals
- How her early international work and travel experiences shaped her present day career
- How being from Luxembourg itself shapes it’s own citizenry to gain international skills and abilities which can often come into play for one’s future career
- Dynamic skill sets needed to succeed in such a unique role while working as a specialist for the city of Luxembourg
- How the use of tech has helped with communication strategies and reaching such diverse groups of people
- How the job itself has helped to shape her own worldviews
- An amusing story illustrating to what degree her work impacts her personal life
A Memorable Quote from the Episode:
“I think technology has influenced marketing communications a lot in recent years with the appearance of social media and newsletters and the development of websites. There have been a load of different digital tools that have added up and I really do think they help marketers to communicate well with target audiences.”
-Sheyla Dostert
Check out the Video Conversation:
For those who desire to view the full video conversation of this discussion, you can do so via Youtube.
Words of Wisdom:
Hear from Sheyla as she shares advice to those who are interested in carving out an international career in marketing and communications.
Discover More
For those interested in learning more about Sheyla and her work, you can find out more about her via the following social platforms and links:
Keep Listening!
I hope you enjoyed the episode. For more, check out additional episodes here!
