Yara Slim

The program exposed me to all aspects of marketing and allowed me to exchange with leaders in a variety of industries. The vast alumni network and the amazing career center gave me the clarity I needed when I decided to start my adventure at TikTok.

Why did you decide to join the Master in Marketing at HEC Paris?

Coming from an engineering background, but with a strong affinity to marketing and entrepreneurship, I wanted to gain the academic knowledge that would support my hands-on experience in Marketing. Choosing HEC Paris was an easy choice, I wanted to learn from the best experts in the market, from dedicated educators, a vast inspiring network, and international classmates with a variety of backgrounds and experiences, and I am forever grateful for my decision!

 
What is your biggest takeaway from your experience within the program? 

I will admit, it’s quite difficult to choose one takeaway, as I truly learned so much within the program. As someone who had limited knowledge of marketing, I was exposed to all aspects of it; from brand to B2B to neuroscience and more. But I would say that my biggest takeaway is adaptability, which is a skill that might not be very evident, but is crucial in the work environment, and the MSc in HEC truly exposed me to it. The program is heavily based on group projects, which means having to adapt to different ways of working, with different people from different backgrounds and experiences, but also adapting to a variety of skills and project style. And with the pandemic hitting us midway through the program, and having to switch to 100% online, then having to complete a thesis and projects online with each person in a different corner of the world, adaptability seems to be the biggest takeaway. And it’s truly a skill that helped me so much in my job search, and later on in adapting to a big tech company that’s so young, it feels like a start-up at times, where things change so fast and the need to adapt is crucial.
 

What is your current job? What types of responsibilities do you have?

My official title role at the French office of TikTok is Account Planner, and it includes a variety of missions that spans from creative and brand strategy to data analysis. I am a part of the monetization team, a team that collaborates with brands regarding advertising on the platform. My role is really to help brands align their marketing and brand to TikTok, to make it as native and authentic as possible, in order to maximize their marketing objectives. Therefore, I collaborate with brands and agencies before their campaigns to show them relevant topic of conversations on the platform, from UGC to insights and more, but also help them alongside their strategy to make sure their creatives are aligned with TikTok’s codes of language.

 
How did you find your job? 

After completing my internship (in the middle of 2020 and COVID), it was a tough situation as we were all unsure what opportunities we can find with a job market that is getting more difficult. I kept my options broad, and applied to various marketing jobs and industries, through different websites and HEC’s job board. I’ve always aspired to work in tech, and TikTok was a platform that fascinated me at the time as I was already seeing how it had started to revolutionize social marketing. I was cautiously hopeful when I found the job post on LinkedIn and applied, and after a series of interviews, I got the job!

  
How did the program help define your career path and secure your job? 

The program truly exposed me to all aspects of marketing, from B2B to Brand Marketing, strategy and more; it also allowed me to exchange with leaders in a variety of industries and job levels, and that made it much easier to envision what could be the next step in my career path. In addition, the expert guests from companies that I was able to meet throughout the program, the vast network of alumni who are extremely kind, and the amazing career center, all somehow contributed in answering some personal questions I had on where I see myself next, and gave me clarity when I decided to start my adventure at TikTok.

 
What are your long-term career aspirations, and how will having Master in Marketing help you achieve those aspirations? 

My dreams about the future are constantly changing, but I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur again, and to build my own idea from scratch, but that is a dream for sometimes in the distance future. HEC definitely gave me the motivation to think that this is something I can pursue one day, throughout various programs and projects. But for now, I am quite happy learning and getting the most I can from the corporate world, and getting inspired by amazing people I meet every day, that are shaping me and my skills and getting me closer to mastering different areas that will be crucial one day when I launch myself in my own project.

 
Any advice for students considering joining the Master in Marketing and wishing to follow the same career path? 

All I could say is that my short time at HEC seriously changed my life, it gave me the clarity I needed, the experience and the network to grow and strive, and to capitalize on my assets and skills. It allowed me to pick the brain of experts in a variety of fields from professors to guest lecturers, and to meet true friends and future colleagues that inspires me every day. I am sure HEC generally, and the Masters in Marketing more specifically, would also change anyone’s life, and get them many steps closer to their career aspiration, so for the future students I would say to not hesitate, and to be ready for an adventure of a lifetime!