How do you go from stalking your dream company on LinkedIn to landing a grad role with them? For finance and marketing student Sean, it was a journey of teamwork and small consistent steps – with the key being L’Oréal’s Brandstorm competition. | Reading time: 4 minutes.
What first drew Sean to marketing was a creative spark he’d had since childhood. Inspired by the emotion evoked by beauty commercials, he’d once aspired to be a fashion designer but knew he had an analytical side as well. Sean came into his Commerce degree with an open mind and soon realised finance and marketing were a key part of the brands he dreamed of working with as a teenager.
“Marketing is like the perfect intersection between those two ways of thinking. Yes, you need to be creative to stand out, but marketing needs to be driven by your customer and data.”
Sean brought that same open-mindedness to uni life. Alongside studies, he took part in Skills for Success workshops, the Curtin Leaders program, Student Ambassador program, went on a study aboard program to Paris and experienced honours research with the Australian Institute of Management. But the highlight of uni for Sean was absolutely L’Oréal’s Brandstorm competition, which took him all the way to Melbourne.
As a Marketing and Finance student interested the world of luxury, beauty and fashion, L’Oréal had been on Sean’s radar for a while as a dream company after uni. Knowing he was entering a competitive field, Sean kept an eye on their social media – and when the L’Oréal Brandstorm competition came up, he knew it could be his foot in the door and quickly formed a team with friends Pia and Annalise.
“L’Oréal Brandstorm is a competition for innovators aged 18 to 30, challenging youth to imagine the future of beauty through cutting edge ideas. When I found out it was a team competition, I thought of my fellow committee members in Curtin Marketing Association, Pia and Annalise. We worked very well together, and I refer to us as a dream team!”
The trio submitted a video and pitch desk explaining their solution to the challenge. To their surprise, their submission made it to national finals – with cross-country travel expenses paid for and mentorship from a former competition winner. Across a whirlwind two days, Sean and his team implemented advice from their mentor, pitched in front of L’Oréal senior executives and even got a tour of the L’Oréal office. But the best part? Knowing he’d made it to Melbourne with his two friends after working so hard together.
The presentation helped Sean build his confidence dealing with similar situations in future with composure, focus and clarity. And what the whole experience honed was his teamwork skills. As a team of three, they sometimes had conflicting ideas – but respecting each other’s ideas and having a collective team mindset meant their different perspectives helped them innovate. Brandstorm was also a great opportunity for the team to apply their marketing knowledge in practice.
For Sean, the competition turned out to be a career game changer. Sean applied for the L’Oréal Management Trainee program and attributes the strength of his application to the knowledge and network he gained through Brandstorm. This is why Sean says the time and energy he invested into the experience was 100% worth it.
Post-uni, Sean’s biggest aspiration is to work across the world, in luxury and business capitals like Paris, Singapore and Shanghai. Now starting his grad program in a multinational beauty company, Sean’s dream career of working there could be closer than he once thought.
Have a dream industry? Here’s Sean’s top advice:
- Look for the opportunities that excite you at university
- Research what businesses and brands exist in the industry
- Get your foot in the door through volunteering, work experience or competitions like Brandstorm
And in everything you do, try your best – you never know where that opportunity might take you or who might be watching.
