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Career start as People Communication Manager

What makes an attractive employer brand? And how can you achieve it? As People Communication Manager, Alejandra Mosquera deals with these and other questions relating to the field of employer branding. In this interview, she tells us more about her successful career start and the biggest challenges she faced during her studies at HMKW.

Alejandra Mosquera, graduate of the M.A. International Marketing and Media Management (Photo: Markus Altmann)

Alejandra Mosquera, graduate of the M.A. International Marketing and Media Management (Photo: Markus Altmann)

What comes to mind when you think about your studies at HMKW?

I moved to Berlin in September 2019 and was very excited about the university life, however we were faced with the pandemic after our first semester. In the beginning of my studies my main challenge was adapting to the academic level of the university. I came from a political science background and during the four years before my masters I had been an entrepreneur. This required a lot of on-the-road learning. And as mentioned before, the pandemic brought some extra challenges as we had to adapt to taking courses online and having little social contact.

You acquired a Master of Arts in International Marketing and Media Management at HMKW Berlin. What is your current job position?

I currently work as People Communication Manager at a financial software company. My main focus is to help build and strengthen the employer brand of the company. And support in overall internal communication projects.

What do you like most about your current job position? What is your biggest challenge?

What I enjoy the most in my current job position are the tasks that allow me to be creative and show the behind the scenes of the company on social media. Employer branding currently faces many challenges, it is not only about engaging with the people that follow you on social media but also engaging with the people that work for the company. Being able to tell their stories and learn more about their experience at the company is very fulfilling. Additional to this, I have always been fond of graphic design, so I enjoy tasks that allow me to project my creativity through design and graphics. One of the biggest challenges of the job is mainly getting people to embrace the employer brand and to be brand ambassadors for the company that they work for.

 

"What I enjoy the most in my current job position are the tasks that allow me to be creative and show the behind the scenes of the company on social media."
"What I enjoy the most in my current job position are the tasks that allow me to be creative and show the behind the scenes of the company on social media."

 

Did you get any further work experiences prior to your current position that you would like to share with us?

I had a working student position at a sports nutrition company for about a year and a half before graduating. This was also a great experience and I enjoyed working for the company. Unfortunately, my working student position wasn’t aligned to my career goals and at the moment of my graduation there wasn’t an open position in the field that I wanted to go into.

Why did you decide to study “M.A. International Marketing and Media Management”? And what made you choose HMKW Berlin?

I had several options where I applied to and got accepted, however after looking at the program at HMKW it was one of the most complete ones. I didn’t want to make an “express” masters like many universities offer nowadays which are done in a year or less. Additionally, the opportunity of working legally during the studies made the masters also very attractive. And finally, back in 2007 I did my exchange year here in Germany and fell in love with Berlin. I absolutely love this city and everything it has to offer.

What are your plans for the future?

After almost two years of the pandemic and surviving my master thesis I am fully soaking into work life and the new challenges that this has brought my way. I am looking forward to new projects at work and future learnings. Additionally, because of Covid I had to pause some travel plans, which I am very eager to set forward.

What’s your advice for students who decide to come to Germany/to HMKW to study?

Engage in as many activities as possible, enjoy the process and embrace its challenges. Take advantage of the assigned tasks to dig deeper into topics that awaken your curiosity.

Don’t doubt to ask for help from the faculty if you are struggling with a specific topic. Winter in Germany can be a hard season, but summer is worth the wait. Enjoy Berlin!

Thank you very much for sharing your experiences with us. We wish you all the best for your future!