Member interview - Eileen Donaghey’s career journey

Eileen Donaghey works for a legal practice, Anthony Gold, which has offices in London Bridge, Elephant and Castle and Streatham. Here, she tells us about her career journey, the legal sector and how CIM qualifications have helped her to progress. Eileen also shares her personal tips for career success.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’ve recently started a new role as Communications Executive at Anthony Gold. They are a mid-tier firm of solicitors based in South London. Prior to this, I’ve always worked in publishing and events so this is a bit of a new experience for me.

Originally from Northern Ireland, I love exploring London and finding out new eateries and places to go. I have a particular penchant for afternoon tea, so much so I Instagram everywhere I go! @AfternoonteaLon

What made you choose a career in marketing?

As an English and Linguistics graduate, I knew that I was good at communicating and getting my point of view across. I also realised that many companies have fantastic products and services but they just don’t know how to tell people about them. Some business people aren’t good at dealing with people either, which leads to failings. This is where I thought I would fit in. I felt I could put my passion for communicating with people into practice and begin on a career in marketing.

Tell us about your CIM studies

When I was looking for a pure marketing role every job advert I came across specified that you needed to be CIM qualified or at least working towards it. I knew that if I was serious about working in marketing then I would have to take action and self-fund myself through it. It was financially tough but I’m so glad I’ve done it because gaining the CIM Certificate in Professional Marketing has opened so many doors for me.

Even the opportunity of meeting other young people working and studying marketing was a real benefit for me. I will definitely be doing more studies and plan to focus on digital qualifications next. Digital is such an important part of marketing nowadays I think a strong understanding of how it works is essential.

What attracted you to the legal sector?

Working in the legal sector and for a partnership is completely new to me. I enjoy the variety of the various departments at Anthony Gold as it determines the approach I take. Services include injury and medical claims, divorce and family law, commercial law and housing. Some of our commercial work is B2B and I target local SMEs while some of our housing work is very sensitive and I’m targeting the wider public. So far, no two days have been alike.

As well as the variety, I like the honesty of the practice. One of our beliefs at Anthony Gold is: ‘We do what’s right for our clients’. As I’m a big advocate of customer service this is one of the things that really attracted me to the firm.

How does winning the recent landmark housing case impact on marketing?

Within our housing department we have a specific social housing team who are dedicated to fighting for important causes. This case was all about protecting the rights of homeless people and ensuring that Councils meet their obligation to provide housing, so of course it’s great for Anthony Gold to win such a momentous case. But as much as we want to get the word out about our work, it’s always important to remember that we must be extremely sensitive about the people involved. Also, because we can’t guarantee what the verdict will be, we need to be prepared to react quickly and be ready to contact the press.

Tell us about your work with young marketers

Sometimes it can be hard to know if you are on the right path for your career or you may just need general marketing advice. I know an awful lot of non-marketing professionals who don’t understand the value of marketing or think it’s easy to do, so a good support for marketers is really important. I set up The Young Marketers Forum as a place where people could be honest about different topics and ask for advice. It’s still in its infancy at the moment but I am hoping that as word gets out more people will join. 

What careers advice would you give to other marketers?

Go to events! Get out and meet other people in the marketing community. There’s tonnes of organisations and groups for marketing, especially local ones. It’s good to bounce ideas off people who are well-established and know a thing or two about career development.

It’s hard finding your niche whenever you begin your career and I wouldn’t necessarily say that I have found mine yet but I am learning where my strengths lie. Having spent 6 years working for magazines and event companies I would say that this is my natural knowledge base.

Don’t be afraid to move sector or ask to specialise in a specific project at work. If you like social media, ask if you can champion it for the company. Create opportunities for yourself, why would your manager say “No”, if you want to work on a new project that will benefit the company?