Episode #164
Where Creativity Meets Data: Finding Your Place in Marketing | 164: Sakshi Sureka
Sakshi Sureka is a marketing professional, LinkedIn creator, and Paid Social Specialist at WPP Media. Originally from Kolkata, India, she moved to the UK to study Marketing after changing direction from science and economics. Along the way, she navigated the challenges of building a career as an international student while documenting her journey online. She shares practical insights on personal branding, content creation, marketing, and career growth with a LinkedIn community of more than 15,000 people. In this episode, Sakshi shares how moving from India to the UK changed her life, why building a personal brand on LinkedIn became one of her biggest career advantages, and what she learned while trying to break into the marketing industry during one of the toughest job markets for graduates. We also explore LinkedIn growth, storytelling, networking, content creation, and practical ways to stay consistent, build genuine relationships, and create career opportunities through authentic personal branding. Connect with Sakshi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sakshi-sureka/ https://vizzy.com/@sakshisureka Timestamps: 00:00 - Why everyone has a story to tell 01:10 - Introduction 01:52 - Who is Sakshi Sureka? 02:48 - From science to marketing 03:31 - Moving from India to the UK 04:48 - Student life at the University of Leeds 05:17 - Working night shifts at McDonald's 05:49 - Why she chose the UK 07:36 - The pressure of studying abroad 09:18 - First impressions of the UK 09:46 - Studying with people from around the world 11:05 - What McDonald's taught her 11:56 - The reality of job hunting after university 13:10 - Why every job teaches valuable skills 15:01 - Searching for her first marketing job 17:46 - Protecting your mental and physical health 19:22 - Career advice for students and graduates 20:25 - Why everyone should build a personal brand 21:46 - AI and the future of marketing 23:20 - Why she started posting on LinkedIn 24:49 - How sharing her journey created opportunities 25:51 - Building a community, not chasing followers 27:19 - Why quality beats quantity on LinkedIn 30:53 - How to grow on LinkedIn 31:19 - Why storytelling beats generic advice 33:58 - Show up as yourself, not a LinkedIn guru 34:52 - Building relationships instead of cold DMs 36:40 - Why thoughtful comments matter 38:53 - "My job is too boring for LinkedIn" 40:42 - Finding stories in everyday life 42:25 - Hobbies outside of work 43:28 - Why she loves cooking 46:02 - Atomic Habits and building consistency 47:48 - Favourite podcasts 49:05 - Helping young professionals build their careers 50:48 - Meeting Kamiya through LinkedIn 52:49 - Goals for the future 54:50 - One final piece of advice 57:03 - Outro Connect with Tomas : Stan: https://stan.store/Tommen LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomasloucky/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisistommen/ Unproduced : Newsletter: https://unproduced.substack.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@unproducednotes Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033Ddo8ibDlLYoaP7FFLIW More : Links: https://linktr.ee/produced_by Patreon: https://patreon.com/tomasloucky Newsletter: https://producednewsletter.substack.com/ The Podcast Club: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/25420030/ Tools & gear that support the show: Metricool: https://f.mtr.cool/HRJBZK Favikon: https://www.favikon.com?fpr=tommen Riverside: https://riverside.partnerlinks.io/2752q1ai767z Ra Optics: https://ra-optics.myshopify.com/discount/TOMMEN?rfsn=8803777.591d19 JamX: https://jamx.ai/podcasters-offer?ref_id=e02d48af-ef66-4e76-b804-c2e8d282a8bf Some links are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. If you find them useful, using these links helps keep the podcast running. Thank you! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
