In the summer of 2023, while spending a term studying in London, I had the unique privilege of attending an exclusive interview panel and tour at the Condé Nast London office. These takeaways reflect the most pertinent information I gathered from the talk.

One of the most important sectors of Condé Nast’s organization is the audience development and SEO team. This division works to discover what trends, insights and data can be used to best plan for the success of future campaigns and content.

Sarah Marshall and Harry Clark each work in this vital Condé Nast sector – Marshall is the Global Executive Director of Distribution & Channel Strategy and Clark is the Senior Global Strategy Manager. Their insight into the organization and how to plan, strategize and develop content for such a major media conglomerate like Condé Nast is priceless.

Six key lessons learned from an exclusive lecture by these two strategists and industry insiders revealed how journalists can curate globalized content, understand what working at Condé Nast entails, and how major corporations plan for sharing information and stories.

1. What They Look for When Hiring

It is first important to understand what kind of people the Condé Nast team is made up of and how you might be able to be a part of it. Condé Nast looks to hire individuals who have a strong cultural understanding of their various partners, according to Clark. While Condé serves over 37 brands, one partner alone can have over 28 publications and reach global audiences – as is the case for its partner Vogue. This requires new and potential hires to consider and have interest in the vast array of audiences and trends for each of its partners. Clark stated that it is vital to know what is current and relevant and to already be thinking of next steps and why things are relevant. With a major media firm like Condé, you can set yourself apart by being a tastemaker and remaining on top of industry and partner news.

2. Optimizing Google Analytics Data

With over 52% of Condé’s audience traffic coming from Google and search engine searches, it is vital for the team to use Google Analytics data. Google Analytics has helped the audience and SEO development teams at Condé Nast prepare for the future. According to the SEO sector of the audience development team, using Google Analytics can help understand where and how searches lead an audience from Google to brand websites. GA works to determine traffic analysis and how to optimize articles and posts based on insights and can work across all brands for all markets.

3. Understanding Culture

One key point brought up by Harry Clark was that, with a career in the field of journalism and audience development, it is incredibly important to understand culture. Condé Nast is a globalized company which operates in 32 markets around the world. This means that they target readers in many different countries with many different cultures. Clark discussed how culture heavily impacts every aspect of our lives. A certain article or advertisement which works in one culture may not work in another. This is why it is incredibly important, especially at a company such as Condé Nast, to understand cultural nuances and differences.

4. Understanding Popular Culture

When working with social media, having a grasp on current trends and individuals who are popular in the media is essential for brand growth. Speaking on the importance of being up to date on popular culture, Harry Clark referenced a video for Vanity Fair of Florence Pugh doing gymnastics. Because Florence Pugh is an extremely popular figure in the media at the moment, featuring her in a video increases viewership and therefore helps the company. The audience development team is focused on growing audiences, so the more views the better. By establishing a strong grasp on some unique or niche element of popular culture, one can become a very important asset for audience growth. Brands hope to not just grow their audiences but expand the variety of who those people are. For example, if one has specialized knowledge of trends in the skating community and can use that knowledge to help expand audiences in the skating world, they become an asset to that company’s audience development.

5. Analyzing Data

When asked what is one thing we, as students, should know how to do before entering the career field, Sarah Marshall emphasized the importance of being able to know how to analyze data. Even in her high up position, Sarah informed us that she still has to analyze data fairly often and it is an incredibly important skill. Data analysis is a skill that can apply to almost any job in any career field, even in higher up positions.

6. Optimizing Chances for Hire with Knowledge of the Company’s Past Work

When looking for a job post-grad, many will attempt to optimize their chances for hire by applying for positions at many different companies. At Condé Nast, we learned quality trumps quantity. Sarah Marshall said one of the bigger things she looks for in a new hire is interest in the company. In a job interview for Condé Nast, one will likely be asked why specifically they want to work at the company. This is the most important question to prepare for in any job interview because your answer will set you apart from other interviewees by establishing why you will fit into the company aside from your qualifications. An example Marshall gave of having knowledge of the company was referencing Anna Wintour’s first cover at Vogue which was revolutionary in Vogue’s history. Because Vogue is a company under Condé Nast, having knowledge of their history would set one apart from other candidates for the job. Referencing a particular project or article Condé Nast has done are other examples of how an interviewee can optimize their chances for hire.

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