Welcome to our Day in the Life series! In this feature, we sit down with Lucy Dawson, our Growth Marketing Specialist, who shares her unique career journey - including joining SmartRecruiters through the Attrax acquisition - and how she's driven new development in a role she personally shaped, focusing on her strategies for pace, growth, and project execution. You can choose to either watch the video or read interview below.
Could you walk us through how you joined SmartRecruiters, what those first months were like, and how your role and career path have evolved since?
Lucy: I officially joined SmartRecruiters as part of the Attrax acquisition in February 2022. At the time, I was the Digital Marketing Team Lead. Overnight, we went from being a 30-person career site software company to a 500-person global HR tech organization.
In the first few months, not much changed on the surface. The real shift came about two years later when I moved into the Global Marketing team. I made that move because I wanted to broaden my role beyond just digital. This internal move is a really great example of how an acquisition can open up new doors in your career. Attrax was my first acquisition experience, and now with SmartRecruiters joining SAP, this feels like familiar territory for me.
The role I’m in now was actually created for me to step into, so I have been shaping it ever since. It’s my first step into Partner Marketing, so it's been a learning curve!
What does your week feel like in practice regarding pace, collaboration, and the parts of the work you look forward to most?
Lucy: I'm a planner by nature - something that agency life taught me quickly when I was balancing 100 tasks. My week usually starts with a scan of my upcoming meetings, tasks I can move forward, and what’s pending from others.
In Partner Marketing, the pace can flip quickly. You're coordinating two companies, sometimes more with a customer involved. This means one minute I’m waiting on answers or feedback, and the next I'm moving things along and making sure that nothing stalls. Surprisingly, I do enjoy this rhythm. Those quiet moments are perfect for analyzing campaigns, experimenting with ChatGPT, or catching up on marketing podcasts.
How do you manage the pace of your work, staying fast while keeping quality high and your energy sustainable?
Lucy: I live for my Notion board! I lay out all of my to-dos for the week and color-code the tasks so I know what's a priority, what’s nice to get done, and what can slide if needed. I combine a few time management styles, but it’s the time blocking that really works best for me.
Since joining, what's the skill you've grown the most, and what helped you get there?
Lucy: I’d say this is public speaking. Most of my career has been post-COVID, and I was much more used to virtual meetings than in-person ones. I remember an early presentation of a digital recruitment marketing strategy to directors across Dubai, Canada, and the UK. I was nervous at the start, but by the end, I was in the flow and actually enjoying it.
Since then, I’ve presented to plenty of panels and realized that I genuinely enjoy it when I know the topic. When I was asked to speak at our annual Revenue Kick-Off in front of 100 colleagues, I was definitely nervous, especially about being in the room rather than behind a screen. But again, once I started, the nerves melted away. No matter where my career takes me, being able to communicate clearly in front of a group - whether it’s 10 people virtually or an auditorium of 100 - is an essential skill.
What's the next skill you're investing in and why now?
Lucy: I'm good at keeping my own work on track, but coordinating a team and keeping everyone aligned is something I'm still figuring out. It’s definitely a challenge, but with that comes the opportunity to develop project management and project coordination skills. I know those will pay off across any project or role in the future.
What does effective learning look like for you and how are you putting it into practice?
Lucy: A few months ago, I completed a prompt engineering course. This felt like a really worthwhile investment because I know generative AI has huge potential to improve my work, but only if I know how to use it well.
Which parts of SmartRecruiters' culture are the most important for you and how do they impact your work?
Lucy: It’s the trust to get on with my work and the freedom to ask for help if I need it. It means I can structure my day in a way that gets the best work out of me while also leaving time for all the fun that happens outside of work.
I’d also highlight the energy and fun that comes with tackling big challenges. We definitely set ambitious milestones as a company, but I really like that we don’t take ourselves too seriously as we’re setting out to hit them.
Tell us about a project you're proud of since joining. What was the outcome and what did it unlock for your growth?
Lucy: There hasn’t exactly been a rulebook for this role, so I’m proudest of the initiatives I’ve driven from idea to execution. Our Partner Resource Center is a good example of this. We needed a space for partners to stay connected to our product developments, company updates, and messaging. I landed on a dedicated site that keeps all this information in one place and easy to find.
This is an ongoing project - I’m still reviewing and updating the content to ensure it evolves as SmartRecruiters does. It's rewarding because we're seeing partners engage with the site, knowing they came here for the most up-to-date information. This project taught me that when there isn't a clear solution, I can figure things out by talking to people across teams, weighing the options, and ultimately trusting my judgment. If I see a good idea, I need to run with it and not get hung up on the fact that there’s no preset path.
What outcomes are you most focused on driving this quarter and how are you choosing where to prioritize your energy?
Lucy: As we get closer to the end of the year, priorities in marketing naturally shift. The big event season is winding down, and in-person activities are slowing. For many companies, it's now time to shift to planning for the year ahead.
Instead of focusing on getting people together to share a message, my attention is shifting to how we can take that message out to them: case studies. These are stories that will highlight the work our customers are doing, their successes, and ultimately how SmartRecruiters and our partners are supporting their goals. This quarter, I’m focused on those discovery calls, gathering the data, and shaping those stories so that when we share them next year, they land in a really impactful way. I’ve already got a couple in the works and I’m excited to see them come to life!
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