Alumni Spotlight: Annabel Chen at Moxie Communications

Introducing Annabel Chen, a UCLA alumna! She’s currently an Account Executive at Moxie Communications Group.

Can you describe your career path from UCLA to your current role right now?

Throughout my time at UCLA I had a few internships and jobs, where I gained experience in a bunch of different industries. I’ve worked in government, financial services, recruiting and PR, just to name a few. Having such a diverse career path has really helped me understand what I like and dislike, which is really valuable when you’re looking for a job.

I now work as an Account Executive at Moxie Communications Group, a PR firm based in Marina del Rey.

What clubs and organizations were you involved in at UCLA, and how have they helped you with your job search?

At UCLA, I was involved in Greek Life and held a few leadership positions within my sorority and the Greek council. This really helped develop my leadership skills and my ability to work well with others, which are both important qualities that many employers look for. I was also able to tap into a really great network of women with all types of backgrounds and careers, which gave me insight into what jobs I could be interested in, but hadn’t had much exposure to previously.

I was also involved in a few other clubs, but I think what I gained most from UCLA was my network of friends and mentors. They really helped me during my time at UCLA as a student and in my career development as well. I was able to ask for help with crafting my resume, learn about careers that I otherwise wouldn’t have known existed, and have a great group of people supporting me through my ups and downs.

What advice would you give to UCA members that are interested in working in PR?

Even though relevant experience is important to have for any job or internship, I don’t think it’s the end of the world if you don’t have it. While it’s true that many agencies are looking for interns or ACs who have experience in identifying relevant targets and using PR databases like Cision and MuckRack, what’s most important is embodying qualities and skills that will help you do your job well, like being a fast learner, understanding media and being a good writer. Even without prior industry experience, you still have the ability to demonstrate these qualities, whether that’s through schoolwork or describing an experience from a job that you’ve had in the past — you can always find ways to highlight these skills.

As an intern at most agencies, you will be supporting your teams by making sure that the little things are taken care of, so having qualities like being organized and proactive will be extremely valuable. At the end of the day, these fundamental skills aren’t unique to PR — they are important to have in most jobs and industries, and will take you far regardless of where you end up.

What inspired you to pursue this career path, and what are your favorite parts about working in PR?

My very first internship as a junior in high school was in tech PR, so it kind of feels full circle for me. Like I said, I have dabbled in a ton of different industries — I have been an intern at Morgan Stanley and simultaneously was a recruiter for tech startups based in Santa Monica — and when I started my PR internship with JCUTLER Media Group my senior year, it just felt right. What I like about PR, and specifically working at an agency, is that you get to work with so many different people and so many different industries, which exposes you to different parts of the world that you may otherwise never see if you worked in-house at a company.

With COVID-19, it feels like the whole world has been flipped upside down, and this definitely rings true in PR as well. Every day is a new challenge, but it’s also a learning experience, which makes it very exciting. Being able to learn every day is what’s cool about what I do.

What does your day-to-day look like as someone in your position?

Account Coordinators and Account Executives are the foundation for every team. For me, a typical day will include pitching reporters, drafting copy for press releases or blog posts, and working on administrative tasks like scheduling, building media lists, and tracking the status of different projects or opportunities. A lot of what you do in PR is identifying trends and doing research to inform our communications strategy, so staying up to date with the news is a key component of our jobs. What’s great at my agency is that anyone, no matter the level, is able to share their input. So, in my role, I’ve been lucky to have been able to delve into my creative side and suggest ideas for campaigns, pitch angles and more. 

Though this is what my typical day-to-day used to look like, in this new time of COVID-19, as my account needs have started to shift, so have my day-to-day and responsibilities. A day for me now will be monitoring the news cycle and trying to newsjack timely topics to insert my clients into. I find creative angles to differentiate my clients, draft a lot of copy, and send a lot of pitches. I’ve become more involved in each of my accounts at a higher level and will share our recommendations with our clients. 

Within my role and my agency, I’ve seen a lot of changes in our strategy and approaches to our work as a result of the pandemic, and I think this is reflective of the broader industry as well. Unfortunately, until the pandemic is over, we won’t be able to evaluate how much has really changed.

What has been your greatest career challenge, and how have you overcome it?

One of the biggest career challenges, aside from what we’re currently experiencing, is feeling stagnant in your role. I think it’s very normal after being in an admin role for 6 to 9 months to think, “Okay, what else can I do to grow?” I wanted to get a better understanding of the industry, and to really get that, you need to be doing the work. What that means is getting involved with pitching reporters, having conversations about what’s interesting to them and understanding the media landscape. Once I started getting more responsibility and being able to work with reporters firsthand, that’s when things really changed for me.

In the current landscape with COVID-19, my role has changed drastically and it’s definitely been a new challenge. Because this situation is unprecedented, everyone is learning together and collaborating in a way that I don’t think would have been possible in normal times. I’ve been given a lot more responsibility and find myself thinking more strategically about what we’re recommending to clients. It’s been a challenge, but definitely a good learning experience.

What's next for you in terms of your future goals and plans?

I feel like right now is a really weird time to think about the future because it feels like the whole world is on pause. It’s definitely hard to figure out when all of this is going to end, and especially what the job landscape will look like when we get there. It’s definitely a really difficult time, and I sympathize with 2020 graduates who are entering the workforce during such an uncertain time. I’m definitely lucky to be at my agency and have people who care.

Because I’m fortunate enough to be in my current position, I’ve been volunteering in my spare time. I work with a nonprofit that provides consulting for other nonprofits, with a specific focus on environmental organizations. I recently started with the organization, so I’m excited to dive a little deeper into that world and see what I can do to help. For now, that’s what I’m trying to do to give back, especially to nonprofits that have been hit hard by COVID-19.