Danielle McCarthy 10/02/2026

This week, our chapter spoke with Ohio University alumna and past chapter member, Danielle McCarthy. During her time at OU, Danielle was a member of the Ad Club, 1804 Communications, Student-Alumni Board, Alpha Omicron Pi and was a Student Ambassador for the Schoonover Center. She graduated in 2017 with a Bachelor’s in Strategic Communications and later got her master’s degree at WVU in Integrated Communications.

Today, Danielle works as a Senior Account Manager at VML, an international marketing and communications agency based in Cleveland, Ohio. During her presentation, Danielle went over some content for her accounts at VML and gave our chapter some ad-vice for the professional world.

Ad-Vice:

Studying/homework never ends–

Even though you have graduated and think you are done studying forever, you will find yourself working on brands that you may never heard of and will quickly be expected to be well versed in them. During your work hours when you have down time, it is a great idea to fill that with learning about your brands or company you work for.

Stay up to speed on new technology–

When a new social media platform comes out, be sure to read up on it and understand the purpose and how brands might find a use for it.

Find a creative passion outside of work–

The more you are able to express yourself creatively outside of work, the more creative and fresh you’ll feel at work!

Keep a praise file–

There are going to be great days and hard days, and sometimes on the hard days you just need to be reminded that you are on the right track, doing the right things. Danielle highly recommends saving any emails/messages you receive with positive feedback. This is also a good tip for updating your resume throughout your career.

Become an expert in one thing–

There is a good chance there are some parts of your job that will be a bit complicated, if you become the one expert on the team you will be sought after for perspective and opinions. Becoming a product expert is huge- knowing the ins and outs of how something works and what the benefits are. People will come to you with questions!

Don’t be afraid to speak up and give your perspective–

They hired you for a reason. You have individual lived experiences that allow you to have a unique perspective and it needs to be heard. Don’t wait to start speaking up!

You won’t know everything at the beginning, and that’s okay–

Don’t pretend to know things and then look them up on your own. Continue to be a student and allow people who know what is happening to teach you.

Have a point of view on everything–

Even if it feels silly or outside of your specific job, think through what your perspective is on everything. When asked, share it!

Advocate for yourself–

Get comfortable talking about your own accomplishments. Using your praise file should help with this.

Learn how to track your time–

Many agencies require that you submit your time that you worked on various projects each week. Determine a way that best works for you on how to do this. Some people keep a written notebook, Danielle likes to block out her calendar at the end of the day with what projects she worked on so she can review it when submitting her timesheet.

Practice Productive Procrastination–

What projects do you pick up when you’re avoiding doing work? Moving between various projects can allow you to keep your mind fresh.

It is totally normal and okay for you to not immediately jump into your career–

If you are financially able to take some time off, Danielle would highly encourage you to do it prior to starting your career. Life is not only about work and Danielle will always encourage people to cultivate their passions and hobbies outside of work. Sometimes this means taking time off before you start a career to do whatever feeds your soul. This also means setting really clear boundaries in your life on work and outside of work time.

Connect with Danielle here