Retail Industry
Jakub Racinowski moved to the UK from Poland to break into advertising. He now works for multinational electrical and telecoms retailer Dixons Carphone – the merged Dixons Retail and Carphone Warehouse firm. He is responsible for recruiting and developing affiliates to promote and sell products and services for many of the company’s brands – most recently mobile retailer e2Save.
The Advertising and Brand Management graduate began working in retail marketing shortly after leaving Staffordshire University. Previous work experience and the skills learned during his studies gave Jakub the opportunity to thrive in the fast-paced industry.
“The whole degree was really good, with a perfect mix of theory and creative practice,” Jakub recalled. “I learned a lot but, for me, one of the greatest lessons was multiskilling. My daughter was born when I was studying and working part-time, so I learned to manage my time effectively.”
Poland to UK
Jakub left his home town Bydgoszcz, Poland, and travelled over a thousand miles to live in Stoke-on-Trent at 20 years of age. He researched the best courses and universities across Europe before settling on Staffordshire University, where he began his degree a year after arriving, in 2008.
“I actually moved from Poland for the course,” he said. “I was researching around Europe and the UK seemed like a great choice, as well as being affordable for me and my parents. I found information and recommendations online saying Staffordshire University was great for media and creative courses. I was passionate about advertising and the Advertising and Brand Management degree looked great, so I decided to move.
“I learn best through the practical application of what we’re being taught and we had lots of opportunities on the degree. We had placements, went to agencies and worked on live briefs. We had lots of hands on industry experience before we even left University.”
After working as a health and safety trainer while studying, Jakub joined Bet365 as a European Customer Account Advisor within six months of graduating. A year later, he became International Marketing Executive and subsequently Digital Marketing Executive at online clothing store MandM Direct. Eventually, in 2015, he joined Dixons Carphone.
Dixons Carphone
Jakub was promoted to Senior Display and Affiliate Executive in February 2017 and has been working on the company’s e2Save brand ever since. He explained: “I’m responsible for implementing the affiliate strategy, working with comparison sites, publishers, voucher and cashback sites. I negotiate commission structures, work closely with the trading team and oversee planning of media activities.
“It’s great to be working in an industry I’m passionate about. I believe I always bring a ‘can do’ attitude to everything I do and part of that was learning to multi-task while at Staffordshire University, balancing work, study and parenting. There are lots of opportunities working within a well-established business like Dixons Carphone. I’d definitely like to see myself in an overarching, managerial role going forward.”
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