Arlene Mendoza raises the bar for every colleague she works with on the UX and SEO team — but that wasn’t always her career trajectory. In fact, Arlene first entered university on an aerospace engineering scholarship.
However, this specific life path turned out to be a poor match. “It ended badly. Theoretical mathematics and I are not friends,” says Arlene.
Thankfully for us, Arlene decided to pivot and pursue a B.S. in Marketing with a minor in Global Business.
From the Global Digital Market to Brafton
Once she found her passion for global marketing, Arlene decided to expand her expertise into UX. After finishing her degree, she achieved certification in UX Management and Interaction Design from the Nielsen Norman Group.
Arlene’s impressive credentials and go-getter attitude led her to a Global Digital Strategist position for the financial services business unit of a Fortune 100 equipment manufacturer.
“I was primarily responsible for delivering and managing user experiences for various digital properties including our global public websites, customer portal, and mobile app,” explains Arlene. “I also worked in partnership with global enterprise peers to help deliver seamless experiences between our and other brand and business unit websites.”
It was through one of her previous positions that Arlene first came into contact with Brafton.
“We actually used Brafton to write several blog posts, an eBook and other content for our website as part of our overall content marketing strategy to help drive traffic and improve our site SEO,” says Arlene.
This positive experience left an impression on her as a client and when she decided to start a new chapter in her career, Brafton was the place she wanted to be.
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Taking a Leap Into Agency Life
Transitioning from client to Manager of UX and SEO at Brafton was an exciting endeavor for Arlene. Each day presents a new challenge and opportunity to find solutions for SEO and UX projects.
“There is rarely a day that goes by where I haven’t learned something new in the world of SEO and UX,” says Arlene. “And I’ve spent my entire career in digital sales and marketing!”
Since entering Brafton, Arlene has become a standout manager, inspiring her team daily with her hard work and creativity — and the feeling is mutual!
“I love working with the people at Brafton,” says Arlene. “They’re wonderful and funny and creative and talented. They’re always willing to help, which I appreciate 100%.”
Beyond her team, Arlene also stresses the importance of her clients, especially since she used to be in their shoes.
“The people are what makes Brafton so challenging and educational,” Arlene shares. “I love the wide variety of clients and prospects I’ve been able to work and interact with on a daily basis.”
Clocking Out and Hitting the Road
As a committed fan of world travel and domestic road trips, Arlene’s love for global strategy extends beyond her work hours.
In fact, in her travels outside of the U.S., she’s often confused for a local instead of a tourist. So much so that she learned how to say, “I don’t speak [insert language here]” in at least 7 different languages.
“It’s a strange thing. People always seem to speak at me in multiple different languages,” says Arlene.
When Arlene’s not traveling, she enjoys running and hiking to help balance her actual favorite hobby: eating delicious food. “I recently realized that the reason I hike and run is to support my eating hobby!”
All of these passions help to fuel her inside and outside of the office. Through the winding roads of Arlene’s experienced career history, we’re beyond thankful that Arlene chose to focus her talents on digital marketing — otherwise, she could have been working for NASA instead of Brafton.
