Sage U Fireside Chat: Natalie Dow

Sage is an organization filled with outstanding communications professionals who bring a diverse background of experience and expertise. We leverage this depth of knowledge through our Sage U program, an all-learn, all-teach model, to assist our team’s continued growth.

Today, our Sage U Fireside Chat Q&A series features Natalie Dow. Natalie is a senior account executive on the PR team at Sage Communications and has been with the agency since she started as an intern several years ago. She discussed her journey to Sage, the transition from intern to her current role and the lessons she learned along the way.

Q&A Highlights:

How did you end up in PR? Was it something you always wanted to do or is it something that came to you later in your college career?

Early in my college experience I remember panicking because I didn’t know what I wanted to do for my career. I knew the things I liked to do—writing, listening to the news, making connections with people, but I wasn’t familiar with a career that would allow me to do those things. I didn’t know what PR was back then, so one day I sat down and went through every single major that my college offered. I did a deep dive into them, looked at how much their industry paid, what they entailed, how much school was necessary, etc. I made a list of seven or eight that seemed interesting and did more research on those. I ended up in a PR class at George Mason and fell in love with it.

When COVID hit, the PR industry changed right before my eyes. Everything became virtual. My first internship was completely virtual, and it was weird because it was right at the start of the pandemic, so no one really knew how to do things. When I graduated, I was browsing on LinkedIn for open positions and a Sage employee reached out to me and said “Hey, you should apply for Sage, I think you’d be a good fit.” I initially applied for an internship and once I got it, it was like coming home. I took to it really well, got along with everyone, and I’ve been here ever since.

Do you have somebody in your life that you see as a mentor or that you look up to and inspires you?

A personal mentor would be my grandmother. She’s a very strong-willed woman who knows what she wants and has gone through a lot in her life. How she’s managed to live her life despite that is a huge inspiration to me—I feel I can always do anything and nothing is the end. She inspires me in my day-to-day life, but also in my career to have confidence in what I do.

As for professional mentors at Sage, there are so many. Pretty much everyone has helped me in some capacity at some point in my career. Part of the reason I really like working here is it doesn’t feel like you have just one person you can go to, you can go to pretty much anyone that you need at any time. Everyone is here to help you—something I really appreciate about Sage. I couldn’t have chosen a better place to start my career.

What would you say is the best piece of advice that you received in your career?

For PR specifically, I would say one of the best pieces of advice is not to take things personally. As a PR professional, you put yourself out there with your pitches and ideas, sharing them to be discussed. You have to realize that when somebody offers thoughts or suggestions, especially a journalist or client, it isn’t personal and it’s not a reflection of you as a person. It may not be something you did either, sometimes they might just be in a bad mood. Once you learn to not take things personally in your day-to-day life, you become more confident and start working as a professional. Everyone is here to help you grow, so take it as a learning experience and don’t let it get you down.

Is there any advice you would give to people on how to succeed at Sage or in general as a communications professional?

Aside from being able to take constructive criticism, I would say be able to reflect on the feedback given to you. You want to make sure you don’t take it to heart, but that you internalize it and ask yourself: Why was I given this feedback? What can I do to fix it? It’s an ongoing process. One thing people don’t realize is getting better at something takes time and a lot of practice. If somebody gives you feedback, make sure you’re incorporating it into your work.

I would also say try to be super proactive—whether it’s being proactive in your day-to-day tasks, in making connections with people, or searching for new things to try. If you have a high level of proactivity and drive to succeed, that will set you apart from other employees and help you in the long run.

Do you have a favorite memory of your time at Sage?

The times when we were in-person are my favorite memories at Sage. When we’re in-person, I make a lot of friends and connections with people I wouldn’t have made otherwise. The Sage Day of Fun was one of the most fun things that I’ve done here. It felt like we were back in high school on field day. I would encourage people to attend the optional in-person days because they are really enjoyable and you make great memories and connections there.

Outside of client work—what is something you’ve accomplished at Sage that you’re most proud of?

I really enjoy leading the internship program, I’m proud of how we’ve been able to streamline things and I love mentoring people. It’s really fun getting to know all the new interns that come in every semester and seeing how they grow and their different strengths and weaknesses.

What would people be surprised to learn about you?

I’m a little bit of a nerd. I love video games like JRPGs, and I was a huge anime buff when I was in middle school. I still tune in every now and then, but it’s not something that a lot of people know about me. I also really like heavy metal; I love pretty much all music, but metal is my music of choice.

Natalie is a senior account executive on the PR team at Sage Communications.