Summary: Skip the job title obsession and focus on work that matters to you. Learn from Tara's "The Sauce" model: pick the right channels and keep your promises for sustained engagement. Her social-first demand gen approach and simple yet creative hot sauce branding show how to resonate in today's martech scene. Use personal biases to create targeted campaigns and ignore buzzwords and rigid MQL definitions. Tara's strategy—act on active interest immediately—cuts through the noise and boosts efficiency. Whether it's career or marketing, it’s all about authentic, effective action.About Tara:
Tara got her start in a communications role at Polar Mobile and later transitioned to focusing on inbound marketing at ScribbleLive, a live-blogging platform based in Toronto
Tara then made the move to martech joining the popular content experience platform Uberflip as Demand Gen Manager where she spent nearly 3 years and worked her way up to Director of Revenue Marketing
She later transitioned to a Senior Manager of Demand Gen role at Top Hat, a higher ed learning platform
For the last 2 years she’s been at Chili Piper, a meeting automation platform for demand gen teams where she started as Demand Gen Manager and has recently been promoted to Head of Demand Gen
At Chili Piper she’s also the host of the acclaimed Demand Gen Chat podcast where she’s interviewed prominent guests from companies like LinkedIn, 6sense, Refinelabs and more!
The Overrated Chase for Job Titles and the Importance of Aligning Career GoalsWhen asked about the variation in job titles on her resume, Tara offers insight that runs counter to conventional career advice. Tara's journey from a director-level position at Uberflip to managerial roles at Top Hat and Chili Piper wasn't about regressing; it was about finding her fit. At Uberflip, Tara experienced rapid promotions, roughly every six months, which led her to believe in the importance of titles. However, she realized that the titles often didn't correlate with her day-to-day responsibilities. In her first role, although under the umbrella term of 'communications,' Tara juggled between answering phones, booking CEO's travels, and setting up the company's first Twitter account. Titles can be deceptive.Tara also points out the dangers of chasing managerial roles for the sake of it. At Top Hat, her role morphed into what she describes as a "middle manager." While this was somewhat fulfilling in person, the transition to remote work revealed cracks in the facade. She found herself swamped in one-on-one meetings, feeling unproductive and unmotivated. Her realization led her to seek something that resonated more authentically with what she wanted to do.So, what is Tara's advice to those hesitant to take a perceived step back in their careers due to job titles? She underscores the importance of prioritizing what you truly value in your career over a title. In all her roles, irrespective of what the title implied, she never had to take a pay cut. Her guiding lights have been the people she wants to work with and learn from, not the titles she could acquire.Key Takeaway: The fixation on job titles can be a mirage, leading professionals down paths that may not align with their true career goals or personal happiness. It’s not the title, but the work and the people around you, that should guide your career decisions.People Manager or Individual Contributor: Choosing Your Marketing Career PathWhen asked about the viability of choosing to be an individual contributor over a people manager in marketing, Tara touches on a key decision point: personal motivation. If your prime motivator is financial gain, then pursuing a managerial role might offer the quickest route to that objective. However, if the allure of hands-on work, creativity, and constant learning excites you, Tara suggests thinking outside the conventional career ladder.Tara's current role, technically a people manager position, involves wearing multiple hats because her