Building a Global Mindset Early with Hailey Felt

What does it really mean to build a global mindset in marketing? In this episode of Talk Digital To Me, Nicole Ramirez sits down with marketing professional and international student Hailey Felt to talk about living and working across cultures, building a career abroad, and how global experiences shape stronger marketers. From growing up in Minnesota to studying and working in the French Alps, Hailey shares how learning French at a young age opened the door to international opportunities, bilingual marketing, and a deeper understanding of branding, consumer behavior, and personal branding on platforms like LinkedIn.

Listen to the podcast:

Below are key insights and actionable takeaways from our conversation.

Key Takeaways

Global experience changes the way you market

Living in another culture helps marketers better understand nuance, audience behavior, and communication styles in ways that can’t be learned in a classroom alone.

American and European marketing often prioritize different things

Hailey explains that American marketing tends to focus on speed, convenience, and scarcity, while European marketing leans more into quality, lifestyle, and long-term value.

Understanding people is the foundation of great branding

Whether through psychology, sociology, or cultural experience, strong marketing always comes back to understanding human behavior.

LinkedIn is evolving into a true personal branding platform

The conversation explores how LinkedIn has shifted from a digital résumé into a space for storytelling, thought leadership, and genuine connection.

There is no “perfect” career timeline

Hailey’s journey shows that careers don’t need to follow a traditional path to be successful. Sometimes the most unconventional routes create the most meaningful opportunities.

Quotes from Hailey:

“If you don’t post, you’re never going to gain visibility.”

“You can build your own personal brand and show up however you want.”

“In the US, marketing focuses on speed and scarcity. In France, it’s much more about quality and lifestyle.”

“LinkedIn is so much more than just finding jobs.”

“Moving across the world felt less scary than showing up on LinkedIn.”

Looking Ahead

Hailey’s story is a reminder that global marketing isn’t just about strategy decks or case studies, it’s about lived experience. From Minnesota classrooms to French Alps lecture halls, she shows how perspective shapes the way we understand audiences, messaging, and even success itself.

Looking ahead, here are a few grounded reflections from this conversation:

There is no single “right” career path.
Careers can be exploratory, international, and nonlinear, and still be deeply intentional.
Global experience builds sharper marketers.
Seeing how brands land differently across cultures strengthens how you think about positioning and messaging.
Culture shapes consumer behavior more than we think.
Speed, convenience, quality, and lifestyle are interpreted differently depending on where people live.
Personal branding is becoming universal, but not uniform.
Platforms like LinkedIn look different across regions, but the core idea, showing up consistently, remains the same.
Your environment can become your advantage.
Even the “unexpected” paths, like studying abroad or working in a second language, can become your strongest professional edge.

Connect with Hailey on LinkedIn
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