Up Front: My First Job

While some fans of the popular TV series, “Mad Men,” got hooked on the show solely for the drama, stellar acting and fashion, David Peña got something else out of watching — an interest in marketing as a career.  

“’Mad Men’ was a time piece, it made me fascinated with idea of being able to sell your time and ideas to build a career and also impact culture at the same time,” says Peña (‘19, marketing).  

After graduation, Peña landed a full-time position at Canvas Worldwide, AdWeek’s Breakthrough Media Agency of the Year in 2019. As a brand strategist, he worked with their number one client, Hyundai Motor America.   

On the job, he was responsible for making sure that when a campaign was completed, it was displayed to the right people, at the right time, in the right place and in the right way.   

“I learned about different departments, and that led me to create profiles of what I thought people would be like, their interests, hobbies, education and skills,” Peña says. 

This exposure is what he says directly led to his post as a recruiter in advertising for Rubin Postaer and Associates, using that knowledge as a superpower to then find good talent in unexpected places.  

In June, he shifted gears again, joining Cal Poly Pomona as the lead career coach in the College of Environmental Design. He said he was drawn to the opportunity to help students navigate the job market.  

Peña credits CPP and the CBA professors and community for making his journey possible and attributes his success to a key factor.   

“It’s all about building authentic relationships with people.”