Meet Tayler Bradford: Career Queen by Day, Podcast Host by Night

[UNPUBLISHED:] Tell us about yourself.

[TAYLER:] Hey, I’m Tayler! I’m 24 years old. I live in NYC, and I like to call myself a creative multimedia storyteller. I build brand identities on social media as a creative agency strategist, which is my full-time job, and I host Girl Gaze Podcast, which is my passion project. I graduated from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University in May 2019 with passions for writing, social media, fashion, and beauty. Eager to hone in on my interests, I majored in Magazine Journalism, minored in Marketing, and had a concentration in fashion and beauty. During my sophomore year, I launched a digital and print magazine called University Girl. I spent the next two and a half years not only building the UGirl brand but also building a community of passionate, like-minded, and talented women. Upon graduation, I landed a fashion assistant position at the New York Post.

[UNPUBLISHED:] Tell us about University Girl.

[TAYLER:] UGirl is an inspirational and relatable magazine for college students who aspire to be confident, fearless, career-oriented, and trendsetting. 

[UNPUBLISHED:] How did you come up with the idea?

[TAYLER:] I love telling this story! As a magazine journalism major, I had to take a graphic design course and created a mock magazine for the final project. I called it Global Girl at the time. As I dove headfirst into this project, I took a look at Syracuse’s student-run publications and realized there wasn't a magazine for the college girl, by the college girl. A gap in the market if you will. An uncharted niche that needed to be filled. When I went home for Thanksgiving break, I met Cristina Cuomo at my parents’ jewelry store. Cristina is an incredible editor who launched her own publication. That day, she pitched her magazine to my parents to see if they would advertise. I remember feeling extremely inspired, so after she gave her presentation, I did the same with my mock magazine. What I thought would've been a quick chat turned into a two or three-hour conversation. She taught me the magazine essentials, and we brainstormed the name University Girl together. From there, I designed a logo, garnered a team, and pitched it to the Syracuse student affairs committee. Many people don’t know this, but UGirl actually got denied at first, because the school didn't think it was different enough from existing campus magazines. But I didn’t get discouraged by hearing “no!” This rejection was a redirection that pushed me to clearly define the brand, the mission, the voice, and the aesthetic. Once I confidently differentiated my vision from the others, I got Cristina’s feedback, re-pitched it, and got a YES! From there, my team produced one print magazine per semester, in addition to a website and an Instagram.

[UNPUBLISHED:] How did you have time balancing schoolwork, social life, and University Girl?

[TAYLER:] I’m extremely motivated and was able to keep myself organized by writing everything down and learning how to prioritize!

[UNPUBLISHED:] Do you have any advice for anyone wanting to create a magazine but don't know where to start?

[TAYLER:] Recruit a talented team of passionate people who have different skillsets, clearly define your voice, and constantly read other magazines for inspiration. 

[UNPUBLISHED:] How has University Girl better prepared you for the career you have now?

[TAYLER:] I believe UGirl is the reason I landed my first job out of college at the New York Post. I was able to apply and sharpen all of the writing, editing, and interviewing skills I learned in my classes to an actual product, and it was all student-run. It's not like we had a professor telling us what to do. We had to be really scrappy, teach ourselves everything, and learn along the way. I also met my current mentor and boss through the magazine, because I interviewed her for a feature story!

[UNPUBLISHED:] What were some of your greatest challenges while running the magazine?

[TAYLER:] Learning how to delegate was hands down the greatest challenge I faced. When we filled the digital director and managing editor positions with the right people, I was able to focus on leading large projects, like fashion and beauty shoots. In terms of launching, I think the biggest challenge was creating an overarching brand that cohesively lived on three platforms (digital, print, and social).

[UNPUBLISHED:] Despite being busy with school and your social life, what kept you motivated to continue University Girl? Do you have any tips on how to prevent burnout?

[TAYLER:] Passion. I always tell people to pursue their passions because it won’t feel like work. When you build something you believe in, it feels exciting. And that’s meaningful. I actually just created a “how to start a passion project” series on my TikTok and am releasing a podcast episode on this to help others who don’t know where to start! 

[UNPUBLISHED:] How did you land your previous job as a fashion assistant at the New York Post?

[TAYLER:] I found the fashion assistant position at the New York Post and Alexa on LinkedIn. Alexa is what I like to call the “Vogue insert” within the NYPost. After I applied online, I did a LinkedIn cross-search of Newhouse graduates and NYPost employees. I believe three people popped up. I slid into their LinkedIn DMs, and one of them got back to me in a really timely manner. I hopped on a call with her and asked if she could pass my resume along to HR. I got an email for an interview a day later. I truly believe networking is the key to landing interviews.

[UNPUBLISHED:] What does a typical day in the life look like for you? 

[TAYLER:] My first week at the Post was a huge career highlight for me because it was NYFW. The team was quite small, so I found myself fully immersed within the fashion industry on day one. The editor-in-chief of Alexa sent me to the NYFW Moncler Genius event in Soho, where I interviewed three designers and subsequently wrote a 400-word story that had to be filed the following day. When I returned home that night, I grabbed my laptop and got to work. A week later, I read my article in print, and I got the chills. It was a major milestone for me. That was such a special week filled with front row seats and celebrity interviews, but a typical day included sending lots of PR emails to secure looks for shoots, writing web stories, and sample trafficking head-to-toe runway looks from Tom Ford, Dior, Chanel, and more.

[UNPUBLISHED:] What is some valuable advice that you learned while working there? 

[TAYLER:] If you want to work in fashion, you have to develop a thick skin and learn to not take things personally. I recently released a podcast episode on the top ten things I learned during my time at the NYPost. You can listen to it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!

[UNPUBLISHED:] What was your favorite part of working there?

[TAYLER:] Writing stories, attending fashion week, interviewing celebs as well as working with and learning from the other fashion assistants!

[UNPUBLISHED:] What is your current position?

[TAYLER:] I am currently a strategist and writer at a creative agency called Utendahl Creative.

[UNPUBLISHED:] Is there any reason behind that career pivot that you took? 

[TAYLER:] It was a very hard decision to leave editorial, but when COVID-19 hit, I re-evaluated my career and realized that I didn’t want to be a fashion editor anymore. So I went with my gut and pivoted from magazines to marketing. 

[UNPUBLISHED:] How did you get such a great role? 

[TAYLER:] When I was a senior in college, I slid into Madison Utendahl’s DMs to interview her for a feature in UGirl. She has since become a mentor, friend, and role model of mine. I was involved with her creative agency in a smaller capacity when I was at the Post, so when I expressed interest in a full-time position, she knew I would be a good fit. I love that I get to be super creative and that most of my work revolves around social media! 

[UNPUBLISHED:] Tell us about the Girl Gaze podcast.

[TAYLER:] Girl Gaze Pod is for aspiring career queens, by career queens. I invite refreshingly relatable and inspirational insightful guests on to chat all things career and confidence building, fashion, self-love, and adulting. 

[UNPUBLISHED:] Tell us the inspiration behind the name.

[TAYLER:] I knew I wanted to include the word “Girl” because it felt like an ode to University Girl. I went with “Gaze” for two reasons. First, I love alliteration. And second, the podcast is from my “gaze,” or my point of view. 

[UNPUBLISHED:] How did you get such influential people like a Vogue editor to join your podcast?

[TAYLER:] I reached into my personal network! It’s funny because I actually started to build my network through UGirl, but I wasn’t thinking about creating industry-related connections at the time. I just thought, “I want to get this really cool person in the magazine.” After I met Madison IRL, she connected me with so many successful people, which I am forever grateful for. That’s when I truly started to understand the importance of networking. 

[UNPUBLISHED:] What do you hope your listeners get out of your podcast?

I call my listener’s Girl Gazers: Career-oriented go-getters who are fearless in pursuing their dreams and work hard to push their careers forward. I hope they feel inspired and motivated after they listen to each episode. 

[UNPUBLISHED:] How is gaining a following on Tik Tok affected your life?

[TAYLER:] My podcast has reached so many more people because of TikTok! I've been getting a lot of DMs expressing gratitude for the podcast and how real I am on it, which feels really great. I also love that I get to offer the career advice I wish someone would have told me when I was in college. It’s an incredible feeling to know that I’m playing a part in other people’s career journeys, especially when my followers ask me questions on TikTok Live!

[UNPUBLISHED:] What has been your experience on Tik Tok? Has it been mostly positive?

[TAYLER:] Yes, mostly positive! I have a niche following and my platform is all about female empowerment, so I think that’s why. I’ve also been able to connect with insanely successful people on TikTok, like the CMO of Rare Beauty, Katie Welch (LIKE WHAT?!). Makes me think TikTok is the new LinkedIn in some ways!

[UNPUBLISHED:] What's the best piece of career advice you've ever received?

[TAYLER:] Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. 

[UNPUBLISHED:] Where do you hope to go from here? 

[TAYLER:] I really want to focus on building my personal brand on TikTok and the Girl Gaze brand on Instagram to see where it takes me. And in about five years from now, I aspire to create a revolutionary brand with a bunch of my friends who work in the fashion, beauty, and lifestyle industries, just like Emily Weiss did with Glossier a few years back. 

You can follow Tayler on these platforms: Tik Tok, Instagram, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify