A graduate of the 2009 Coral Gables Senior High School class, Jessica Cabrera is now a social media community manager at Kabookaboo. After being editor in chief of Highlights during her senior year, she graduated from Gables and headed to Florida State University. Cabrera majored in advertising and had the luck of getting a full time job two weeks before graduating from college.

“While in college I built strong relationships with my fellow classmates and professors, one of whom ended up offering me my first job,” Jessica said.

In college she had a lot of big projects and was taught to learn ‘on the fly’. According to Cabrera, experience is better than theory since no class can prepare you for the skills that are specific to your business.

“I felt that it was more important for me to get job and grow from that experience,” Jessica said.

As a social media community manger, Jessica develops various strategies to help her clients advertise what they are selling. Her company has a studio where she uses props and models for pictures. She even develops emojis, strategic hashtags, and contests to make her clients’ products more popular. Her company has also recently started using Instagram videos. She has to be very specific, making sure that everything she uses, will attract customers to the product.

“Some people say that how detailed we are is ridiculous, but they don’t understand that the wrong top can ruin the whole advertisement because people can’t relate to it. So, they won’t end up purchasing the product,” Jessica said.

Cabrera compares her job to a high school student trying to get likes on Instagram. For all you people trying to get likes, pay attention to Jessica Cabrera and you may learn enough to turn those skills into a job in advertising.