“Futures Makers are defined as people who act as change agents; they’re advocates for a desired future with the ability and desire to push forward to shape and influence that future.” Melissa Hui — CX Director, Idean

Jennifer Beyer is no stranger to the world of employer brand and recruitment marketing. For the past 15 years, Jen has worked in talent acquisition and employer branding, and in 2019, Workforce.com named her to its “Class of 2019 Game Changers” list. 

Currently, Jen is in the midst of launching Fannie Mae’s new employer brand, “Future Makers,” which is strategically aligned to data-backed employer brand pillars. Her day-to-day includes integrating new creative and messaging across Fannie Mae’s career-related brand channels, and partnering closely with her colleagues in Marketing and Communications. 

I recently had the opportunity to reconnect with Jen and hear how things are going. Our conversation reminds me of the awesome power of humility and letting great work speak for itself.
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1. Tell us about your career journey.
   
   The first part of my career was at CEB (now Gartner) working in university recruitment. In 2016, I made the shift to employer branding. After CEB was acquired by Gartner, I joined BAE Systems as the recruitment marketing manager. About a year later, I learned about an opportunity at MicroStrategy and was there for nearly three years as the global employer brand manager.
   
   
2. Why did you choose to accept a job at Fannie Mae? 
   
   Several months ago, I reached out to a former colleague about a role at Fannie Mae. She told me about Fannie Mae’s transformation and I really trusted the conversations we had about the potential of this position and supportive colleagues I’d work with here.
   
   Now, several months later, it’s been reassuring to join a new company during the pandemic and to onboard virtually with such accommodating team members. It feels like home to work both with people you’ve worked with before and people who go above and beyond during a unique time. 
   

3. Fannie Mae recently launched its new employer brand: Future Makers. What does this mean to the organization?
   
   Fannie Mae is very mission driven; our purpose is to provide liquidity and stability to the mortgage market, and in doing so we help advance the future of housing. Working for a company that is helping to shape housing in the U.S. today and for future generations keeps me wanting to go to work every day. There is a huge focus on our people, their accomplishments, and the impact they make on helping others to have the opportunity for home ownership. Working here means belonging to a community that is looking towards the future and making it better.
   
   
4. What does “Future Makers” mean to you personally?
   
   Future Makers are those who are willing to challenge themselves to further our mission and shape the future of housing. It’s the belief that we can do our best work and tackle tough industry challenges with confidence in where we’re headed. At Fannie Mae, we are made up of Future Makers – people who inspire and propel us forward every day.
   
   From a bigger picture perspective, my job is to share all of the new and exciting things happening here – both internally and externally. I’m playing a role in creating the future of the brand behind our people and getting everyone excited about the great things occurring at Fannie Mae. It’s exciting to attract and bring in new Future Makers to make an even further impact on our mission. 
   
   We’ve been getting great feedback from our recruiters! They are excited about the shift in how we communicate and go to market to attract talent. 
   

5. What excites you most about your future at Fannie Mae?
   
   The potential. The potential to make an impact and be part of the change, and to drive a new initiative forward is extremely exciting. Our executives and teams fully support our employer value proposition (EVP). Marketing is on board. I recently connected with our Internal Communications team about embedding the EVP internally. Honestly, I’m not used to that. Other companies where I have worked haven’t fully understood or accepted employer branding as a strategy and function. Fannie Mae is ready to roll! 
   

6. What or who inspires you the most when it comes to your work?
   
   To me, it’s the community of employer branders. They inspire me to think about things in a different way and are my go-to resource for learning and advice.
   
   
7. What are some of the biggest challenges that you’re facing right now?
   
   Changing the way people think about career opportunities with Fannie Mae. Many may not have a keen understanding of the secondary mortgage market and the exciting technology innovation happening at Fannie Mae. Increasing awareness of what we do is one of our biggest challenges from an employer brand perspective.
   

8. What are the employer brand trends that you’re hoping to explore this year?
   
   We transitioned our applicant tracking system (ATS) to the SmartRecruiters ATS and CRM. In the past, I haven’t had the opportunity to really think about passive candidate engagement and nurturing talent pipelines. I look forward to being part of improving our candidate experience and helping people decide if Fannie Mae is the right place for them.
   
   
9. What advice would you give to someone who is looking to build or grow their career in employer branding? 
   
   I was just talking to one of our interns about this. I think it’s about finding a way to get involved in employer branding at work, maybe as a side project, to get glimpses into the work. Also, get to know the people in the employer brand and recruitment marketing space. You can join the various Facebook groups and get in there, interact, and figure out who in the field really knows the space and connect with them.
   
   
10. What book, blog, show, and/or podcast are you into right now?
    
    I’ve always been a reader, so I really enjoy the “Bad on Paper'' podcast hosted by two women in New York who review books. Right now, I’m reading “The Wife Upstairs,” it’s a thriller that’s just for fun. And, on Netflix, I am catching up on “Anne with an E” which is based on the Anne of Green Gables books. 

The exaqueo team wants to give a big ‘thank you’ to Jen for sharing her time and story with all of us. We encourage you to check out fanniemae.com/careers and connect with her on LinkedIn. If you’re interested in learning more from other employer brand professionals, check out this post with Anthony Chidoro at Lyft, and this one with Kerry Noone at CVS Health.