Meet Justin, our Senior Content Specialist and this month’s Employee Spotlight. Whether he is writing blogs, analyzing results, or helping the team laugh along the way, he brings a mix of strategy, heart, and humor that makes our content stronger.

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• Pronouns: He/him
• Role: Sr. Content Specialist
• Team: Marketing
• How long you’ve been at Cognitiv: 10 months

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Inside The Office

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What does a typical day in your role really look like?

A typical day in my role might start with reading industry newsletters, assessing and blocking off my “head-down” time for the day, and chatting with the rest of the Marketing team about how our previous nights or weekends went.

After catching up with the team, I’ll respond to emails, slacks, and get started on whatever long-form piece of content I’m focussed on that week; be it industry- or product-related blog posts, talk tracks for upcoming industry panels, or award entries to various industry publications to help Cognitiv and its people get the recognition they deserve.

Finally, I’ll wrap my day by checking in on any outstanding edits that need my attention. Once I’m through those, I’ll identify my “first thing” for tomorrow morning so I can at least get a head start on it mentally. 

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What’s the part of your job you love most (that might surprise people)?

What I love most about my job is getting to sit at both the production and analysis sides of content marketing. On the production side, it’s an honor to be trusted to produce content worthy of living next to Cognitiv’s logo — I’m not sure I’ll ever get over that. On the analysis side, whenever our team publishes a new blog, case study, or newsletter, above all satisfaction I find in its completion, I am admittedly mostly looking forward to analyzing its performance at month’s end, and beyond.

During these monthly analyses, I aim to answer and reflect on one question: Is our work working? In almost every case, it’s a mixed bag. Naturally, some KPIs improve, while others decline. My greatest joy as Sr. Content Specialist comes from unscrambling this mixed bag to find reason, trends, failures, and successes. With any hope, these insights help improve our content’s resonance for the brands, agencies, and tech partners we serve.

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If your career had a tagline, what would it be?

“Why waste time say lot word when few word do trick?”

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What advice would you give someone joining #TeamCognitiv?

I really like what Karl Tharp had to say about our culture in his “Brains Behind Our Brand” spotlight:

“My advice would be to really embrace the culture here—it’s a key part of what makes this company special, and those who do, end up truly appreciating it.”

In my experience, committing to a company’s culture is a lot like being a gym class hero. It can feel awkward or a bit “extra,” but ultimately, those who fully buy in are the ones who actually get stronger and make the most of their time.

In addition to Karl’s great advice, I’d encourage new hires at Cognitiv to make as many genuine connections as they can, as fast as possible. These relationships represent the foundation of your work here.

Knowing who to go to with requests, ideas, challenges, and solutions will accelerate your path to making an impact, plus it’s a great way to start compounding your social capital from the jump.

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Outside The Office

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What’s your go-to comfort food or guilty pleasure snack?

Go-to Comfort Food: Indian Food; Veggie Malai Kofta 

Guilty Pleasure Snack: Taco Bell; Cheesy Gordita Crunch

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If you could take a year off to do anything, what would you do?

Write and self-publish a children’s book and play full-time in my pop-punk band. 

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‍What’s a favorite memory that always makes you smile?

Watching my late pup Colby run around in the snow.

If your life were a movie, what genre would it be, and who would play you?

Genre: Coming-of-Age/Absurdist Fiction

Actor: Miles Teller or Nat Wolff

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Rapid-Fire Fun

• Sweet or savory? Savory
• Early bird or night owl? Early bird
• Favorite childhood TV show or movie? Spongebob
• Last song you listened to? “Time Turned Fragile” by Motion City Soundtrack
• Beach, mountains, or city for a vacation? City

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Team Shoutouts

“Justin has only been on the content team for ten months, but it feels like he has been part of it far longer in the best way. He brings a mix of thoughtfulness, strategy, and reliability to everything he touches, from blogs and research to analytics, presentations, and beyond. His ideas elevate our work, his collaboration makes the process better, and his sense of humor keeps things fun. Simply put, he plays a huge role in what makes our content stronger.” —Maddie Michowski, Sr. Content Marketing Manager