Candidate Spotlight: Q&A with TorchLight Contractor Beth McNamara

by Susan Mullin

Contractor Beth McNamara shares her experience working for TorchLight

TorchLight Contractor Beth McNamara
TorchLight Contractor Beth McNamara

Each month we like to feature one of our candidates to share, in their words, what it’s like to work with TorchLight. This month we spoke with Beth McNamara. Beth has been a contractor with TorchLight for more than two years!

How did you get started in the marketing and communications field?

Beth: I have been fortunate to work in varied marketing roles in my career, for companies in several different sectors (ranging from start-ups to non-profits). I’ve had the chance to focus on many facets of marketing, both strategic and tactical, ranging from direct response to digital promotion, from market development to business development. Founding and running my own business, a cold calling service for businesses, is the accomplishment that I’m most proud of, due to the innumerable — and at times very tough — lessons I had to learn on the fly. My favorite “assignment” has been teaching marketing classes at NVCC and Pepperdine’s DC campus.

How did you get connected with TorchLight?

Beth: I met Heidi, TorchLight’s founder, nearly a decade ago. When I was ready to move on from a permanent position a few years ago, I contacted Heidi. A key part of TorchLight’s business is in recruiting and filling marketing and communications contract roles, and that appealed to me. I added my name to their roster of contract marketing professionals and have been in excellent hands ever since.

What is your role now?

Beth: I serve as an integrated campaign marketing manager with a national non-profit. It’s a wonderful role for me since it has so many elements that I love. I work with a colleague and we essentially serve as an internal marketing department for several initiatives at the organization. We develop the promotional strategies for each initiative, work with a matrix team of internal, cross-functional experts to implement the tactics and then analyze the results in order to adjust our tactics and strategies as needed to reach our goals.

What do you love most about your role?

Beth: I love the soup-to-nuts nature of the role — specifically having the chance to determine the strategy and then be involved in the implementation of the tactics at a ground-level.

Finally, what advice would you give candidates about working with a recruiter like TorchLight?

Beth: Be open to opportunities that you might not typically have considered; most of the time these can teach you new skills in new sectors that will serve to open additional doors for you.

Thanks for your time, Beth McNamara. Keep up the good work!


Looking for experienced marketing recruiters to meet your search, staffing and job search needs? We’re here to help!

  • Contact us about your marketing search & staffing needs
  • Search marketing, communications, and creative jobs
TorchLight flame logo

Posted in , Our Team