Are you looking for a career with Heart? Southwest Airlines is hiring, and we want to meet you! Whether you’re actively searching for a job or passively keeping tabs on opportunities available to you, we want you to know us too. We asked Jonathan Clarkson, Vice President Marketing Loyalty & Products, to share why he loves his job, the People he works with, and Southwest! We hope his words inspire you and share insight into our Company’s Culture, Values, and goals.
It’s an exciting year at Southwest Airlines and I’m grateful for the work our Marketing Teams accomplish each day. I look forward to welcoming new Employees to our Marketing Department and the Southwest Family this year. In my 14 years at Southwest, we’ve grown our products, improved our programs, and fostered incredible relationships within the Marketing Loyalty & Products space. Adding new talent and preparing for future growth makes me reflect on my first career steps and the important lessons I learned along the way.
Long before I joined the Southwest Family, I started out as a grocery bagger. Whether grabbing the last ingredient to complete a recipe or shopping to stock your pantry, I greeted customers as the smiling face at the end of the register, ready to ask the age-old question— “Paper or plastic”? It’s there that I started to learn some of the lessons that I still use today:
- Similar to an onion in the produce department, every career has layers. There’s a reason milk goes on the bottom of the grocery bag—it all starts with a sturdy foundation. At Southwest, our People supporting and rooting for each other is the foundation to our success.
- Efficiency and innovation are always on the “shopping list.” Without efficiency and innovation, there’s no growth, no forward momentum. My Team and I always try to stay a step ahead of our Customers and our competitors so we can continue providing the best Southwest Experience and the best industry experience.
- The voice of our People matters. Whether that’s someone giving feedback that their produce, in fact, shouldn’t go at the bottom of the bag, or someone on my Team sharing a new idea to improve one of our products, their opinions matter. Southwest is a maverick in the airline industry, and we’re proud of that difference and the voices that allow us to strive to be better than yesterday.
I’m thankful for my days bagging groceries and getting my start. I’m even more grateful that I can take those experiences and impact Southwest. We each bring a unique perspective and experience everywhere we go. The People of Southwest are some of the most innovative, driven, and brightest in the world. We’re searching for the best talent out there to join our Marketing Department, and we’d love to hear how your experiences can influence our Team. Visit our Marketing page to learn more and register to receive notifications as new opportunities to our join our Teams become available. I’m excited about our future and the new experiences to come for Southwest!
Sincerely,
Jonathan Clarkson
Vice President Marketing Loyalty & Products
P.S. Check out other Career Discussions featuring our Marketing Department:
- Why does this Southwest Leader love his Marketing job? by Bill Tierney, Vice President of Marketing & Digital Experience
- Join an award-winning Team and a Company that loves you back. by Megan Self, Senior Manager Digital Solutions Linked