Source: Minutes
When I graduated from university I was overwhelmed with emotions. I was happy to have finally finished my degree but scared to leave behind that part of my life. I felt obligated to know what I wanted to do with the rest of my life then and there.
I completed my undergrad in communications and took as many marketing/advertising classes that were available. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the communications content I was learning, I was always more engaged and interested in my marketing classes. This is when I found the Digital Media Marketing program at George Brown College.
Source: George Brown College
I decided to apply, and I’m so glad I did! This program has taught me so much about the marketing industry and has helped me begin my career as a digital marketer!
Through this program, I have learned so much about different aspects of digital marketing, such as content marketing, social media marketing, search marketing, database marketing, and paid media advertising. These courses taught me hard skills that I can use in my marketing career.
In the digital marketing seminar class offered in the second semester of the program, students were able to hear about the stories of industry professionals, and learn more about their experiences and areas of expertise.
“While it is wise to learn from experience, it is wiser to learn from the experience of others” - Rick Warren
Learning From The Professionals
Throughout the semester, my fellow classmates and I were given the opportunity to hear from a new guest speaker each week to cover different areas of focus within the marketing industry. Prior to these presentations, I wasn’t sure what type of marketing I would like to focus on, but after listening to the presentations I have a better idea of what I see myself doing in the future.
Source: PC Mag
In week 5 of the seminar class, we listened to a presentation by Alyssa Biasucci and Melissa Cicconi from Hootsuite. I really enjoyed this presentation and the case study we completed in class, as this is an area of marketing I’d eventually love to end up working in.
Source: SEJ
Another presentation that piqued my interest was Ashley Walsh’s presentation about influencer marketing. Influencer marketing is becoming increasingly popular in our world today and is essential to the future of marketing. I currently manage the social media account for a small business and am actively looking for micro-influencers to help create content. This has also helped spark my interest in influencer marketing.
In addition to the industry knowledge these professionals gave us, they also provided us with networking tips to help us during our job search and interview process. One common tool these speakers suggested we utilize, is LinkedIn. If there is any social media platform to be on to help with your career it's LinkedIn.
Source: LinkedIn
During the first semester of this program, one of our classes required us to update our LinkedIn profiles, to ensure the professional and appropriate to share with future employers. This helped me gain confidence in my profile when I was looking to network and make connections on the platform.
LinkedIn is a great platform for networking, as I can connect with like-minded people based on their profiles and the groups I’ve joined. I have joined 3 groups on LinkedIn including, Digital Marketing, Toronto Marketing Community, and Marketing Communications. Joining these groups introduced me to new content on my feed, new people to connect with, and more opportunities for jobs.
One main thing I learned, is networking is important because many of the jobs out there aren’t posted on job search platforms, but rather from networking.
Job Search
As I am still continuing my job search for my co-op, I am using the tips and tricks given to me by the speakers and making sure I am using LinkedIn to its full potential.
Networking can help users find more opportunities that they may not have seen on their own.
Also reaching out to the hiring manager of a job posting can help you stand out against other competitors. This will leave a lasting impression on the hiring manager and show that you are interested and dedicated to the hiring process.
Overall Thoughts
Reflecting on the past 8 months, I am so thankful I decided to take this program. I learned so much and gained some hands-on experience with creating content, managing social platforms, conducting analytic testing, and creating marketing strategies for real-life clients.
This program set me up for success by giving us multiple opportunities to create content that can be used for our portfolios, and allow us to come up with questions for the professionals in the industry to get real answers.
As the semester comes to an end I am starting to feel the same as I did when I graduated from university, excited but scared to leave this part of my life behind. I am confident that the knowledge I gained from the courses and the networking advice I learned from the professionals, will help me succeed in my co-op and further in my career as a digital marketer!
Thank you George Brown for the great semester! :)
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