eJournal #1: Alumni Speakers

The inaugural speakers of the marketing seminar series were three alumni of the digital media marketing post graduate program. An excellent choice of guests to start off the seminars, students were able to visualize a pathway from the program into a successful position within the digital marketing industry. Unsure of what to expect from the presentations, there was immediately a small lesson garnered from within the circumstance of one of the speakers.  

The speaker who went first, Asta, did so because she was still in the office and kindly found time to speak our class. Time is very valuable, and while true in school the statement resonates more in the world of business. It is important to be cognizant of the fact including when networking, as we ask people to impart their knowledge and experiences upon us. Asta and her path to digital marketing was interesting to me as she graduated initially from a creative field and mentioned that it was her background in graphic which helped her stand out from the crowd. She also mentioned that she was lucky enough to network herself into an inside track for her current job but did so in an organic and meaningful way. In addition, I thought the anecdote she shared about what made her stand out specifically when vying for her job was very insightful. She created a concept Instagram page for the company she was interviewing for, in a bid to demonstrate her ideas and show off her skills all in one package. As someone who comes from a creative industry and had a portfolio of work to be present, I love this idea and it will something I hope to replicate using my own unique spin. 

 The second speaker, Jordan, also came from a background that differed from the position he currently holds. He spoke about transitioning an established career into an adjacent industry and utilizing that previous knowledge to be successful. I like that he mentioned the importance of finding a point interest for you within the jobs that you may find yourself in. He spoke about what it was like to work at a big agency, with all the moving components that make up the work of a large team. However, he noted that he himself worked in a small team of three which made it important to have strong communication skills for working well in a close knit environment, as well as to be a good liaison to other adjacent groups within projects. Jordan as well reiterated the importance of networking but doing so in a calculated way. 

  The third speaker, Natasha, also gave us some insight into agency life but within a small organization. Initially she talked about her very interesting background as she had done social work, including working in remote communities here in Canada. In addition to her tips on working within a smaller more interchangeable team, she imparted some knowledge about staying current with new tools. She mentioned that it is important to keep acquiring knowledge about all the different software, programs and marketing methods to continue to be successful. 

While all the speakers were interesting, what I liked about the seminar is that they all brought something different to their respective tables.  I felt that overall is was the small nuances of moving forward in digital media marketing that I thought was most interesting. However, I personally resonated the most from the speaker with the artistic background, Asta. What I will bring into my career path from this chat is a strong and informed sense of networking, versatility, and the instinct to think of ways to showcase my strengths with real world examples