– What I learned.
First, I would like to thank Professor Wendy for inviting inspirational industry insiders to give us informative and insightful speeches for digital marketing students. Throughout the last 3 months of studying the Marketing Seminar series, I have gained considerable valuable knowledge of digital marketing from different aspects. Every presenter put great effort into introducing and explaining their businesses in detail, such as performance marketing, B2B marketing, Paid Media marketing, etc. Among these fantastic speakers, I found the following speakers inspired me the most.
My Favourite Speakers
Blair Roebuck was the first presenter, and I think she gave us a great listen on Marketing Science. In her words, marketing science is like a combination of Business and Technology, and its primary function is to help marketers in decision-making. It also can be considered fundamental to our business. Besides, I also learned the importance of personalization/segmentation for marketers from the example of the Rotman Webpage. Moreover, I learned flexibility and perseverance from her. She was not a data-driven person initially. Still, through years of hard work, she earned her place in the company, which is inspiring.
Sam Leung, the speaker from week 12, also greatly enlightened me. His speech about Paid Media Marketing and Privacy made me cannot stop thinking about the future of digital marketing. He threw a series of great questions about the upcoming changes on Cookies. These questions are practical and closely related to the future development of the digital marketing field. The upcoming deprecation of cookies by 2024 will tremendously shift the industry landscape because marketers can no longer rely on cookies to collect personal data and accurately target audiences. This means that brands need to be more innovative in the strategy mapping process for advertising. I also learned that marketers need to be incredibly flexible and strategic to survive in this rapidly changing environment where there are always uncertainties about regulations and protocols. Also, we need to plan and prepare a plan with a forward-thinking mindset so that we can have a higher chance of avoiding risk and seizing the opportunity.
The speakers mentioned above have inspired me and gifted me with tons of relevant knowledge about a career as a digital marketer. It made me realize that digital marketing is not as simple as it looks yet requires an unimaginable amount of brainstorming and is time-consuming. Creating an effective media campaign will take months of work for a team. All these facts have made this job rather challenging. Even though it is challenging with numerous uncertainty, I am still not frustrated because the most important thing I learned from the speakers is never to stop learning and not give up. Most speakers have worked in different areas outside digital marketing, yet they still achieved a smooth transition and became successful in the digital realm. They were not afraid of changes and never stopped refining themselves to be a better fit for their position and reach higher. Thus, their personal experiences/journeys have encouraged me greatly and made me more determined to find a place in digital marketing.
–Network and Resources.
During the past few months, I also established a network that includes my classmates, GBC alumni, presenters, and professors. I started building my network in last semester's "Business communication" course, and Prof Wendy also highlighted the crucial role networking plays in her class. I learned that Networking is essential for everybody because we are social animals and need relationships to keep things going. Also, the more people you know and get along well with, the more you learn from them. It is always great to learn from excellent people in their field. Besides, a network may lead you to get referred to a position, so why not network?
Networking Tips
I got to know people from class activities and group assignments, and I added them on Linkedin and kept adding those with mutual friends. I now have a contact list of approximately 300 people, and I am sure the number will continuously increase.
I think networking is something that may magically help you one day. As a Chinese idiom says: "a hero needs three helping hands." It is undoubtedly beneficial to network with others, and I think being sincere and genuine when interacting with others is essential. Also, do not be shy; try to be cheerful, humorous, and brave to express your opinion while not hurting other people's feelings. That is to say, be a team player than a lone wolf.
Job Hunting Experience/Resources
I have been hunting internship opportunities lately, mainly on three platforms, GBC job posting site, LinkedIn and Indeed. So far, GBC job postings are relatively more helpful because most of my job applications from the GBC website got replied to, unlike the other two platforms, where I got no responses so far. I will keep applying since I still have time, but I must admit the pressure I am feeling is increasing daily. Besides applying for jobs, I can also seek opportunities to get referred by asking those from my network. Unfortunately, Networking has not helped me land a co-op position, but as I said, never give up and be persistent.
We are hitting the end of the semester! Again, I want to thank Wendy for giving us an excellent course and wish everyone a bright future.
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