As a recent graduate of the Advertising and Marketing Communications Management program at St.Clair College, I can without a doubt say that this program has prepared me for my first job in the marketing industry. With the help of knowledgeable and experienced faculty, the practical experience I’ve received in this program has helped me learn most of what I know today.
Out of the list of hands-on activities, I think the HubSpot integration was the most important and beneficial. By learning about the HubSpot platform in my second year and getting the opportunity to complete the exercises on my own, it helped me determine how to navigate around HubSpot to do different tasks. Watching the video lectures were useful, however, the exercises are what helped me learn best because I had the experience of going into the platform and exploring.
Most importantly, the HubSpot integration played a key role in helping me obtain my first job after graduating. Graduating during a pandemic was not easy and getting my first job was a challenge. Fortunately, the HubSpot Marketing Software certification stood out to my employer at Mosaic North America and it helped me land my first marketing job. While working at Mosaic, we were required to use the CRM platform in HubSpot every day to keep track of all of our clients. As I solely managed between 15 to 25 clients at a time, I was able to take my previous knowledge and experience of the HubSpot platform to keep track of all of my clients’ needs.
In high school, I was enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program. The majority of my teachers suggested that I should go into a program at the University because it was the right and common path for students who were enrolled in this program. However, I decided to enroll in the Advertising and Marketing Communications Management program at St.Clair College instead. Choosing this program was the smartest decision I ever made and it was much better than I thought it would be. This program was challenging, but it always made me think out of the box and it taught me so much more than just marketing. It provided me with the knowledge and practical experience to work in the industry. Whenever I get offered an interview for a job, many employers are surprised at how much I know and that I have a variety of skills. After chatting with many recruiters, most of them stated that my certifications and practical experience that I’ve received in this program are what made me an applicant they wanted to interview.
Courses like social media marketing, web analytics, digital design, media planning, copywriting and search engine optimization are just a few of the many courses that gave me an advantage against other candidates when searching for a job. By having a well-rounded foundation on these topics and being able to connect them together, this is what makes the Advertising and Marketing Communications Management program at St.Clair College unique. Many programs can teach their students all about marketing and the theories that go along with it, however, those students wouldn’t fully understand how everything needs to be connected and remain consistent across all platforms. The Advertising and Marketing Communications Management program has taught me so much during the past three years and being able to have the practical experience makes finding a job after graduating so much easier. Unlike many others, this program gives their students real industry experience before they graduate by integrating local businesses with class projects.