It’s reasonable to assume that many Civil Engineering graduates aspire to pursue engineering careers and strive towards becoming Chartered Engineers. However, this is not always the case, and that’s absolutely fine! If you’re at a crossroads deciding between a graduate career in engineering, or going down a different path, read on. In this post, we share the inspiring success story of how we helped Sophie, a MEng Civil Engineering graduate from a Russel group university to get a job at a growth digital marketing agency as a Paid Media executive.
Background: Sophie’s career ambitions and challenges
Sophie came to us shortly after graduating with her MEng in Civil Engineering.
After realising that a career in engineering was not for her, she felt lost, as she had never considered any other career path. However, she knew that she wanted a fulfilling graduate role, that would allow her to put the skills she had developed during her degree to good use. Particularly her numerical and analytical skills.
Our initial coaching sessions helped Sophie to map out her skills and interests. We soon agreed that a career in Digital Marketing would be a great fit for her. However, she needed to gain some of the knowledge and experience required to stand out to employers in this field.
Enrolment in our Digital Marketing internship program
We enrolled Sophie in our Digital Marketing internship programme to address her knowledge and experience gaps. This equipped Sophie with industry-recognised digital marketing certifications and offered her the opportunity to work on real tasks including Digital Analytics, SEO, PPC and Social Media Marketing. After 3 months of upskilling and gaining practical experience, Sophie had built up an impressive portfolio of achievements that would make her a strong candidate in the competitive graduate job market.
Enhancing Sophie’s Graduate CV and LinkedIn profile
As mentioned Sophie had a very strong academic background, but her CV needed some refinement to highlight her transferable skills and her newly acquired digital marketing experience.
Our team of career coaches worked closely with Sophie, to revamp her CV and LinkedIn profile to really highlight her analytical abilities and solid problem-solving skills. We showcased some of her university engineering projects that required data analysis and strategic thinking and added in her achievements from her digital marketing internship.
Interview Coaching and Skills Development
Preparing for graduate job interviews can be daunting, especially when the role you are applying for is unrelated to your degree.
To build up Sophie’s interview confidence, we conducted multiple mock interviews with her, focusing on both general interview techniques and industry-specific questions related to digital marketing.
Through several hours of interview practice and constructive feedback, we helped Sophie improve her communication skills, articulate her career aspirations, and demonstrate her ability to apply engineering concepts to marketing challenges.
Sophie gained confidence in discussing her engineering background as an asset in the digital marketing realm.
Outcome: Sophie’s Success
Equipped with a polished CV, hands-on digital marketing experience, and expert interview training, Sophie embarked on her job search with renewed confidence.
In a matter of weeks, Sophie secured a position as a Paid Media Executive at a leading digital marketing agency. Her ability to leverage her analytical mindset, problem-solving aptitude, and data-driven approach seriously impressed the hiring managers!
We Can Help You too!
Inspired by Sophie’s success?
If you are a graduate who would like some expert help to land a good graduate job, get in touch with us today! Send us a copy of your CV via our contact form and we will get in touch with you letting you know how we can help you. Here at Graduate Coach, we help students, graduates and international students get good graduate jobs and thrive in their careers. We do this by offering a range of services including 1-2-1 career coaching, interview coaching, career workshops and more.
What is a Paid Media Executive?
A Paid Media Executive is tasked with planning, executing, and optimising paid advertising campaigns to drive relevant traffic, increase brand visibility, and achieve specific marketing goals for a business.
Tips for graduates who want to become a Paid Media Executive
- Demonstrate your Enthusiasm and a Willingness to Learn: The digital marketing landscape is fast-paced, and continually evolving, so having a genuine passion for learning and adapting to new trends and technologies is crucial.
- Refine Your Written Communication Skills: As a Paid Media Executive, you’ll be responsible for creating compelling ad copy, managing campaigns, and analysing data. You’ll need to communicate these skills with other members of your team and importantly your clients.
- Develop your Analytical and numerical skills: Paid media campaigns require meticulous attention to detail, from setting up targeting parameters to monitoring budgets and analysing performance metrics. Your ability to analyse data will be crucial in this line of work as your clients want to see a return on investment and you must be able to provide accurate performance metrics to them throughout their campaigns.
- Gain Digital and Social Media Knowledge: Familiarise yourself with digital marketing channels, such as search engines, social media platforms, display networks, and video platforms. Be sure to stay updated on the latest trends, industry tools, and best practices to effectively leverage these channels for paid media campaigns.
- Become Proficient in MS Office or Google Suite: Paid Media Executives often work extensively with spreadsheets, documents, and presentations. Master tools like MS Excel or Google Sheets for data analysis and reporting. Additionally, proficiency in MS Word or Google Docs and MS PowerPoint or Google Slides will aid in creating reports and client presentations and collaborating internally with your team.
- Understand Wider Marketing Principles: Develop a solid foundation in marketing principles beyond paid media. Familiarise yourself with user journeys, customer segmentation, marketing funnels, and effective messaging strategies at each stage of the funnel. This holistic understanding will enhance your ability to align paid media campaigns with broader marketing objectives.
Conclusion
Sophie’s journey from being a Civil Engineering graduate to becoming a Paid Media Executive exemplifies the power of career coaching and upskilling in facilitating successful career transitions.
We enabled Sophie to bridge the gap between her academic background and her desired career path. This case study demonstrates that with proper guidance and tailored support, graduates can overcome hurdles and career challenges and secure fantastic opportunities allowing them to kick-start their graduate careers.
Featured image by Canva Studio from Pexels
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