Case studies: E-communications assistant: Allie White

Allie works in the Corporate Communications Unit at Canterbury Christ Church University and has a business studies with marketing degree

I studied business with marketing at university, and during the summer of 2010, prior to undertaking the final year of my programme, I completed a month of work experience within the marketing team of a major high street health and beauty store.

The experience consolidated my decision to pursue a career in marketing and allowed me to develop essential work skills. These included the ability to communicate effectively with different stakeholders at varying managerial levels, the ability to organise workloads, and an increased understanding of developing and delivering effective marketing communications.

Within one week of my final exam, I applied for the position of e-communications assistant at Canterbury Christ Church University. Although I was required to deliver a presentation to a panel of interviewers and to complete a 45-minute communications test, I was told afterwards that my previous work experience was key in their decision to hire me. Despite a degree being required for this job, this underlines the importance of experience to prospective employers and how it can stand you apart from other applicants - it's not always all about qualifications.

I work closely with our web team to ensure consistent branding and to develop effective site content, such as images, text and video. I am also involved in progressing our digital media strategy beyond the website. This all equates to a job which is both exciting and challenging, as social media is constantly evolving and there are always new methods of communication to explore.

The marketing element of my degree has proved invaluable to me when considering target audiences and how best to reach them. Plus the knowledge it has given me of social media and other technologies has also been very beneficial. Having studied at the university also helps me to relate to their student audience.

For anyone thinking of embarking on a career in marketing, I would advise you to study hard, use the career support that is available to you and start looking for jobs as early as you can. But most important of all, I would stress the need for you to actively seek and grasp any work experience opportunities that might be available. It's a fiercely competitive industry and I cannot stress enough just how important it is to make yourself stand out from the crowd.

AGCAS

Sourced by Alan Pendergast, Canterbury Christ Church University

Date: 

December 2011

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