UNIVERSITY NEWS LAST UPDATED : 01 AUGUST 2018
A recent BA (Hons) Digital Marketing Graduate was successfully scouted for employment via Linkedin, only five months after completing his studies. Former student, Joshua Dean is now working as a Digital Marketing Executive after impressing Looay Gharib, the Managing Director at Kubix- a leading Shopify development and creative marketing agency.
Joshua took the time to answer some questions regarding his new role and explains how his course choice enabled him to secure his career in the digital marketing industry.
What course did you choose to study at Birmingham City University and why?
I studied Digital Marketing. I chose this course because I wanted something more than a retail job and university seemed to be the only feasible way of getting there. I had an interest in marketing and games so I thought why not try this? It was a two-year fast track degree as well which eased my concerns about the fees. It was a risk. I could’ve hated the course, but luckily it was better than I could have asked for.
How did you obtain the Digital Marketing role?/what was the interview process?
It was about five months after I finished university. Kubix actually reached out to me on LinkedIn. It was completely out of the blue. The head of marketing there, Matt Harrison, asked if I was still looking for work and offered the proposition of an internship.
I was interviewed by Matt and the managing director, Looay. The interview was quite relaxed and I was asked about my background and a few technical questions about SEO. Due to my inexperience, particularly with SEO, I didn't know a lot of the answers. But they looked past the inexperience and saw my drive and potential and decided to give me a second interview.
I was asked to prepare a presentation for the following week about the fundamentals of SEO and how it could be applied to one of their clients as part of a wider marketing strategy. They wanted to see how much I could learn in a short space of time.
Considering I had done a fast track degree at university, I was pretty confident and I presented the next week to Matt. He was impressed by what I had done and offered me the internship the next day.
The internship itself was three months and although it was clearly stated as unpaid from the start, my travel was paid for and I received a nice bonus each month as a sign of their appreciation for my hard work.
Before the internship ended I was offered a full-time position.
Can you tell me a little about Kubix and what your role entails?
Kubix Media is a great agency in the Custard Factory in Digbeth. They have only been going for a few years, but they are becoming more and more recognised in the marketing industry as Shopify Experts. Everyone at Kubix is really passionate and talented about what they do.
I'm a Digital Marketing Executive. Originally I was an SEO Executive, but my role has been so much broader than just doing SEO work so my job title was changed to reflect that.
A summary of my day to day role includes:
- Content writing
- Link-building & outreach
- Technical SEO
- Optimising on page attributes in line with keyword research
- Assisting the marketing team and heads of departments with research and strategy
- Planning, creating and optimising paid ad campaigns across Google Search and Display networks
- Carrying out in-depth web audits for new and existing clients
- Social media advertising
What projects have you been working on?
The best thing about working in an agency is that you are always doing a whole range of things for loads of different clients. I have recently been project managing a brand awareness campaign for a new make of 3D printer, which has been really cool. I was given an advertising budget and everything else has been up to me.
I have done loads of projects in such a small amount of time from managing the social media for a luxury furniture company to the being responsible for the SEO for multiple websites.
How have your studies supported your professional development?
My course gave me a strong understanding of the fundamentals of marketing. I guess it laid down the foundations I needed to have a career in the industry and as I progress, I’m going to keep building upon those.
What is your proudest achievement to date?
Getting a first in my degree. It’s a bit cliche to say in a post like this but it is definitely something I am extremely proud of. My final year of university was especially tough, due to difficult circumstances in my personal life, but I was able to persevere and finish really well. It gives me such a good feeling when I look back on it!
Do you have any tips for current students about ‘life after graduation’?
Your degree opens up a lot of opportunities in what kind of work you can get involved with. Inexperience is always a factor with interviews, but you only need one person to give you a chance and then everything changes.
So keep going at it and something will come.
What advice would you give to students thinking to apply for your course?
Do it. In terms of the content, standard of teaching and one to one contact time with lecturers, I'd honestly be surprised if there were better digital marketing courses in the UK.