Finding My Career
I will be graduating from UMBC in May of 2018 with my Bachelor’s degree in Media and Communications Studies and a minor in Psychology. I have always been interested in digital marketing and how social media can be used in the professional world to promote businesses. My internship with UMBC Division of Professional Studies (DPS) gave me the opportunity to explore the different facets of the media and communications field. It helped me realize that I really enjoy social media marketing and event promotion. In my search for jobs after graduation, I have a found three positions that would allow me to pursue my passion for marketing and event promotion.
The first job is for a Social Media Strategist for Millennium Marketing Solutions in Baltimore. According to the post, the strategist is responsible for “ managing all social and content marketing efforts for several clients including campaign strategy, planning, execution, management, and analysis” (Millennium Marketing Solutions, 2017) which was the majority of my responsibilities at my internship with DPS. The posting also requires candidates to have writing and editing skills for social media, blogs and website content, which I also have plenty of experience in. The skills I would need to improve on for this position would be analytics, especially since the company requires Google Analytics certification, and interacting with clients.
I also found a position in Atlanta, GA for Promotions Events Support at iHeartMedia. This position is different from the previous one in that it involves more event promotion then digital marketing, but it is still something that I am very interested in. Candidates are required to “ perform basic office administrative functions and updates station web site” both of which are skills I have not just from my internship, but also my current job at the UMBC Career Center. Candidates also must have Microsoft Office, Photoshop and social media platforms skills; all of which I have. However, I would need to gain more experience in operating audio/visual equipment.
For the transnational job, I chose a posting for a Digital Marketing/Social Media Apprenticeship at Digital Skills Solutions in Bromley, Great Britain. Moving to a different country and obtaining permission to work there would be the biggest obstacle in terms of actually getting hired. But in terms of skills and qualifications I think my education and job experience makes me a good candidate for this position. An understanding of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc is required. Creating social media content was one of my main responsibilities at my internship so I am confident of my skills in that area. The only thing I would need to improve is my graphic design skills, especially using programs like Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop. To work on this, I intend on taking MCS 377 Desktop Publishing and the Web at UMBC in order to improve my skills and gain more experience with the software.
