"In an industry and a world that is constantly changing you can get left behind, so anything you can do to keep your skills current and relevant is really worthwhile.”
Georgie West has over 20 years of experience in Marketing and Events, including running her own events agency. Following the pandemic, the events industry was heavily impacted which meant that work was more sporadic, and Georgie had to apply for universal credit.
She enrolled on the Skills Bootcamp in Content Creation and Branding to diversify her skillset and knowledge of the ever-evolving landscape of Digital Marketing. She has now secured a new role as Director of Marketing and Partnerships at Dry Drinker.
We caught up with her as she prepares to start her new role to find out more about her experience on the programme.
What interested you in the Content Creation and Brading bootcamp?
When the events market started opening up again there was a lot of people going for a small number of jobs which meant that it was competitive, so I thought the more assets I could have in my armoury would really help.
I’ve worked in marketing for 20 years but that was very traditional marketing so the digital side and definitely the content creation side was what I was missing from my skillset. Digital Marketing is constantly changing and a very fast paced sector so I thought it would be good to keep on top of it, and I found it really interesting.
What have you found most interesting on the course?
I found the technical side of content creation to be the most useful to me because I didn’t really have any experience with that. We learnt how to use all of the tools available such as Canva which I hadn’t used before and animator, making content like animated signatures was something I really enjoyed.
The employability sessions were also really good for morale boosting. I think especially since lockdown everyone gets in their head a bit and when you get a lot of rejection that can lead to a lot of self-doubt and impostor syndrome so that unit helped with keeping the momentum going and keeping morale up.
I also enjoyed the Marketing Principles and Psychology sessions, although I already knew a lot of the content because I’d done it previously it was useful to have a refresher. A lot of what I learnt at university 20 years ago will also be outdated because Digital Marketing didn’t really exist back then. Most of the theories and principles were the same but it was good to cover them again and get my mind working, although policies and regulations aren’t the most exciting topics it’s definitely something I need to understand, especially in my new role.
Have you faced any challenges that the Growth Company has helped you to overcome?
I think a big thing has been not getting too disheartened in the face of rejection, because it does happen, and it can be hard to deal with. The programme has helped me with bouncing back and having the self-confidence and self-value to chase something that I really deserve, and not just go for something just because it’s being offered which I have definitely done in the past due to fear that I won't get anything else. The support of my tutors has helped me to have the self-belief to chase what I deserve and what I’m capable of.
What have you learnt during the course that will help you in your new role?
I definitely think the content creation skills I’ve gained will help me because I’m going to be solely responsible for that in my new role, at least to start with. The programme helped me to get to know all of the tools and software that’s out there and feel comfortable using them. This has definitely helped my confidence and it's given me a good overview that I can continue building on with further learning.
Would you recommend the programme to others?
Yeah absolutely! As well as everything I’ve learnt, even just having the structure has been really valuable. Especially if you haven’t been working for a while, even though it's just a couple of days a week the routine and spending time with the same people is really motivating. I found that I quite looked forward to my lessons on a Monday morning.
I’d say even if you think that you know some of the content already, you’re still going to learn a lot and it’s going to give you a different perspective. In an industry and a world that is constantly changing you can get left behind, so anything you can do to keep your skills current and relevant is really worthwhile.
