From Business Analyst to Digital Marketer of a Tech Company
Shifting a career in the middle of a pandemic is a risky take. Still, the courageous Giska made that life-changing decision - changing her career path from business analyst to a digital marketer.
Giska has an interesting educational background; she studied social anthropology at university. Growing up in a family with Minang, Java, and Maluku descendants have shaped her to become an individual who enjoys learning and observing cultures and human behavior. She realizes that her interest and competence can be useful in the digital marketing industry, especially to run ads campaigns that require accurate audience behavior and interest targeting.
However, she barely had any experience with digital marketing. Her previous work honed her to become a good business researcher and analyst, but marketing is a relatively new area. She figured, having basic knowledge and hands-on experience in digital marketing is necessary to boost her new career. Therefore, she decided to take a course at RevoU.
Before signing up, Giska reached out to one of RevoU’s alumni, a shifter, Radinda Dyah, through LinkedIn. From her sharing, Giska learned that having an irrelevant background is not going to be a problem. She was even more convinced when she heard about the job guarantee. It is a signal that RevoU is ready to take high risks for students who are looking to start a career in digital marketing and willing to give refunds if they fail to reach the goals.
Learning Digital Marketing from Scratch
As someone who did not have a prior understanding of all digital marketing aspects (full-stack marketing), Giska mentioned that the curriculum helps her understand digital marketing fundamentals, including each specialization in this field.
From the first lecture, she was introduced to new terms such as Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), organic and paid channels, etc. Each week, Giska was always looking forward to learning new topics, from Social Media Ads, Search Engine Marketing (SEM) to Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Not only did she learn from some of the best digital marketing practitioners in the South East Asia region, but she also directly implemented the lectures to actual study cases through weekly assignments.
For me, the assignments have helped me understand the topics on a deeper level because it is not just all theory. Even until now, I am still able to remember and apply the lectures on my day to day work
Apprenticeship in Singapore Startup
After completing the 3-month course, Giska continued her journey to RevoU Labs - an apprenticeship program where students will work in real companies as digital marketers for 1-3 months. Giska had the opportunity to work in Style Tribute, a Singapore based marketplace startup company reselling branded items.
I was very thrilled working on RevoU Labs because I had the opportunity to handle real clients and ran actual Facebook and Google ads campaigns. It gave me a sense of approval, both for myself and for future companies. Because during the interview, the hiring managers will look at my previous experiences related to the position I am applying for
Working in a Singapore company has provided Giska with insight into the situation of the industry outside Indonesia. She also improved her presentation and English skills upon reporting to English-speaking clients on a weekly basis.
Job Seeking with Career Coach
While working as an apprentice, Giska was also working on her job application with the help of career support from RevoU. This program helped her tremendously during the job search because the team provided information on job vacancies in digital marketing, which updated constantly. She found the materials about composing attractive resumes, compiling digital marketing portfolios, and setting up a professional Linked In profile to be very useful. Compared to the previous job search, she felt more confident and prepared during interviews because her career coach has trained her.
I found my career coach to be accommodating. Kak Salsa always convinced me that I could do it because I studied and worked hard at RevoU. It gave me the confidence that I need to compete in the job market
The support from her career coach, Salsa Erwina, is also one of the most memorable things for Giska. Her 4 years of experience as a hiring manager in iPrice has helped Giska to understand what hiring managers are looking for in a candidate.
Giska Adilah, Digital Marketing Executive at Smart Eye
Her hard work pays off. Giska received two offer letters even before she finished the digital marketing program at RevoU. Eventually, Giska decided to work as a Digital Marketing Executive at Smart Eye, a tech startup selling Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). Again, this is a new industry for her. However, her perseverance and experience have made her a person who is up for challenges. The role requires her to keep updated on the latest technology, so she has to do a lot of research from various English sources.
Learning at RevoU has taught me the importance of self-study through reading articles or watching videos in pre-lecture materials. The habit stays even until now, and it has proven to be very useful in my fast-paced industry