Cécile, graduate Master Grande École
I joined the School in 2010 and in my first year, I undertook a 3-month Humacité© project in Kenya. I then decided to take a year out, in order to help finance my studies, and worked as a receptionist for a company in Toulouse. During the second year of my studies, the Erasmus+ programme made it possible for me to enjoy a 6-month stay in Spain. Following this, I chose to spend the next 12 months on a word-study track. I graduated from Excelia in 2014. Throughout the programme, I made a point of choosing ‘real life’ work experiences as I was convinced that immersing myself in the world of customer relations and operational marketing would be highly beneficial. With this in mind, I did an internship within sales at Coca-Cola and a 12-month apprenticeship with Sodexo as a Business Developer.”
Digital Marketing Manager
After graduating, I decided to join the Poitou-Charente international mobility programme and to sign up for a 6-month post-graduation internship. On 25th January 2015, the day after the graduation ceremony in La Rochelle, I left for London to start a 6-month internship in Digital Marketing at a conference centre in Camden Town. Whilst there, I was approached by the head of finance for a company based in the same building and one week before the end of my internship, I found out that the company in question, an International NGO, was recruiting. One month after submitting my application to them, I was offered a job as Digital Marketing Manager.
Digital Marketing Manager
Everything had to be created and developed. Today, my main responsibilities are managing the website, social media and email marketing strategies as well as drawing up media content. Last year we employed a full-time trainee whom it is my responsibility to manage. I often go abroad to meet our international students. During these trips, my role entails acting as a representative for the NGO, interacting with the students, interviewing them and collating feedback on the impact the NGO has on their lives.”
Personal Development
At the same time, I have developed my personal profile on the social media networks… I created a personal Instagram account in February 2016 and started to spend more time on YouTube. I watched a lot of tutorials on TEDxTalks and professional videos about internet marketing. After several months of reflection, observation and the discovery of numerous other entrepreneurs online, I decided to launch my own project. Therefore, at the end of March 2017, I officially created my own blog on both internet marketing and management. The idea behind it was to share my two years of marketing experience with novices. Since its creation two months ago, my blog has received some 2100 individual visitors. I publish an article every week and the next step will be to create my own YouTube channel.
An entrepreneurial approach
In the medium term, I plan to set myself up as an independent entrepreneur to commercialise my Blog and YouTube channel. I would like to create a real community of young digital managers around the Blog and to help, as much as possible, those just starting out in this career. I would also like to change my sector of activity and have greater responsibility, At the start of the year, I had the opportunity to visit two internet marketing agencies. The human, financial and material resources of certain agencies are an Eldorado for an internet marketing manager. It is highly likely that I will shortly begin to explore other opportunities and to consider offers from the some of the principle London agencies.
Advice to our students
Graduates from Excelia have an infinite number of employment opportunities and, in order to make the right choices, they need to ask themselves the right questions so as to avoid accepting an inappropriate job. During their working life, I would advise all students to consistently take the initiative, to do more than is asked and to exceed employers’ expectations. To continually demand more of yourself is the best way to mature both professionally and personally. I would also tell students to never give up on their dreams and to realise that being an entrepreneur may be the best way to fulfil them.
