Member StoriesRoisin Milmoe

Tell us a bit about your story before enrolling in the Postgraduate Diploma?

Before the Digital Marketing Institute I had spent almost 10 years working in Sales and Marketing roles primarily in the tourism and hospitality industry in Ireland, the UK and Canada. I had built my career and gained solid commercial experience with brands including Hilton, Starwood and Carlson Rezidor.

What influenced your decision to study in the digital field?

Having seen a huge opportunity in Digital Marketing with a number of companies that I worked with, I decided that I would like to move my career towards a more focused marketing direction, specifically in digital. I always really enjoyed this part of my work and decided to upskill my previous qualifications. This allowed me to improve my prospects and step into a role that allowed me to really progress within the field.

Why did you choose to study with the Digital Marketing Institute?

The main reason for choosing this course was the speed at which I could qualify. The course was a short but intensive 2.5 months and I was able to complete assignments over the following 6 months. The fact that the lecturers on the course were actively working in industry rather than purely academically focused really appealed. When I completed my Postgraduate Diploma I decided to move my qualification to a Masters in Digital Marketing so that I could do further research and develop my specialization further.

Since completing the course, how has your career progressed?

Since the Postgraduate Diploma course I have been very fortunate to take up a role as a Digital Content Manager. This role allows me to work on brand and smaller niche marketing campaigns, helping to integrate activity across areas like traditional marketing, PR, communications, events, web, design and content.

Our team looks after everything from commercial qualification of projects, assisting business units with proposition development through to campaign/ project management, web design, content development, UX and analytics. We also manage the social media and digital presence for the firm. The work is really varied and interesting, the brand is fantastic, and I am lucky to work with such an amazingly skilled team.

Is there any advice you would give to new students?

The course is a great opportunity to get a broad overview of all aspects of a digital strategy. I found it really useful to understand a number of areas of digital and then focus in on a couple of areas that interested me most. Take your time in deciding what you would like to specialise in and then try to get as much experience as possible to back this up.

I'd also recommend that you try to develop a network on the course with peers and colleagues, and take advantage of as much outside practice in your own time on the practical aspects of the course learnings. Develop a website, blog, run AdWords campaigns, and try to build your own personal brand to best demonstrate all of your new skills. This work will give you a real competitive edge when you interview for digital roles – practical experience is key.