Alumni

Joanna Scott

Career Path: Digital Marketing Assistant, Primula
Location: Gateshead, UK

I have always found Marketing intriguing, but I believed it was a hard career to get into. As someone who favoured the creative subjects throughout education, I was also interested in pursuing a creative career. I looked into various writing careers while I was at University and I just seemed to miss the opportunities when they were there and instead focused on finishing my degree while working in part-time roles in customer service and hospitality. I finished my degree during Covid-19 Lock down and took on more hours at my part-time job. I applied for various Copy writing or Marketing internships and Graduate roles and I rarely got any response and the replies I did receive were rejections.

After six months of applying for various roles, I finally got my first interview but it was for a Sales role. I was unsuccessful. I gave up looking for Marketing roles at this time and started tutoring GCSE English online. I then thought it would be a great idea to apply for a Teacher Training course. I successfully obtained a place and I was focused on being an English teacher. 4 months later, I realised I wasn't pursuing the right career for me and made the decision to withdraw from the course. I returned to a hospitality job I had before starting Teacher Training and arranged to speak to a careers adviser. I was advised to look on Prospects and reach out to professionals on LinkedIn to get an idea of what it's like to work in careers I was interested in and to look for volunteering opportunities to get some experience. I found two voluntary roles and continued to receive more rejections for various roles under the Marketing umbrella. However I kept pursuing marketing until I was interviewing for the job I am doing now.

What are you doing now?

I currently work as a full-time Digital Marketing Assistant for Primula Ltd. My role mainly consists of creating and managing social media content, creating and editing website content to increase SEO and increase traffic to the website. I also liaise with agencies to outsource work that can't be done in house such as photography.

What was it about Northumbria that made you decide to study here?

It was the course and the location specifically that made me want to study at Northumbria. I wanted to be close to home and study English Literature and Creative Writing.

What was it like studying at Northumbria?

Studying at Northumbria University was very independent and very much student-led. On my course there was a lot of time allocated for reading and self-study and I spent most of my time studying at home with occasional library visits. There was a mixture of lectures, seminars and writing workshops on my course and lectures were available to talk through assessment feedback. The feedback was very much constructive which all helped in the writing and research of my dissertation.

How connected was your course with industry?

There wasn't a connection with my course to the Marketing industry. However, if I wanted to pursue fiction writing, the lecturers had industry connections and were quite good for recommending the students to get involved in competitions and to submit to magazines.

What was the best thing about your course?

For me, I liked the flexibility of my course. It was just as easy for me to complete my coursework from home as it is in the library and I would only have one bus commute onto the city campus for lectures and seminars. I also enjoyed the freedom to write about what I wanted with few restrictions.

How did studying at Northumbria help you achieve your career goals/ give your career an edge?

I think the independent studying was good for teaching me to work to deadlines. The writing and editing skills I learned in writing workshops have come in handy when writing social media and website content. The analytical skills I gained through research have also been helpful for analysing consumer data.

Which skills/knowledge did you learn on your course that you use most now throughout your career?

Writing, editing, critical thinking and research.

What did you enjoy most about your time at Northumbria University?

The freedom and flexibility to study independently that suited my lifestyle needs.

What advice would you give somebody who is considering studying at Northumbria?

I would advise anyone considering studying at Northumbria to look at the other opportunities outside of the course you want to do. Student societies and facilities are factors that can make your University experience so it is worth taking a look to make sure they suit your lifestyle and interests. I would also recommend looking at the Universities connections to businesses if you think you will do a placement at University, the University works with a range of different companies to organise student placements so it's probably worth looking into this. Also take a look at the Universities abroad that Northumbria has connections with - a year abroad is a great opportunity and you want to make sure it is a place you wouldn't mind living and studying in for a year.