I completed the Harness Projects Career Launcher Digital Marketing course. I was able to secure a role shortly after my first project and now work as a Social Media and Content Coordinator at Monash University.
Project 1
Our first project involved devising a digital donation strategy for Starlight Children’s Foundation in order to boost online conversions. It provided a deep dive into the fundamentals of digital marketing, as well as insights into social media, search engine optimisation and paid search advertising. This helped to create a strong overview of how different aspects of digital marketing interact and influence each other and impact overall outcomes.
With the support of our mentor Jessie Lin, we conducted stakeholder and customer interviews, investigated various digital marketing channels and presented an overarching strategy to the client at completion of the project. Jessie always ensured to make lessons interactive and engaging, and constantly showcased real-world marketing examples which related to our weekly topics.
One of the key concepts which stood out from this project was not taking any part of a strategy as a guarantee. In always remembering that human behavior is unpredictable despite the amount of research conducted, it ensures that you allow room for new possibilities in your digital marketing endeavors, as the data may end up surprising you!
Project 2
Our second project involved creating a social media strategy for the Chex Community Gift Card initiative run by the Harris Community Centre branch of Uniting in order to boost usage of the program within catchment suburbs.
During this project, we were encouraged to create potential social media assets as part of a content calendar to present to the client. This was my favourite aspect project, as it allowed me to combine my existing skills in photography, copywriting and graphic design with my newly acquired digital marketing experience.
Our mentor Amber Dermoudy’s willingness to structure lessons around our areas of interest was incredibly beneficial, particularly when I was offered my current role at the tail end of this project. She provided invaluable advice to take with me into my new position and shared many additional resources for the class to research after completion of the project. Amber also ensured to create learning tasks which fostered an environment of collaboration and idea sharing.
Project 3
Our final project involved creating a search engine optimisation (SEO) and paid search advertising strategy for Head Start Homes in order to increase traffic to the website and subsequently boost online donations, as well as publicize the ‘Phones for Homes’ initiative.
The content in this module was definitely the most challenging to comprehend, even with some previous exposure to SEO through web subjects at university and workshops through my content creation internship. However, our mentor Stephanie Cleaver ensured to clearly explain challenging concepts during our weekly tutorials, as well as create useful infographics to complement our learning.
This project emphasized the importance of the digital user experience, prompting us to question how we interact with search engines, websites and digital advertising in order to work backwards to devise potential optimisations for Head Start Homes.
Outcome
While completing my second Harness Project, I began to look for digital marketing roles in order to work out what kind of jobs would best compliment my skillset, as well as better understand the industry in its current state.
I reworked my CV and cover letters, as well as created a portfolio encompassing my photography work, content creation examples from an internship and excerpts from my Harness Projects final presentations. I also ensured to list all relevant work experience on my LinkedIn, connected with people from prior roles and completed relevant skill assessments for my profile.
I then applied for a number of digital marketing positions and was offered a role with Monash University in April 2022, which I am currently working in.
In Anneliese's words
I initially completed studies in Photography at RMIT University in 2020, as part of which we undertook electives in graphic design, video production, website development and creative writing. After completing my studies, I juggled a variety of roles including freelance photography and assisting, a fundraising and content creation internship with Australian Conservation Foundation and copywriting. Through these experiences, I realised that I enjoyed roles which allowed me to utilise various creative skillsets and thus, content creation positions would be the best fit. However, when I started applying for roles, I noticed many of them required some digital marketing experience as part of the desired requirements. This was also echoed in feedback received from job interviews at this time.
I thoroughly enjoyed the Career Launcher Digital Marketing program, as it allowed me to build my skills in the sector under the mentorship of experienced digital marketers alongside a supportive cohort of peers and Harness Projects staff. It was also great to be able to give back to the community through supporting charitable organisations with our research and strategy development.
I entered the program with a basic understanding of some digital marketing strategies gleaned from my studies and previous work opportunities. I now have a much stronger understanding of core digital marketing concepts and tools, which I build upon every day in my current role.
Time management was definitely a challenge, particularly when I moved to a hybrid working role towards the end of our second project. It can definitely be quite hard to work through all of the weekly lessons while concurrently devising a strategy using the same concepts, however, the weekly classes with our mentors helped to solidify our learning and flesh out our ideas for end outcomes. Interviewing stakeholders at the commencement of the projects, as well as catch ups during the creation phase for some projects, helped to show what we were working towards and relate material from the lessons to the end goal.
A Harness Project involves pairing theoretical knowledge from online lessons and tutorials with a real-world project involving a partner organisation under the mentorship of experienced industry professionals.
Follow Anneliese’s footsteps and check out our Digital Marketing Course.
