“I knew it was what I wanted to do,” Emma explains, “but after I graduated, I struggled to get a job in the marketing industry as I did not have any experience and my degree wasn’t relevant.”
As a result, Emma decided to get back into education, and began looking at the best places to study a Master’s degree. “LSBU’s course was perfect for me, as I wanted to study in London, and the degree was one of the few that was a conversion course while still offering depth and detail,” she says.
Having missed out on studying marketing at undergraduate level, Emma relished the opportunity to surround herself with a subject that fascinated her so much. “In particular, it was great that I had such freedom when it came to choosing the topic of my dissertation,” she says. “I really appreciated that I wasn’t forced to focus on the same areas as the lectures.”
As well as working with our academics – a group she describes as ‘a knowledgeable team who all want you to succeed’ – Emma made the most of the wider opportunities LSBU offers students to gain work experience. “I took a three-month internship with a fitness start-up as a social media manager,” she says. “It gave me a great insight into how start-ups work, and how much thought goes into a brand before it is launched.”
Emma also worked hard to network with LSBU alumni, and it was through that route that she was able to secure a place on the Havas Media graduate scheme before she had even graduated – something she is enjoying very much.
“The scheme involves me working in four different areas of the business over the course of a year, learning about how each one works and how they interact within the context of a media agency,” says Emma. “I’m really enjoying it, and I love seeing how the work I’m doing is impacting on brands and helping them grow.”
Emma says she uses the skills and knowledge from her degree on a daily basis. “I often give presentations, and also input into marketing strategies – things I didn’t know how to do before my degree at LSBU,” she says.
Within the next five years, Emma is setting her sights on promotions at Havas Media and becoming a manager – all made possible, she says, because of her LSBU degree.