When Carrie Lysenko isn’t heading up Product at industry-leading digital marketing brand VerticalScope, she’s gearing up to bring her expertise to our classrooms this winter as an instructor in our part-time Certificate in Digital Marketing!
Carrie answered a few of our questions about her career trajectory, the present and future states of digital and content marketing, and what makes our 3 programs special.
Tell us about your professional work experience and the pathway you took to reach your goals
Most of us have that idea of a dream job and ultimate goal that we want to achieve at the start of our career. Since high school, mine had been to work in professional sports. After finishing a health sciences degree at Queen’s University I realized that I wanted to be closer to the business side of sport versus on the field. Much to my parents chagrin, I went back to school again to complete a Sport Marketing and Management degree. I worked for the university athletics department for several years in marketing and promotions and then landed a full-time role with an agency in Vancouver. I was so excited to not be a poor student anymore! I went on to run programs with the Vancouver Canucks, MolsonCoors and then moved full-time to work for the Toronto Blue Jays and Major League Baseball. I had made it!
Now, you may be thinking, “what does this have to do with Digital?”. While working for the Toronto Blue Jays, I realized that my original dream job just wasn’t my dream anymore. I decided to move into media with Pelmorex (The Weather Network) and found a company that was experimenting and evolving rapidly in the digital space. I was fascinated and engaged. I stayed there for over 14 years and helped to build one of the largest online media brands in Canada; an achievement that I am very proud of. More recently I joined VerticalScope, a small Canadian company with a giant digital footprint. With over 100 Million unique users a month in over 600+ brands, this portfolio and the role of VP of Product is different everyday!
My lesson to anyone starting out in their career is to go after that dream job with all your heart but be flexible and open your mind to other opportunities that you may not have even thought possible.
Why are digital skills so critical to career success?
The world isn’t changing, it HAS changed. Every branch of every industry will employ digital technologies in some fashion. I was speaking at a conference a few months ago and someone commented that my children will likely never learn to drive a car, with the introduction of self-driving vehicles. When I was a kid, this type of technology was reserved for the fantasy lands of my favourite TV shows.
While most organizations know they need to undergo a digital transformation, the majority are still at the beginning stages and trying to figure it all out. It is an amazing time for those who are just entering the job market or those looking to pivot their career with digital subject matter expertise to capitalize on this opportunity.
Digital is changing the marketing world at an incredible rate. What can our graduates expect from their first digital role?
What I can say today is that understanding marketing automation and programmatic marketing are key to career success. Marketers have to understand the implications for their clients and brands.
How do our programs prepare students to enter the job market? What makes our programs unique?
These 3 unique programs don’t just take a snapshot of the digital landscape and only focus on what is relevant today. The goal of the 3 Certificates in Digital & Content Marketing are to prepare students with a foundation of digital marketing skills, and also teach the ability to look at trends critically. We want students to consider, “what does this mean to my industry”, “how can this tool, software, system or network be used to reach a key audience”, or even “is this a threat”? The courses are taught by industry professionals who have years of experience in adapting to market conditions and learning how to flex.
Our digital and content marketing programs will enable you to open your mind to how technologies that you use everyday can be leveraged in new and exciting ways to deliver a brand or service message to the right audience. You will get hands on experience in working with brands and critically evaluating their current digital presence and activity. You will apply foundational marketing principles to digital technologies and processes. Ultimately, you will learn how to adapt to this rapidly changing digital landscape and be prepared to handle whatever technology the future may throw at you.
About our programs
Marketing is digital. There’s no escaping that, to stay relevant in today’s job market, marketers need to stay several steps ahead of technological advancements in automation, data analytics and digital consumer behaviour.
In order meet employer demand for hires who are current with the knowledge and hands-on expertise required for career success in this rapidly changing field, we’re launching 3 unique Certificates in Digital & Content Marketing.
Designed in collaboration with industry leaders, this suite of part-time and full-time programs gives you the chance to hone your digital marketing skills online and in the classroom, while building real-world experience working on projects with actual companies! Starting in January 2019, this innovative enhanced learning experience will put our graduates on the leading edge of the competitive digital marketing job market.
Ready to learn the trends and master the tools of digital marketing? Get full program information
