We interviewed German alumni Felix Micke who completed the International Master in Marketing at EADA. Felix holds a Bachelor´s degree in International Business from the University of Aalen and currently lives in Dublin. Prior to moving to Ireland, he gained international experience in England, Mexico and Spain. He currently works as an Account Manager for Accenture at Pinterest.
How did your experience prepare you for your career post-graduation?
The unique combination of hard skills and soft skills I obtained at EADA was excellent preparation for my career. I not only learned about important concepts in Marketing, but I developed an understanding of how to apply them. The specialization that I chose in Multichannel Communication & Sales was a great opportunity to go more in-depth in Digital Marketing and Sales. This gave me a good base to start with in my job, which is specifically related to those two areas. The modules at the Residential Training Campus and the small, international classes with group exercises helped me to improve my soft skills. Among those skills, critical thinking, adaptability and delivering presentations are particularly helpful in my current role.
What was the most important thing you learned during the leadership modules in the Residential Training Campus?
Firstly, I liked how the modules in the Residential Training Campus were designed, training me in important skills such as leadership, communication and teamwork. This enabled me to enhance many crucial soft skills, giving me a more well-rounded profile. Personally, the most helpful thing that I learned was how to deliver more impactful presentations. This is a skill that I often needed at EADA, where we had many presentations, including the final project, which we defended in front of a jury. Most importantly, however, presentation skills are highly valuable in my day-to-day life as an Account Manager, as I often talk to clients.
The most helpful thing I learned during the leadership modules was how to deliver more impactful presentations. Presentation skills are highly valuable in my day-to-day life as an Account Manager.
What was the highlight of the programme for you?
The first highlight was the classes throughout the year. I enjoyed and benefited from the way our professors explained the relevant concepts and guided us through the case studies. Their pedagogical methodology empowered me to learn how to effectively approach and solve problems. Moreover, this approach led to many interesting in-class discussions in which we learned from each other and our different backgrounds.
The second highlight was the Marketing Plan, which my group and I developed for a cool brand called DCK Boardshorts. It was challenging, yet fun and a great learning experience.
I especially liked the opportunity to build upon and apply the Marketing knowledge gained during our classes. This has given me a holistic approach of how to put those different areas of Marketing into practice.
What is it like to work in a field like tech that is constantly evolving?
On the one hand, it is challenging, and on the other, it is very exciting and insightful. At the beginning, it can take some time to get used to, but having studied such an intense programme at EADA helped me adjust more easily to the fast pace.
I am happy to work in this industry for mainly two reasons. Firstly, I have learned a lot in a short amount of time, which fits my high level of curiosity for new things. Secondly, given the fast pace, there are countless opportunities that I can act on.
What skills do you think are most important skills for working in Sales and Digital Marketing?
In Sales, it is very important to have good listening skills and to be able to ask precise questions in order to discover the needs of the customer. Moreover, well-developed analytical skills are needed to determine how to solve the customers´ problems. In order to persuade customers that you have the right solution for them, persuasive communication is required. Additionally, empathy and the ability to establish trust are of great significance, as this allows the Sales rep to build lasting relationships. Finally, resilience is crucial, especially for long-term success.
At the beginning, it can take some time to get used to the tech industry, but having studied such an intense programme at EADA helped me adjust more easily to the fast pace.
As a Digital Marketer, analytical capabilities are very useful since the work revolves around working with a large amount of data. A testing mindset is also needed, as there is no single cookie-cutter approach that can be implemented for every single campaign. Creativity plays a big role in making sure that your message stands out in today´s ever-more competitive ad environment.
Given that the complex Digital Marketing landscape is constantly evolving, it is neither recommendable nor realistic to expect to become an expert in every single aspect. Instead, I like to use the T-Shaped Marketer model as a useful reference for a Digital Marketer. This model recommends developing a broad knowledge base covering a wide range of digital tactics with an in-depth understanding of one or (maximum) two specific areas.