The number of DIMAQ certificate holders is growing. These are both people seasoned in the area of digital marketing and people who have just made their first steps in marketing and documented knowledge helps them deal with each challenge they encounter in the job market.
We’ve decided to get a closer look on how being a holder of a DIMAQ certificate translates into one’s career plans. The first person featured in our series entitled DIMAQuestion is Agnieszka Kleczewska, currently a Senior Executive in the Exchange Department at Mindshare Polska.
DIMAQuestion: What was your motivation to take a DIMAQ exam?
Agnieszka Kleczewska: The main reason behind taking the exam was a career move. Bigger responsibility and a broader range of duties went hand in hand with a need to expand my knowledge in various areas of digital marketing – including those I wasn’t particularly expert in in my previous job.
Soon after I changed my job, I came across some information about DIMAQ as a knowledge organisation programme at an industry-specific website. Becoming familiar with the content of the syllabus helped me systematise all the relevant issues and decide to take the exam, which motivated me not only to approach – and review and study – the accumulated resources in a comprehensive manner but also to improve my position as seen by the new employer.
DQ: How do you think the certificate is perceived in the job market?
A.K.: When I obtained the certificate, I was the first person in my company to claim such an achievement. Back then, the significance of the programme of verification of competence had just reached the awareness of entities operating in the digital marketing market.
Today, the situation is completely different – as you can tell by the example of my company, where one employee has become a DIMAQ instructor, where there are regular training courses to prepare others to take the exam, and where new employees have obtaining a DIMAQ certificate defined as part of their professional goals.
The “DIMAQ Professional” logo featured in one’s e-mail signature is slowly becoming a standard, not something special. Working with many entities carrying out digital research, it’s hard not to see the trend growing year by year, and the incoming information about further organisations joining the certification programme certainly encourages others to take such initiatives with their employees.
DQ: What did obtaining the certificate help you prove? What are your current plans for your career?
A.K.: Passing the DIMAQ exam was not just a way to prove my digital competence. It also marked the beginning of a further development of my career. The knowledge acquired made me gain recognition in the company and able to put the newly-learnt skills into practice. It has also helped me define the areas I want to explore in more depth and specialise in in the future (e.g. the growing segment of online videos).
The recertification programme has also made me more interested in following industry events such as training sessions or conferences, which are all helpful in consolidating and improving one’s competence and provide opportunities to exchange experience with industry experts.
Those who are up for new professional challenges may find such events a chance to change their job. Being a certificate holder brings also a range of benefits such as discounts on event fees or invitations to special workshops and lectures organised exclusively for members of the “DIMAQ community”.
Taking all this into consideration, 2 years after I passed my exam I can say with full conviction that the event was not a singular act, but only a beginning of some stage in my education and development of my career path – and I hope it will bear fruit in the form of further stimulating challenges and opportunities for advancement.
Agnieszka Kleczewska, Senior Executive, Exchange Department, Mindshare Polska: A graduate of applied social sciences at the University of Warsaw. Involved with the digital industry for 7 years – starting as a member of a special sales team at Grupa Onet and Media Impact, now a member of Mindshare Polska since 2016. She works currently as a Senior Executive in the Exchange Department – a department responsible for designing the company’s trading strategy and media purchase and planning optimisation.