Moving into Digital Marketing helped me land my dream role: Ibrahim Fakih

More and more traditional marketers recognize that things have changed and they need to get more digital-oriented. Our Digital Marketing Certification Course participant, Ibrahim Fakih, was looking for a job in marketing for more than a year and realized that he will not succeed without upskilling in digital marketing. Getting certified eventually helped him to land a job in one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world. We sat down with him to learn more about his journey, read our full conversation below.

What led you to get certified in digital marketing?

I noticed that everything is shifting and relying heavily on digital. My background included marketing but the traditional marketing, hence I knew that it was time to become digital certified. After searching online and reading the reviews, I knew that AstroLabs is the go-to institute when it comes to a digital marketing course. And I wasn’t disappointed!

You were looking for a new job. How challenging was that?

I was jobless for almost a year without even getting interview invites. I noticed that all vacancies were related to digital marketing, thus I figured I don’t have any option other than getting certified in digital marketing in order to secure a job. Things changed quickly after finishing the course – I was more confident in competing in the market.

What exactly changed after the course?

The moment I added the digital marketing certification from AstroLabs to my CV, I instantly started receiving calls from employers who were interested. It reached a point where I had 2 or 3 interviews in a single day for digital marketing positions. Some interviewers even revealed to me that having the AstroLabs certificate was a factor that distinguished me from other candidates. I escalated from not receiving calls to being able to choose between different employers that were eager to hire me.

What was the most impactful thing you learned?

The whole learning experience made an enormous difference as everything was new for me. I was literally just an “open and scroll” consumer type. What noticeably changed is that I was able to shift to the professional side, and become capable to launch and optimize marketing campaigns based on what I learned. Another impactful learning was SEO, which I got so comfortable with, that the week later I was conducting my first professional site audit for a client on a freelance basis.

How did you apply the newly gained skills?

I got a few clients on a freelance basis. I launched successful marketing campaigns for them and they were impressed by the results. I was also able to conduct SEO audits as part of the interview process which led me to receive multiple job offers on the spot.

That is amazing. What are your long term goals in digital marketing?

My goal is to continue down the professional digital marketing path, especially in SEO that will eventually lead to opening my own digital marketing agency and services.