Margaret Lewis is from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and she has lived there almost her whole life. She graduated from Dalhousie’s Corporate Residency MBA program in June 2019. Before completing her MBA, she completed a Bachelor of Science in Psychology also at Dalhousie.

During her MBA, she found an internship at Scotiabank as a Small Business Advisor. In this role, she worked with small business clients and students in professional programs. Up until recently, she worked as a Business Analyst. This role was responsible for project management, providing analytical support on marketing initiatives, conducting market analyses and creating business process workflows, flowcharts and product documentation

Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, she was laid off from her Business Analyst role., “I knew that it would be difficult for job searching, but I tried to remain positive,” she said. Marketing has always been Margaret’s true passion, so she knew she needed to continue finding her dream job. One successful approach for Margaret was reaching out to individuals who worked within the industry to talk to them about their marketing experiences and any advice. Over the last five months, she met with many people virtually to continue her search. She mentioned that she was very grateful for the opportunity and appreciated the knowledge that it gave her.

Another way that Margaret stayed positive thought her job search was her continued effort to become more qualified. She took online courses and certification relevant to the areas she wanted to work in, such as Google Ads, Google analytics and some HubSpot marketing courses. Continuing to learn and study helped her stay motivated and increased her desirability to employers.

Margaret’s continued effort finally paid off, and she has just received an Advertising Analyst position at a local Halifax marking company. She is set to begin this month and is excited about what the role has to offer; she added, “I am excited for this role as it will combine my passion for marketing and analytics and work with a great team.”. Due to the ongoing pandemic, Margaret will be working from home but is not concerned because her employer has an extensive virtual onboarding/training program.

Margaret’s Advice:

• Network with as many individuals as possible because each person you speak with will provide a different perspective and new advice. There are also many great free resources (e.g. certifications and courses) online that can make you stand out to potential employers.
• Know that you are not alone. This is a difficult time for all job hunters, but the right opportunity will come along when you least expect it!