How to improve your Marketing & Communication skills

MAcademy blog: SchaalX – Marketing and Communication Skills

On Wednesday 26th of October, the MAEUR board organized the first MAcademy of the academic year. MAcademy is a training cycle organized by the association throughout the year, which forms the bridge between education and professional life. It allows students to develop their personal and professional profile. For example, it gives students an idea of which skills are needed when entering the job market.

The company SchaalX came by to organize a Marketing & Communication Skills session. The company has 18 years of experience within the field of marketing and communication. ABN Amro, Jumbo, IKEA, and many other businesses collaborate with SchaalX. Furthermore, they offer various trainings and consulting sessions to help young professionals develop and grow.

During a two-hour session, Linne, an online recruitment marketeer, and Victor, the managing partner at SchaalX, talked about the trends in the marketing & communication job market in the Netherlands. They enlightened the students on their job prospects through data of the past year, which were very optimistic – 80% of marketing and communication students could count on a job straight after their studies, and 75% of themarketing and communication students work in the industry they studied for. They also explained what employers expect from students and how you could prepare yourself for this. For instance, during the training we discussed the importance of soft skills such as leadership, teamwork, analytical abilities, and hard skills such as experience with Photoshop and PowerPoint. They also highlighted the significance of extracurricular activities, such being part of committees, to distinguish yourself and have some experience in advance.

Eventually, the students worked together in groups giving themselves the chance to reflect on the topics that were being discussed. This was a great eye opener for everyone and taught us all a lot!

All in all, the first MAcademy of the year was a great success. It was a very interactive session which left everyone who joined feeling very excited for the opportunities in the future. I would highly recommend joining the next MAcademy!