Getting started on your digital marketing career can be an exciting journey but can also be difficult to know which courses and certifications will be of the most benefit to you in helping you achieve your goals. There are many digital marketing bootcamps, courses, and programs to choose from, which can be a little overwhelming to understand which one will best propel you on your career journey. How can you know which course will help you land the job and have you feeling prepared when you’re actually working the job too? Well, there’s three questions you can ask and investigate when looking for a digital marketing bootcamp. 

These questions will help you understand the validity of the course as well as how useful it will actually be for you. Once you start looking at the courses available through this lens, it will be clear which ones you’ll walk away feeling great about or the others that will be more of a bust when it comes to enhancing your skills. Read on to find out what three questions will help you when searching for your digital marketing bootcamp!

What certificates will I walk away with when I’m complete?

When taking courses for digital marketing, your main goal is to walk away with certifications and recognition that will help you not only land jobs, but feel prepared for them. When you sit down to do your work everyday, you’ll want to feel ready and confident that you can navigate any task or project that comes your way. To ensure you receive this type of preparation, you’ll need to find a digital marketing course that provides qualified certifications that focus on the applied skills needed in your desired roles. This would include certificates such as Facebook Blueprint, Google Analytics, Google Ads and others that are highly relevant in the digital marketing industry. It’s important you do research on the types of jobs you want to land and succeed in, and which certificates will be appropriate for that position. 

In addition to developing the necessary skills, it’s important the course provides industry recognized certifications that you can achieve alongside your course as well as providing credentials that are external from the course itself. In the case of a school like Red Academy going bankrupt, it left students with nothing to show for their experience. By picking a course that uses evergreen and consistent certifications, it ensures you have those skills no matter what happens to the institution. Having evergreen certifications for digital marketing will be a key way to maintain a standing when the industry, and the bootcamps to educate the industry, are constantly evolving. 

How is the course taught? 

Is it live, on demand or a mix of both? How your digital marketing bootcamp is conducted will have a large impact on what you will take away from the course. The best way to take a digital marketing course is with a live format to get the most from the curriculum. Having a class that is live is great for the reason that you get fresh and current content that evolves with the industry’s needs. Digital marketing changes so much, even daily, and it’s important that these topics are live vs. pre-recorded so no important updates are missed. When taking a digital marketing course that is taught live, you’ll have an advantage when entering the job market by being knowledgeable on the current topics and trends. 

Additionally, by having a synchronous course, it allows students to participate and ask questions as the materials are presented. When you’re learning complex topics such as SEO, digital ads, PR, and social media, it can be hard to absorb all the content on your own without any additional questions. There’s many layers and additional teachings that go with each of these topics that could simply not be covered via a pre-recorded lecture. Jelly Academy is a digital marketing course that teaches all of these topics live and allows for interactive activities with students to participate in. This provides students with a well-rounded experience that has them feeling prepared and asking questions in class, opposed to feeling lost on the job.

Is there a good timeframe to complete the certifications? 

A reason to take a course in the first place is for accountability and assistance through the certifications and to successfully complete them. You should aim to finish all certifications while in your course in order to maintain the motivation and responsibility to finish. Otherwise you could be doing it on your own with free lessons you find on Youtube without the same educational value. Along with accountability, doing your certifications throughout your digital marketing bootcamp allows you to discuss questions, findings, or noteworthy pieces with your instructor. This is key for really digging deep and understanding the concepts of digital marketing. 

In addition to accountability and support in completing your certifications, if a course shapes the curriculum by finishing your certifications before graduation, this has you leaving the entire program completely ready to enter the job market. By the time you’ve completed your bootcamp, you will have various certifications along with the certification of the course itself, which will definitely be a boost to your resume!

These are the three questions that you should be asking before signing up for your digital marketing course. These specifics should help you find the right digital marketing program for you and your career goals and have you completing the course feeling positive and ready to get going in your career. The best thing you can do is research the course thoroughly and ensure it hits these three marks, along with any other goals you want to achieve by taking it. Once you decide on your course, enjoy the process and all the exciting tools you’ll learn in your education. Good luck on the journey!

Darian Kovacs is the Founder of Vancouver based SEO company Jelly Digital Marketing & PR, jellymarketing.ca.