Meet Neelu Vasishat, our 2019 Social & Content Strategy graduate.

In an era of high prices and uncertainty, changing your career can seem impossible; But that is exactly what Neelu did. Degree in hand, and a heart full of optimism, Neelu decided to make the bold move of leaving her home country of India and setting sail towards Toronto alone. This is her story about a career shift from being an engineer to becoming a social media expert.

Before Takeoff

Neelu started her career in engineering, dedicating a full 9 years to it. However, social media had always been her quiet passion. She loved everything about it, and decided that she would give it a shot.

Not one to make impulse decisions, Neelu spent years dreaming and planning her future career moves. She began her extensive research more than 2 years ago, leaving no stone unturned. During her search, she came across a school called Miami Ad School, and discovered a few programs that peeked her interest.

Having only experienced a short time at Humour Me in New Delhi “I wasn’t sure I would qualify for this professional program, but I would ask anyways.” She would regularly message and inquire about the programs and job guarantees with the Admissions Director. All of her research led her to the same conclusion, this was the program she needed.

As soon as her permanent visa arrived, she packed her bags and jetted across the world.

New city, new setbacks

Neelu had a designed a strategy upon arrival. She would look for work, gain some experience, and maybe later on apply for the bootcamp. Her plan did not go as expected.

Applying for jobs was not an easy task. She felt like she was in over her head. Neelu had never been rejected for a job back home. Unfortunately that luck didn’t travel with her, as she kept getting rejected here. She didn’t have enough Canadian job market experience. “When I came to Canada, I was naive. I thought I’d get an apartment and a job right away, but it took a while.”

It took her a year of trying it on her own, until she finally decided it was time to enrol.

Class is in session

A mixture of excitement and nerves, day one of the bootcamp with instructor Les Tapozi confirmed what she knew, she needed to be here.

“It is fast tracked, and there is a lot to take in, but it was the best 3 months. The assignments were hard. We were being pushed, but pushed to do better. We had little time to get work done, and would get feedback quickly. I loved the instructors and my classmates. They are extremely insightful and genuine.”

Hired before graduation

All of Neelu’s hard work and planning paid off when she took knowledge gained in the key modules, and made big changes to her portfolio. Ambitious to the bone, she set her sights on one of the world’s largest & coveted PR companies, Edelman. After an intense series of 4 interviews, and a bit of mentoring from the instructors, Neelu was hired by Edelman before she graduated from the bootcamp.

The real journey starts now

“I feel like my journey has just begun, and it’s only been 6 months.” Her plan is to keep learning as much as she can. While working at Edelman, Neelu carries the title of Influencer Marketing Specialist. Her main tasks while working on influencer identification is making sure she finds the right person for the brand. “It takes into account a ton of factors like budget, audience, messaging, strategy – how are we going to engage, and how do we see it coming alive in the Canadian market.”

The pace at Edelman slows down for no one. “You need to streamline thoughts and produce quality in a short time frame, and the bootcamp helped with that. I would have struggled at my new job if I didn’t attend the bootcamp.”

Final Words

“I started to feel like Toronto was home after I started the bootcamp at Miami Ad School. The school was been instrumental in making that happen. It helped me more than I thought it would. I have already recommended the bootcamp to all my friends. Anyone who wants to explore a creative avenue, should go to Miami Ad School.”

Enrol in our social + content strategy bootcamp. Classes start September 8th, 2020.

Spots still available.