Shady Selim, CM and Associate Manager at the Heart and Stroke Foundation, emphasizes embracing new experiences, staying current, finding a niche, adapting to change, and how it took nearly a decade of perseverance to achieve a successful marketing career.

Exceptional and Holistic

The CM program is exceptional and holistic. Many people shy away from aspects of marketing they do not like. Since the program covers all marketing components, it forces you to try them out, and nine times out of ten, you realize they are better than you thought.

My Inspiration

The ability to motivate people to make intelligent decisions inspired me to become a marketer. I never promote a product or service I genuinely think is unnecessary or unethical; the same goes for marketing it. When I choose to sell something, I do it because I wholeheartedly believe in the product and its capabilities.

No Regrets

I do not have many regrets. If I didn’t know something initially, it wasn’t the right time to learn it. Practicing what I was learning as it happened made me feel like the courses aligned with what I needed to know when I needed to know it.

Anything and Everything

Not many professions require you to adapt to situations as quickly as marketing. Most careers are systematic and have triggers, while marketing triggers can be anything and everything all at once, so being quick on your feet is something you need to do to keep up and learn what you need.

In Touch

I browse LinkedIn frequently for new articles to ensure I am current. The organization I work for, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, consistently shares essential articles. Hence, we are always in touch with what is happening in our profession. I have also started attending more webinars through the CMA.

Laws, Regulations and Privacy Restrictions

The most significant change in marketing I’ve noticed is the increased laws and regulations on how we get our data due to privacy restrictions. That, in turn, causes an influx of technologies to simplify the marketing processes and make our jobs easier, to an extent, and safer from the direction of legalities.

My Niche

One of the most difficult challenges I faced was discovering my niche in marketing. I had to decide whether to focus on digital or direct mail and OOH (out-of-home) marketing. On the one hand, it might be easier to break through online because online competition was booming while offline competition was dwindling. After discovering digital marketing, I had to carve out a spot for myself because no one would make a place for me, but people would be around to help if I needed it. I had to remember that no one had my skillset, and what I brought was vastly different from anyone around me, which led me to dive more into MarTech stacks and helping businesses discover opportunities using them.

Freedom

The first time I was head-hunted for a position was the defining moment of my career. It symbolized that I had reached a position where my experience spoke for itself. Knowing I was valued and in demand allowed me to be myself. My questions evolved and became more profound. I finally met the interviewer and manager at the level they expected of me.

Paint a Picture

I have been diving more into AI and understanding how to use it. Some of my roles require me to strategize and look into the eyes of a demographic we haven’t touched, so generative AI helps me picture what I am looking for so I can genuinely paint a better picture of who we are marketing to.

 

Plan for Success

I am successful because I planned for it. I knew marketing was where I wanted to be. That said, don’t expect everything to happen right away. It took me seven years after technical training to get where I am today, but I was planning for four years.

Some people get there faster, but others may take a while. Nine out of ten people expect you to ask outlandish questions, but don’t shy away from that; it will help you figure out your stride.

Shady Selim, CM
Associate Manager at the Heart and Stroke Foundation