Alessandra Marques – Marketing Manager, Aapoly

Brazilian born Alessandra describes herself as simple and shy, however, when it comes to her passion for her work and education, she’s happy to shout it from the rooftops!

Earlier this year Alessandra joined Academies Australasia Polytechnic (part of Academies Australasia Group) as their Marketing Manager… Read about her elaborate career journey here!

What did you study and what are the steps you took to be where you are today?

I graduated with a Bachelor of Travel & Tourism in 2006 and studied a Master of Marketing & Sales in 2007 while I was working as a Marketing Coordinator for a 5-star hotel in Brazil. In 2008 I decided to study a second language and travelled to Canada to study English for six months. During this period in Canada I got an opportunity to study at the University of Toronto, only one unit of the marketing degree, about Competitive Intelligence. It was a three-month program that I enrolled as a chance to improve my English in a short period of time. When I returned to Brazil in 2009, I worked as a Regional Manager of a Travel Agency for two years, where I developed abilities of leadership, B2B relationship management and exceptional customer service.
In 2013, my husband and I decided to move to Australia to continue in our education. This time I decided to study a Master of Business Administration at Kaplan Business School. During my studies in Australia, I worked part-time as an Education Consultant to provide students information about studies in Australia as I always believe in the power of education and it’s ability to grow your career. I studied International Education legislation; I became a qualified counsellor and worked toward the role of Team Leader and Senior Consultant. In order to continue my contribution to the education industry, I decided to apply to institutions instead of education agencies to continue my career in marketing. In 2015, I became the International Admissions Manager for LCI Education followed by an experience of Marketing Coordinator at SILK Education and today I am the Marketing Manager at Academies Australia Group based in Melbourne.

What inspired this career path?

I have always been inspired by customer satisfaction and exceed expectations.

What did you want to be when you were younger?

I used to dream of being a psychologist and I believe that I fulfilled my desire when I worked as a counsellor for international students. Sometimes students just want to be listened to and I’m always happy to lend an ear.

Tell us a little more about your role and the organisation you work for

As Marketing Manager, my role includes providing information about the courses available for international students, including entry requirements for each course, intake dates and all other information relevant to enrol a student. Another part of my role includes going over admission processes and assessing students’ documentation.
I also like to develop relationships with education agents to promote our programs properly, provide training sessions for education consultants, and participate in expos to promote our courses.
On top of that, I am required to develop marketing material and create promotions and activities based on our annual marketing plan.
I work for Academies Australasia Polytechnic, known as AAPoly, which is a dual sector college delivering VET courses and Higher Education degrees. AAPoly operates in Melbourne and Sydney and is a member of the Academies Australasia Group of colleges, an education group with 17 colleges in Australia and one in Singapore. The Academies Australasia Group has been operating for more than 100 years.

What’s the most interesting thing that’s happened to you in your career?

During my experience as a Marketing Coordinator at Blue Tree Hotels, I had an opportunity to be part of the team that planned, prepared and executed the operational plan to host the first summit of Latin American and Arab states in Brazil, a two-day meeting at Blue Tree Hotels. This event brought together leaders and representatives of 34 countries from Latin America, North Africa and the Middle East. It was a huge event and it was very interesting to be part of it.

Name the best and worst parts of your job

The best is the connection with people and to be able to provide a service/product that can really make a difference in people’s live: education.
The worst is to deal with non-genuine students. This can be frustrating when you hear of them not attending class, failing subjects and changing schools all the time.

What qualities and skills should people have if they want to become a marketer?

They have to:
-Think out of the box
– Be creative every day
– Focus on customer needs
– Be well informed about the competitor, substitute product and everything related to your business
– Good communication skills
– Positive person

What advice would you give to someone wanting to work their way up to management?

I will strongly advise them to study as I did, and never stop – there’s always more to learn. My qualification in Marketing & Sales equipped me with many skills, and doing an MBA taught me the essentials around managing a team and better understanding aspects of administration and human resources.
You have to recognise your lack of knowledge or abilities and find a course that can help you to fill in the gaps.

Where do people have to start to get into marketing what is the standard salary?

I believe people should get their foot through the door with an internship while studying. I did an internship and did my best to learn from my team. I got opportunities to grow within that organisation and eventually became a marketing coordinator. I’d say the standard salary for an entry level marketing role in the education sector would between $40-50K.

Inspired by Alessandra’s passion for education and marketing? Start your very own path to success when you enquire about a Course in Marketing.