CIM Diploma in Professional Marketing

I completed the Level 6 Diploma in Professional Marketing between 2022 and 2023.
The reason I didn’t go for the Digital marketing course was that I thought I had more choice between topics that are more relevant to my role and there was a digital element in it anyway. I am a generalist marketer and have always worked in manufacturing industry and I started the diploma course to refresh my knowledge. It was by far the best thing I could have done.

In tandem with what the CIM learning platform is providing, you get a lot of insights and access to learning material to support your learning and get you through the assignments.

The first one can be challenging but with the tutor feedback you will quickly get the hang of it. Especially the eBooks on the CIM learning platform are of great help, which you will get access to once you start the course in addition to other great resources. There hasn’t been a topic where I thought that I won’t be needing it in future, they are all very much up-to-date but there is a lot that you need to research and I would still recommend purchasing a few marketing books in addition to what you can find on the net. They also help as you will need to provide a list of references and a bibliography at the end of each assignment.

I started to improve and implement things in work straight away even whilst being on the course as it forces you to think about your work environment.

I can highly recommend.

I successfully completed the Level 4 CIM certificate back in 2015 and then started working towards the CIM Level 6 Diploma shortly after. However, after completing several hours of study the balance between raising two young children and work was just too much so I decided to ‘park’ my studies. Roll forward 6 years, during a time of the COVID pandemic, and I took the decision to restart my studies once again in 2021.

It took me almost two years, on and off, to complete balancing full time work and family life but it was worth it. Yes it was hard work with sacrifices to be made but even if, like me, your current job role isn’t purely marketing focused I would still advise this as part of your continual personal development.

Key skills you’ll develop are marketing theory and concepts, tools and principles of project management, research skills, current and extended marketing knowledge, self discipline and writing concisely. Personally I found my elective and final module The Digital Customer Experience the hardest but this was because there was no CIM module text book (mainly as the subject is ever changing) which I had found extremely useful as a guide during the first two modules.

Since completing the course, a few months ago, I have already secured a new job role aided by an industry recognised qualification and a greater confidence in my marketing knowledge and abilities.

I did the CIM Level 6 because I had gotten into a rut in the way I approached marketing and I needed a kickstart. Boy did I get it! For years I thought that marketing theory had no place in the “real world” – until I did my CIM Level 6 Diploma in Professional Marketing.

I did my undergrad in Marketing 15 years ago, which absolutely helped me to learn about the principles of marketing, but failed to teach me how to implement the concepts in the workplace as I had never actually been in the workplace.

Because your CIM assignments are based on your workplace, you are putting the theory into practise in a very real way, and at the end of each assignment, you come away with a plan that you can actually implement in your business!

Since completing my CIM, I have started using marketing theory in my day to day work (who would have thought) and it has changed my relationship with marketing.

It’s hard work – don’t underestimate how much time and effort it will take – but it is 100% percent worth it.

I did level 4 and level 6 CIM courses. I’m a PMM at Redgate and I completed the courses between 2020-2022
Pros:
– brilliant foundation to build your marketing knowledge of models and frameworks and formally introduce you to the wider world of marketing
– big confidence boost and helps you understand how to break down and tackle marketing challenges
– looks good on a CV!
– nice to meet and chat to other people in marketing and understand what marketing looks like in other organisations

Cons:
– feels a little taught to get you to complete and pass the assignment, rather than how to apply these things in your role and ‘real life’
– feels very classical, potentially outdated, teaching the most widely accepted fundamentals of marketing. This is a pro and a con – it’s a great intro and gives you a good jumping off point to start questioning these things yourself
– as well as this, it feels as though their courses/models are taught as THE way to do things – marketing framework overwhelm & knowledge paralysis was real when I was trying to apply it to the real world
– not a very diverse range of teachers and therefore experiences and views!