How I managed to complete CIM level 7 and my masters
The following is a short story about my journey into CIM and my experiences, while being a masters student. It definitely is not an easy path to follow but as you will read in my story, it is possible to manage with other activities you may currently be doing. So do not hold yourself back, there is lots to learn and a great community of people to meet.
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You might be surprised to know but like many of you, I was worried about whether I was going to be able to finish my CIM journey. I mean each stage usually has a different duration but like level 6 and 7, it can take you another 2 years just to complete both. That is if you are consistent and attend your courses regularly and do not take a long break between levels.
Why did I do it?
I can appreciate that we are all each at different levels in life, some of you are either working full time, others have more than one job, others have full time positions, a family and other responsibilities. There are those that are also full-time students (some working too) and feel that they do not have the time to do so. Honestly, it makes sense to feel that way, it is not easy and maybe even put you off considering the time commitment required for the courses. I mean who would want to add hours to their week to study in classes, outside of their current routine/commitments?
I was at that point a few years back, but my parents did support me and told me to at least give it a chance. Of course, I listened, reluctantly and started the late-night evening classes which honestly were nice when I started. Despite the time, I was in the presence of different marketers, organization leads and different people of different levels in organizations I knew, and I got to hear about their experiences.
That for me pulled my interest because the classes were not just theory but more practical. And practical in the sense that I could learn from the experiences of the marketers from both large organizations that I knew and SMEs. Those are networks of people that you usually would not always have access to on a day-to-day basis and the experience they were sharing was invaluable.
Thus, my willingness to persevere the late evenings was replaced by my eagerness to not only learn the interesting concepts being taught about marketing and strategy but also, join discussions with a great network of people. Honestly, you are not going to know the type of people you will get to meet in such places, but I can tell you, you tend to grow as an individual once you leave place.
So, how did I do it?
When I first started out, maybe it was slightly easier because I had just finished my undergraduate and was in the process of waiting to join for my masters. So, maybe the start was slightly easier than most, but I did still have other obligations at the time as I was doing other courses and was also a full-time athlete (swimmer), preparing for competitions.
The part of being an athlete I believe is what has helped me these past few years. The discipline of waking up early and being consistent is what has given me the range to do more things than I had ever planned. Yes, waking up early is never easy and maybe you are a night owl, but the point is, figure out what time works best for you and wake up during that period. We all have 24 hours in a day but how we use those 24 hours is what makes the difference.
I would usually wake up around 4-5am, which enabled me to work on different things including my CIM assignment. Additionally, to the waking up early, I would commit to writing a few words of the Research paper I had to do every day instead of waiting last minute to complete the whole. Even if I wrote 5 words it was better than nothing and of course it led to me writing more that 300 words for that day. And this helped me get my first draft ready weeks in advance before the deadline, which gave me enough time to adjust and do more research.
Well, I can appreciate that there are people (including my past self) who like working under pressure and can wait until 2 weeks or less are left to produce excellent work. If this works for you then that is great, keep doing what works for you. I too, used to like to work under pressure for some reason but one day I felt that waiting for things last minute doesn’t give me much freedom and builds anxiety.
So, I changed my approach and with more hours in a day (because of waking up early), I was able to balance more. That is how I was able to juggle doing a masters, working on my CIM level 7 and working. Is it easy? Probably not but you build resilience, agility, and discipline. I am now done with the final level in CIM which was something I did day by day, not focusing on the months it was going to take me. Do I have any regrets? None, the sacrifices I made then have made me better, knowledgeable and I have a certification to prove it. Additionally, it has helped improved my decision-making and strategy ideas at the workplace and beyond.
If I was to give some advice:
You never know how far you can go if you do not push yourself. Yes, it is not an easy thing but sometimes making that sacrifice for a bigger goal, is worth it. But always be careful of burnout, I used to always set time to rest and do activities I enjoy, it doesn’t always have to be about work. I suggest setting a timer e.g 1hr to work on your work each day and stick to that. If you do not hit you goal during that period, stop and wait for the next day unless you have time and want to. Nonetheless, it is about being disciplined and trying to plan yourself better.
Would I recommend someone to do CIM?
This again depends on your goals for your life and where you are headed also career wise. But in summary, yes, I would recommend for someone to do the CIM courses. This is because marketing is the way we live our lives, we are always trying to sell ourselves to others by managing our personal brand. The people/businesses who can package themselves well and are seen and heard in the marketplace, they are able to get the roles/jobs (for individuals) they want or the customers (for businesses) that they want. Furthermore, being in CIM classes not only teaches you practically how to market your brand but also helps build your innovation skills with thought provoking papers and discussions with those you get to learn with. Consider it if you want to build you marketing knowledge and make better and faster strategic decisions. It will change the way you view the world.