Dear Diary, oh wait not that kind of journal! This is the story of my journey to Social Media Strategist Certification. The reasons for taking this course and the certification exam are many. I could go on and on. In this series, I will give some insight into why I chose to take this course and how I managed it with an already hectic schedule. To start I will give you my why.

Here is some background information that will bring my why to the forefront. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications with an emphasis on Public Relations and Marketing. So naturally this is a great tie in with my education. When I was in college Social Media wasn’t prevalent. I was still carrying around a gigantic cell phone and dealing with dial up internet. Remember…Skaweeenrneeeweeert……Oh the sounds of dial up internet. If you have no idea what I am talking about consider yourself lucky. So back to my story. My point is that I needed to update my skills and the NISM Social Media Strategist Exam Prep Course and certification is a great way to do just that.

Personally, for me, I was jumping back into the job market and switching up my career choice. I like to keep people on their toes, especially my husband who has no idea where I’ll go next. It’s good for him. I was working as a Flight Attendant for 10 years up until we had kids. It made sense for me to get a job that I could be home every night and get part time hours to be a mom. My husband is a pilot and travels every week so this made sense for us. I went into the medical field working at a clinic and loved it. We made the decision once our second child was born that I would become a stay at home mom. I did this for seven years.

Now our kids are 7 and 9 and it was time for me to jump back in. I spent one year as a reading tutor at my kids’ school and loved it, but the hours and pay were not what I had in mind. I had to get creative because I want flexibility in my schedule and also want to make a bit of money. I was blogging while I stayed home with my girls. I love writing so that was a bonus, it just didn’t pay the bills. I really got the bug for social media during this time because of my blog. You need to stay active in order to attract and maintain an audience. I had to figure out how to navigate that world. I sure could have used this prep course then.

Present day I am a certified Taekwondo instructor at the studio where my girls are both Black Belts. I fell in love with martial arts when I decided to jump in and try it out for myself. I am less than two months away from testing for my 1^st Degree Black Belt. I am also doing some freelance work that is in the Social Media domain. This is where my career change has me needing to foster some new skills and brush up on some old ones.

Starting something new can be scary and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit nervous to start this class. While I am not new to social media some of the topics listed in the syllabus were new to me. I figured being nervous was a good thing and jumped in despite my fear.

So while my why is multiple in nature It really is all about refining some old skills and learning some new ones. Why would you take this course and the certification exam? Will it help you in your current job or could it help you land your dream job?

Author: Mandee Kanikula

Mandee’s love for creating things has led her to a passion for writing, social media, public relations and design. As a consultant with Socially Inspired, Mandee focuses on helping businesses succeed through written and verbal communication. Currently, she is adding to her professional skill set by studying for the NISM Social Media Strategist (SMS) certification.

You can learn more about Mandee by connecting on LinkedIn.