Ever get the feeling you’re missing out on something? As if your dreams are on the horizon, one big, brave leap away?
We’ve been there. And so has Nicole Kahansky.
After cutting her teeth driving national, continental and global public relations campaigns for healthcare and consumer goods giants, Nicole was ready for a change.
A passionate creative, digital marketing’s experimental, measurable and inventive approach drew her in — but she’d need to upskill, grow her network, and build confidence to access the space.
Enter Growclass.
With our course and community of champions, Nicole kickstarted her new career as Hypercontext's Content Marketing Manager.
Nicole’s story is a masterclass on trusting your gut, taking the leap, and opening yourself up to the potential for more (because you are oh-so-worthy of it).
We caught up with her to find out how she did it, and how you can do the same.
Enrollment is sold out for Growclass. Join our waitlist to be first in line for our next program.
Mariam: You managed to pivot your career in the middle of a pandemic. How did you pull that off?
Nicole: I was working in PR, and, for a while, had been thinking about making a change. I wanted to build on my skills and see the impact of my work in a more measurable way.
Marketing has always interested me. I knew some basics, but there was a gap in my knowledge that could keep me from accessing the right roles in tech and digital marketing.
Honestly, I wasn’t even sure what role would be best for me.
So, in January, I decided to take Growclass. There's a lot of courses where you wonder, “is this really going to help? Or will I just end up reviewing a theory I already know?” But Growclass didn't seem that way. It was actionable.
Through the course, I started talking to people who were established in that space, and realized that content marketing is where I want to be. I didn't even know content marketing was an option for me until I took the course.
I love writing, I love creating content — it was such a great fit with my background in PR. So I started applying for content marketing roles.
Growclass helped make this pivot a reality.
Hiba, who's my manager now, is part of the Growclass community. She posted a job, now my job, in Slack. But at the time I was in a bit of a funk. You know, job application fatigue. So I left it for a while.
But then, someone from the Growclass team reached out and said “you should apply for this.” So I re-read the job description, and thought “yeah, I should apply for this. It looks great.”
A few weeks prior, I heard Hiba speak at a workshop she held with Growclass. From it, I could tell that her marketing team was empowered to make a meaningful impact on their company. They valued marketing, and that meant Hiba was able to thrive and grow. That’s what drew me in.
Beyond that, Growclass taught me a ton about digital marketing. PR overlaps with marketing, so, before the course, I understood plenty of concepts at a basic level. But Growclass helped deepen my understanding: to feel comfortable executing — and confident talking — about what I know.
For example, I knew what SEO was, and had a handle on some basic things like keywords. But there was a lot I wasn’t familiar with, like the value of proper metadata or backlink building. It’s funny because I’d been doing a form of backlink building for years in PR — getting people to mention your brand in their articles — but I wasn’t aware of how it related to SEO.
This type of knowledge was critical for me to successfully move into digital marketing.
And honestly, without Growclass, I could have learned it, but it would have been a lot harder to get past an interview.
Aside from the knowledge itself, the community was invaluable. It's how I have my job. Because I wouldn't have known about the job. It was through the Growclass Slack that I found out about it and was able to connect with my hiring manager. And then it was through that, that I had the knowledge to interview.
Mariam: There are hundreds of marketing courses online. What made Growclass stand out?
Nicole: A friend who worked at a tech company recommended it, though they weren’t the only person in my network to do so. That made me serious about the course from the get-go.
The instructors looked incredible (and they are). Everything you learn is actionable. But what really convinced me to sign up was the community.
There’s an active Slack community, live Q&As, small study groups, tutorials where you can ask questions from and connect with instructors — it’s not a course where you just sit and watch videos by yourself.
Mariam: The community is one of abundance. There’s no scarcity mindset. No one is like, "I have to keep my cards to myself, because I'm scared that if I share this with you, you'll compete with me.”
Nicole: It was such a refreshing mindset.
Everyone’s nice, there’s no stupid questions. You won’t feel intimidated, which is really important when you’re learning something new.
The community is filled with smart, successful people, without ego. Everyone’s there to learn and figure things out together (even after the course itself is over).
Mariam: What would you say to convince a friend to join this wonderful, friendly community?
Nicole: It’s funny because I actually got my cousin to join! So I can tell you word-for-word!
He’s a one-person marketing team, and he texted me asking if Growclass was really worth it. I said, "I got a job from it. So it was for me. It’s a great community to turn to for guidance."
So, if I was talking to a friend, I would say "100%, you should take it."
The information you learn is actionable. It's really easy to understand. It's interesting and engaging.
Most of all, it's an amazing community of supportive, kind super smart people that are eager to learn and make meaningful connections.
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