Erik Hernal, From Student to Hiring Partner – An Accelerator Case Study

When Erik Hernal first started his career as a freelance copywriter, he was taking small gigs from any client willing to give him a shot. Despite landing a part-time internship with an L.A. based tech startup, Erik knew he wanted more – he just didn’t know how to get it. That’s when he found Acadium’s Accelerator program.

When he first heard about the program, he was drawn to the idea of the Income Share Agreement, a system where he paid zero cost upfront, and only had to pay after he landed a job and was making a stable income.

“The ISA system is risk-free. It gives everyone that wants to learn and grow a fair chance.” 

After signing up, Erik was able to start taking courses taught by industry professionals, was paired with a business to get hands-on experience, and was able to connect with mentors who he could reach out to whenever he needed to answer his questions about digital marketing, getting hired, and advancing his career.

“Your actions have a real impact on the businesses that you’re working with — you’re applying personalized feedback really fast which I think accelerates the learning process.”

Not only did Erik managed to prepare himself for today’s job market and gain practical experience, he was able to build his professional network and connect with other career-driven students just like him who were enrolled in his cohort.

“The community here is really special, everyone loves to grow and learn from each other, and from the coaches. It’s really helped my network grow and has opened up doors for me and new opportunities in the marketing space.”

Erik found that compared to traditional schooling, retaining the knowledge was much easier because of the personalized, one-on-one feedback his instructors and mentors provided.

“You know where you need to improve and can apply things faster and ultimately get deeper and richer learning.”

After leaving the program, Erik was able to get help crafting his resume and on-demand coaching for job interviews. Equipped with new knowledge and experience, Erik quickly landed himself a position as the head of growth at the lead gen agency, Cleverly.

“After the program, I felt more career-ready. I knew that first and foremost my resumé was excellent because I had a pro actually review and walk me through it.”

After seeing the skills and experience that Erik brought to the table, Cleverly has since signed on as a partner of the Accelerator program and is now looking to hire directly from new cohorts. Erik says that any student who is considering joining the accelerator program should take a look at his success story and sign up. It could be the first step to a new career in digital marketing!

“Just take the plunge, take the leap and you won’t regret it.”