When you are looking for a career that grants you flexibility, potential for advancement, and a great deal of versatility, you can’t do much better than a career in marketing. Marketing is a field that requires those who work in it to be creative problem solvers with the ability to identify and implement the best solutions for clients that will provide the desired results.
Communication, organization, and resourcefulness are all necessary traits of the successful marketing professional. Even though you might already have a few of the required skills and traits needed to be successful in the field of marketing, figuring out exactly how to get started with a career in marketing is a different matter entirely.
The fact of the matter is that there are many ways in which you can start a career in marketing. Some opt to jump right in and learn on the job, while others take a long-term approach and earn a degree or two in marketing. Since there is so much versatility in the field of marketing, there isn’t just one way to get your own career started.
That being said, there are several steps you can take in order to set yourself up for the greatest chances of success. While everyone’s journey is going to be different, it is possible to take the right steps to starting your own exciting career in the field of marketing.
With that in mind, here are a few tips to consider when your goal is to acquire the skills and talents necessary to get your own career in marketing started off on the right foot.
Educate Yourself
Even though it isn’t technically necessary to earn a degree in order to get your career in marketing started, more and more professionals are opting to do so. This is due to the fact that finding success in marketing requires you to learn how to use various marketing tools, how to create solid campaigns using various platforms, and how to stay in touch with the ever-changing landscape of modern marketing.
The level to which you choose to take your education in marketing is entirely up to you and will likely depend upon how far you wish to take your career. You can do very well for yourself with a bachelor’s degree in communication if that is as far as you wish to take your education. However, earning an advanced qualification can provide you with more opportunities for career advancement down the line.
For instance, a master’s degree in marketing will allow you to become more qualified for higher positions within a company. This is because such a degree will present you with the opportunity to learn more about the technical side of marketing. You can learn how to use Google Analytics to your best advantage, as well as other tools of the trade.
If you are hoping to earn your master’s degree in marketing in order to give yourself the best chances of advancing in your career, but you aren’t exactly sure how well you will manage working and earning your degree at the same time, you shouldn’t let such worries stop you. Rather, there are online degree programs that are designed specifically for students who are in such a situation and who find that they learn better via an online format.
Take the time to research online marketing degree programs to see if one in particular might be a good fit for you. It can help a great deal for you to learn from the perspective of actual students. Take a look at Vanessa Pena, online DMDA student testimonial for some honest feedback about her experiences in earning her master’s degree in marketing online.
Be Willing to Start Small
Because of how appealing a career in marketing has become, you will find that there is some tough competition for the best positions out there. Moreover, many companies are interested in hiring candidates who not only have a great education behind them, but who also have several years of experience under their belt as well.
For this reason, you should be comfortable with the idea of starting small when it comes to your career in marketing. You might even find that it is necessary to work part-time as an unpaid intern for a while before you certainly get your career off the ground. Although not ideal, such positions are how you will start to build your professional network and be given the chance to prove how much you can bring to the table.
Over time and with enough experience, you will be seen as much more qualified for higher-paying positions. Don’t underestimate the value of paying your dues, however, as doing so will grant you the opportunity to truly get the ball rolling on your career in marketing.
Practice, Practice, Practice
Marketing is the sort of job that requires you to be able to demonstrate your skills and talents to potential employers. There is no better way to hone these skills than to start your own blog and then work to promote it via the marketing strategies that you have learned.
Furthermore, by having a successful blog or website that performs well in regard to SEO and overall visibility, you can literally have a product to show potential employers just how good you are at your job. This can help a great deal when you are in the business of competing for jobs against other qualified candidates.
Another reason why starting your own blog is such a good idea is that it gives you the chance to practice your marketing skills in your own time. There are no deadlines or projected timelines for such a project. You can simply work on it as and when you have the time to do so. This means that there is no pressure on you to stick to a schedule, so you can work on your marketing skills with minimal stress.
Apply for Every Job You Can
The key to truly finding success when you are attempting to start a career in marketing is to look for any and every opportunity to gain experience and grow professionally. This means that you will need to apply to any and every job that you can in the beginning.
Since competition for good entry-level positions in marketing is so high, this policy will help increase your chances of being able to land such a job early on. When you have less experience to your name, you want to do all that you can in order to better your chances of finding employment.
For some people, this might mean starting out with an unpaid position. While this isn’t exactly an ideal situation for anyone, it is the reality for so many. Being able to persevere through such times is only going to help you later on down the line in your career.
It is a good idea to take the time to set up accounts on some of the more popular job search sites. You should absolutely have a LinkedIn profile set up as this is a go-to website for anyone within the marketing field. Such a profile can also serve as a great feature on your professional resumé. Just make sure that you keep your profile current and up to date so that potential employers can see just how much experience you have.
Never Stop Learning
One of the elements that makes a career in marketing so enticing is that no two days are the same. In fact, the landscape of digital marketing is such that it is constantly changing and evolving. While this will certainly keep you on your toes throughout your career, it should also inspire you to adopt a personal policy of continual learning.
From the start of your career, the best way to find success is to look for opportunities to continue to learn and expand your skillset. For some, this might mean racking up a series of certifications in various aspects of marketing, while others might find that this means learning from people within their professional network.
Whatever your personal style of learning might be, make sure that you don’t ever allow yourself to become stagnant in your education. Even though no one expects you to constantly be earning degrees, the general idea that you will always have more to learn about marketing should always be in the forefront of your mind.
One great way to ensure that you stick to the concept of continual education is to find a mentor for yourself. By connecting with someone who has achieved many of the successes in their career that you hope to one day, you can benefit from being able to reach out to such an individual whenever you need professional advice or guidance.
Finding a mentor doesn’t have to be overly complicated, either. Just simply consider those professionals who are in your acquaintance who inspire you to achieve more in your own career. It is likely that such an individual would be more than happy to offer you professional guidance.