How to Land Your First Job in Marketing
Marketing is a vast field and there are so many avenues that you can go down. If you’ve recently finished a market degree or you’re hoping to switch over to marketing from a completely different career, you might be searching for your first ever marketing role.
Applying for any job can be daunting and the marketing industry is no different. With the number of marketing graduates increasing every year, the competition has never been higher. When you apply for a marketing role, it’s likely that you’re going against hundreds of other hopeful applicants.
How to Land Your First Marketing Role
Because the competition is so fierce, you need to be on top of your game at every stage of the application process. Keep reading to learn more about how to maximize the chances of landing your first ever marketing job.
Identify Your Chosen Area of Marketing
There are hundreds of different areas within marketing and many roles within these areas. Usually, for your first marketing role, you’ll start as a marketing assistant and work your way up from there.
Some of the most common types of marketing include:
- Affiliate
- Branding
- Content
- Inbound
- Influencer
- Market research
- Product
- Sales
- SEO
- Social media
Consider which area aligns with your experience, qualifications, and preferences. Some marketing roles may require you to complete tasks in multiple areas of marketing.
Create a Great Resume
You may already have a resume template onto which you can add the relevant details to apply for marketing jobs. If not, use a free resume builder to create a top-quality resume.
Make sure to detail all of your qualifications and work experience but try and highlight how they’re relevant to marketing. You’ll want to highlight why your expertise and skills make you great for a marketing role.
Create Your Own Content
Marketing is a practical role. Hiring managers will want to see that you’re a hands-on individual and have taken your own initiatives in marketing.
Creating your own content enables you to build a strong portfolio that you can present to hiring managers. It also enhances your skill set and gives you more to talk about during the interviews.
Start creating your own content for at least a few months before applying for professional marketing roles. You could start a blog, produce a weekly podcast, or post YouTube videos. If you don’t want to post online content, create a mock social media marketing strategy to include in your portfolio.
Be Enthusiastic
Marketing managers and employers want to hire candidates who are genuinely passionate about the field. Showing your confidence and enthusiasm in your interviews is going to maximize your chances of success.
However, it’s important to also be natural and authentic in your interviews. It’s going to be obvious to the hiring manager if you’re pretending to be interested in a certain area of marketing.
Be genuine about your interests, and make sure to highlight your prior experience, skills, and passions in every answer that you provide.