How to get a job in marketing after college - Margaret Buj - Interview Coach

How to get a job in marketing after college Remember, when you were in your high school and just before you appeared for your final semester, you were told that life would be easier and your career would be sorted if you get great results. Today, you are a graduate and you are clearly laughing at the statement that they made at that time. Life doesn’t stop getting difficult after a certain point of time. In fact, it gets tougher and tougher. You are one amongst those million others who might be looking for a marketing job just like you are. Now, the big question is how to stand out amongst others and land up with a marketing job successfully. How will you beat those many others and acquire that position that you are aiming for? We have a list of points for you to go through so that you are clear about your journey ahead. RESEARCH!!!! It becomes extremely vital to do some amount of web search related to the type of job you are searching for. For instance, if your interest lies in Digital Marketing, you should be thorough with each and every aspect of it. Try to understand the basics of Marketing and why you fit in the role of a Digital Marketer. Then there are various other Marketing field career options such as PR (Public relations), Advertising Manager, Brand Manager, Promotions Manage, etc. You must do a good amount of research and be acquainted with the latest trends. Once you are convinced that you have done your research and inherited all the required skills, your second aim should be to know all the vital details about the company you are applying in. So, whenever you are looking for entry level marketing jobs, research is the most important and the key step for success. Get Certifications Which are Applicable to The Job It is often very beneficial to get certifications. There are many tools that marketing companies often use that offer free certifications. It is often required to take the certification courses related to any marketing field that you are interested in. You may mention your proficiency in Ad Words, Analytics or Social media, etc. but you compromise on mentioning the desired skillset. They will be unimpressed by you if you fail to express in-depth knowledge about the same. So, it is always better to be certified with professional courses or simply get a Google certificate or any other certificate related to your field. If your interest lies particularly in a digital related role, then you can try getting certificates from Hubspot or HootSuite too. Similarly, look out for different kind of certifications for your choice of marketing field as there are plenty. Take Out Some Time to Work on Your Skill Set Agreed that you can easily get certified by Google, but if you really have got time then why not work on your skillset more and more. By simply stating that you know about Ad words and Social Media doesn’t convince your interviewer. For your knowledge, there are courses available for that. To call yourselves as experts, you need to totally justify your knowledge regarding that field of work. Content Writing, HTML and a few other coding languages are few of the courses you can look for. Marketing jobs appreciate candidates if they excel in these areas. Any recruiter would want to hire someone who genuinely wants to be a marketer and that can only be proved if you enhance learning all the important skills. Attend Networking Events It is always better to grow your network and get acquainted with marketing specialists. It is always better to meet new people related to the marketing field and get the right exposure. Many times, you manage to grab a job just by building meaningful contacts. The power of networking is quite high in this era of the digital world speaking of which you can also sign up on LinkedIn App and do the same. You would be astonished how easy your experience of finding a job would be. Find a Mentor In case you are too confused and feel out of place, you can always reach out to someone who hasgot enough experience in the marketing world. That mentor could be anyone- your college professor, your experienced friend, your colleague or even any of your family members. You just need to reach out to people who you think would be the best ones to seek help from. Some good guidance from an experienced person can help you fetch your dream job with ease. All that you are required to do is follow what they say diligently. Work on Your Communications Skills Now you all might consider this point to be an obvious one. We all are aware that to get any job, we need to be really good with our communication skills. But, a big ‘but’, when it comes to applying for a marketing job, you can trick your recruiter into hiring you just by showcasing some exceptional communicational skills. Do not take your communication skills for granted. It can do wonders if you cease to impress your interviewer by portraying excellent verbal skills. A marketer has to be good with this quality. So, if you are missing out on any other important skill, do not be too disappointed because if you possess excellent communication skills, you still stand a chance in grabbing ‘that’ marketing job. Be Sure of What Role You are Applying For Now, we know that you are extremely anxious about the whole job-grabbing thing. But do not fool yourself by haphazardly running towards any job vacancy that you come across. You should be aware of your skillset and you must know which job post suits your profile. Do not apply anywhere and everywhere. You will directly face rejections if you are doing so because the people who hire you are not naïve. They are extremely experienced in what they are doing and they know very well how to scan candidates. Take Care About Your Body Language When you finally get the opportunity to appear for an interview, you must make the best use of the opportunity. You must have really mastered your technical skills by now. But have you really thought about the basic manners which you must portray at the time of appearing for the interview? Do keep in mind that many times they let go of the most skilled candidates just because they lack basic professional etiquettes. Keep your body language correct, be humble while talking and dress in formals. You have a well-planned guide in front of you. All you have to do is keep in mind all the above points and work on it very obediently. Wish you the best in life, you Future Marketer! Kudos! Author Bio: Eric Lyonsis a PR strategist and writer, with extensive professional management experience in the public and private sectors.