Does this scenario sound familiar?
You're an intelligent, hardworking marketing professional looking for a new role. You enthusiastically apply to 50 openings that you're a great fit for. To your dismay, you never hear back from 43 of them, five automatically reject you, and two invite you to interview.
You remain hopeful that one of these two jobs will be your landing place. The first one informs you that the position is no longer available and cancels your interview before it takes place. You interview for the other, but the job ultimately goes to an internal candidate who was going to get it all along.
Where does this leave you? Back at the start, applying to another batch of 50 openings.
Looking for a job sucks.
Here are some stats that prove it:
Don't let any of this discourage you because I'm about to let you in on a well-kept secret - getting hired is a skill that anybody can learn.
In this article, I'm going to share everything I know about getting a job in marketing. This advice is a combination of tactics that have worked for me in my own marketing career and the things I look for as a hiring manager.
If you're reading this article, I'm willing to bet that you're not a clock-puncher looking for a job. Instead, you’re seeking the next step in what will be a long and successful career in marketing. I love that for you!
Now, imagine you're at your own retirement party, thinking back on your career. Spend fifteen minutes and write down what you want that to have looked like.
This exercise will help guide your decision-making as you reverse engineer the steps it might take to have your dream career.
Here are some things to consider:
1. What type of company do you want to work for?
The challenges you’ll face working for a small, family-owned business, a fast-growing startup, a large private company, or a massive public company are all different. As such, the skills you’ll need to learn will be different too.
2. What industry do you want to work in?
Is there an industry that dominates your local job market? Or is there an industry that you're passionate enough about that you would be willing to move for? Are there industries you wouldn't work in for ethical reasons?
3. How far up the ladder do you want to climb?
Do you aspire to be the CMO? Would you rather be a director, managing a small team? Or are you perfectly happy being an individual contributor with no management responsibilities? There's no wrong answer here, but it's important to know how far up the ladder you want to climb.
Now, put it all together into a Career Vision Statement like this:
Why does this exercise matter?
The number 1 thing a hiring manager is looking for is relevant experience.
I'll say it again because it's so important. The number 1 thing a hiring manager is looking for is relevant experience.
Armed with your Career Vision Statement, you can narrow your job search to only the companies and roles that will give you the experience you’ll need to make your dream career a reality. And from there, you can focus your learning on the skills that those roles will require.
Now that you know where you want to go, it's time to map your journey to get there:
Social media is the most powerful and underutilized job search tool there is. It allows you to build relationships with your future employers and coworkers before you ever apply for a role. And when you do, there’s a good chance your resume ends up at the top of the pile.
Pro tip: Don't force conversations, let these relationships develop organically over time.
I hate to say it, but most college marketing programs barely scratch the surface of what you’ll need to know to work in marketing. If you're just starting your career, you're going to need to supplement your college education with additional learning.
Depending on what role you would like and at what size company, you can specialize or go broad with your skillset.
You'll often wear a lot of hats when working at a small company, so a broad skillset works well in that environment. I would also argue that a broad skillset lends itself well to being a manager and eventually an executive, if that's your goal.
Alternatively, if you want to remain an individual contributor, prefer working in a larger company, or have an interest in a particular marketing role, you may want to specialize in something specific, like SEO, PPC, CRO, UX, demand gen, email marketing, social media, etc.
If you’re not sure, I would suggest going broad to start and finding what kind of work you like best. Then, grow to become what's referred to as a T-shaped professional (see the image above), where you have a broad understanding of several related skills and a deep expertise for one skill.
So, where does one acquire these skills? There are books, online courses, YouTube videos, blogs, and podcasts. If you're serious about growing your career, there's no excuse not to become an expert.
The first thing I do when I receive a resume is compare it to the applicant's LinkedIn profile to look for inconsistencies. Make sure that your profile is up-to-date and contains only the most relevant details about you as it pertains to the role you're looking for.
Take a look at the profiles of people who already have the job you want and see what skills and expertise they are claiming to have. How many of those skills do you have too that aren't listed on your profile? What keywords are mentioned in their headline? How do they talk about themselves in their bio? How do they describe their current and past roles? What skills do they have listed?
At the beginning of your career, experience can be tough to come by. You can offset this by earning certifications that are relevant to your desired role.
Here are a few that are well-respected in the industry and can be obtained for free:
As a hiring manager, I love applicants who have earned certifications. It shows me that they're lifelong learners and dedicated to becoming experts in their field.
Whenever you earn a new certification, make sure to add it to your LinkedIn profile.
Once your profile is perfect, ask your old boss, a few former co-workers, or a college professor to provide you with a LinkedIn recommendation.
Attending in-person educational events and meetup groups is a great way to learn and meet people at the companies you want to work for at the same time.
Join the American Marketing Association chapter in your city or a local HubSpot User Group. Another great place to look for marketing events is www.eventbrite.com.
Even better than attending an event is volunteering for one or leading your own meetup group. It positions you as a leader and the experience you gain can help you in your next role.
Use these events as an opportunity to deepen your relationships with the local connections that you’ve made online by inviting them to join you.
1. Skill Up Fast at a Marketing Agency
The single best way to skill up quickly is by working at a marketing agency.
Why? Because you'll have the opportunity to work with dozens of different companies and expose yourself to a much wider variety of challenges.
Marketing agencies are always hiring and many are willing to take a chance on less experienced hires. The downside is that at many agencies long hours and high pressure are the norm.
If you're up for the challenge, you'll get more experience than anywhere else.
A massive list of agencies can be found here, complete with ratings and reviews to give you a sense of quality and size.
2. Consider Specializing on a Platform
Many marketers anchor their careers to a specific platform, like HubSpot, Salesforce, Microsoft, or Oracle. Most large companies will use one of these four and like to hire people who are already familiar with it. So if you get good at any one of these, you can find jobs more easily down the line at companies using the same thing.
This isn’t something you need to worry about now but something to consider when you’re looking for your second or third job in marketing.
Looking for a new job can be a daunting task. Just remember that getting hired is a skill, and like any skill, it improves with practice and intentional effort.
Focus on acquiring relevant skills, building your network, and positioning yourself as a standout candidate through certifications.
If you follow these steps, you’ll not only find the right job—you’ll launch a marketing career you’re truly proud of.