Marketing is an exciting industry to work in, and can offer amazing career progression and opportunities to people who excel in this field. If you’re looking for a way into this fast-paced, varied, and exciting industry, then we’ve got some tips and information you need to find a great marketing job.
Marketing is an exciting industry to work in, and can offer amazing career progression and opportunities to people who excel in this field. If you’re looking for a way into this fast-paced, varied, and exciting industry, then we’ve got some tips and information you need to find a great marketing job.
In order to become a successful marketing specialist, there are a range of key sector skills and transferable skills needed, including being:
- Highly organized
- Analytical
- A strong communicator, both verbally and in writing, with excellent English skills
- Proficient in Information Technology capabilities
- Good at negotiation or able to learn the skills
- Commercially aware
- Able to work well under pressure
- Able to meet tight deadlines
Marketing courses
While no mandatory qualifications are required to work within the marketing industry, several degrees and industry certificates are available. However, for those who don’t hold a relevant degree, a great way to learn new skills or expand upon current ones is by taking online courses in marketing, especially digital marketing.
Try free online digital marketing courses
Digital marketing skills are important because of the Internet of Things. Here are links to three of the top free digital marketing courses that can help you enhance your digital marketing skills:
- Google Online Marketing Challenge
- Social Media Quickstarter Digital Marketing Course
- Udemy Digital Marketing Course (rated 9.9/10 by CourseMarks)
- Massively increase traffic & sales for any website
These are a simple way to learn more about the industry, improve your skill set, and make it easier to land a great job. The best part is that they are free, and can place you in a much stronger position when it comes to interviewing for a job.
Useful work experience
It’s no surprise that work experience will usually give you the upper hand, especially if you’re just starting out in the industry. So, if you want to secure a great marketing job, it’s important to gain some practical work experience, as having this under your belt can be an enormous advantage.
Gaining work experience of this type may take some creativity. It might involve a summer placement or an internship, or even unpaid volunteer work. By using your time wisely and combining practical work experience with an online course to improve your skills, you’ll be one step closer to securing your dream marketing role.
How your skills will be used
Working as a marketing specialist is usually fast-paced and varied, which means that each day is different. Generally speaking, the job will include some general responsibilities which you will be able to master by developing your skills through work experience and online training such as:
- Competitor activity analysis
- Developing and contributing to new campaigns
- Researching gaps in the market and customer opinion
- Conducting consumer research and analysis
- Attending/organizing meetings and events
- Copywriting for marketing collateral, such as flyers, brochures, adverts and emails
- Developing briefs for other teams (such as design/artwork)
- Providing creative input on design projects
- Monitoring and recording campaign expenditures
Where could your skills take you?
Working as a marketing specialist can be a key stepping stone to a long, exciting career in marketing. With regular training and development, you could expect to be working as a Marketing Manager in as little as five years’ time.
It’s worth noting that in this industry, promotions are often very closely linked to experience gained and skills developed, which is why it’s extremely important to take steps to further your skills through courses and online training. Then, once you’ve made the jump to Marketing Manager, you would expect to become a Marketing Director in a further five to ten years.
Essential qualities
Working within the marketing industry will require you to be creative, outgoing and organized. You’ll also need to be able to build positive relationships with clients and colleagues, and be happy working as part of a team, as well as independently.
You’ll need to be confident pitching in your ideas, as well as negotiating with customers. While these aren’t necessarily skills or qualities that can be acquired through online training or development, they will usually develop over time. By gaining some practical work experience in the industry, you’ll be able to develop the necessary key qualities to thrive in the field of marketing.
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