How to Kickstart Your Marketing Career

So, you think you’d like a career in marketing? I think so too. You look like the type.

In this blog, I will do my best to set you on the fast track toward your dream career and show you how to learn marketing. Before we start though, know one thing: launching a marketing career is not difficult but it does take grit. And that’s the most important sentence in this blog. Grit, man.

So, got a bit of grit in you?

Good, let’s start.

Am I cut out for a career in marketing?

You might be wondering how you can know if you’ll actually end up enjoying marketing. So let’s explore some of the characteristics that would make someone suited to the role.

• Are you curious about what makes people buy some things and not others? If you’re interested in consumer behavior, you’ll find the science of marketing fascinating.
• Are you creative? Different types of marketing jobs require different creativity, e.g. advertising requires thinking outside of the box, while content marketing requires producing interesting content.
• Are you able to follow changes and adapt quickly to new trends? Marketing is far from a stuck-in-the-mud kind of job, where everything stays the same for 20 years. You’ve got to enjoy change and be good at staying on the ball.
• Do you have a competitive streak? Marketing is all about winning so you’ll enjoy it if you get a kick out of trying to be the best on the market.
• Are you a good team worker? No marketer works on their own - you’ve got to have a good team spirit and be a good collaborator if you’re going to be a successful marketer.

How to Get Into Marketing

Breaking into any new and uncharted sector is daunting, and with marketing being such an all-encompassing umbrella term, things get even more daunting. The good news is that, unlike other professions, there is no one official formula for how to be - you can break into the industry in your own way, at your own pace, and learn about marketing. 

At this point, you likely don’t know which type of marketing you want to niche in, or what you’ll be good at. The following tips will help you advance steadily until you are ready for the marketing role, waiting just for you.

1. Research

This has got to be first on the list. The more you research marketing, the better an idea you’ll have of what makes successful marketing, what the different types of marketing are, and what interests you the most.

You can research marketing by following successful marketers, watching youtube videos (there’s loads on marketing), and reading through marketing job requirements. 

This video by Adam Erhart is a good place to start.

2. Start a side project

This is not a must but I highly recommend starting a side-project to get some real-life marketing experience. Whether you start a small baking business or sell something on Amazon, having a side project forces you into a marketer's role and you'll end up learning a whole lot of things in practice rather than in theory.

3. Work as an intern

It’s worth working for free (or very little) for a while if that internship will help you make the big bucks later on. Being in a business or agency setting will advance your marketing know-how much faster than any online course. You’ll learn things like how to get clients and keep them, and all kinds of marketing skills that will look great on your resume.

How to Get a Job in Marketing (without a marketing degree)

Do I need a marketing degree?

Many aspiring marketers have this question and the happy answer is, no! Although a handful of companies will state ‘must have a degree in marketing’ on their requirements list, the vast majority only care about your skills and experience. In the next few points will list the best ways to achieve skill and experience in marketing. Read more to learn how you can land a degree-free job in marketing.

1. Take online courses 

There are some top-quality, free marketing courses out there that you should take advantage of. Very highly regarded by employers are Google Analytics, Google Ads, and Canva design school.

Google Analytics is a tool that any of your future employers will most likely use. It is used to track website usage, e.g. the amount of time people spend on a particular page, and it can run reports on websites as well as many apps used by businesses.

Google Ads allows businesses to publicize their services by ranking high on Google's SERP (search engine response page) through texts, images, and videos. A marketing employer will highly value certification in Google ads because it teaches you how to optimize campaigns.

Canva design school is not an official accreditation but is a course you can do to learn the basics of design, which would come in very handy for designing social media posts, LinkedIn reels, Instagram visuals, etc.

Once you have completed these courses, you can add them to your resume and you’ll stand head and shoulders above someone applying without that knowledge.

2. Update your resume 

Most people will tell you to make sure your resume looks as professional and polished as possible, but I’m going to tell you something different. Of course, a neat layout and no spelling mistakes are fundamental BUT, your focus should be on STANDING OUT! The company you apply to may be leafing through hundreds of resumes - what’s going to make them take an interest in yours?  This is especially true in the creative field, where employers are looking for people who can think outside the box. 

Add to your resume any and every marketing experience you have managed to gather, stating the skills and experience you have gained and how you think it will help you contribute to that particular workplace. Don’t forget to include any practical skills you gained from side projects you were involved with. 

3. Start a blog

You can create your own blog on your own website, or if you’re not quite up to that, you can write as a guest blogger on someone else's site. Writing blogs can land you some good starting jobs, as people who read your blog see first hand that you know what you’re talking about. In the long term, frequently putting out useful blog content can help you develop a great freelance business.

4. Apply to any and every marketing job

As long as you don’t have to sign a long-term contract, you can only gain from applying to as many jobs as possible and taking any offers you get. You may be wondering how to get a marketing job with no experience, but there are actually plenty of entry-level jobs out there. Every marketing entry-level job, even if essentially an awful, underpaid job, will take you one step closer to your goal. Entry-level marketing positions are available on many websites. One good place to look is Digital Marketing Jobs.

5. Stay motivated! 

The above steps might make things sound simple and easy, but what did I tell you at the beginning of this blog? You really do need a lot of grit if you’re going to make it to the top. That’s the real answer to how to get a job in marketing. It’s not the most talented marketers who end up with the best positions; it’s the ones who keep at it…and keep at it…and keep at it. You can do it!

How can Workamajig help you find a great marketing job?

Workamajig is a marketing project management software and we have a free jobs board, with some of the latest and greatest marketing jobs. 

Click here to start your lucky search!