A Guide to Marketing Jobs

Marketing is a seemingly simple concept on the surface, but can you actually define marketing? Do you know how to get a marketing role? Or how to excel in one? This blog will explain it all…

Firstly, what is marketing? According to the dictionary definition, marketing is the process of selling, promoting, and distributing a service or product. But the job involves much more.

What does a marketer do?

Marketers are the ones responsible for promoting a brand or company and the product or service they sell. People who work in marketing typically implement promotional campaigns and strategies, and raise brand awareness, using marketing tactics to persuade and convince consumers to make a purchase from the company, and become customers.

What do you need to be a marketer?

There’s not a single job field that has a universal pathway into it, and marketing is no different. There are three main aspects this blog will focus on, and you should too; education, internships/experience, and skills.

Education

If you’re serious about a career in marketing, then starting with a university degree is the way to go. Degrees teach you the variety of skills you need to fit in with, and excel, in the competitive landscape of the marketing world. These skills include public speaking, analytical thinking, technical skills and creative problem-solving.

These degrees can lead to a career in marketing:

• Marketing
• Marketing and Branding
• Business Management
• Communications
• Journalism

If it’s a tad too late for you to change your degree, you can always extend your education by pursuing a Masters degree in marketing too. Masters programmes focus on marketing in a more in depth way, looking at people management, consumer behaviour studies, and organisational behaviour. While cost and time can be an issue studying for either a bachelor or master degree, they are essential when looking for a long-term career in marketing. Alongside this blog, do your research to make sure your degree suits you and your personal goals.

Internships and Experience

While a degree can help you to get your foot in the door, some marketing jobs desire you to have some form of experience, which can come in the form of internships or freelance work. There’s no better education than actual experience in the industry. 

Marketing internships are valuable because they allow you to gain insight into what kind of marketing you want to get into, whether that be the creative side or the side working with numbers and analytics. Does promoting a product excite you or promoting a brand? The positive of the marketing industry is that the departments are made up of lots of moving parts, so you can see every aspect going on, and helps you determine which projects you’d like to work on.

Internships are valuable currency in the job market. Thousands of students graduate every year and enter working life, so with some real-life experience under your belt, you become a highly desirable candidate for full-time employment. Many educational institutions do offer internships throughout their degree programs, so if you are still in university, ask about internships, and start there.

Marketing Skills

Like any other professional role, to be a successful marketer you need to have a particular set of skills; creativity, the ability to problem solve, a passion for numbers, and curiosity.

Creativity

Whether you’re writing a campaign brief or a business plan, being creative is essential to be able to effectively spell out your vision. In today’s world, grabbing the attention of consumers isn’t easy, marketers must think of new ways to attract new audiences and persuade them to make a purchase.

Problem Solving

There are constant problems to solve in the marketing world, whether that be switching technologies, or having to find a new way to connect with a consumer demographic, but problem solving is an essential skill for a marketing professional to possess. 

Passion for Numbers

Even the most creative marketers have a passion for ROI and numbers. Whether it’s the figures of retweets, likes or video views, great marketers are analytical so they can prove value in their work.

Curiosity

The marketing landscape is changing endlessly, and every day new opportunities arise for brands to promote their products and services. Marketers wouldn’t be able to seize these opportunities if they didn’t ask, ‘what if?’. Great marketers are curious and love to learn.

Marketing Jobs

According to Monster, marketing jobs are predicted to increase by 8% from 2018 to 2028, a rate faster than average for other industries, and it’s not looking like it’ll slow down any time soon. Marketing jobs are essential to every company and industry; every organisation seeks to grow their market share.

Any marketing department is made up of a variety of roles and projects, and the difference between these can be small or massive. It depends on what they’re working with, and who they’re promoting too. 

Here’s a list of marketing sectors and the different jobs to research into:

Digital Marketing

• SEO Specialist
• Email Marketer
• Growth Marketer

Content Marketing

• Content Marketer
• Graphic Designer
• Social Media Marketer
• CRO Specialist

Product Marketing

• Product Marketer

Brand Marketing

• Brand Marketer
• PR Manager

Event Marketing

• Event Marketer
• Event Manager
• HR

How to get a marketing job?

Getting a job in marketing might seem complicated, but it’s not impossible. There are a few things you can do to make sure you’re applying for the right jobs for yourself and promoting the best version of yourself.

Figure out what role you want

Before you even think about applying for jobs, you need to figure out what type of job in marketing you want. There are so many jobs available, so do your research, and use the list above as a starting point. Do some self-analysis and review jobs and the descriptions to find which suit you and your interests most, look into ‘day-in-the-life’ videos of marketers, and find out which aspects intrigue you the most.

Do you feel you gravitated towards creative parts or analytics? We suggest making a list of your wants in a job and matching them against descriptions.

Find jobs that match your interests

There are many ways you can find marketing jobs; Google, job board sites, or company websites. Search Google for ‘marketing design jobs’ or ‘graphic design jobs’ to see what comes up. Then have a look on job board sites like Indeed, where you can search by salary, location or company size. The last option would be to search for available jobs on company websites. If you’re set on companies you’d love to work for, this could be the best option for you. 

Market yourself

The last thing you need to do is market yourself. Other than an application, CV and cover letter, there are other ways to market yourself and boost your chances as a candidate. Use your social media to make a creative or professional account and ensure your LinkedIn is up to date and used effectively. You can also develop a portfolio on free platforms like Wix, to display your work visually and in an easily accessible manner for employers. The last thing to do is Google yourself to make sure all results, if any, are a positive reflection of yourself.

Marketing is an essential part of every company, and the industry won’t disappear for a very long time, so there’s essentially no rush to get your foot in the door, but the industry is very competitive for this same reason. Follow this blog and do your own research around jobs and what you as an individual want and need in a career. Thankfully the industry is equipped with a wide range of jobs, so they’ll be a job out there for you.

If you enjoyed this blog, we recommend you read our blog, ‘Getting Weird with Marketing’, or find all our other blogs here.