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How to Get a Job in Marketing – A Guide for Young Pros

By May 5, 2014April 21st, 2015Careers

If you’re a young professional looking to launch a marketing career, this is the time. The last ten years has seen incredible changes in our industry due to the digital movement and access to information.

Greater access to information has not only changed marketing, but has given young professionals the ability to slingshot themselves past more tenured marketers who have chosen to rely on their experience instead of facing the cutting edge of change.

In fact, nine times out of ten, I prefer to hire recent college grads over experienced marketers who feel that experience can stand in for expertise. Qualities that I look for are good writing, analytical skills, a healthy dose of curiosity, and an unrelenting drive to learn–which is perhaps the most valuable trait that someone can possess. There’s a big difference between people who throw up their hands with an emphatic “I don’t know,” and others who can figure anything out in 5 minutes with a Google search bar.

We’re also looking for young pros who have put themselves in a position where moving into a career in marketing, advertising, or PR is a natural progression. This means that–in addition to a specialized field of study–ideal candidates have a couple of marketing internships in-hand and have picked up or been exposed to some of the key technical skills and platforms in our industry.

If you’re looking to put yourself in that position, here’s a couple of things we recommend:

Pick Up Some Design Skills in Adobe Creative Suite

Adobe Photoshop and InDesign are a couple of the fundamental programs used by marketers and designers. Knowing how to use these programs is never a waste. If you’re looking to take a creative track, I suggest mastering as much of the full Adobe Creative Suite as possible. And, providing you qualify, Adobe also offers great discounts to students.

Become a WordPress Power User

WordPress and basic HTML skills are a must. Many students get some experience with WordPress in class, but having experience with advanced themes, detailed theme options, short codes, and plugins goes a long way.

Learn Your Way Around Google Analytics

If you’re really looking to go the distance, Google Analytics offers a certification program. It’s pretty heavy and time consuming, but it’s definitely a worthwhile investment for your marketing future. Otherwise, a few online tutorials and a couple of hours playing in an active analytics account can go a long way.

Get Certified in Inbound Marketing from the Hubspot Academy

Hubspot offers the best digital marketing training academy available anywhere, as far as I’m concerned. Their first training program is available for free at hubspot.com and covers the basics of digital marketing over a series of 8 video presentations with assigned reading for each. You’ll come out with Inbound Marketing Certification and a good understanding of digital marketing.

Hubspot’s Inbound Marketing training is a prerequisite to working at our agency and is followed up by advanced post-hire Hubspot training.

These are just a few examples of what’s available and there are definitely more depending on your specific area of interest. If you’re seeking a career in the industry and would like some additional direction, please don’t hesitate to shoot me an email. The bottom line is, as an up-and-comer, everything you learn builds your personal brand and ups the equity of your professional stock. If you do the right things to prepare yourself for your dream position, you’ll find yourself there.

Interested in a career at Alaniz?  Check current openings at our agency.