When it comes to entering the world of marketing, it seems that many graduates aren’t totally prepared for working in the real world. Here are some things that you should know before you enter the professional world of marketing.
1) Don’t be afraid of numbers.
The temptation in higher education is to avoid the things you don’t like much, like numbers. However, marketing will require the use of analytics and statistics so stop avoiding those statistics lectures. Even if you plan on just working with social media marketing, you will still be looking at charts, graphs and spreadsheets and interpreting and analysing what it all means.
2) Nothing beats experience learned on the job
Work scenarios can be simulated whilst learning but you won’t learn to make important decisions in tight time frames until there is real money involved and a real corporate reputation to uphold. There is nothing quite like the experience gained from real life projects. Getting an internship can help with ‘being there and doing it’ experience.
3) Having a standard CV doesn’t represent modern marketing
Marketing is constantly evolving and so is buyer behavior. That means that the way make your entrance into this evolving industry should be changing, too. Create your own CV template and make sure that it highlights your uniqueness and is set up to show what your value is. You need to be visible where employers are looking and with 89% of recruiters saying they have hired someone through LinkedIn, make sure your CV is all the right places. For Web Design Essex https://webwax.co.uk/.
4) Marketing is a balance of science, art and technology
Many marketing curriculums focus on the art. You craft advertising campaigns, brainstorm billboards, and storyboard commercials. In modern marketing, this art is critical in visualizing calls-to-actions, writing landing page copy and launching products. But there is much more to it than that as marketing can be very data-driven and technology needs to be incorporated into modern marketing. Being tech savvy will help you to stand out.
5) Toughen up
To be successful in the world of marketing, you’ll have to deal with complaining customers, unresponsive sales reps and frustrating clients, for example. Through it all, you have to bite your tongue and let them feel like they are always right. You’ll need to take all negative feedback as constructive criticism and turn it into something positive.
6) Never burn bridges
You never know who you might end up working with. People who you’ve come across and not gone on well with may end up being your co-worker or even your manager one day. Worst case scenario – they might be on the recruiting panel!
7) Network with everyone
It might sound corny but this is really important and you need to network with everyone. If you decide you want to work at a certain company, don’t only find ways to talk to people from that company. There might be many other connections that all reach to the same destination. Get to know as many people as possible as you don’t know who could help you out in the future.