The advertising and marketing industry is huge at around 138 Billion USD in 2019. Coupled with the varied and unique career opportunities, it’s an attractive field for many regardless of their background or whether they prefer traditional advertising or digital niches.
But how do you get a job or start a career in the advertising or marketing industry in 2021?
The first step is to think about your skill set and past experience.
Many entering the advertising and marketing industry enter it from either an artistic background, whether visual design, photography, graphic design, copywriting, etc, technical background – could be website coding and development, app development, data analytics and PPC experience or from a sales/business development background. In the latter role, you’d be finding new clients and working to build relationships within the industry.
Data crunching and quantitative analysis are becoming increasingly a major priority for recruiters within the industry, as the rapid growth in digital marketing, both content and PPC, has put more raw data in the hands of marketers than ever before.
While many do have more formal education in the marketing industry, many don’t. Often it seems to be an industry that people fall into a role through without setting out to start that career.
Thinking about the type of company you want to work for and the type of role you want is the starting point! Would you prefer to work for a marketing or advertising services agency or work for a brand the needs to market their products or services? Both are great opportunities and often people will switch between the two sides of the industry throughout the career.
New Graduates
For students and recent graduates, the best way to get your foot in the door is without a doubt an internship or connections through yournetwork to a potential employer. Very often internships are one of the most powerful ways for a new graduate to build out their resume and leverage the internship as the primary means to start a career within the industry, even if the same firm they had an internship at wasn’t the right fit for them.
Networking
Like any job, having an inside reference within the company is going to always be one of the quickest ways to have an offer for firms that might not even be hiring. It’s for this reason, that from the earliest point possible, you should be trying to build your network within the industry, this could be both marketing/advertising firms and also brands that utilize outside marketing resources.
Portfolios are really important!
For job seekers that fall into the creative side, whether graphic design, video production, web design, UI/UX, copywriting, etc, it’s critical that you work hard to build out your own portfolio of past work. For many various student projects and design studies might be included, but if you’ve worked in the industry at all, try to only include paying work or work that you pitched. Only include your best work, often the first and sometimes the only thing that interviewers might look at is prior work. For professionals in the industry, it doesn’t take long to get a good idea of the level of work someone produces. Building your portfolio overtime will be one of your most important long-term assets within the industry.
Digital Marketing is the Fastest Growing Segment
Knowing how to marketing online is one of the most important skills that nearly every job within the advertising industry will require. Regardless of the client, all advertisers need to think carefully to craft their online image and devote a portion of their marketing budget to it. Make sure that you understand the basics of digital paid content, basic SEO ideas, social media strategy, and how to leverage these channels to generate marketing results.
Don’t Forget Smaller Firms
Nearly every city has a number of different marketing agencies that offer a combination of advertising services. While some focus on landing positions at major firms, often the smaller firms will offer more diverse experience and potential for advancement, so don’t overlook working at smaller marketing firms. If you perform at a high level, you’ll have more freedom and chances of promotion at a smaller firm since your efforts will typically be more obvious than at an agency that has hundreds if not thousands of employees. Working as a marketing director at a startup is also a great way to build your resume and reputation, not only will it be a highly rewarding experience, but also give you a chance to be incredibly hands-on while working on all aspects of a young company’s marketing plan.
Video Production
For aspiring directors and video producers, consider working as a freelancer on individual gigs even as an assistant on projects is a great way to get a behind-the-scenes look at how productions are run, in addition to letting you network with the agency involved. Having a strong showreel should be a top priority for any director or video expert. A strong showreel can get your foot in the door on gigs or a job that otherwise you might not be able to get.
Be Proactive
Reaching out to companies you’ve shortlisted as somewhere you’d be interested in working should be a regular part of your job hunt process. Even if companies are hiring at that moment or don’t have any published job openings, you might be surprised at the number of interviews or lunch meetings you get from this strategy. When a position does open, you might get a shot at applying before the position is made public.
About Volan Media
We’ve worked with dozens of businesses across many different industries and sizes to plan content marketing plans. Volan Media is a top Knoxville based content marketing agency, we not only work with clients in the Knoxville, Maryville, Chattanooga, and Nashville area but also work with clients around the country!
Let us know how we can help your business push forward in 2021!
