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Is Marketing The Career For You?

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Is Marketing The Career For You?

Is Marketing The Career For You?

While most people naturally fall into a line of work that best suits their personality, some find choosing the right career to be a long and daunting task. Whether you’re a student that’s just figuring out what interests you, a fresh grad that’s trying to find your place in the corporate world (and terrible job market) or if you’re a professional that’s looking for an exciting new opportunity, it’s always a good idea to take a beat and take stock of where you are and where you’d like to be.

Like many others, the first time I was properly introduced to marketing was at university. I had chosen what I thought would be a cool (and easy) elective to take. I quickly realized that I had underestimated the possibilities this would bring me and it quickly became my favorite subject and the focus of the next 2 years of study. While a marketing degree will most certainly open doors for you, most schools can’t keep up with this dynamic and rapidly evolving industry, making practical know-how, research, and a tonne of reading, your best chance at a successful marketing career.

Introspection

Marketing professionals, more often than not, have come about their marketing careers by pursuing what they’re good at. This is a great way to approach the subject. John L Holland, an American psychologist in the 1950’s, believed that people choose their vocation based on their personality, and chose jobs that allowed them to be around other people like themselves. He believed that people pursued roles that gave them the opportunity to use their skills and talent while staying true to their values.

Click here to read more about the six primary personality types Holland established: https://www.skillsportal.co.za/content/are-you-right-career

While successful marketers usually have a great mix of creative, social, analytical and strategic characteristics, some of the questions you can ask yourself are:

Do you like a challenge?

Do you enjoy learning and trying new things?

Are you creative?

Do you work well in teams?

Are you analytical and goal oriented?

If you answer yes to these questions, chances are you’d be great at marketing.

Try different things

There are several different marketing roles that you can specialize in – content marketing, copywriting, social media management, influencer marketing, search engine marketing, advertising, research and analytics… really, you’ll be spoilt for choice once you get started.

If you’re still a university student, take different electives and figure out what you like. Start an internship at a marketing or PR agency. Not only do they give you the practical, industry-specific experience you need to make an informed decision about your future, but they also add value to your resume, and open doors for you. Build a social network and connect with like-minded individuals. Having great connections help immensely when you’re entering the job market so don’t take this for granted.

If you’re a professional looking for a career change, take a course (or five), and learn the subject. Grow your social network because your unique story and connections may just be the reason for successful career change. Research the possibilities and figure out how to leverage your previous work experience to drive the change.

Click here to read more about types of marketing specializations: https://www.rasmussen.edu/

Meet marketing professionals

Chances are you’ve met people in the marketing field. Tap into your contact lists and start a conversation. Make sure you have a list of thoughtful questions to ask them and be sure to make a note of your findings. These professionals may be marketing generalists, advertisers, content writers, social media specialists, market researchers or even social media influencers. This is a great way to get first-hand accounts of their experience, an idea of what each job role entails, how their days look, and what it takes to have a successful career in their field.

The digital age has demanded that marketers acquire skills like coding, UX design, video production, data science and visualization. Learn about the crossover potential with these focus areas and do some research about the possibility of incorporating them into your USP. Whether you decide to pursue a career in marketing or not, having these skills will set you apart from the rest.

Create a vision board

Start small and create a vision board with 15 images that highlights goals you’d like to achieve in the next 5 years. Vision boards can be a great source of inspiration and direction. They are not only fun to make but they bring life to your dreams and aspirations, giving you insight to your deepest desires. Understanding what you want to accomplish will help you carve out a path for yourself and what you’ll need to do to get there.

Once your true vision takes form, think about whether you would like to start your own business or work for a corporation. Marketing can be an exciting and rewarding career. Marketing roles are flexible, dynamic and offer endless career opportunities in various industries.

Life tip: vision boards are an excellent way to allow your creative subconscious approach problems, think out of the box, and effectuate innovativeness. Once you submit to your creative force, the possibilities are endless. Every business challenge becomes an opportunity. Every unsatisfied customer can be made twice as loyal as they once were. Being able to incorporate different elements to develop the cohesively spectacular narrative of your own perspective will serve as a superpower that you can apply to any product or service.

Conclusion

While choosing a career path can be a daunting task for most, it can also be enlightening experience. Sure, you can take a bunch of online quizzes that will most likely tell you that Marketing is the perfect for you but the journey of getting to know yourself on an intimate level is what will truly decide your fate. Introspection is key. You’ll find that no one knows you better than you know yourself. Remember to be honest and ask the right questions. Don’t be afraid to try different things and explore your options. Talk to people and do your research. And if this still doesn’t make it clear what your choice should be, create a vision board of how you want your life to look in the next 5 years and find a way to make it happen.

If you’ve gone through the motions and have decided that marketing is in fact the career for you, remember that television, radio, billboards, newspapers, and the digital space are just tools at your disposal. The most sustainable way to develop a meaningful relationship with your audience is to set yourself apart.

Stay true to yourself and embrace your individuality.

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Tara Phillips
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