How to get a job in marketing without bullsh*tting your way in
Mission impossible? I don’t think so.
Having interviewed a good amount of grads looking to break into marketing it (again) became apparent to me that the British education system is not doing the marketing industry any favors.
And trust me, I am certified to say that — having two UK business school degrees, going through the job search process myself a while back and interviewing those guys in my current marketing role made me acutely aware of how wide the gap is between a grad’s image of marketing and the reality.
Not blaming all British universities — of course it’s hard to resist grants from Citi group, Barclay’s and KPMG that can be applied in a million useful ways — but it seems there’s a gap to be filled. The upcoming series of posts in Melamed Marketing Musings that will follow will attempt at filling it, not from a recruiter / lecturer viewpoint, but that of a passionate practitioner.
First of all, if you want to work in marketing, you have to make the initial basic decision of going agency vs client-side.
Ask any grad what they prefer and you’re met with a blank stare, or a weak ‘agency’, at best – don’t try asking ‘why’ – they have no clue. I also had no clue.
What on earth do marketing agencies do all day?
This is my personal favourite. I have been asked this by so many people, and so many times — even guys with 10+ years of impressive work experience outside marketing don’t know the answer to this. Seems wrong. Along the same lines — why do clients need agencies? What’s a media agency vs creative? Why are there so many?
Nobody ever told me the answers to those questions, but they are all important to a person making a career choice.
What the f*ck is digital marketing?
Finally, the crown jewel question of the 2010's marketing interviews. Everyone seems to think it’s paid search and Facebook ads. High five to Google for retaining its PPC reputation and Facebook for making sure everyone notices (ehm..) your ads, but that’s a pretty sad list. I’ve been asked this question in every single interview for every single position, agency or client side, and the point of view of the interviewer will always vary. Point is, you should know what’s your point of view on it.
The posts that will follow will be written in simple, jargon-free language, with some personal anecdotes.
It’s my intention to make them as practically applicable as possible. If you want to learn about a particular topic – drop me a line here or on Twitter by tweeting @polina_melamed, and I’ll make sure to cover it in an upcoming post.
