Started from the bottom and I’m still [kinda] here
I initially decided on my career trajectory by combining my interests of social media and advertising. I first looked into a career in social media marketing, but later found an abundance of jobs in digital marketing, which is broader but still of my interest. Ever since I have been immersed in various social media networks, I have become intrigued in the different ways products can be successfully marketed. Products and services can be sold in social media through the post’s likes, shares, and comments. Social media has allowed for companies to bypass the traditional interpersonal communication needed for marketing. It also allows for instant communication to a wide array of people over long distances, which is convenient when it comes to advertising.
One month since my post on job advertisements in a career that I would like to pursue, digital marketing is still a strong path I would like to continue on. However, since starting my media and communication studies, I have had an urge to explore the field of Public Relations. I am fortunate to take a course on public relations this semester and so far, I am really enjoying it. I am not entirely sure if I want to stick with digital marketing, but I also am not sure if I want to change it. I do know that they are career fields that I would equally love to pursue.
Digital marketing was my original career trajectory. I feel like I have a really good understanding of how social media affects advertising and consumer behaviors. With public relations, I think it would be fun and interesting to work with a company to better their image and generate positive publicity for their clients. In my current MCS Public Relations course, we look at news stories for the week and we have to determine what went wrong, how the company’s public relations team handled the news and in what ways can the situation be better handled. One factor that I have not looked at when planning out my career is money. Pollack suggests to his readers that “Whatever your situation, it’s important to include your feelings and goals about money as a factor in your career decisions” (63). I still have a lot of research to do when it comes to the money that my dream career will bring in!
For both of my career trajectories in digital marketing and public relations, I would like to work for a cosmetics company. I think cosmetics companies have a big lead in digital marketing and they can do so much on social media without spending too much because they would have “free” advertisements through word of mouth and the sharing of makeup tutorials. An example of a successful company who has used only digital marketing to promote their products is Morphe Brushes. If I work in public relations for a cosmetics company, a lot can go wrong with their products and I think I will do well in fixing any situation and trying to show why their products are important and valuable. These are “industries, jobs, or environments that match [my] interests and needs right now” (50).
Some of the stresses of focusing on my career path are my lack of experience and skills. It seems like many jobs nowadays require some sort of “experience” in each field. Along with experience comes the skills learned in order to get the job done. I have not had any studies in marketing or advertising, so I will struggle in learning background information and current ideas of that industry. I will be basing my knowledge based on personal experiences rather than actual studies and practices. With public relations, I also lack any experience. Through my single related class, I have learned a few skills like how to create press releases, but there is so much more to learn. One way to relieve this stress would be for me to find a mentor in the career that I am strongly interested in. According to Pollack, “A mentor is a professional adviser who agrees to provide expertise to mentees, or proteges, in order to help them build and succeed in their career, develop their skill set and experience, and build their networks” (80).
One idea that scares is me is the idea that even though I am trying to plan my future career right now, there is a huge possibility that it will not be set in stone after I graduate. In chapter 3, Pollack states, “One of the reasons that attaining your first job out of college can be so challenging is because it’s the first divergence from the prescribed plan that you’ve been following for you whole life so far (49).
