What Can I Do as a Marketer Fresh Out of College?

Written By: Lia Wielick

Whenever someone asks what your major is, a common follow up question is usually “what do you plan on doing with your major?” I often find myself dreading this question, not only because it usually comes when I’m least expecting it, but because I honestly have no idea what I want to do with my marketing degree. One of the greatest things about a marketing degree is that it opens the door to so many careers that you may not have known existed. I’ve learned through my research both on Google, and through talking with people in different sectors in the marketing field that marketing is everywhere and everything. From the outside, marketing may look like annoying TV and social media ads, or a person trying to sell you a product, however, this is not the case. Marketing is so much more than that. It can be difficult to know which direction to take, or even where to look when applying for jobs as you finish college. This guide to post-college life and entry-level jobs is sure to give you a better idea of where to start!

In-House vs. Agency Life

One of the most important things to determine is whether you are interested in working at an Agency or In-House. These are two very different things, and this decision may affect what job titles you look for in your hunt for post-college employment. Before deciding that you only want to work at a huge corporation like Nike, it is important to understand the difference between the two and where job roles may differ.

In-House

Working in-house means that you are working within the company that you are marketing for. This means working only for one company, and all your marketing will be done solely for the company that employs you. You will be hired and trained within your company. You may work on one or more parts of marketing, however, oftentimes when working In-House, the role is more specified to one aspect or area of the marketing process. There is also no third party to manage your marketing efforts.

Agency

The agency life is much different than working In-House. This is a more fast-paced environment where you may have multiple job responsibilities or manage multiple accounts for various clients (companies). The life of working at an agency involves needing a third party to satisfy your marketing needs. The agencies work with various companies and depending on the size of the agency, the employee may have the opportunity to touch on multiple aspects of the marketing process.

Job Titles

Understanding the different types of jobs available to you is hard. Most students and/or recent grads are probably unsure of what types of jobs they are qualified for, which makes the search even more difficult. Entry-level job positions are not stated outright in job titles, and although we learn multiple different specialized subjects in marketing, some jobs may not only use knowledge from one of those specialized classes. Any type of job that includes the title “Junior” is probably a good place to start. Another place to start would be looking at the required experience for the job. A job requiring one to two years of experience may be another place to start. According to Investopedia, the market for someone in the marketing field is large but the competition is intense. Ensuring that you are equipped with skills to be able to show employers what you can do is sure to make you stand out amongst the crowd. One of the things that would be useful information would be the job titles associated with entry-level marketing positions. The American Marketing Association listed some of the top marketing job titles and responsibilities. The job titles are things like Marketing Assistant, Marketing Coordinator, Marketing Associate, Digital Marketing Manager, and Brand Ambassador. In the same article from the AMA, ZipRecruiter compiled a list of the top marketing jobs ranked by volume on its website. The graphic below includes the top 25 job titles compiled by Zip Recruiter. This list of jobs may not be solely entry-level positions, but it should give you a place to start when looking for jobs and job titles that marketers can acquire post-graduation.

Conclusion

Life post-college can be tough, but through shared knowledge and experiences, it can be much easier. Hopefully, this blog gives you a better understanding of what types of things you can be on the lookout for when looking for an entry-level job. Understanding the spectrum and availability of jobs that can be acquired and are available to you as a new marketer, will help to alleviate the pain and uncertainty of not knowing what to look for when entering the job market.

Facebook: Whenever people ask what your plans are for your “post-college” life, the question can bring about confusion, fear, and anxiety. This blog should give you a better working knowledge of things to look for when deciding on what type of job you may want after college.

Instagram: Whenever people ask what your plans are for your “post-college” life, the question can bring about confusion, fear, and anxiety. This blog should give you a better working knowledge of things to look for when deciding on what type of job you may want after college.

LinkedIn: Whenever people ask what your plans are for your “post-college” life, the question can bring about confusion, fear, and anxiety. This blog should give you a better working knowledge of things to look for when deciding on what type of job you may want after college.

Technology plays a large role in our society today. Specifically, technology has assisted companies in their decision-making process as well as the ability to determine and understand data. Analyzing data is important for a company because it gives them information that together with the combined knowledge of decision makers, they can make more informed decision that is explained by hard evidence that will increase the benefit of their company.

Data is defined according to the textbook as being “raw facts and figures.” This data is crucial to a business because it is the evidence behind what their future decisions will be. Data analytics is vital to a business because it allows them to explain the data that they have and it explains what they want out of a decision and how to change things that are not necessarily working well within a company.

Information is defined as “data presented in a context so that it can answer a question or support decision making.” Information is crucial in data analytics because it is what the data analysts use to tell a story to the directors or presidents or whomever they need to present to. Information is important because it creates a way for people to communicate the numbers to words and to give the numbers a meaning and purpose.

Knowledge is defined as “insight derived from experience and expertise.” This when combined with data and information allows people to make informed decisions to help the company. Knowledge consists of what people know before they look at data and information.

The combination of data, information and knowledge is useful for people in data analysis roles. Data analysists are the people who look and interpret the data. Roles like this in a company are very important because they can be decision factors when trying to decide about a problem or solution. Today, data analyst is one of the most in-demand and sought-after jobs. The title carries  prestige, as it is increasingly becoming a more important role with the amount of big data we have today.

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to study Spanish for five weeks this summer in Guanajuato, Mexico. Before leaving, I had many apprehensions about going to study Spanish and not stay and take summer business classes to stay ahead of my classmates in my major. Little did I know that being in another country studying another language and culture would actually help me and give me different skills that hopefully I can apply in my business classes.

Guanajuato, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a city full of people, life, and history. While abroad, I learned so much about the culture and the people in Mexico. This gave me the skill to be able to examine all people differently and see things from a different perspective. I believe that this will help me in my career in business because I will have the ability to see the different markets of people in a different way. I had the opportunity over the last five weeks to be able to learn about the lifestyle of the people in Guanajuato. The relationships formed between people, whether it be family members, friends, or business transactions is different than what I have observed here in the United States. The interactions seem much more personable. There is a mutual common interest between the two or more people having the interaction. I believe that this is key to keeping clients, or making a new potential client want to use/stay with your company. Simple gestures such as asking someone how their day was, or remembering things that people tell you about themselves or their family and asking about it makes a person feel good. I believe that having a more personable relationship with people would make them stay with you and become loyal to you and/or your company (it’s also just nice to form more personal connections with people).

While living with a host family, I had to opportunity to truly live like a local. Being able to see what was considered “expensive” or a “necessity” really changed my view on what people were buying or willing to spend large amounts of money on. I believe this will help me in my career in marketing because when marketing large ticket items to people in other countries, it is important to understand the amount of money they have to spend and what they believe a reasonable price is for a larger item.

I learned that a large part of the culture in Mexico is not based on the quantity that you have, but the quality. Americans, from what I observed, seem to be much more materialistic. They might have the latest version of Apple’s iPhone, an iPad and a laptop. The families that I met and interacted with during my stay in Mexico did not have all of those things, but at the same time, they did not want all of those things. There are people that want those things, but the price limits the accessibility of obtaining those items. They were happy to have a phone that was not the most expensive/new phone on the market (maybe a phone that was used by another family member first), a laptop that was fifteen years old (or more) and no iPad because they have a laptop. Items like iPads and iPhones are considered expensive items in America, and for some of the people that I interacted with during my stay, the price was not reasonable for their budget. Recognizing this and having other people recognize this would be helpful to looking at products from a value perspective. For example, iPhones that last more than two years without having to replace the battery, or iPads that are less expensive so that they are more accessible to the people that want or need them.

I received more from this trip than I could have imagined. I hope that I am able to use the skills that I learned while abroad to help me in my career as a marketer.