How to Market Yourself for a Marketing Job

How to Market Yourself for a Marketing Job

If you are seeking a marketing job, this post will help you learn how to make your application most effective in getting the job.

In this day and age, no matter what company you are applying for or which position you envision yourself commandeering, in order to get it, you have to (at the very least) market yourself better than anyone else.

The ironic thing is that those of you who are looking for a marketing job (whether it is your first or your tenth) should know this better than anyone. Out of every career, you recognize the power of branding — the importance of a creative hustle — and that it really is the little things that make something or someone stand out.

Maybe you have spent months sending out crafted cover letters and resumes only to hear silence from the other end. Maybe you like your job, but want to take your career a step further and therefore have your sights set on another marketing position at a different firm.

Whatever the scenario is and wherever you are on the career ladder, you are going to have to pull out all the stops and employ your marketing skills to get the attention of those you need it from most.

Here is how to market yourself for a marketing job.

1. Pre-Application

• Brainstorm which role you want

Before you send out another cover letter, I want you to take some time to sit with yourself and contemplate your skills honestly. What is it about you that it so valuable to a company? Why are you their perfect fit for the marketing team?

If you make it to the interview round, they are going to ask you questions like these anyway, so it helps to have previously thought about them. But the value that comes from doing it prior to applying is that you can then direct your attention to marketing roles and companies that align with what you actually want to do and are good at doing. Don’t just apply for every job posting that has “marketing” in it.

• Build the skills for that role

That being said, once you are sure of the position you want, it is then time to start building your skills for that specific role. If you are already working in marketing, maybe ask your supervisor for some extra tasks or for some opportunities to collaborate with other teams.

Shadow someone who is working in the area that you want to be working in. This is especially important if you are starting out in your career, as you don’t want to pigeon-hole yourself in one area of marketing too quickly.

If you know you want to be in marketing and it is your first job, take whatever position you are offered and then branch out to learning from all the different sides.

• Do the basic stuff

Before we get into the special tricks that marketers have up their sleeves, make sure you also do the basic things that everyone else does. Update your LinkedIn profile, polish up your resume, and have some recommendations ready to go.

These alone probably aren’t going to get you the job you want, but it doesn’t hurt to spend 30 minutes getting everything up to speed.

• Do your research

This should go without saying, but when you decide to apply for a job, do your homework on the company and position. You can genuinely show your interest during the interview process by having an in-depth knowledge of the company and post.

After you have completed the primary assignments, it is time to move on to the valuable substance! When deciding a course of action to win a new job, just think of utilizing the strategies that you would use in any of your marketing positions.

2. Application

• “Market your brand”

As I mentioned earlier, you out of everyone should know the intrinsic value that comes with a compelling brand marketing strategy. This is true for the companies you will work for and for your own personal brand.

Develop a mission statement to help you clarify and stick to your brand. Socialize your brand through social media, networking, online groups, and career fairs.

Everything you do, from your resume to your online profiles to your interview, should come with the intention of making it very easy for an employer to evaluate your candidacy based on how you are individually qualified and how you are better equipped than the competition

• Add value to the company before you start

Out of everything you read in this article, this point will take you the furthest. Whether you are in the fourth-and-final-round of interviews or are cold-emailing a CEO, you must continuously be providing value to the company. This is the only way you are going to get a response.

Aim to keep yourself at the front of their minds, while also providing value. This will mean different actions in various scenarios, but maybe you come across an article that relates to something you talked about in an interview. Send it over to them with some reflections on how the information could be utilized in their firm.

Many people who are serious about raising their position will write a 90-day marketing plan. This is usually one of the steps in the interview process, but by providing it from the get-go, you are showing your hard work, seriousness and talent.

That being said, these tips are not likely to work if you are applying for a marketing job that is far above your experience level. Even if you think you have cutting-edge marketing ideas and see hundreds of ways that a firm is not capitalizing on opportunities, if you are still early on in your career, then you aren’t going to get them (nor do you deserve to).

No matter how much you market your brand and creatively hustle, you are probably not going to hear back if you are applying for Manager, Director, or Vice President Marketing level roles with only a few years of experience.

Instead, focus on successfully executing your ideas from the position you already have. If you are interested in having one of these higher level titles later on in your career, learn how to effectively manage and motivate others, how to successfully market different products and services, and deal with the politics within an organization.