If you’re on a quest to land an entry-level marketing role, buckle up for an exhilarating ride. I’ve got five fantastic tips that will have you conquering the marketing world in no time, all while sharing my own story that began during my music college days. Be sure to apply these tips because as a marketing manager, I’ve seen that many people without any experience or knowledge about marketing will also apply for entry-level roles. As you want to work in marketing you should stand out.
Build your own marketing portfolio or audience before joining a start-up
Picture this: I was a music enthusiast studying in college, but my heart was equally smitten with marketing. So, I took a leap of faith and started a blog where I wrote about marketing for artists, writers, and all others in the entertainment industry (Entertainment Marketing: ENMA). In the first six months, I saw my audience grow from 20 readers to 1,000 readers per week. Eventually, the blog was evidence that I still studied and practiced marketing while being in music for four years. This helped me to land my first marketing role as they could see that I loved marketing.
Starting the blog not only let me hone my writing skills but also ignited my love for audience engagement. Remember, starting a blog on your passion can be your launchpad to building a personal brand and gaining invaluable marketing experience. And the best thing about it, you are able to share what you’ve created in your CV when you apply for jobs. So, here are 3 things you can easily do to show that you understand and love marketing:
- Create an Instagram account focused on photography
- Create a blog about a subject that you love
- Help a small business or NGO with their social media
- Start a (video) podcast and interview people
By building a portfolio you will show that you are willing to spend your time learning more about marketing. I’ve always used this as a key indicator when hiring people.
Don’t be boring: Create a good-looking CV
One of the things that I am most surprised by is the amount of boring CV’s that I receive. Most people who apply for roles in marketing use their CVs to show that they don’t know anything about standing out or showing their skills. If you can’t do this with your own CV, it will be hard to do it for a company that you don’t fully understand yet. So, a few quick pointers on how your CV should be different when you apply for marketing:
- Share results: No matter what role you previously had, share metrics. As marketing consists of data and creativity, it’s important to include data as it will demonstrate how you think about your work. For example:
Fast-food employee: Focused on improving the speed and quality of packing burgers.
Blogger: Grew my monthly traffic from 300 to 1,500 monthly readers. - Be bold: This is especially important when you apply at a start-up or scale-up. Sometimes entry-level roles receive up to 150 applications. Imagine having to go through all those CVs. You can imagine that it takes tons of time. So your role is to make your CV as easy to understand as possible.
Example of a bad versus a good CV for entry-level marketing roles:
Shortly explain why a company should hire you
Almost nobody sends motivational letters anymore. That’s a good thing because most of the time they are a recap of what is already in your CV. So, if you want to stand out, visit the page of the company that you would like to join and use the following template to write your motivational letter:
Hi …..,
In my CV you can see my experience, but I just wanted to let you know that I can help CompanyX to include their goal or mission as I’m eager to apply my existing experience as well as to learn new skills and apply those to CompanyX. The reason that I’m leaving CompanyA is that I feel like I’m not developing as fast as I want. If you have any questions about my experience feel free to call me.
Remember, this advice applies to start-up and scale-up entry-level marketing roles. You might not even have a previous employer, but that’s okay. Then leave that sentence out. The reason that you want to include their goal or mission is to show that you know to what company you are applying. Here are some examples:
- I just wanted to let you know that I can help AgencyX to boost the shopping ads of your customers as I’m eager….
- I just wanted to let you know that I can help SaaSX to reach business decision makers regarding blabla software as I’m eager….
- I just wanted to let you know that I can help CompanyX to get more customers to buy product Y as I’m eager….
Start now: pimp your CV and start applying
All right, now stop reading about how to get your dream job and start acting. Step number one is to upgrade your CV. Include a good picture (or make one if you don’t have it yet). Include your address, experience, and proof (references or even a review). Check your CV, email, and letter with a grammar checker like Grammarly or ChatGPT.
Don’t think too long about applying to a company. If you’re looking for an entry-level marketing role, don’t be afraid that you don’t have all the experience they require. Just show that you are able to quickly learn and that you are a self-learner. You will read books, go on YouTube, and ask experts in your network to learn. Eagerness is the number one trait of entry-level marketing roles and I’m sure that if you are reading this, then you are one step ahead of others applying for the same role.
