I’m a college graduate (Northwestern 05). Three months ago I shocked everyone around me by quitting my consulting job. I’m still unemployed but I’m thinking of getting a job in social media marketing. I recently launched a blog on on social media and gaming. (atmvp.wordpress.com) It’s fun but I still need to find a job. So my question is: How do I find a Marketing Strategist position with a company when I have ZERO connections in marketing?
The Harvard MBA says:
Great question, and probably very relevant to a lot of folks who’ve just gotten out of school as well.
The first thing to remember is that “Marketing Strategist” is not a typical job. In some ways, marketing resembles the Army, with a very definite set of ranks:
- Associate
- Analyst
- Marketing Manager
- Director of Marketing
- Senior Director of Marketing
- VP Marketing
- Chief Marketing Officer
“Marketing Strategist” per se doesn’t really exist in most companies; strategy is generally set at the Director level and above, with input from folks throughout the organization.
Given your current level of marketing experience, your best bet is getting a job as a Marketing Manager, and using your enthusiasm for social media to become the unofficial social media guy for your company.
You might also be able to join a very early stage startup as the first non-engineering hire, since even a management consultant counts as a marketing expert when everyone else is a coder.
I think you’re doing all the right things to find a job by starting a focused blog and posting regularly. The next step is to become a regular commenter on related blogs and embedding yourself into the community. In the end, most jobs are found via friends, rather than formal job boards.
Keep up the good work!
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4 Comments
Wow. That’s actually quite helpful. Now I know what kind of positions to look for. And I’ll begin my commenting crusade by leaving this comment on your blog! Many Thanks.
It strikes me as odd that someone who thinks they qualify as a “marketing strategist” would need advice on how to market themselves. Was this just a ploy to get linked?
Jackie,
I think it’s an honest question. My guess is that outing oneself as not knowing a lot about marketing as a ploy to get a link isn’t the brightest strategy.
@Jackie Danicki: No, this wasn’t a ploy to get linked. I’m changing careers. I started off in brand management consulting (which is somewhat related) then moved into financial consulting. This left me with few people to talk to about making a transition into a marketing role. Hence my question to Chris