I’ve been applying to entry level digital marketing associate roles and it’s been really depressing because I never heard back from a single company… I graduated from college in 2020 and am attending grad school right now.
I don’t have a lot of experience, but I do have internships under my belt. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong with my job search.. As the days go on, I’m beginning to feel less motivated in my job hunt. I reached out to a recruiter and he said that it looks like I’m a weak candidate because I only have 2 months of professional experience… What can I do to become a more competitive candidate in this job market? Any advice? ?
Anonymous
01/05/22 at 8:38PM UTC
Network with former intern contacts and professors and advisors from your studies. You have to position yourself as a professional just starting out. That means your network will be full of professionals well versed in your Subject matter.
Let your network work for you. Do some informational interviews to really get acquainted to how your particular industries works and how best to approach that in terms of getting a job.
Amelia Vierra
43
01/03/22 at 10:39PM UTC
My former company has a new college grad program and the Marketing team was especially keen to bring in new/young talent. Most large companies have programs like this, and B2B tech companies (ie not as cool as the Googles of the world) are usually looking to bring in more young folk. https://www.netapp.com/company/careers/early-in-career-program/
JeanneSenior Audit Leader in Texas
179
01/02/22 at 1:04PM UTC
I would recommend looking at the recent graduate programs that many larger companies have. Here is one from my previous employer-they have a position open in their marketing department: https://jobs.bnsf.com/job/Fort-Worth-Marketing-%28B2B%29-Management-Trainee-2022-TX-76131/786079700/
Barb HansenStartup Product, Growth & Strategy
7.95k
12/31/21 at 3:14AM UTC
I agree with @Emily_Keiper's comment below - expand your search criteria to include all marketing roles (marketing associate, marketing manager, marketing coordinator) as most marketing jobs are digital. I would also include Social marketing and growth marketing keywords in your job search.
Also - increase your job search to include startups (buildin.com and https://angel.co/jobs) are two good places to look for startup jobs. There are more contract jobs on angel.co where builtin.com has more full-time roles. Startups can be a great place to get experience (especially contract roles where there might not be a great wage but a few months of work is more than no months of contract work).
If you haven't done this already, reach out to placement companies (likes aquent.com, creativecircle.com roberthalf.com, all of which I have used to find marketing contractors).
There is usually work for marketing people who have some technical skills - do you know Hubspot? Eloqua? Zoho? Do you know how to set up a drip campaign in any software? If yes, then highlight that in your resume and increase your job search to include Email Marketing Specialists (etc). If no, learn a few pieces of software. You can get free access to almost all marketing software, and there are plenty of YouTube videos on how to use each piece of software. You don't have to learn them all (because that's literally impossible because there are so many) but if you can set up an email drip campaign in one piece of software you can quickly learn any piece of software. Even if you don't want to work on the technical side of marketing, having those skills certainly places you above other entry-level marketing peeps.
Anonymous
01/04/22 at 12:01AM UTC
Thank you for the helpful tips Barb! I will definitely try to refine my technical skills to build a more competitive edge in my portfolio!
Emily KeiperFounder & President, GahrCo, LLC
283
12/31/21 at 2:36AM UTC
Hi there!
I can assure you that in any associate marketing roles there will be a digital marketing need. That being said, I would look for all marketing roles such as “marketing manager”, “marketing associate”, “marketing coordinator” titles that will get a foot in the door and allow you to work on digital marketing amongst other skill sets.
Utilize your internship within your months/years of professional experience. If you studied something exclusively in school or were a part of clubs etc. where you utilized your marketing talents, add those as additional time within your experience. (Some may disagree with me on this but I’ve always hired with the understanding that students have to accumulate professional experience in other ways)
Make sure you emphasize or elaborate on projects where you had to juggle multiple tasks, where you had to put a sales hat on, and where you had to creatively troubleshoot. Also, I really love candidates that are willing to dive right in with little guidance and self educate to move their projects forward. If you have this ability make sure it’s heard and seen!
Also, use your connections. Friends of the family, friends in general, parents, old teachers, consider posting on social media that you’re looking for an entry level marketing role. Connections can really help! Please keep us posted on how things are going and note that you are not alone. It is difficult to snag your first job out of school but it will happen! Keep at it girl!
Anonymous
01/04/22 at 12:02AM UTC
Thank you so much for the advice Emily :) I will definitely try to expand my search criteria. Thank you for rooting for me!
User deleted comment on 01/03/22 at 11:58PM UTC
Anonymous
12/29/21 at 7:03AM UTC
This is a highly competitive field so I would focus on networking to gain an advantage. Starting with your LinkedIn profile and conducting informational interviews.
Also conferences and workshops will help gain your access to your field
Anonymous
12/29/21 at 5:42PM UTC
Thank you!
