Brand Marketing to Corporate Communications
Hi Everyone,
I'm currently in the process of trying to shift from a senior marketing leader to focus more on corporate/internal communications. This is a business area I actually feel strongly about and think more orgs need to prioritize this.
I've been in brand marketing for 15+ years, and although I started in PR/Communications, my career has grown into more holistic campaign strategy and demand gen - leading skilled SMEs to deliver, in this case, daily communications and content. I edit, give strategic direction, and every now and then author pieces, but definitely don't focus my time on delivering communications. There ARE certain focus areas (like corporate branding etc) that naturally fall into the corporate comms side. However, my concern is there are folks with more experience in this specific area, as well as people moving from PR/Communications agencies. I just feel like I'm not equipped in the right way.
Advice I would love:
Suggetions for reworking resume for agency work? What would be a practical agency role to go for with my experience?
I've considered taking a step down and going for early/mid-experience opportunities in the corporate comms space. I haven't had much success (perhaps because too senior, perhaps because not enough specific comms experience). Does anyone have any thoughts about if I should continue down this path?
Any confidence boosters would be amazing - this job market is painful :)
Anonymous
01/18/23 at 8:48PM UTC
Congrats on the career switch! The beauty is A LOT of your brand marketing skills are transferrable so I'd definitely highlight those connections in your new resume (i.e. writing, editing, peopling lol).
If you're planning to go the agency route for corp comm work, perhaps look at becoming a Corporate Communications Specialist. Corp Comms Specialist is typically considered mid-level; however, you could also look at Sr. Corp Comm Specialists or Lead Corp Comm.
I'd also use other titles like Communications Specialist or Marketing Communications Specialists, too! Again, sometimes these type of roles and departments still sit together in org charts (you know what I mean!)
PR/Comms and Marketing roles are very saturated and will continue to be because... we're cool lol, so I understand the challenge of standing out against a sea of folks. I'm a fellow PR/Comms pro turned Marketing pro (by accident) turned UX pro now, so I can relate. It CAN be done and you will become a Corp Comm guru.
Give yourself grace because I believe you have the right skills to get in the door in corp comms. The good thing is, you have a multidisciplinary background, and I've found having experience on both sides of the house has benefitted me greatly in my career. Good luck to you!
