There’s a lot of excitement that comes with graduating college. You’ve put in the work, you’ve gotten through the all-nighters, and you’re finally ready to step out into the working world with a marketing degree.
Unfortunately, the transition period between graduation and finding your first full-time job can often be stressful. That’s especially true for marketing positions in industries like art and retail since they’ve been in such high demand. Though there are a lot of jobs available, it can seem like there are hundreds (or thousands) of people applying for each one.
However, there are ways you can stand out from your competition in a relatively short time period. Most importantly, there are also ways you can find a job that will turn into a long and successful career (that compensates you fairly), rather than just a temporary solution.
Let’s cover a few helpful tips you can use to stand out, get noticed, and land the job you deserve.
Review Your Career Opportunities
Marketing can often feel like an umbrella term that covers a variety of career paths. In 2020 alone, there were over 52,000 marketing degrees given out across the country. That might make you question your chances of landing a job at first, but you can start to stand out by narrowing down your opportunities.
When choosing which niche to develop in, you should ask yourself a variety of questions like where do you want your job search to lead? What kind of career do you really want in the marketing industry? Once you answer these questions, you may find yourself answering with career opportunities like:
- Content marketer;
- Market research analyst;
- Public relations specialist;
- Account planner;
- Social media marketer.
When you’re able to narrow down your job search, you can put more time, energy, and focus into the skills needed for a particular career. Those are the skills you can highlight on your resume or hone in on to get a leg up on your competition.
Market Yourself Effectively
Having a strong resume, using job search boards, and networking as often as possible are all fantastic ways to land a job. However, when the competition is heavy and fierce, it’s never a bad idea to take things one step further.
When you’re looking for a job, consider yourself an asset that needs to be marketed to the right people. After all, you just received a degree in this exact thing, so why not use it to market yourself to potential employers?
Connect with marketing blogs and YouTube channels that can help you cut through the noise of the industry and learn from the insiders. The more research you do, the better you’ll be able to fine-tune your marketing efforts.
Most importantly, use social media to your advantage. Consider revamping your current platforms or creating new profiles on Instagram and Facebook to advertise yourself and your skills. If you want to quickly increase your social media following and capture the attention of the right people, try some of the following tactics:
- Track engagement;
- Produce consistent content;
- Utilize video;
- Use hashtags;
- Create valuable content.
Social media is a fantastic way to showcase who you really are while letting potential employers know what you can do for their company.
Build Your Soft Skills
Throughout your collegiate career, you likely spent a lot of time focused on learning hard skills. Things like analytics, basic design skills, and PPC knowledge were undoubtedly taught more than once.
However, you might have spent less time working on your soft skills. While hard skills are necessary for career success, soft skills can help you stand out from your competition and find more fulfillment when you land a job. A lot of employers are looking for more than just a fancy degree but someone with the personality for the right job.
However, you should note that you shouldn’t fake certain qualities to appease a certain hiring director. Instead, look for positions best suited to your personality, and market your strengths from there. Look at your experiences beyond your college experience and your college experience itself that could’ve helped build soft skills like teamwork, adaptability, good communication, leadership, organization, creativity, and more.
These qualities can help you stand out and bring a unique perspective to any company. Make sure to let your soft skills shine through everywhere from your resume to the first interview. Not only can your soft skills help you get the job, but they can make it easier to move up the ladder, obtain more powerful positions in the industry over time, or even start your own business eventually.
The marketing industry continues to grow because it’s constantly changing. The things you recently learned in college will continue moving forward and changing as the needs and wants of consumers shift. You have to be willing to shift and adapt to those changes while showing prospective employers that you’re both flexible and knowledgeable.
Keep these ideas in mind as you start searching for a long-term career. If you know you have something to offer a business that no one else does, make sure you let that shine through in everything you do on your job-hunting journey.
