After a long week, you wanted to kick back and relax, catch up on some reading, binge-watch some TV shows or just hang out with friends. You were tempted. After all, you've been working hard all week, putting in time in the classroom and at your job, just trying to soak up enough knowledge to make the transition from just another job to a career in marketing. While scouring social media sites, job postings and your favourite companies searching for opportunities to get your foot in the door, you kept seeing one constant – required experience. That's something you just don't have. You're trying but you can't seem to get your foot in the door. Either you get no response or the response is that they've decided not to move forward with your application. That sucks. Have you considered upskilling to enhance your skills and make yourself more employable?
You scroll and replay the advice you've received from mentors and professors, but you don’t feel like you're getting noticed or standing out online. You've asked your friends who've already found internships, but their advice doesn't unlock any hidden room filled with insights to help you crack the code of what you need to do to get ahead. You wonder what they did differently. Did they acquire skills that you haven't?
You're starting to feel complacent. Almost like where you are now is where you're meant to be. You learned a lot in school, but have you considered other professional development programs to further develop your skills?
You wonder what it's like to find a job that doesn't feel like work because you love what you do. You imagine going to work and learning something new – just to be even better at your job. You would continue to learn new things from insights and approaches to technology and ways of thinking to remain relevant.
After a lengthy conversation with a former professor, now your mentor, you've found a way to see setbacks as opportunities to upgrade your skills. Just by taking that approach, you could continue to evolve alongside the profession. You started experimenting with generative AI to practice being proactive so you could stay relevant and succeed by adapting and embracing the technology and growing with it. You thought about reading more. Yes reading. You planned to start reading for 30 minutes on the weekends. All you have to do is find a source you trust and check in on industry news and marketing updates.
But that's not all. You decided you would attend industry events and sign up for in-person events in the city, so you could stay connected. You'd be surrounded by like-minded individuals who share your passion for marketing. Then you could be engrossed in the profession and begin to embrace different perspectives and opinions so you could be inspired by the approach or a campaign that was presented. These in-person events would allow you to hear how industry professionals addressed challenges and learn from their moments of clarity.
You know how important networking is. In an increasingly digital world where work isn't always conducted under the same roof, it's more important than ever to seize opportunities to communicate with mentors, peers and professionals when the moment arises – because there's no guarantee that you'd have that chance again.
While searching for internship roles, new jobs and volunteer positions, you noticed an information session for a program to boost your knowledge. This isn't the first time you've seen it, but it's the first time you've considered it. When you investigated the program more you found that it would help you strengthen your existing skills and build on your foundation of skills with new ones you haven't developed yet. While investing in continuing education wasn't your goal, if it's going to make you more employable, how could it hurt?
You've heard this so many times that marketing is always changing. What worked today may be obsolete tomorrow. Those messages are starting to resonate with you. The more you think about it, you wonder if you're doing enough. You must learn new skills and capabilities to stay ahead of the pace of change. At first, you felt unqualified for almost every role that you found – however, after considering how upskilling could enhance your existing foundation of skills, you're now looking at everything in a different light. Aristotle once said, "Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work." Since anything worth having takes work, why not aim for something you love?
Want more marketing career tips? Engage with us on LinkedIn or sign-up at CMA NXT to unlock free access to our exclusive video platform and subscribe to our biweekly e-newsletter.
"I love that marketing doesn't force me to pick a lane. I get to be the analytical one who figures out the strategy, but I also get to be the creative one who brings it to life. It's that constant back-and-forth between the two that makes the work actually feel like me." – Sakina, CMA Intern
One piece of advice that stuck with me was to stop waiting until I felt 'fully ready' before taking opportunities. A lot of growth comes from putting yourself in environments that challenge you, even if you're still learning. I've learned that experience builds confidence.
"The reality is that what matters most is your ability to use those tools or concepts or frameworks to make actual decisions." - Steven Lorini
