Want to pursue a career in Digital Marketing, but don’t have the experience? Not a problem!
In recent years Digital Marketing (in it’s many forms) has become one of the most sought after jobs; especially with the rise of small, sustainable online businesses and the demise of large corporations with physical stores. With this in mind, if you have a passion for the subject – you’ve already got a head-start.
The basics
I’ve been lucky enough to be on both sides of recruitment for this aspirational role. When I first joined my current company as a Digital Marketing Assistant I was still completing my Apprenticeship. My employer was intrigued with the Apprenticeship approach so the company decided to seek an Apprentice of their own. Despite the role being very desired in a very competitive market, it took quite a while for the applications to roll in. Why? Because despite my earlier statement about not needing experience, you do need some dilligence on the basics. Consequently, you must stand out. What sets your application apart from the rest?
Digital Marketing CV help
Admittedly, when I applied for both of my Digital Marketing roles my CV was a bit dire. It lacked the luster . What got me through, both times, was the employer’s interest in my blog.
Before this website I had a travel and lifestyle blog that I updated infrequently. It wasn’t anything special, but it did demonstrate my ability to write and be creative. Knowing I dedicated my time and effectively advertised the blog on Social Media to boost awareness and grow my following sparked interest in my employers. This being said, if you want to stand out you need something that grabs them. If you’re more creative show this in your CV design. Canva is free and easy to use, so you don’t have the excuse of not having Photoshop. Perhaps researching is your fascination. There’s always a place for this too! In my current position, the focus is much more on Social and Search Listening; which involves a lot of research and perspective.
What are Marketing employers looking for?
Back-tracking to my anecdote about sitting through interviews, it was apparent that those who had applied showed little passion for the subject. It almost felt as though they wanted to do Digital Marketing because on the face of it you “throw up a couple of Social posts a day, then sit back and watch the clock until 5pm”. Contrary to popular belief, Digital Marketing is much more intricate. In my experience, no two roles have the same job description. I’ve worked on a wide variety of tasks during my career, including:
- Improving websites for user-experience
- Content curation for website
- Blogging
- Social Media (paid&unpaid)
- Email Marketing
- Re-marketing
To name a few.
So, when you go for a position and they ask how you’re going to put a campaign together the worst thing you could say is “post on social media”. There are many hoops you could jump through before getting to that stage. Digital Marketing is much more than Social Media, or it would simply be called Social Media Marketing.
What Digital Marketing experience do I need?
In my experience, none. A desire to learn and passion for the subject is key. As previously stated, Digital Marketing is not as simple as it seems. It is very fast-paced and ever-evolving environment. No two days are the same. However, I would recommend researching the types of questions you could be asked in an interview. Even if you don’t have experience in the questions asked, you can come prepared with what you would suggest to do in a certain situation. It also helps to know some of the terminology, even if you don’t really understand the meaning. The key ones being SEO, PPC, ROI, KPI, CTA.
Future blogs
- Digital Marketing Apprenticeship to executive
- How to prepare for a Digital Marketing interview
- Marketing basics
- Social Media freelancing
- Top tips for blogging
- What are the benefits of an Apprenticeship?
