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Choose your first marketing & communications job wisely
These 10 tips will help communications and marketing graduates make the right decisions during the early stage of their marketing career. So you just graduated with a marketing or mass communications diploma or degree and is clueless on where and how to find your dream job. The decision you make regarding your first job is important as it will influence and shape the rest of your career life. The good news is, there are many opportunities out there for a marketing & communications graduate. The basket awaiting is one full of life, zest, surprises and rewards to come if you work hard, follow your heart and persevere your way in the corporate ladder pursuit.
Here are 10 tips to help you better prepare yourself for this challenging role.
Know your strengths and weaknesses
Understand your strengths and weaknesses. List them down and evaluate the types of job function that suits you most. Are you a good writer? If you are, you can consider positions which involve writing, editing or scripting. Some of these positions include copywriter, internet journalist, editor, script writer, etc. If you think you have difficulty in time management, avoid jobs that demand you to watch timelines closely- by and large positions like marketing executive, project manager, assistant producer require you to be extremely meticulous, detailed and task oriented.
Your first job is the most critical
Remember your first job sets the pace for your entire career life. Do sit down and evaluate what you really want in life. The general rule of thumb is to get yourself a job in a reputable MNC. Once you are associated with a good company for your first job, this will give you good mileage and leverage for your subsequent jobs to come. Another area which you need to consider is the job nature. Are you interested in venturing into advertising account servicing, client marketing, public relations, research or journalism, etc? All these issues need to be sorted out early in your career. Once you embarked into a client marketing position, the chances of you switching into an advertising role, in the later part of your career, is very small.
Use Social media to network
The social media has redefined how networking is done in today’s context. In traditional networking mode, a person needs to take the extra effort to make small talks, appear credible, strike and maintain relationships in the long run. With social media, making friends and building alliances is made much easier with lesser barriers to entry. Use your facebook to your advantage. Try to do a search and add people who are marketers and/or practitioners currently in the industry. Most people are very open to making friends on facebook and once you establish the connection, slowly weave in your recruitment interest to them.
Take on jobs in SMEs
If you can’t secure boutique jobs in big MNCs and cannot afford to wait for the dream job to land, consider taking an employment with smaller companies, design houses or event companies simply to get the experience first. We know that competition is steep and to land yourself in a reputable agency sometimes is all about luck. If a small company accepts you for a junior position, take it and treat it as a chance to learn more diverse skills. In smaller set up, you’ll learn to multi-task and pick up broad based skills like administration, logistics, secretariat and even human resource management. Smaller set ups are also more willing to hire fresh grads. If you find a good employer who is willing to groom you, don’t hesitate. Accept the job first.
Get Familiarise with the trade
Do get familiarize with industry jargons, practices, key industry personnel by reading trade publications about your industry. If you are into marketing, get hold of the Marketing Magazine, AdAsia and make sure you are updated with news reports, journals and editorial pieces in the magazine. As for PR folks, study the media industry in Singapore and analyze the intricacies of the different reporting styles, format of each journalist and media. The way Newpaper report their stories will defer from business times. In terms of the content, different papers have different focus and scope of coverage as well.
Get Recommended
Talk to your lecturers and see if they can give you some recommendations. Most lecturers are still in touch with the industry and will be able to link you up with their contacts. Of course, whether they help is a reflection of how you have built your relationship with them over your course of study. A lecturer will go the extra mile calling friends for opportunities and you’ll be surprised how these gestures will go the extra mile for you.
‘Mobile’ your CV
This is a given but the point here is to save your CV in a thumb drive and carry it with you all the time. If you are the active & assertive sort, you can turn every encounter and meet up into a possible employment lead. Do not just make friends with people of your same age. Go and find avenues to meet older people and chances are that one in 10 people might have a job or at least a lead for you. You need to keep your CV current and have it emailed quickly when you hit on a possible lead. Remember in the Marketing & Communications industry, it is all about speed, networking and referrals.
Start your own agency
If you have the entrepreneurial spirit with a good business foundation, perhaps you could consider starting your own company. You can provide services like translation, copy-writing, designing, media relations, web design or project management, etc. This is especially so if you cannot find a job but have a little more monetary resources and courage to step out. Begin slowly and take on customers that come along. You cannot afford to be selective in your clients unless you have the holding power. Build your base and slowly generate more awareness about your work.
Go for enrichment courses
Go and enrich yourself in the midst of your job hunting. Attend courses which will allow you to dive deeper into the realm of your study. Some courses which you might consider are media relations, negotiation skills, adobe photoshop, effective business writing, crisis communications, etc.
Join trade events
Enrol yourself in some important trade events and seek to get your employment leads from there. Marketing Institute of Singapore organises monthly gatherings and talks for marketers in Singapore. The Marketers networking night by MIS happens every quarter of the year and is well attended by marketers from the various industries. The Advertising folks also do have their monthly meet up but access is rather difficult. Join Alumni events and find all opportunities to talk to seniors who are present at the event as mentors or potential recruiters.
Remember to take charge your own marketing & communications career. While landing your first dream job is important, do not overly emphasize it as there will never be a dream job if you are not fully prepared for the job challenges ahead. We should constantly challenge ourselves, be practical about our expectations and take on a potential job offer when it arrives. Do not second guess yourself once you signed on the dotted lines, especially when you have a second offer on hand. Move on and believe that your first employment will be rewarding and remind yourself to draw as much experiences as possible from this journey.
Article by Dennis Toh, a publicist with Flaunt PR & Communications, a public relations agency that provides communication services to help business owners boost their sales, create public awareness and build credibility with media publicity.
Dennis Toh is also a full time lecturer.
For details, email FlauntPRdennis@gmail.com
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