Seven ways to break into marketing and position yourself to secure your first marketing role

The industry has hugely fragmented as specialisms have emerged. There are comparatively few full mix roles around, although a good understanding of a wide variety of elements will help you later in your career when going for promotions and management roles.

Be clear on where you think you can add some value or have some experience. It may be in one or more of the following areas: Social media, search, paid search, website development, website optimisation, content strategy and creation, copywriting, email marketing, events, brand.

Review job specifications for roles you’d like to apply for to identify what you have and what you don’t. It’s important that when you are applying for roles – always better through some kind of personal connection, that you tailor an application to the specific needs of the recruiting company.

Then establish how quickly you can fill the gaps using some of the techniques below.

Whether it is on LinkedIn, running your own YouTube page, doing a podcast or writing a blog, it is important you demonstrate your passion by shining a light on what inspires, interests, even confuses you.

When hiring account executives for marketing agencies, I often looked beyond qualifications and wanted to see a real passion for marketing.

Candidates that stand out in the interview process and those that go above and beyond.

They might be running a Facebook group, YouTube channel, writing a blog or managing an ecommerce store for a charity or start-up. Experience, in the form of passion for getting into the industry, is a powerful way of showing recruiters you mean business.

Use sites like LinkedIn and Facebook to find, follow and connect with the leading voices in the part of the industry you’re looking to enter.

Drink in their content and get involved in the discussions on their posts and begin to build your profile and visibility off the back of what they’re doing. You’ll be seen by more of the right people.

This is a valid strategy at any stage of your career.

There is an abundance of free content available on the Internet to help and guide aspiring marketing professionals, from free courses on sites like Udemy, Google Garage and technology company Hubspot. These can be used to specifically target those areas in your analysis that need further support.

Bear in mind, these should be viewed as a starting point as they offer no officially recognised independent verification as to your quality as a marketing professional.