20 Things Every Graduating Marketing Student Needs to Know

 

It's college graduation

season! Graduation caps are

flying through the air,

names are being

mispronounced, and awkward

questions about future careers

are being asked. What's

missing? A crash course when it comes to what marketing

students actually need to know to enter the real

world of marketing.

Unfortunately, featuring your fancy new diploma with the words

"B.S. in Marketing" does more for fantastic graduation photos

than it does for fantastic post-grad jobs. The sad truth is that

most marketing students aren't adequately prepared for the real

world.

To all you current and future marketing students, here's a list of

20 things, under the umbrella of five key categories, of what you

actually need to know before entering the professional

marketing world. The list is a collection of advice from current

members of the HubSpot marketing team -- including full-time

marketing professionals who have graduated in years past as well

as marketing interns who are graduating this year or in the

future.

Academics

1) Don't be afraid of numbers.

I can't tell you how many students I've come across who tell me

they avoid taking any classes that involve quantitative analysis or

statistics. News flash: marketers need statistics .

You need to be prepared to analyze everything you do. Don't use

the excuse that you plan on being a "social media marketer."

When I was on the social media team at HubSpot, and I spent

every single day looking at and interpreting charts and graphs.

You need to be able to look at a spreadsheet of numbers, make the

proper calculations, and analyze what they mean.

Otherwise, you're wasting a whole lot of time making decisions

without proof that they work and/or benefit your business in

some way. So pay attention in your stats class.

2) Don't obsess over the 4 P's or C's of

marketing.

Whether your marketing courses preach the P's or C's of

Marketing, it doesn't matter. While they can help introduce you

to the core concepts of marketing, the chances of you

brainstorming how you meet price, product, place, and promotion

in the a real-life marketing situation is unrealistic. You need to

be thinking about much more, which will come in later parts of

this list.

3) Don't think your classroom experience

mimics an actual job.

Simulate "real-life" scenarios as much as you want, but you

won't actually learn to make important decisions in tight time

frames until you're managing real dollars, working to uphold a

real company's reputation, and investing your energy in real

projects.

You can't practice it either. You have to be there and do it a few

times, and then you'll learn. Use internships as an opportunity to

do this, which takes us to our next section.

Experience

4) Having an internship on your resume

isn't "impressive."

You had a summer internship at a marketing agency last

summer? Great! So did everybody else. The fact that you had an

internship isn't impressive, it's what you did while you

were there that is (or isn't).

Students have accepted this false notion that even if you're just

answering phones, the fact that you had some big company's

name on your resume will get you a job. It might get you in the

door for an interview, but if you can't share the benefit you

provided to the company, you won't be seen as a valuable

resource.

5) Having the multiple marketing

internships isn't "impressive."

Okay, so we've already established that it's not just about

having an internship; it's what you do there. A subcomponent

of having great internship experiences is gaining diverse

experiences and perspectives.

If you're interested in marketing, don't just apply to internships

at marketing agencies every summer. Switch it up and test your

skills in different marketing environments, such as at a company

that executes its marketing in-house.

That way, you're staying true to your ultimate goal while also

using your talents in different types of environments. Another

great thing about this is you'll learn which type of marketing job

you're best suited for.

6) Having endless extracurricular

activities doesn't make you an "expert."

I get it -- you love being involved in every organization you can

possibly be a part of. You think putting it all on your resume will

show your great versatility and extensive experience.

But all it really does is confuse recruiters.

I've heard employers say they get turned off by students who

seem too involved because they don't show any one true strength

they can bring to the table. Instead of being an expert in one area,

they just have their toes dipped in a bunch.

Employers are looking for something unique that you can do, not

that you have tried everything -- that's what marketing

teams are for. If you've participated in a lot of different

activities in college, narrow down the few that you can actually

say you've learned from, excelled at, and helped you grow.

7) Having a standard resume doesn't

exemplify modern marketing.

Is your career advisor handing you a template for your resume to

adhere to? Ignore it.

Marketing is changing. Buyer behavior is changing. That means

your entrance into this evolving industry should be changing, too.

Create your own resume template. One that highlights your

uniqueness and is set up to show, not tell, what your value is.

While paper resumes will always hold their own value, you also

need to be present where marketing employers are looking. In

fact, 89% of all recruiters report having hired

someone through LinkedIn, according to Herd Wisdom .

Beyond LinkedIn, think about other unique ways to present your

experience: infographics, tweets, slideshares, or even ebooks

( which is what I did).

Marketing

8) Marketing moves fast.

Chances are, whatever your professor taught you your freshman

year of college no longer applies. Need an answer to a pressing

marketing problem? You won't find it in that years-old textbook.

Effective marketing isn't about looking up the answer, it's about

creating the answer. For example, social media wasn't taught in

a classroom until recently, yet it's been around for years. Nobody

taught professional marketers already in the business how to "do

social media"; they had to figure it out on their own.

That's your future: figuring out marketing. Forever.

9) Marketing isn't about pretty pictures

and viral videos.

Effective marketing campaigns focus on creating content that

benefits your audience. You can't spend your marketing career

creating humorous videos for the sake of bringing attention to

your brand. You need to be prepared to think critically and

analyze the needs of your target audience. What do they want?

What are they confused about? How can you best serve them

while serving your business? Answer one of these questions

correctly, and your content will naturally become viral.

10) Marketing is not just about branding

or awareness -- it's about making money.

Gone are the days of going to the marketing department for

happy messages and to Sales for revenue -- today, the two must

work together.

We keep talking about how everything you do should benefit your

company, but haven't said what that benefit is. The benefit is

simple: revenue. What is the return on investment of that email

send? That tweet? That press release? Each of these efforts

should be positioned to represent your company culture, but they

need to fit into the sales cycle. They need to have a monetary

value.

11) Marketing doesn't have to be evil.

The negative connotation surrounding "marketer,""public

relations professional," etc. is pretty pervasive. But that

doesn't mean it's okay to act out these

stereotypes. Don't lose your morals and ethics when you

graduate -- they need to be omnipresent in your marketing

career. And yes, it is possible to create marketing that people

actually like.

12) Marketing is more than big brands

and agencies.

Yes, you can work at a marketing agency. And yes, you could

work for a big brand like Nissan or Pepsi. But there are SO many

more options. What about working in-house at technology

company? A small business? A hospital? Just because your

professors only talk about the campaigns big brands have

executed, doesn't mean those are the only marketing jobs out

there.

13) Marketing is a balance of art, science,

and tech.

Many marketing curriculums focus on the art. You craft

advertising campaigns, brainstorm billboards, and storyboard

commercials. In modern marketing, this art is critical in

visualizing calls-to-actions, writing landing page copy, and

launching products.

But marketing is more than that. On the science front, we

already discussed the importance of a data-driven mentality in

point one. Beyond that, you need to embrace the infusion of

technology in marketing.

In an article by Marketing Magazine, Jamie Kenny writes, "On

the one hand, new technology offers marketing fresh and more

efficient routes to market, along with exciting prospects such as

the capability for personalised, one-to-one marketing at scale.

On the other hand, the marketing department is having to learn

new skills, take on responsibilities and build other relationships

within the organisation."

As an emerging marketer, being tech savvy can help differentiate

you from the crowd.

Personal

14) Don't be afraid to be wrong.

How many times have you said, "I thought the same exact

thing ... but didn't say anything." '

Well, if you ever get to that point, it's too late. If you have an

idea or opinion on something being discussed at an internship or

on at your first job, speak up! Experience helps create proper

judgment, not ideas. Anyone is capable of thinking of the next big

thing; it's just a matter of not being afraid to share it.

15) Grow thick skin.

As a marketer, you'll have to deal with complaining customers,

social media bashers, unresponsive sales reps, frustrating

clients, the list goes on and on ... and through it all, you have to

bite your tongue and let them feel like they are always right.

If you get too emotional over how people treat you, you won't last

in the business. Take all negative feedback as constructive

criticism, and spin it into something positive. I failed at this

big time when I was interning at HubSpot -- but I learned from

my mistakes.

16) Be your own best case study.

Prove your skills by marketing yourself . Don't wait for someone

else to give you the opportunity. There's a number of ways to

accomplish this:

Write content -- on your own blog or for an existing

blog -- demonstrating your knowledge and writing

ability.

Build your social media reach. Start conversations on

Twitter or leverage LinkedIn to connect with other

professionals.

Demonstrate your passion for marketing by properly marketing

yourself. If you can't market yourself, how will you market for

others?

17) Never burn bridges.

You know that annoying teacher's pet who never stops talking in

class next to you? She may end up being your manager one day.

Or your co-worker. Or the woman who gets to decide if a

company hires you.

You never know where people may end up. In fact, last year I

received a LinkedIn message from a young man who wasn't the

nicest to me in high school. All of a sudden he was a total

sweetheart and asking for a job referral -- you can imagine my

response was, well, nonexistent.

18) Network with everyone .

Yes, you've heard this before. But the important part of

networking is doing it with everyone. If you decide you want

to work at XX company, don't only find ways to talk to people

from XX company. Maybe that random stranger in the corner

from Y company will one day be an employee at XX company,

and then you'll be bummed you missed the opportunity to tell

that person why you rock.

Point is, you never know who could end up helping you out the

future. Get to know as many people as you can.

Miscellaneous

19) Get familiar with HTML/CSS.

You don't need to be a full-on engineer, but you do need to

understand the basics. What happens when your web designer

goes on vacation? What happens when you need to make a quick

fix on your website? Or even just need to talk to your web

designer?

You don't want to sound like a complete doh-doh head.

Understand how coding works and be prepared to make little

tweaks. If you end up in a product marketing role, this will be

even more critical.

20) Understand the difference between

B2B and B2C.

I'm surprised I was never exposed to such basic acronyms at

school, but most businesses are classified this way. B2B =

business-to-business. B2C = business-to-consumer. Look up the

difference; it'll teach you a lot about different forms of

marketing, and possibly where you want to work one day.

From the marketing team at HubSpot, we hope you found this

list beneficial in planning your marketing career. Cheers to you!