By Karan Shah
Digital marketing is more than a mere buzzword these days, it is the future of marketing- growing at a double-digit rate of 30-35% per year and is here to stay.
Digital marketing helps businesses market to very specifically targeted audiences and thus has led to an increase in revenue. Businesses are hunting for skilled digital marketing professionals to benefit from their expertise.
And here’s why you should consider making a career in digital marketing.
It is an extremely attractive field for freshers to enter because it is fast-paced, exciting, and offers a rather accelerated career path. Most importantly, digital marketing jobs are well-paying.
All in all, the scope of digital marketing is very promising and bright.
Thus, if you have decided to get into digital marketing and wish to start a career in digital marketing, here’s how you can get a job in digital marketing:
Tips on How To Start a Career in Digital Marketing
1.Master the Industry-relevant digital marketing skills
You must have already considered taking up a digital marketing course for you to enter this industry. But it’s very important to opt for the right course, one that teaches you industry-relevant skills like SEO, Google Ads, Google Analytics, Website building, Social Media Marketing to name a few.
The course must also give you practical knowledge with lots of projects and assignments to prepare you. No organization wants an employee who knows theory, but rather who is creative and can think analytically. We recommend going for IIDE’s Online Digital Marketing Course which is curated by industry experts to meet the industry requirements.
And if you’re looking for a professional course that equips you with managerial skills and helps you bag job offers right at the mid-senior managerial level, check out this 11-month MBA-Level Postgraduation in Digital Marketing.
2.Build a strong Resume
Before the company gets a chance to see you, they meet your resume. Naturally, your resume is going to speak for you and must be curated very strongly. It must represent you authentically and contain information about your personal details, educational background, work experiences, and skills.
Note: The length of your resume must not exceed more than 1 page.
We suggest using the STAR format, wherein you can elaborate on a situation you were given, the task that you had to complete in reference to that situation, the actions you took, and the results you achieved.
Also, if you have a website showcasing all your work, you can link it out in your resume as your portfolio.
Here are some tools you can use to build great and quirky resumes and cv – Canva, cvmaker.com, Visme, Venngage to name a few.
3. Research Heavily
A person with knowledge always has an upper hand and can make better-informed decisions. Research thoroughly about the companies that have openings in digital marketing. Find out about their work culture and ethics.
Research which kind of companies appeal more to you, a digital marketing agency, a creative agency, or a media agency to name a few. You could also find companies in totally different sectors which have openings in their digital marketing departments, like the education sector, healthcare sector, or the IT industry.
It is important to work with a company that aligns with your interests. And if you get short-listed for an interview, study the company’s website, their brand voice on social profiles, and understand the kind of campaigns they have been running.
4.Keep going for digital marketing internships
If you are someone looking for a job in digital marketing with no experience, it might get difficult because companies refrain from hiring freshers but that’s what internships are for! They’re the best chances to explore learning new things and build experience.
Internships also help you in finding out your key interests and areas where you don’t want to dwell again in the future. So never say no, try out different internships and skills and develop mastery in them. You will also be able to network with many different kinds of people coming from various walks of life.
5.Network on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a very powerful platform in terms of professional networking. Follow digital marketing gurus and people that inspire you and get connected with them. Strike a professional conversation and exchange valuable knowledge.
Update your information regularly and state all your interests and skills. You also write content on LinkedIn. This way you can put out useful blogs and grab a few eyeballs out of which someone could be an HR looking for digital marketing candidates.
6.Make use of Job Portals
Job Portals like Naukri & Indeed are great platforms to look for job opportunities. Their popularity has resulted in even top leading companies listing out their job openings and thus, you will have a chance to apply there too.
Although, don’t lose heart if you don’t immediately bag an offer. Just hang in there and keep working on your skills and keep applying for jobs every 2-3 days.
Note: Job portals allow you to attach a customized cover letter for each job that you apply for. Make sure you write that well and in line with the company’s goals.
These were some of the tips on how to start a career in digital marketing for freshers. The key tip here would be to never stop learning. Keep gaining expertise in what you do and keep upskilling yourself. Another tip would be to sign up for a digital marketing course that offers 100% placement assistance.
Now let’s take a look at what your first digital marketing job as a fresher could potentially look like and what are the things you must expect.
Bonus Read: 7 Things To Expect in Your First Digital Marketing Job
Here are 7 things to expect in your first digital marketing job as a fresher:
- Energized work culture
Usually, digital marketing agencies start a little later, which is ideal if you’re not a morning person and have better nocturnal productivity. You will have to be prepared for the unpredictability though, as the digital marketing landscape is ever-changing and clients are often demanding.
The flip side to this is enough flexibility for you to balance work and life. Once you are familiar with the clients you are servicing, you can anticipate demand and mirror their style of working. You will be able to manage unpredictability better. And with a relaxed work culture that is always buzzing, unpredictability at work even becomes something you look forward to!
- Come up with not only ‘cool’ ideas but objective-driven as well
Whether you are on board as a designer, account manager, or copywriter, you might envision working with the coolest and most aspirational brands. Everyone wants to work with Swiggy and Zomato, but you might end up being assigned to brands from the BFSI or retail sector that you might not be that excited about.
But rest assured, good work will be recognized in every sector. Moreover, digital marketing is now the need of the hour in almost every industry, and even brands that you wouldn’t expect to have large digital marketing budgets do. Every campaign is worthy of being added to your portfolio, and eventually, that portfolio will contain several ‘cool’ brands too.
- Digital marketing agencies are young, as you
The average age in most digital marketing agencies is about 24. This means tons of opportunities for peer-to-peer learning, creative collaboration, and ideation. You will be working with a team of like-minded digital marketers, some of whom are as new to the field as you are. Use this to your advantage by forging connections that will last for life.
- A lot of your learning will be on the job
As a fresher, this is a good thing, and this especially applies if you are an account manager. From client pitching skills to client management skills, you will learn with each client and each failed or successful campaign that you help to execute.
You will also learn a lot from your seniors, as an agency is quite a horizontal structure. Usually, you can feel free to approach your managers and seniors with as much freedom as you would your peers.
Use this to your advantage, and try and get as many brainstorming sessions with a senior you admire as possible. Observing how their ideas take shape and form will be of invaluable importance to you as you progress in your career.
- Your role will blur boundaries and transcend responsibilities
Unlike in a corporate firm, you should be prepared to take on multiple responsibilities within a digital marketing agency – especially if it is a full-service agency. For example, an account manager is often required to write a copy. A designer may need to tweak copy as well.
You will be pushed into different departments and expected to give your best. The bottom line is that your skill-set should be versatile, and once again, a digital marketing course will help you achieve that versatility before you even walk through the doors of an agency.
- Your career growth will be accelerated
Saved the best for the last! As mentioned earlier, digital marketing agencies are attractive because they offer a career graph that is quite upward-trending, and quite soon. If you commit to doing good work, there is no reason why your age should be of any hindrance to one or multiple promotions within a short span of time.
So, try and get involved in everything – and we mean everything. If your agency is pitching to an exciting new brand, get on that pitch. If you hear of a cool new Tik Tok campaign that the agency is doing, become a platform expert and dive deep into that campaign. Knowledge is power in an agency, and involvement is the only way to further that knowledge.
To Conclude:
We hope this blog has helped you in your digital marketing journey and has answered most of your questions in mind regarding how to start a career in digital marketing.
We wish you all the best in your future endeavours and hope that you will get a job in digital marketing very soon!
About Author:
Karan Shah is an ‘Edupreneur’ and the founder of IIDE – Indian Institute of Digital Education. He is a passionate public speaker and teacher for over 10 years. He has trained over 60,000+ students and 25+ corporates in Digital Marketing via online and offline channels. He is a Harvard alumnus specialising in E-commerce. He is also a TEDx speaker and is a visiting faculty at India’s top management institutes like the IIMs.
