For those with language skills, a career in marketing could prove an excellent choice given the prospects for employment, earning potential but also the variety of marketing jobs that exist. Not to mention of course that if you work within marketing teams for a global company, you’ll be able to use your foreign languages. Let’s take a more in-depth look at why marketing could be so rewarding for individuals with language skills.
Why marketing?
Marketing has its own well-defined career path with its associated qualifications. Typically, if you start off as a marketing assistant, you’ll more than likely take courses and study towards a Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) qualification. There are many routes and options, so make sure you do your research – and speak to your manager or peers for advice if you need to. Getting a qualification under your belt will also boost your salary too, so it’s definitely something to consider!
Another big selling point of a career in marketing is that it appeals to people with different skill sets. Depending on the company you join, you could be developing your passion for website content and analytics, learning about paid advertising online or widening your social media experience. You need to be results driven as marketing as a discipline has now become extremely metrics driven, so you’ll need to be comfortable with spreadsheets and numbers. But equally there’s the chance to be creative as you start to work on marketing strategies and campaigns to generate revenue for your business.
The early years are all about gaining wide exposure to different areas of marketing, such as advertising, planning or online. If you enjoy writing then you could become a content writer or copywriter. You might want to focus on communications and PR – again excellent writing skills are a must. There is a big demand for digital marketing these days, so any qualifications or experience in ‘pay per click’ (PPC), online advertising or marketing automation is always highly sought after.
Working in a marketing department takes discipline and you’ll have to roll your sleeves up and learn many new things, whether it’s design software or HTML. You’ll never stop learning, but that’s what makes it so interesting. Furthermore, you’ll typically be working in a global team where you’ll get to know your fellow colleagues quickly and build strong relationships – not just with peers in your home country, but also around the world. Marketing professionals tend to be very sociable, so you’ll feel right at home!
A marketing career for those with language skills
How do you go about securing your first job in marketing? Here are 5 top tips:
- Demonstrate your tech savviness
As we’ve mentioned, you’ve got to show potential employers that you’re up to date with technology and all things digital. You might want to consider building your own website where you can add examples of your work or start a blog to showcase your skills. Even though you may just be starting out, this will create a good impression of how serious you are in your pursuit of a marketing career.
- Update and polish your CV
Have you worked on a supporting statement to let employers know about you, your skills and why you want to get into marketing? If you have some prior experience or have studied marketing, then that’s an advantage. But employers also want to see that you’ve given considerable thought to a career in marketing and their company. They won’t expect you to have all the answers and experience but they’ll want to see signs that you’re professional, competent and interested!
- Prepare for interviews
As obvious as this may sound, so many candidates are effectively eliminated simply because they haven’t put in the effort to do their research in the job hunt itself. The demand for marketing roles is very competitive so you can’t afford to turn up unprepared. Research the company, find out about your manager and team, look at their career paths. What qualifications have they got? This is all important information that you can bring up at interview and will be sure to impress your interviewer(s).
- Grow your network
Start to approach people in the industry, for example those working in the marketing department of a company you’d like to work for. Try and find out about careers events where you might be able to talk to marketing professionals. And don’t forget about reaching out to people on LinkedIn, for example – send them connection requests and start the conversation! Your language skills can help you. The more networking you can do, the better. It’s a skill that will benefit you throughout your career, so there’s no time like the present.
- Get some experience
If you’re interested in social media, start to post about marketing and industry related topics. Chances are that your hiring manager will check to see what’s on your profiles, so make sure everything is above board. If you’re looking for a content role, start publishing articles (and do so in each of the languages you’re fluent in). If it’s design, build an online portfolio – anything that will make you stand out. You might want to offer your services to local businesses to help them with their marketing and social media to develop your portfolio. If you have a passion for tech, product marketing could be your thing.
Secure your next job is no easy task. Even if you do all the right things, you might still find that your hard work isn’t paying off. But persevere, don’t get too down about it, and remember, your time will come. Before you know it, you’ll be a fully-fledged marketing professional and you’ll be starting a rewarding career journey.
Are you looking to use your language skills to start a career in marketing? Check out our latest marketing jobs today.
