I have a memory that lives in my mind rent-free. It was during one of my many Marketing interviews when the interviewer told me “People think that Marketing is so glamourous and fun and it can be that way but it also involves hard work”. I remember nodding my head seriously but even back then I had zero clue about how tough it was. It took a few months later when I was helping to set up an event than I recalled this conversation and then it hit me. She was NOT kidding.
Everything, everywhere, all at once
Marketing has a million different things going on. Million little projects. Million of sub-departments. Millions of trends. Sure, you could specialize in one specific field but things are always changing which means in order to kick ass at your job you need to be able to keep up with best practices or new trends.
It is hard work getting your feet in the door
This I remember all too well and honestly this still makes me want to cry. I know tons of talented people who would love to work in Marketing. But they have no concept of what Marketing is and they do not have contacts who are able to help them get jobs. This makes me sad because I am still fairly new to the industry so this isn’t something that I am able to control but it is something that I desperately want to change. If you get the chance to meet with a marketer with coffee, DOO IT! Pick their brain. Ask them all the questions and show interest. Personality takes you far because people prefer to hire for fit.
All the Numbers
Had I known that Marketing involved so many numbers and calculations, I would have sat quietly in my toxic former job and not complained. Good marketers need data in order to make informed decisions and sometimes you’re the one who needs to crunch numbers for this data.