If you could see your Marketing learning journey ahead of time, what would it look like?
As you start and progress through your Marketing career, you will experience a diverse and continuous learning curve.
Marketing is a multi-faceted discipline that continues to evolve as technology provides us with more ways to understand and reach consumers. But it also revolves around core tasks that don’t radically change overtime.
Every career journey is unique, and everyone approaches their professional development their own way.
If you want to prepare yourself for success and to be one step ahead in a competitive marketplace, aim to gain an early and broad understanding of the key Marketing skills that you will need and the key Marketing tasks that you will perform during a Marketing career.
By being aware of the road ahead, you can better anticipate and plan for the technical knowledge and experience needed to perform in your current and future Marketing roles.
1 – The Marketing learning journey
Within the business environment of today, there are growing expectations that new recruits get up to speed and start delivering results quickly.
Although businesses have different ways of working, their strategic and operational needs are similar across industries.
So, give yourself a head start by understanding the key focus of Marketing and Leadership teams within a business, so you can better prepare yourself for the learning curve ahead of you.
In the following charts is an overview of Marketing and business tasks that you will get exposure, experience and gain the ability to coach others, as you progress through a Marketing career.
Your main tasks will vary pending on the nature of your Marketing role (Global versus Local) and your level of seniority, but essentially you should experience most of those during a Marketing career.
Think of this as a road map for your Marketing journey, that can guide you and inform your personal Learning Plan.
2 – Learning through education
Formal Marketing education, either through university or studying with professional training bodies such as the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), is a great way to start your learning journey.
This will give you some great understanding of key Marketing concepts and frameworks as well as provide you with recognised qualifications.
You can also educate yourself with CPD accredited online courses with Marketing experts such as the mini MBA’s with Mark Ritson.
Although formal Marketing and Business studies will give you a head start, it is not a must have to start a career in Marketing. You can always study towards formal qualifications once you have secured your first Marketing role.
Some employers will invest in their junior Marketing talent by funding studies with the Chartered Institute of Marketing (or pay for mini MBA’s), as part of their employees training and development program.
As you interview for your first Marketing role, enquire about the Marketing training and potential qualifications that the company is offering to develop and grow their Marketers.
3 – Learning through experience
Learning on the job will be one of the best ways to acquire the essential Marketing knowledge and skills that will serve you throughout your career.
As you start working in Marketing, take the time to build solid foundations for yourself as one day, you may have a Marketing team to coach and grow into strong Marketers and business leaders.
When interviewing for Marketing roles, ask the background of line managers and senior Marketers in the organisations you are consider joining. Find out the breadth and depth of Marketing experience they bring with them that you could learn from.
Also ask about the opportunity to get a Marketing mentor within the organisation to complement the knowledge and skills that your line manager will help you gain.
When it comes to mentoring, you can also get support from outside your organisation.
If you admire specific brands, reach out to their Marketing team via Linked-in and enquire about mentoring opportunities. But don’t feel discouraged if your mentoring requests are not coming to fruition. Sometimes it is a matter of timing and how busy people are.
If you are willing to invest in yourself to get ahead in your Marketing career, you can also consider working with an independent Marketing or Business coach.
Professional coaches have years of specific knowledge and practical experience gained across various industries and roles, so they can be an additional resource to help with your Marketing learning curve.
Ultimately, your Marketing career will be unique to you and how you prepare for it is up to you.
YOU are in the driving seat for your professional growth & development and remember that there are many external resources available to help you along your Marketing learning journey.