Question

Topic: Career/Training

Young And Confused! Need Career Advice Please Unique Circumstances...

Posted by Anonymous on6/11/2004 at 1:40 AM ET 250 Points
Hello Marketing Profs...

My question to all of you is where do I go from here?

我也有几个但冷杉t let me quickly explain my situation. I would greatly appreciate any useful direction you can offer.

I am 24 yrs old, with BS in Marketing from a small local school. I have 1 1/2 years of full time working experience. I live in NYC.

Most of my duties have been mostly administrative...

我有created some collateral at a previous position as well worked on press releases. Presently I work for a small company and once again my duties are extremely administrative. I work on quarterly newsletters and mail out sales letters that’s about all my present position entails marketing wise.

我有excellent computer skills, work extremely hard and have a winning attitude. My knowledge of marketing is strong from college and self education.

我有been seeking new opportunities. My question is how do I get into large companies? I am very interested in working for an advertising firm or in well-established consumer goods company preferably working on Marketing Communications.

我有lists of contacts, read numerous job-hunting books, read through this website (founds lots of great info) and have found every site under the sun for job hunting. I am an AMA member too and attend local events. I find that few people want to talk to a young professional like myself.

What else can I do besides pursue my present leads?

How do I really network with marketers who have years of experience?

Should I go straight to marketing managers or HR?

How long should I work in my present position that I find non-challenging and not offering an kind of useful learning towards my growth as a marketer?

Should I be open to an internship if it offered the right experience and was for well know company for example GE who had one that was definitely along the lines of what I am saying?

I am considering relocating to Florida or California if nothing comes through by Jan 05... Should I move there without a job?

Does volunteering for a-non-profit to gain more experience on the side really show the employers anything?

If a position comes along from a smaller firm but offers great experience do I accept it?

Should I only focus in on firms that I have a personal passion for? (For example I love entertainment)

What do I use as my USP for myself to get interviews and win them over? For example does creating marketing pieces about myself work?

I do plan to pursue my MBA. Is Jan 05 too early if no new positions come my way?

I am not desperate but I am very motivated and feel greatly my time is being wasted in my present position.

I fully understand you have to start somewhere but I believe at this point I should be in a larger company working in a marketing dept or ad firm being exposed to marketing daily.

Please let me know what my options are.

Thanks
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RESPONSES

  • Posted byPepper Blueon6/11/2004 at 2:07 AM Accepted
    Hi infamouseb,

    You mention looking for employment and experience at a smaller firm, but seem to think that you will gain more from working at a larger firm.

    My suggestion, and I have worked for one of the largest and most respected Fortune 500 companies in the world as well as for 1-10 person firms (and myself), is that you will get much more responsibility, an enhanced learning curve, and quite possible more personal satisfaction, if you can do so for a smaller but growing firm that really has some cool stuff going on.

    You will get better formal "training" at a big firm, and might make more (salary, benefits etc.) but you can make an impact faster at a small firm.

    If you can land at a "big", great, but there are a lot of SME's out there looking for bright talent to help them cross the chasm for less money now, in return for nice rewards later.

    Good Luck!
  • Posted on6/11/2004 at 8:54 AM Accepted
    Hi Infamous,

    Well, you should be commended for your efforts, first of all. However, finding a great job that you love truly is a shot in the dark. I know that you want to look at this the scientific way, but it's just not as easy as that.

    I will answer the questions that I can, based on my experience, and leave the others to my fellow experts.

    DO NOT relocate to Florida or California with no job. I lived in South Florida for 5 years. Gone are the days when 80 new people moved down there per day (this is a true statistic) because of the wealth of jobs. No more. Everyone has gotten fired in the last 2 years (esp. big corps like Lucent and Nortel). California is a little more stable but housing is through the roof and you really need a good paying job to afford California life and taxes!

    My first real job was with a small company. I loved it because I wore many hats, learned on the job, and had a large amount of responsibility. Also, I networked with so many people and got introduced to "the way things work". Don't underestimate the little jobs. They might lead to greatness.

    After 2 years in this marketing position, I decided to go to graduate school. I did this because I wanted to specialize in International Marketing, not because I thought it would get me a "better" job. However, my University's placement center (University of Miami) does have fantastic contacts and a mentoring program that helped us all with networking and with internships during graduate school.

    Best of luck with everything!

    PS--Self-education is a must in our line of business, and pretty much required of everyone, so I wouldn't put it on my resume.
  • Posted byPeter (henna gaijin)on6/11/2004 at 1:05 PM Accepted
    I agree with what ahs been said about small companies - you get much more responsibility and opportunitites to do more types of work. The downside is that the compensation/benefits are often a bit less and there may not be a set career path.

    MBA - I am mixed on this. I have an MBA and teach some MBA classes. There is a lot you can learn if you get an MBA, but I am not sure if it really would improve your chances of getting a job. There are not that many jobs in marketing where an MBA is a requirement. It would help, but I am not sure if it would help enough to offset the cost (lost salary while studying, tuition, etc.).

    Volunteering time - if you have the time, it is definitely good. Multiple benefits - you can volunteer doing marketing work, so it would be interesting for you plus also let you do types of work which you may not get to do at your current job. And probably more importantly, volunteering also lets you network with all sorts of people.
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