Frank's message was that a career in marketing is future proof, exciting, ever evolving and above all, attainable. The most important thing in his view is to think, plan, network and market yourself, getting some real life work experience under your belt. From there, the sky's the limit!
One of his first recommendations to marketing students is to consider becoming a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing because membership brings many benefits and resources for those looking to get in to marketing, as well as helping to develop your career. The organisation started in 1911 and currently has 45,000 members, with lots of events and training opportunities held throughout the year. Take a look – http://www.cim.co.uk/Home.
5 things I took away from Franks talk are: (There are more!)
1. Identify an area of marketing that suits your interests and decide now what field you want to get into, e.g. agency, client side, digital or generalist
2. Make a personal skills audit of what you have to offer.
3. Start researching potential employers matching your criteria and think about what it is they might be looking for – why would they employ you?
4. Now develop a personal marketing plan to get your product and services (you) out there.
5. And start putting together your CV, profile document and LinkedIn account.
With all of these in place start reaching out and look for job opportunities today. Make more than one plan and be prepared for plan A to fail but move on to plan B or C. The key is persistence and being proactive in my opinion! There is nothing nerdy about putting together a spreadsheet of potential employers and contacting people. In fact, this will make all the difference. The 2nd most important thing is to persist in following up with contacts because e-mails do get missed or forgotten about. When you do get a response be sure to respond quickly or you will risk losing their interest. Be professional but also human. No robots, please. The best approach is to write and say that you are interested – no, you are extremely interested – in working in this particular field and would really appreciate some advice from an expert in the field. Flattery can get you everywhere.
I would also recommend personally taking a look at his own website at http://huttonand.co, which also has useful advice and resources. Don't forget that his job in recruitment places people into work, so he is also worth checking out. Why not follow him on twitter? https://twitter.com/Huttonco.
Thanks Frank!
Written by Jesse Karjalainen
Msc Marketing Communications