This is part 1 in many. I don’t know how many but it’s definitely more than one. I wrote it a while ago but never finished writing it. Each part will be published every few days. I get some emails from total strangers who like reading our entries. Many of them have questions about getting into marketing, what it’s like, etc. Most often, they ask about tech marketing or Silicon Valley. Silicon Valley is a unique beast that deserves its own 100-part series but the tech marketing questions are fairly easy to tackle.
Whenever I’ve been asked this question (“What is tech marketing like?” or “Is tech marketing something I should get into?”), I start asking the individual a bunch of my own questions. It usually starts with a line of questioning that has nothing to do with marketing. My questions are always about their personalities, strengths, interests, and curiosities. Then, I’d give the person a snapshot, or glimpse, into what marketing is like at various stages of a “marketing” career. I don’t sugarcoat anything. I tell them the pains of the job and field just as much as I share the joyous aspects. Writing the same things over and over gets to be tough especially if you’re a new father to a beautiful little girl. So, here we are.
I’ve spent the last 14-15 years knee deep in marketing. Roughly half of those years were spent in the technology industry and the rest in consumer marketing (non-technology). Also, half of those years were spent in specialized roles and the rest in more generalized functions. Over the course of my career, I’ve gone from writing stuff as a junior copywriter (on very uninspiring advertisements for local businesses) to becoming a marketing executive working alongside high profile CEOs, superstar CMOs and Board of Directors (on extremely inspiring things). I’ve managed zero budgets and multi-million dollar budgets. I’ve done everything from manually licking 1,000 envelopes for a direct mail campaign as an entry level marketing specialist to designing Web-based central reservation system solutions from the ground-up as a product marketer.
Heck, I’ve even briefly sold software to a customer in Mallorca and assisted on setting up a resort in Mali, Africa. I’ve written hundreds of press releases as well as directed a couple $multi-million television ad campaigns from hands-on creative to media buying to SPSS-driven demographic research. I’ve worked for (or, survived) a few clueless managers as well as supervised really smart people. Ok, you get the picture.
Through it all, I’ve learned a lot from colleagues and mentors. But, just as importantly, I’ve learned a lot about myself. Marketing has never been more exciting to me as it is now at this point in my career. Technology is really advancing the field. There’s so much more marketers can do. The quality of the profession is so much better than when I started out in the early ‘90s.
In fact, some of the best marketing people don’t even carry marketing job titles. They are the CEOs and tech industry titans that create and dominate $billion markets using nothing but sheer will, exceptional marketing acumen, and bottomless intellectual capital. It’s an amazing time to be in marketing.
The timing for this blog entry could be less than ideal (to say the least) as many marketers are getting laid off and “downsized.” But, aspiring marketing professionals should not worry too much about timing. There’s never a bad time to get into something that gets you excited. Only the future can tell you if it’s a mistake and, fortunately, you have a lot of control over that future. You do have a strong say in making sure that it is likely not to turn out to be a regrettable choice so let’s not worry about that concern too much.
So, if you’re just graduating from college or switching careers and marketing interests you, read on for some thoughts from ground-level.
Q: What type of entry-level marketing job is best suited for me?
A: It helps to assess your personality but it won’t be important until some years down the road. This is true because entry-level positions do not seek out expertise or skills or some specific personality type. Entry-level jobs are filled with warm bodies that show potential – with priority given to warm body. For example, if you’re very analytical, market research seems like the obvious place to start. Uhhh, Houston? There’s a problem. Market research positions frequently do not exist inside certain types of firms or businesses. Market research jobs exist in large corporations but smaller companies outsource it.
Let’s say you’re very creative and want to work on big ad campaigns. Again, advertising is not common for most technology companies. Those who do it typically farm it out to ad agencies. Technology companies don’t like to in-source or bring in-house specialty functions that require dedicated expertise. I know this advice seems unconventional for some but the best thing a new graduate can do is to become a marketing generalist. This way, you actually give yourself more room to seek out something that truly interests you. It gives you a bigger field to consider and lets you widen the lens.
Another reason why I suggest the generalist approach is because I think the great majority of entry position job seekers will end up starting at a smaller company or business. It’s tough to get a job at a larger company. It has nothing to do with your potential or talent. It’s a numbers game. While big companies are ideal places to start your career, there are plenty of great opportunities to learn and grow inside small companies or firms. Smaller firms need generalists.
Q: What type of personality is best suited for marketing?
A: I have a saying that goes something like this – “Leave your arrogance at the door and take as much pride with you into your job.” Said differently, marketing output is very public. Everybody sees your work in action and they judge the outcome of your work. There are no exceptions. Only people who are proud of what they do (create, generate, contribute) will deliver top notch quality and excellence – and sustain it. Further, only people who are proud of the integrity and honesty of their work will have the stamina to defend it when required – not just when it’s convenient.
The arrogance part is easy to explain but hard to avoid in marketing people. Only marketers who understand what they do not know will show the proclivity to learn the right things. Arrogance always gets in the way of accurate knowledge and making informed decisions. So, that’s pretty much it. All personalities are welcome in marketing but those who stay typically check their arrogance at the door and never leave home without pride in their work … pride in being a marketing professional.
- John
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