A: This one is pretty easy to answer. There is no such thing as an ideal entry-level job. Get whatever job you can get and stay in it until you feel that nothing more can be wringed out of it. Don’t move on because some other “great” opportunity comes along. Move on when you no longer feel that the job returns as much value as you put into it but the company cannot offer any other opportunities for growth. So, my best advice is to try to join a big company at the outset since they will afford more growth opportunities.
However, getting a job at a larger company is pretty hard overall. It’s actually easier to put in 6-8 years somewhere else then “downgrade” to a larger company. I don’t mean downgrade in a negative way. It’s not uncommon to see many senior marketers run their own function or department at startups or small companies then take on a role at a large corporation which is a level (or even two levels) below their prior positions.
Aside from size, you should try to join a consumer-facing business. You’ll learn a lot more of the pure marketing practices through observation and involvement. Along the way, you’ll get a well-rounded, rewarding experience under your belt. Entry-level jobs in B2B are very tactical and narrow. Often, you get no exposure to strategic matters and business issues. Marketers in consumer businesses are great at showing off. They don’t keep anything from junior staffers. Trust me. I’ve been there. You couldn’t beg them not to share. B2C marketers will mine data and detail every step of a revenue generating campaign in excruciating fashion – down to the hour or even minute. Keeping this hard work a secret is sheer foolishness.
I personally feel (from my own experience) that B2C marketing provides a good foundation on which B2B marketing can rest – instead of the other way around. I would hire someone from Apple marketing into Cisco. But, I’d less likely hire a person from Cisco marketing into Apple.
One of my few regrets is that I did put in about five years in B2C (spending four of those years at a place where we had 900-person marketing department and gained a ton of experience) but it wasn’t in B2C tech. Nothing from B2C non-tech really transfers over to B2B tech. They are worlds apart. The time an experience doesn’t feel wasted but the asset can never compound – in fact, it sort of amortizes in a way. The other career-related regret is not having spent enough time in sales. I’m talking about enterprise sales where quotas are carried and commission (not bonuses) is earned. Formally, I spent 6-months in account management but most of that time was on a trio of key accounts and left the position when the newly hired president of the company “asked” me to be a product manager for a new platform CRS solution.
Try to get started at a B2C tech company. Make every effort to join a big one. Remember that there is no marketing without a budget. Marketing without an adequate budget is called sales or, worse, noise. Big companies have big budgets and lots of resources (knowledge capital).
- John
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