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Career Advice
Getting a job in the marketing and media industry
20 Aug 2007
Getting into the marketing or media industry is notoriously difficult with many graduates with the same degrees going for the same roles. One way to make your CV stand out from the crowd is if you have some relevant industry experience. To this end it is well worth the effort involved in trying to get some relevant work experience.
From a recruitment agency point of view if you are a raw graduate with no experience there is not a lot that agencies can do for you. However, with a few months work experience on your CV you suddenly become much more marketable.
Do your research: think about the type of company you want to work for; the specific organisations you are keen on and start knocking on a few doors.
Another advantage of getting some work experience is that you can use this opportunity to start networking within the industry, building up your contacts and your understanding of what is going on in the market.
As to whether you should get paid for work experience, if you can get some money for your time well done, but it is probably best to look at it as an investment of your time and effort into your future career.
What is the main reason people start looking for a new job? You would think that money is the main motivator and it is true that most people are looking for an increase in their salary (who isn't?), but more often than not people move jobs for a variety of reasons.
Career progression is often a key factor in prompting many people to move on, if they feel they have learnt all they can and that now there is nowhere for them to progress to within their current role or organisation they will look elsewhere. Other factors which may be involved are relocation, specialisation or company culture. Or it could just be a lack of variety: they have been doing the same job for a number of years and have got a bit bored.
The media and marketing industry, more than most, creates a lot of opportunities for people with experience and a list of contacts built up over the years to go it alone. Many people, after years of putting in the effort and the hours, decide they don't want to work for someone else anymore.
They want more of a work/life balance; to be able to pick and choose who they work with and when. However, some senior figures in the industry often working client side look into the possibility of buying into a going concern and bringing their client base with them as part of the deal.