13 Marketers Share Their Sage Career Advice For New College Grads

With graduation just around the corner for college students across the country, many are looking toward their future careers. And the extra cool grads will be turning to marketing as their career of choice.

Working in marketing has been an incredible experience for me personally, and as the youngest member of the Invoca marketing team, I am glad that I have had the opportunity to learn so much from my wise teammates.

To help future marketers get started in their careers, the Invoca marketing team is sharing the advice they wish they knew when starting their careers. Take a look at the wisdom shared below:

Lauren Ishimaru, Senior Product Marketing Manager

A boss you can learn from and coworkers that support you are the single most important factors when choosing a job. Also, take some time to travel before starting your career. It gets harder to find the time as each year passes.  

Ari Echt, Senior Marketing Automation Manager

Find some smart mentors. People who will have a phone conversation or coffee with you and share some of what they’ve learned. That type of feedback is priceless.

Jen Rios, Marketing Operations Manager

Try not to narrow your focus too much right off the bat if you’re not sure what area(s) of marketing you’re interested in specializing in. Marketing is very broad, so if you know marketing is for you but you’re not quite sure where your interests or strengths lie, early to mid-stage start ups offer great opportunities to jump-start your career and get your feet wet in all things marketing.

Amber Tiffany, Senior Content Marketing Manager

Don’t be afraid to be yourself, and bring all your quirks, your humor, your strengths, your unique perspective to your job. Marketing is more data driven than ever, but it’s still a creative discipline, and the best marketers bring a flair of personality to all they do. I think that’s what wins customers and makes you a joy to work with.

Sarah Davis, Director of Customer Marketing

“Don’t focus too heavily on landing the perfect role or title – it’s the experience that will drive your career, long term. Aim for developing a new skill or experience that blends into your overall ‘dream job,’ and watch your broader exposure and variety of proficiencies take you to the top of the selection pool, at the right time.”

Paul Rudwall, Director of Product Marketing

Don’t plan for the next job, plan for the one after that… When you balance the short and long term you may find that the promotion you’re excited about isn’t so great after all, or that the drudge work you’re doing today is exactly what you need to be doing to get where you want to go.

Andrea Mueller, Public Relations Manager

Marketing offers a broad range of career opportunities, from the creative to the analytical in a wide range of industries. If you have the opportunity, take the time to figure out what type of industry you would like to work in and the type of marketing job you would like to do. Instead of accepting the first job offer, I recommend researching and talking to people in those roles/industries you are thinking about.

Matt Brodersen, Creative Director

Marketing isn’t simply a 9 to 5. There will always be new and innovative ways to market. In your spare time, take advantage of the tech resources out there to constantly learn and hone your marketing chops.

Laura Schierberl, Director of Content Marketing + Communications

You don’t learn how to do marketing in college – you learn on the job. Get as much experience as you can early on, even if it’s unpaid internships. Also, begin building your network right away. Your connections and professional relationships will open many doors over the span of your career.

Kyle Christensen, Vice President of Marketing

Marketing is always changing, and it is a unique blend of art and science. It’s important to keep an open mind and try new techniques and strategies. You never know what will work until you test it. Whatever you do, don’t be afraid to be wrong. 

Maria Bruno, Senior Field Marketing Manager

It is important to get to know the sales team’s goals, processes, and structure. Understanding how they work will help you create marketing campaigns that will make both of you successful. And don’t forget to tell them you appreciate their work

Julia Stead, Director of Demand Generation

I wish I had known how data-driven marketing was, and would become. Having a strong knowledge of excel and being fluent tracking, measuring and analyzing different data sets across a variety of analytics platforms has become an integral part of today’s marketing success. You need to roll up your sleeves, ask the right questions, and be comfortable using data as one of the key tools in your kit.

Caitie Gonzalez, Social Media and Content Specialist

First, don’t neglect your math skills, they are going to be super important to your marketing career. Second, never stop learning. The best days are when I have the opportunity to learn and grow in my marketing role.

So there you have it. All the advice you need to crush your first marketing gig. Do you have any advice of your own? Share it in the comments below!

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